Group 1/The Story So Far

Prologue
Near the city of Quelren in the Whispering Forest, elven clans gather at the foot of Galadriel, the great tree, and prepare to do battle. In more trying times and, indeed, many years in the past, this would be a sign of impending bloody war, but as peace has fallen upon the land, the clan war has instead become an annual festival and ceremony where the elven clans fight for pride and the sacred duty of serving as Galadriel's guardians. These battles are rarely witnessed by outsiders, given the relative isolation of the Whispering Forest and the insular nature of its clans, but those who have seen it can barely speak of the grace and wonder of this ceremony.

As the beginning of the ceremony approaches, a small crowd of spectators have gathers at the base of the tree. The five clans participating have begun their preparations, watched over by the three current elder members of the elven ruling council and aged guardians of the Great Tree. One of these guardians, gathering the attention of the gathered participants and spectators, explains the purpose of this ceremony, and quickly goes over the nature and history of the clans involved.

At the conclusion of his speech, as he signals for the start of the battle, the sky suddenly dims. As all in attendance look skyward, time seems to freeze. Two figures suddenly appear in front of the three guardians: |one, wearing a cloak with a black circle surrounded by a golden halo; the other, a large figured wearing a patchwork robe. The latter grabs hold of one of the elders and, effortlessly, crushes his skull, before grabbing hold of a second and lifting him into the air. The former, sensing their work is done, slits the throat of the third elder, throwing him to the ground.

Following this gesture, time begins to return to normal. The skies tear open as lightning rains down upon the gathered masses from above. A particularly powerful bolt strikes Galadriel, cleaving an opening into the depths of the three itself, into which the two assailants (along with two of the three elders) calmly disappear as panic sets in among those in attendance. In the panic, many are wounded, and those warriors that remain began trying to herd the unharmed and deliver the unwounded away from the Great Tree.

Among those unharmed are six particular visitors to the city of Quelren - Duran Veneficus, a high elf scholar here to observe the customs of his people; Elgroth, a half-orc warrior merely passing through; Merinthe Galalani, a wood elf priestess secretly on the lam; Pheorik Bombadil, a wood elf ascetic here to watch his brother particpate in the clan war; Yenkas Two-Steppes, a war-worn half elf seeking to find his mother and her people; and, Zook Z. Pepperclank, a gnomish apothecary and herbalist who was saved from death by Yenkas' clan and now travels with his half elven friend.

Shot Through the Heart
As chaos gives way to order, these six find themselves together in a small triage area, alongside several other elves who are tending to the wounded and dead. Nearby, one of the elders lies fatally wounded. Pheorik and Duran, concerned, rush over. As they approach, he begans speaking to them and, with his dying breath, instructs them to seek out the Council of Ertol. Neither is familiar with the concept; however, Zook, overhearing them talking amongst themselves, steps in and shares his limited knowledge of the Council with the two elves.

Before they can discuss it further, another wave of the wounded passes by - including Pheorik's younger brother, Ser. Pheorik attempts to speak with his brother, though his brother only offers a sympathetic gesture before passing out. The elves handling triage advise Pheorik that his brother's wounds are likely fatal, and he must be placed into stasis or have his wounds tended to by a master healer. Elgroth, having also watched the carnage, senses Pheorik's growing fury at his brother's condition, approaches him and indicates they may both have a common cause -- the half-orc shares that men, wearing the same emblem as one of the assailants, rode through his village and killed his family. Both seem interested in avenging their fallen fellows.

Duran sees the town sage nearby and approaches, inquiring as to the location of the Keebler Clan (the current guardians of Galadriel) - the sage advises him that, unfortunately, their warriors were the first ones struck down by lightning. He shares that Duran may be able to locate some other members of the Keebler clan deeper in town, should he need to speak with them. Pheorik asks him about the Council of Ertol - the sage advises that, as he understands it, the winning clan would appoint one member to serve as an elder on the Council, which generally consisted of the wisest elves in the land.

With some frustration, Duran advises the three other travelers near him that heading into town and trying to rally aid to potentially rescue the elders seems like it would cost much in the way of time, and begins to head towards the now-split-open Galadriel. Pheorik expresses concern about their ability to contend with the two that they are looking to chase into the tree, though Duran stresses that time is of the essence and, if nothing else, they may be able to find some clues before being forced to retreat.

Having watched this conversation play out from a slight distance, Merinthe inserted herself into the conversation, stressing that they should not risk further loss of life by recklessly throwing themselves into danger, but should instead seek out the remnants of the Keebler Clan to gather more information. Zook and Yenkas both echoed this sentiment. After some discussion, this de facto group of travelers agreed to investigate these events further and made their way into Quelren proper to seek out any remaining members of the Keebler Clan.

The sage's directions take the party towards a smithy-filled area of the town, which is nearly entirely empty. The only presence they find is a small forge down an alleyway occupied by a legless elf, who is immediately unhappy to see them. After a brief (and terse) conversation, Llathriel directs the party to the main Keebler great hall. The party arrives to find the area mostly empty, aside from two Keebler busy transporting goods. The Keebler advise the party they are moving the good to storage at the request of Ganell, their boss, who the party locates within the Great Hall. Ganell advises the party they are storing the goods they had outside and gathering weapons to attempt to rescue the elder that had been brought into the tree. Zook asks Ganell about the Council of Ertol - which gives Ganell pause. As Zook explains how they came to know of the Council and what transpired near Galadriel, Ganell's stance softens. He shares that the Council of Ertol is something that members of each clan seek to join - they are the guardians of the land, in particular as concerns divine and arcane magic. Ganell advises the party that the Council does not consist solely of elves, and their influence extends far beyond the Whispering Forest. He informs the group that the Council members that claimed the Whispering Forest as their home had abodes hidden within Galadriel itself, though he does not know any of the other members or where, specifically, they may be located. Before the party returns to Galadriel for further investigation, they aid Ganel and his staff in moving equipment around.

With Ganell, the party arrives back near the outskirts of Quelren, where many remaining elves have gathered. Ganell begins arming those that wait, focused primarily on young Keebler, as they prepare to march into the tree itself. While they begin organizing themselves, the party moves into Galadriel, hoping to find clues as to the nature of the mysterious Council. As they approach, they note that the lightning strike split the tree struck precisely where the hidden entrance must have been located. Peering inside, the party finds the interior is lit by faint, purple glow - highlighting a blood trail leading deeper inside the tree and down a makeshift stairwell. Pheorik notes that some spots on the wall seem to be lined with ancient scripture that do not seem to be classically elven - none of the party seems to understand it.

Peering down the hall/stairwell, the party sees some potential alcoves/side passageways. The party decides to slowly advance down the corridor, with Pheorik and Yenkas taking point. As they reach the top of the stairs, they note two oaken, root-laden doors to either side. The party quickly checks both rooms for information - one room, identified as beloning to Lariel, contains a note (written in dwarvish script) advising of an upcoming council meeting; the other contains only the signs of being burgled (along with some lewd literature that Duran quickly pocketed). Following this search, the party elects to proceed further down the stairs, arriving at another heavy oak door. A faint musty scent rises from the far side of the door, which Yenkas quickly scans for traps. With none found, the party works their way down into the depths of the Great Tree.

The party eventually entered a small cavern, split by a stream. The air was filled with the stench of decay. Mushrooms saturate the floor. The room is faintly illuminated by glowing moss. The only exit seems to be on the far side of the room, leading down another hallway, partially obscured by vines. As the party looks to investigate the room, several of the mushrooms spring to life. Fortunately, they prove to be no match for even the most non-adventurous of groups, and the party dispatches them quickly. After scouring the room for anything of value - and finding little - they move to investigate the short hall at the north end of the room, finding a stone, carved door. Listening at the door, Elgroth hears only slight shuffling inside. Stealing a quick peek, Pheorik spots four elves - two as shambling corpses and two as animated skeletons, along with a set of caskets and a small altar at the rear of the room.

After sharing this information, the party debates how to act - Phoerik favouring aggression, Duran favouring caution. Eventually, the party agrees to take Pheorik's approach, and he leads the charge in to fight the abominations against life. With haste, and buoyed by the advantage of surprise, the party is able to quickly strike down the undead menace. Examining the corpses, the party is able to identify that one of the three was the elder whose skull was crushed; fortunately (or unfortunately?), Falel is nowhere to be found. Elgroth, instinctively and in spite of Duran's vocal protests, investigates the coffins with Zook's help (finding two potions), while Pheorik searches the altar - noting that something, a heart-shaped gem, seems to be missing. The party is unable to assess the nature or role of the gem.

As they wrap up their search, they hear footsteps from behind. Returning to the cavern, they arrive as Ganell and a small cadre of Keebler warriors enter the room. As the two groups meet, Zook informs Ganell that the chambers of Galadriel appear to have been defiled. The party asks if Ganell is familiar with the missing stone - Ganell is not, beyond it being the heart of the tree. Zook asks if he is familiar with the altar chamber and any other exits - he is not aware of any other exits from the interior of the tree. The party appears to have lost the trail of their new found foes, and they review their outstanding clues: the Council of Ertol, the missing heart of the tree, and the black sun emblem on the cloak of one of the assailants. Ganell suggests that the party may want to seek non-elven members of the Council, as the Council members known to him are slain or missing. Ganell suggests that the elders of the elven ruling council often met with visitors in royal carriages from the Twin Dagger Cities and met with representatives from the Kingdom of Moradin, often at the same time; similarly, the elders would occasionally leave the Whispering Forest for a time. Given that the found a letter in elvish penned with a dwarven hand, the party feels their best course of action is to head to Moradin, a place unfamiliar to the group. (A1, W1)

Following a brief final search of Galadriel, the party leaves the tree and prepares to depart - but not before briefly exploring each others' reasons for being in Galadriel. Interestingly enough, it appears that most were merely here to watch the clan war or passing through, but all believed that the others in their impromptu group were here with real purpose. It seems serendipitous that all members of this ad hoc group would come together, but knowing the scope of the events which transpired here, and following introductions and a brief (ostensibly xenophobia-driven) interrogation by Duran, the group agrees to work together - at least for the short term. At Duran's insistence (and suspicion as to their story - a gnome and a half-elf being members of an elven clan), the party returns to Quelren to locate the Altmer Clan to whom Yenkas and Zook belonged.

Returning to Quelren, the party sees the full fallout from the attack on Galadriel. Wounded and walking wounded occupy the streets, being tended to as best the rest can. As they enter, the elder walks up to the party seeking their assistance tending to the wounded. Duran dismisses his request for aid, but apprises him of what the party discovered in the depths of Galadriel. The elder cautions the party against taking revenge, seemingly hinting towards the motives of Ganell and his ilk, but indicates he understands their desire to pursue what clues they have; unfortunately, he advises there are few elves left in Quelren and the Whispering Forest who may be able to help them - what very limited knowledge he had of the Council of Ertol (and the role of the elders of the elven ruling council and guardians of Galadriel played in it) died or disappeared with them in this attack.

As the party and elder part ways, the former are approached by a small, hooded figure, who had seemingly been eavesdropping on their conversation. He advises the party that his master knows about the Council and may be able to aid the party, handing them a note on a piece of paper before vanishing from sight. The note - in dark red ink and written in Common - instructs the party to come to the sender's castle (to which it provides no direction), and offers information in exchange for the party's aid. Examining the traits of the letter, Duran identifies several curious traits - it's written in a strange ink (or, perhaps, strange blood), using an archaic style of penmanship. Unnerved, the party nevertheless decides to pursue what leads they can - including finding the source of this letter.

After some brief searching, the party locates Keldell, the head of the Altmer Clan, tending to the wounded. Keldell corroborates the stories put forward by Zook and Yenkas, satisfying Duran's skepticism. Duran asks Keldell if he is aware of the presence of a castle in the Whispering Forest - Keldell advises there were rumours of a castle located in the woods to the east of Galadriel, rumoured to belong to the first vampire and named Alucard Castle. He stresses that they only ever heard rumours of its existence and that they never encountered it in their travels over the years. After Zook provides him with healing potions the party had found in the Council members' chambers, the party - as would become a staple of their travels - undertakes a lengthy discussion regarding how to proceed with attempting to locate the castle in the forest. Duran and Zook debated the best time to strike; Merinthe and Yenkas expressed concern about whether they were prepared to enter the lair of a vampire (after having Duran explain vampires to them). In the end, the party ops to set out for the castle with the afternoon sun to guide them, assuming their suitor's invitation is genuinely cordial.

If You Go Down to the Woods Today
As the party begins traveling east in search of the castle, they notice that the surrounding trees and foliage have begun blackening, increasingly so the further east they travel. As they arrive and pass by the Great Tree, they notice it is no longer glowing as it once did, and a spiritual pallor of sorts permeates the air around it. With no way to address it, and believing time to be of the essence, the party pressed eastward in search of the castle. After roughly two hours of travel, they begin to notice a slight chill in the air and the gradual appearance of a thickening, unnatural fog, low to the ground. Eventually, they stumble upon what is functionally a wall of fog, where it is at its thickest. Peering into its depths, Duran spots a clearing about two hundred feet in, and a dark shadow beyond that - and notes that the letter their received from their mysterious benefactor is glowing bright red.

Second-guessing themselves, and their decision to arrive here at night, the party opts to return to Quelren for the evening and return in the morning; however, they have not traveled far when they hear something pursuing them to the south. Aided by Zook's magics, the party attempts to hide within an illusion of a large tree. They notice two small, plants (or, perhaps, plant-like creatures) moving nearby, stopping suddenly and attempting to disguise themselves as shrubs. Curious, Duran pokes one with a magical hand, while Pheorik walks up and pokes one more directly - unsurprisingly, the plants strike back, as two larger plant-like creatures and a strangely corrupted dryad reveal themselves to the party. Following a brief skirmish, the party destroys the plant-like creatures and is able to subdue and bind the tainted nature spirit. Opting to bring it with them back to Quelren, hoping to find a cure, the party continues their travel westward. As they travel, they note that the taint and corruption stretching from Galadriel has noticeably expanded, even in the mere hours they were away. Where it is already late, and anyone in Quelren who may be able to assist them with the dryad is likely already asleep, the party opts to set up camp in a relatively less tainted section of the Whispering Forest; however, as they begin setting up camp, the dryad manages to successfully charm Duran and compels him to kill her, which he does with one heavy swing of his quarterstaff.

After a brief argument over why Duran executed the dryad and further discussion regarding how they should proceed, the party decides to break camp and continue to press towards Quelren rather than chance a night in this end of the forest. They find an inn, with an innkeeper offering them free room and board for the night in exchange for their aid tending the wounded the next morning, an offer the party accepts. Before calling it a night, the party sits down to review their findings for the day, tending to their gear, and, in some cases, drink their sorrows away. With a few drinks in some of them, the party also begins discussing themselves and their pasts. Eventually, the topic drifts towards how they should approach Alucard Castle the following day - the consensus is to head out early in the day, when the sun is rising in the sky - and decide to turn in for the night. Pheorik, regretfully, decides to part ways with the group, stressing a need to take care of his people and concerned with his brother's condition.

Rising early the next day, the remaining party members set out for the castle, ignoring their commitment to aid the elves directly to Merinthe's frustration, though the rest of the party insists they are helping by seeking this castle and attempting to solve the mystery of what happened to Galadriel. As they travel, they once again stumble across the rolling, thick fog. As they move further and further eastward, the fog seems to form shapes, some of which appear to be moving. Zook feels a magical presence which seems to be behind the fog's strange appearance. The party eventually pushes past the opening in the fog they had seen the night before, finally breaking through and stumbling upon a large, stone castle. The mysterious fog extends to the castle, manifesting itself in the shape of various flora and fauna. The castle itself strangely casts no shadows. The party approaches the castle, and Duran touches the gate to confirm that it, too, is not merely fog.

With some trepidation, the party decides to enter the castle. Duran knocks on the large double doors, which slowly creak open. In front of the party rests a stairwell leading to a large throne. Seated on this throne is a red-eyed figure, garbed in the garb of past royalty. As Duran enters the room, the figure gestures for the rest of the group to enter. Cautiously, the party follows Duran's lead. Duran introduces himself and the party, and the two sides discuss the note received and the particulars of the request. The figure asks if they were responsible for taking the heart from Galadriel - the party advises they are not, and describes who did. The figure asks who currently rules the lands - the party advises that an assortment of elven tribes guard these lands. The figure asks what happened to the great dragon that guarded the tree - the party advises no dragons have been seen for ages, if the rumours of their existence are true.

The figure then offers the party a simple trade - if the party can retrieve an item, a magical jar, for him from the cellar of his castle, he will give the party answers to their questions, as well as mass healing for the wounded elves. The party is doubtful of the veracity of his statements, though Merinthe feels he doesn't appear to be lying, but agrees to attempt to retrieve the item. The figure's assistance, a halfling - also vampiric in appearance - appears from behind the throne, and guides the party to the cellar entrance. He unlocks the door to the cellar, handing the key to Zook before wandering off. (A1, W2)

Cellar Dweller
The party pushes into the cellar, noting that - between the air and detritus - it does not appear to have been disturbed in a very, very long time. The party notes that the entrance quickly splits into a four way intersection - one path leading deeper north, with a series of adjoining alcoves, and two short hallways east and west featuring doorways in their southern walls. Zook, referencing maze logic, recommends the party hug the left wall to navigate the cellar, and the party begins cautiously working their way down the hallway to the left.

The party makes their way to the left doorway, and finds it's a set of double doors. Not hearing anything, Zook leverages mage hand to quietly open the doorways. The room smells of decaying flesh and is filled with mutilated corpses. Peeking around the corner into the room, Merinthe spots a large, decaying ogre - moving, clearly not a corpse.

With no sign of the jar, the party cautiously closes the door and works their way down the eastern corridor. As they approach the door, however, Merinthe and Yenkas trigger a trap, and narrowly avoid major injury as arrows shoot across the entire corridor. Zook's investigation of the traps seems to hint that they have not immediately reset themselves, and the party continues down the corridor, diligently looking for and marking the trap triggers as they spot them. Despite their best efforts, they hit a trip wire and trigger a gas trap, but Merinthe reacts quickly enough to secure the trap mechanism to prevent the gas from filling the hallway; fortunately, Duran is able to mend the tripwire in question.

Despite their struggles, and an overly cautious pace of play, the party makes their way to the doorway down the easternmost corridor, noting that it is a double door mirroring the one down the west hall. Opening the doors, they find a room containing small amounts of gold scattered on the floor, with a large chest on the west side of the room. The party carefully examines the room (as expected) and see nothing out of sorts. Opening the chest, they find a and retrieve a small bag (containing gold coins) and a thick glass globe (which Duran believes to be a driftglobe). Storing their spoils in their packs, the party returns to the entrance of the cellar and begins slowly creeping up the north corridor.

As the party reaches the first pair of alcoves, Merinthe catches that there are zombies (similar to what they saw beneath Galadriel) hiding in each and alerts the party. The party withdraws to discuss tactics, and Zook uses his illusion magic to attempt to draw the zombies into the corridor. A skirmish ensues, with the party easily dispatching the zombies thanks to Zook's grease. As the party finishes off the initial wave and discusses how to lure more zombies to their trap, Elgroth inadvertently alerts the ogre zombie the party had seen earlier; fortunately, however, the same strategy they used with grease and an endless barrage of ranged weapons seems to have done the trick. The zombie ogre defeated, the party opts to take a quick rest to recover before venturing further into the cellar.

Freshly rested, they opt to inspect the corpse-filled room the zombie ogre called home. Per Zook and Duran's educated guesses, the corpses, and their garb, appear to be thousands of years old. Yenkas raises concerns that they may indeed be former guests of vampire with whom the party is dealing. Not wanting to dwell on it, and acknowledging they're too committed to the mission to abandon it, the party again creeps further up the hall.

Reaching the end of the north-south hall, they find it, too, ends in an intersection, with a metallic door to the north, and two other doors running along an east-west leg. Since it worked so well the first time, the party opts to keep left as they explore, and moves into the left room. Merinthe notices a strange, gelatinous cube inside and points it out to the rest of the party - much like with the ogre, the party opts to leave it be and moves to the east room. Arriving at that door, the party once again stops to listen - Merinthe hears the sounds of many claws or talons scratching across the floor, though whether it's one many-taloned creature or many few-taloned creatures, she cannot say. The party opts to leave this door be as well and moves to the northern-most door of the cellar.

Arriving at the door, they find it has no handle, latch, lock, or other mechanism by which it can be controlled. A more in depth search reveals no additional leads to be had. The party tries to lift the door using a pry bar, unsuccessfully. Surmising that a switch may be in one of the other two doors, the party opts to explore the right room, using one of Zook's illusions to place the illusion of an empty hallway beyond the door they open. Looking in, the room appears to be empty... until two small avian creatures creep up to investigate the open doorway. The party is mostly unfamiliar with them, except for Yenkas, who recognizes them as cockatrices, and stresses to the party that they need to keep their distance. With that, the party withdraws further down the corridor, and discusses how to dispatch of these newfound threats.

After some discussion, they decide to coordinate their abilities to try and draw the gelatinous cube and cockatrices into conflict with each other, but realize they are unable to effectively do so without risking putting themselves within striking distance of the cockatrices when they exit the room. They settle on having Zook use his illusions to make dying rabbit sounds and draw the cockatrices into the line of fire, where they hope to be able to pick them off. Fortunately, the plan works as expected; unfortunately, Elgroth slips on the remnants of one of the zombie corpses, alerting one of the cockatrices to the party's presence; fortunately, the party is quickly able to dispatch of them with only one minor scare thanks to the advantage of ranged weaponry, the icy grip of Duran's magic, and Elgroth's longsword. Having defeated the cockatrices, the party moves back into the right-hand room to explore it; however, as they reach the intersection, Yenkas notices the door to the left-hand room has been dissolved, and spots the cube standing in its place. Yenkas hurriedly retreats down the hallway, warning the party, and they quickly try and discuss how to handle it.

Knowing they struggled to see the cube in the first place, the party opts to push the cockatrice corpses (via mage hand) to the end of the hall, hopefully keeping the cube occupied while also allowing them to target it more easily; however, when Zook moves up to find the corpses, he notices they are already gone, and still struggles to see the cube. Merinthe instead casts light on a coin - made of metal - and tosses it into the intersection through which the cube would need to pass, and moves up to try and spot it. She is able to do so, and spots the remnants of the cockatrices' corpses being dissolved by the cube. As she watches, the cube retreats into the left room, its meal in hand. Distracted, Merinthe loses sight of it; however, as the party moves up to explore the east room, Zook catches sight of the cube lurking just at the edge of the intersection. Before they can retreat, the cube cuts the party in half, pinning Yenkas and Merin in the right-hand room and isolating them from the other three who remain in the corridor itself. Though the cube proves to be a bizarre foe, they party is able to easily avoid entering its reach and slowly chips it to nothingness. With the cube vanquished, they quickly search the left room - finding it unsurprisingly empty and stripped clean - and move to, once again, work on finding a way into the northernmost room. (A1, W3) (Adv. to Level 2)

With the door itself inaccessible, the group moves to examine the adjoining rooms. They discover a lever in one of the rooms that they presumed was connected to the northern room. Flicking the switch, they are greeted by a room containing a large number of identical jars and two statues. Suspecting the room to be trapped, the party begins undertaking a rigorous - and, arguably, overly cautious - approach to try and solve the 'puzzle'. They are able to identify a few key notes: namely that the jars could not be moved (but could be opened), that the room itself was steeped in illusion magic and abjuration magic (specifically, a ward against vampires), and the room seemed to magically 'reset itself' after so many jars had been opened. Through trial and error, the party eventually determines that only five jars in the room are 'real', and eventually locate the 'correct' one. Zook and Duran leverage their magic to safely recover the jar without needing to enter into the room. Investigating, they find that the jar sounds full of liquid, but no liquid is contained within; however, when one pictures a type of liquid in their head, and tips the jar, liquid pours out. After further experimentation, the party recovers the jar and turns to leave the cellar.

While solving this puzzle, Merinthe encountered a strange vision when she first entered the room. This apparition consisted of a beautiful human woman who instructs her to not give the jar to 'him' (presumably, to the vampire. Entering the room later, Zook receives a similar vision, where the woman says only that 'he' will starve without the jar. Yenkas, entering as well, also receives a vision, warning that the jar has been warded and that 'he' must not be unleashed into the world. With everyone else having received a vision, Duran then entered the room and he, too, received a vision, stating that the jar was hidden in the room and instructing the party to leave it behind. Duran immediately recognizes her Kristen Stewart, the author of many, many tomes on the topic of vampires. He believes she is a vampire hunter who was last seen around the time the gods of Izal last roamed the land. Elgroth later enters the room and he, too, receives a vision advising that only one of the jars in the room is real, and the trap protecting the room is deadly. With this information, the party seemed to mostly agree that the vampire seemed untrustworthy, and decided to exercise caution when returning to him. Based on the information they received in these visions, they also determine that they should take the jar with them, as Dalv will likely continue to attempt to recruit agents to recover the jar if we fail.

As the party turns to head upstairs, they hear whispering coming from the stairwell. A small group of elven adventurers has now entered the cellar, and as the party engages them as to their motives, it appears that they, too, are looking to recover the jar for Dalv. They were promised a prize, much as was the case with the party. Merinthe attempts to discourage them from searching for the jar, pointing out the number of corpses and suggesting Dalv was just luring victims into the room; however, the elves insist that they need the promised reward and refuse to leave. Unable to convince them to leave, the party moves past them and allows them to investigate the basement. The elves eventually enter the jar room and trigger the trap, filling the cellar with screams and silence. Reluctantly, the party flips the switch to look into the room, seeing no sign of the elves aside from the statues covered in blood, and the room once again filled with jars as it was when they first arrived. Unnerved, the party quickly departs the cellar.

As they reach the top of the stairs, they find Dalv waiting for them in the courtyard on his throne. Yenkas and Merinthe unsuccessfully attempt to convince Dalv that they do not have possession of the jar, as Dalv shares that he can feel its presence on Duran. Duran admits that the jar is in his possession, and walks up to Dalv to cede it to him; instead, however, he pulls out the driftglobe and activates its power to project the sun's light. Dalv immediately scatters into a cloud of bats and flies away, and the party flees westward towards Quelren. Dalv's assistant begins chasing them but cannot keep pace. The party eventually eludes their pursuers, finding their way out of the fog. As they slow to catch their breath, they hear Dalv's voice echoing through the woods, swearing that he will find them.

On the Road Again
Not wanting to stick around for long, the party quickly returns to Galadriel (which they now see appears to be quickly dying) and Quelren (the outskirts of which the decay now appears to be reaching) to obtain horses and supplies for the road. After a heated negotiation with a stablemaster, the party eventually obtains some three horses, a mule, and a pony. They stop by the mayor's home so that Duran can apprise him of the party's findings, warning about Dalv's attempt to tempt or recruit elves. Finally, Duran leaves a note for his guild, to the objection of the party (owing to the time lost), before departing Quelren and traveling south. As they travel, they note that the death and decay of the forest is slowly spreading from Galadriel, and the further south they travel the healthier the forest seems to be.

Roughly ten hours later, the party finally exits the forest's edge, just as the sun begins to rise on the horizon. To the south, they see great open plains dotted with trees; to the west, a large mountain range on the horizon; to the southeast, the dwarven mountains, with carved statues visible even from the edge of the forest, having been worked since time immemorial. At this time, the party begins to note their horses are ill - possibly poisoned - and attempt to care for them. As they continue to travel towards Moradin, they encounter a gnomish trader (manifesting an intense hatred of dwarves) on the road. The gnome checks the horses and confirms that they are indeed poisoned.

As they converse with the gnome, he displays intense contempt towards dwarves, as he has been wronged and robbed. At one point, he hints that the gnomes will be taking action against the dwarves soon. Initially reluctant to share any information with the party, he eventually confides in Zook, sharing that the a gnomish clan - the NoNo Clan - are planning to stage a coup as a result of dwarven oppression. The trader directs Zook to speak with Nome upon arriving in Moradin should he wish to join their cause. With that, he departs, leaving the party to discussion this revelation among themselves. The party is undecided on how to handle it, deciding they will wait to assess the situation upon their arrival in Moradin.

Not wanting to stress their horses as they are ill, and hoping to nurse them to health, the party takes a rest; unfortunately, two of the horses pass, leaving them with a horse, pony, and mule; fortunately, this is still enough for them to travel mounted, and the party once again sets out. (A1, W4) The party opts to stick to the road rather than travel off the beaten path, hoping they may be able to run into other travelers along the way who may be able to apprise them of the goings on in Moradin; furthermore, the only off-the-path location that gives them clean cover brings them closer to the forest and, potentially, Dalv's pursuers.

As they start to break camp, the party hears distant shouting coming from the southwest. They can't quite make it out, though Duran gets the impression that someone is calling his name, an impression confirmed as the shouting gets slightly louder. The party seems someone running towards them, waving to get their attention. As he closes, Duran recognizes him as his human "apprentice", Eustace. Eustace explains he's been trying to find Duran since Duran's unexpected departure. Duran tries to send him on his way, but (to the party's surprise) Eustace shares that he has a clue regarding the gods' departure.

Eustace explains that he knows the gods' departure is tied to some magical orbs... or stones... or something - he can't quite remember - and that there were five of them. He remembers they were talking about one of the stones being in the possession of the dwarves. Duran presses Eustace to try and find out where he obtained this information. Eustace explains he passed by two cloaked figures in the woods (the ones the party saw attack Galadriel), who were discussing the gods and the importance of some stones. Yenkas began shifting in place nervously at the mention of the gods, drawing Eustace's attention. The discussion briefly drifts to a medallion with which Yenkas had been fidgeting, a topic with which he was clearly uncomfortable. The party sets that topic aside for later discussion, and - for the third time - attempts to set out on the road.

As the party travels, their dynamic with Eustace begins to establish itself - Eustace prone to meddling in their affairs or causing other problems, Duran and Zook prone to verbally and emotionally abusing him out of frustration, Merinthe serving as the concerned parent protecting him and chastising them for their abuse, and Yenkas and Elgroth merely annoyed with his mere existence.

Along the way, the party runs into another small traveling party - a dwarf couple, a pony, and an elaborate portable shop display - and replenishes their supplies. They poll them for news of the goings on in Moradin, indicating they are traveling there to deliver a message. One of the dwarves is curious as to who they are looking to meet - Duran explains that they are there to deliver a message to the king. The dwarf explains that they will be unlikely to meet Rurik Fireforge, as he is busy with internal conflict, but may be able to get information from his aide, Jorrik Steelmind. The party thanks the dwarf for his information, and parts ways with him. As he departs, the party notices that Eustace has crawled into the back of the dwarves' cart. Against his better judgment, Duran calls to him to rejoin the party, which Eustace does. Zook decides to continually conjure an illusion of a swarm of butterflies as they travel, serving as a leash of sorts to keep him near the party.

The party continues traveling east. A couple of hours following their meeting with the dwarves, they notice a shadowing figure watching from the forest. Zook spots some shadowy figures watching from the treeline - Merinthe, taking a look, gets a cleaner vision of a taller, hyena-faced creature and two smaller, scaled creatures. Describing what he sees, Yenkas shares that he knows that the taller creature is a gnoll, and explains that they are nomadic pack creatures. The party confirms that the gnoll is, indeed, watching them. As the party is deliberating on what to do, Eustace begins running towards the treeline. As Merinthe races after Eustace and grabs him, the party looks to the treeline again and notices the gnoll has disappeared. With this, the party continues on, with Yenkas keeping a watchful eye on the forest as they move.

A couple of hours further down the road, Merinthe catches sight of something far, far to the southwest (somewhere between Kalan and Moradin), though she is not sure as to what she is seeing. She describes a very large, very red dragon to the party, and points it out to Elgroth, who confirms that it fits the description of what he heard during his travels. Elgroth expresses concern, saying he's never heard of dragons flying this far east. The dragon appears to be wounded, but they cannot tell reliably at this range. Unable to address it, the party continues traveling for another handful of hours before spotting a face-down body on the road a distance away. Pausing, the party scouts their surroundings, finding nothing. Merinthe, taking a glance the body, believes it to be a gnome corpse, and confirms it looks dead. Drawing their weapons, the party approaches the body cautiously (until Eustace sprints towards it, Merinthe once again pursuing him to stop him). As they near the corpse, they spot claw marks on its back, and see tracks worn in the ground around it.

Zook assesses that the gnome, based on his appearance, looks to be a mercenary or soldier of some kind, though with no known markings. His belongings - a small amount of silver - remain on the corpse, so it does not look like he was robbed. Merinthe and Elgroth, looking at the tracks, see that they seem to come from and lead to south. They appear to belong to a single creature, likely some kind of large wolf or wolf-like creature. The corpse appears to have been here since the day before (or at least killed the day before). The party finds it curious that none of the passers-by saw the corpse or mentioned it to them. Eustace, inquisitive and poking the corpse, rolls it over, revealing a gaping hole in the corpse's stomach, a piercing wound clearly inflicted by a weapon. Elgroth finds this curious - Merinthe speculates that the gnome's killer could have been two: a creature and a rider.

Zook asks if the party can take the time to bury the corpse before they rest for the night. The area to the south is forested, though not as heavily as the Whispering Forest to the north, and the party decides to set up shop there to get some distance from the gnoll. They manage to find a save location up a slight hill, giving them elevation - however, as they finish setting up camp, they hear a howl echoing in the distance, though closer than they'd want it to be. The party decides to better secure their camp - tying up their horses and lighting a fire - but lose track of Eustace as they do so. Before they can set out to find them, a human male emerges from the treeline, lightly clothed. He introduced himself as Avalon, a lonely traveler. Quizzed as to his motives, he indicates he had been traveling from the south and heard the party setting up camp, and decided to see if he could share camp with the party to keep him safe during the night. He mentions that he met Eustace as he was approaching the camp, and Eustace directed him here. The party's trust of Avalon and his story was mixed, but they nevertheless warily allowed him to share their camp - despite holes in his stories that Merinthe picked up as their discussion continued - provided he surrender his weapons. Having gathered his weapons, finished their burial of the gnome, endured yet another of Eustace's attempts at a magic trick, and established a watch schedule, the party rests for the evening.

As the party sleeps, and Merinthe and Duran are on watch, Merinthe catches Avalon stirring strangely in his sleep. Unable to get his attention calling to him, Merinthe tosses a small pebble at him, hoping to wake him and get his attention. As she does so, he turns on his side, and Merinthe notices him shaking violently. Concerned, she walks over to check on him; however, as she does so, he reaches out and grabs her arm, the hair on his arm rapidly growling and turning into fur. Startled, Merinthe lets out a yell of surprises, rousing Duran from his book and the rest of the party from their slumber. Charging to the rescue, Elgroth drives his longsword into the beast, wounding it and causing it to release its hold on Merinthe, and a brief battle ensues. Fortunately, the party was able to bring their strength of arms to bear, felling the werewolf and allowing him to inflict no more than a slight scratch on Merinthe. Their foe dispatched, and Eustace restrained (after he began bizarrely skinning the corpse and carving it to use like a sleeping bag), the party resumes their rest.

As day breaks, the party returned to the path. Unlike the previous day, and as they move nearer and nearer to the dwarven city, they encountered an increasing number of travelers along the road, mostly moving away from Moradin. As the party continued towards the outer city of Dunite, the party ran into a small group of dwarves "accompanying" two gnomes. The party approaches, and the dwarves react to Zook and the rest of the party with some level of hostility. As the party tries to get the lay of the political landscape in Moradin, one of the gnomes calls for the party to help them, saying they are being oppressed, and is quickly subdued by the dwarves. Communicating with the other gnome via gnomish magic, Zook confirms this is the case; quickly, he magically disguises himself as a dwarf, stepping out from behind the rest of the party, and engages the dwarves for more information. Though they share some information regarding the gnomish 'problem', they are wary about sharing more, citing military privilege. Zook's efforts to persuade them - hampered by Eustace's naive meddling - were unsuccessful, and the party eventually decides to continue towards Dunite.

Along the way, the party ran into a (free?) gnome, who approached Zook as they passed each other and slyly passed him a note. The note informed Zook of a meeting this evening, in the sewers of the dwarven lands, to which all gnomes are invited. As the gnome departed, Zook shares the contents of the letter with the party, and they decide how to proceed. Yenkas expressed concern that consorting with the gnomes, if they are indeed the ones the gnomish trader hinted at before, could have the party be viewed as criminals by the dwarves. Duran suggested the party try to identify what is going on when they arrive in Dunite and Moradin and, once they know that, make a decision as to whether or not to get involved in the affairs of the dwarves. Zook, albeit conflicted, agrees to this approach.

One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces
The party eventually arrives at the outer wall of the city of Dunite as night begins to fall. They enter the city without incident, and attempt to locate a place to stay for the evening. Their travels eventually lead them to the Dunite. Entering inside, they find that the inn itself is filled with dwarves as well as a handful of human, dragonborn, and halfling visitors. The innkeeper and bartender are also dwarves, with the only gnome they see serving as a custodian. Speaking with the innkeeper, the party is able to secure lodging inside, with the exception of Zook to whom they offer a place in the stable (as the inn apparently does not serve gnomes). The party accepts this arrangement, as Zook indicates he will attempt to get information from the gnomes stuck outside. The barkeep approaches, informing the party that ale is free today, owing to visiting human royalty from the Twin Dagger Cities. Eustace calls out to Duran, apparently having made friends with a cousin of Jorrik Steelmind - Yenkas wanders over to exchange introductions, meeting three dwarves - Jared Ironsword (a cousin of the governor of Dunite, Jorrik Steelmind), Amethyst Goldrock, and Durkin Fireforge (a bombastic second cousin of the king, Rurik Fireforge). Yenkas calls the rest of them over, and they - with the exception of Merinthe, who retires to her room briefly - join the trio at the table.

In the mean time, Zook wanders over to the stables to scout out his bed for the night and meet with the gnome at the inn. The gnome, identifying himself as Boddyknock Gimbal shares information on the state of the city with Zook - apparently, gnomes have always been treated as second-class citizens to some extent, but the treatment has gotten significantly worse following a failed assassination attempt on the king. Zook asks Bodyknock about the uprising - Bodyknock is aware of an uprising being led by the NoNo Clan, who are trying to fight for the respect the gnomes deserve but also trying to find out who attempted to assassinate the king and why, but is not aware of any other happenings (including the meeting Zook received a note about tonight). Zook asks if Bodyknock knows where to find Jorrik Steelmind - Bodyknock directs him to the location of the Governor's Mansion. Zook also asks if Bodyknock has any suggestions for blending in - he suggests that Zook always try to look busy and try to make himself look as inconspicuous as possible, as though he is 'hired help', though he clarifies that the dwarves do not actually treat gnomes as slaves. Bodyknock also warns Zook that he has a bad feeling about the city, and is concerned that the appearance of human royalty hints at something bigger happening soon. With that, the two gnomes part ways.

Merinthe returns from her room to join the party at the table. One of the dwarves, Jared Ironsword, has passed out at the table; Amethyst Goldrock has left and moved to another table altogether; Durkin Fireforge, meanwhile, continues to funnel drinks provided by Yenkas into his gullet, providing the party with a non-stop stream of information. The royals arriving in the city are the human twin brothers and kings of the Twin Dagger Cities - Sir James Phelps, the king of Kalan, and Sir Oliver Phelps, the king of Klortho. Yenkas informs Durkin that the party is here on business, hoping to meet with the king - Durkin advises them that he, as second cousin to the king, could certainly make arrangements. Spotting Merinthe now seated at the table, Durkin calls her over and begins chatting her up - in the interest of furthering their goals, Merinthe reluctantly plays along. Durkin asks where she is from, and Merinthe shares that she is from the Twin Dagger Cities. Durkin asks if she is familiar with the kings. Merinthe advises that she is familiar, but hasn't met them, and would like to meet them - Durkin hints that, as the second cousin of the king, he can make that happen.

Suddenly, Durkin challenges Elgroth to a drinking contest, putting up a hundred gold pieces should he lose against an evening with Merinthe (and... Yenkas) should he win. Fortunately for them, Elgroth manages to out-drink the boisterous dwarf, who suddenly passes out. Not wanting to leave a potential short-term ally out cold in the inn, the party decides to attempt to bring him home - the innkeeper informs the party that he lives in the royal palace and notes that, while they normally just give him a room to sleep off his drink (as this is a frequent happening), she would be relieved if the party could escort him home. (A1, W5) The party agreed to do so, hoping to curry favour, sending Elgroth, Merinthe, and Yenkas along the way. Merinthe's aptitude for finding shortcuts allowed them to do so expeditiously, arriving at a large, open gate carved into the rock face. Ahead of them, they see a large rock bridge into the mountain, stopping at another large, albeit closed, gate.

As the party drags Durkin across the rock bridge, they are met by eight guards, marching in formation, who order them to stop. Yenkas and Elgroth explain that they are returning Durkin to his quarters - the latter confirming Durkin has a place. The dwarves refuse to let the party pass, instructing them to drop Durkin on the bridge, and that he can sleep his drunken stupor off. Merinthe protests, but the guards explain this is what they normally do with Durkin - and they can't be too safe when it comes to letting outsiders in. The guards share that there is extra security active in Moradin as a result of visiting royals, and only authorized personnel can make their way into the city - and the only authorized personnel are those already inside or those with a work pass (available only to the dwarves). The party unsuccessfully attempts to negotiate access into the city to meet with someone regarding the message they found and what transpired in the Whispering Forest, the dwarf captain having no interest in such discussion. They decide to return the next day with Duran in tow, as Duran has the letter they found - they also decide to bring Durkin back to the inn with him, to avoid anything happening to him overnight.

Returning to the inn, the party finds that most of the residents have retired for the evening. Duran and Eustace are waiting in the common room, Duran intently studying his book and Eustace being a nuisance to the furniture as best he can. After catching Duran up on the happenings, the party returns to their room to rest. Duran, using a pre-arranged signal, calls out to Zook to signal the party's return. Zook emerges from the stable, and scales a rope climbing into Duran's room. Zook advises Duran that the party as a whole needs to be gathered - he has found out that the uprising is taking place tonight by a group led by an insane leader, one the size of Duran himself (not that large, but large for a gnome). Duran slips out to rouse the rest of the party, who briefly discuss what to do with Durkin, before they all gather in Duran's room.

Zook advises that he met with the leader of the NoNo Clan, Nome, a blustery, oblivious windbag. He advises that the gnomes are orchestrating a coup - tonight - traveling through the sewers underneath Moradin to make their coup. Zook advises the gnomes are all quite well armed, and appear to be targeting the great forge of the dwarves, either to destroy it or to pass through it. Zook stresses that if want to make a play to speak with the dwarves, we best act tonight. Duran recommends that we simply bring the information we have uncovered to the dwarves directly, hoping to alert them and obtain an audience with the king. Given that they returned to the inn in the middle of the night, the party decides to leave immediately, as the gnomes' plan may have already been sprung into action. Zook suggests taking the sewer path in the interest of speed, though it would be a tight squeeze for much of the group, though the rest of the group balks a bit at sneaking into the castle with a guard on high alert and already wary of the party.

Duran and Merinthe talk Eustace into staying to guard Durkin while the rest of the party, albeit with different messages (Merinthe convincing Eustace of the importance of his duty and alluding to his success protecting her from the werewolf; Duran suggesting that Eustace may be able to leech untapped magical power from Durkin in his sleep), and the party departs. They arrive at the gates they had previously visited, finding now that the outermost gate is closed. The dwarves are initially unwilling to hear the party out, but Zook is able to convince them to open the gate and listen. Despite Zook's information and the party's pleas, the dwarf captain has no interest in investigating their stories, and eventually ignores them. As the party discusses their next course of action, the gate opens, and the party finds themselves facing a different group of dwarves, led by one of more regal bearing.

The leader of this group of dwarves agrees to meet with the party, provided Zook drops his disguise. The party gets a feeling that he senses Zook is disguised magically, but uncertain as to the exact nature of his disguise. Warily, the party looks around to make sure the coast is clear, but Merinthe catches the presence of some gnomes atop the roofs of nearby buildings. She warns the party of their presence, and they remain on guard while Zook drops his disguise. The guards shift uneasily, but do not react. Zook shares his findings, but the dwarf advises they are well aware of Nome, his presence in the sewers, and their plans for this evening. The party then asks that they can speak with someone regarding what has transpired in the Whispering Forest and the lands of the elves - sharing, at his request, a high-level overview of what transpired. As the dwarf contemplates their request, he pauses, removing a small stone from his pocket. His eyes widen in fear, and he calls for the dwarves to close the gate, saying that the city is under attack. Before the party can react, the gate slams shut in front of them. Merinthe looks around, noting the dwarven overwatch has disappeared.

Take Back the City
The party withdraws to regroup and discuss their options. As they converse, Zook notices and uses his gnomish gift to speak with a rat, asking for information about ways into Moradin. The rat shares that there is access to the sewers in adjoining buildings - and Zook speculates that this may be to where the dwarves disappeared. The party considers scaling the exterior of one of the adjoining buildings, but as they approach they notice it appears to be abandoned and boarded up. With no other dwarven presence around, they decide to instead break inside and use the interior to access the roof. Peeking inside, the party finds an assortment of crossbows, and several of the group begin arming themselves. Merinthe objects, expressing concern that they may belong to the guards or watch, and could cause us problems down the road. Duran simply states that they are helping the dwarves using their own tools, and that these are a downpayment - and he files off any markings on the weapon identifying its maker. Zook investigates further, confirming that the weapons have no other visible markings.

The party then proceeds up to the second floor, finding an assortment of melee weapons and armor of dwarven size and make. Clearly, they've stumbled upon a makeshift armory for the guards. The weapons look to be well maintained, indicating that these rooms may be actively used. As the party snoops, Merinthe creeps up to the roof, finding it to be abandoned aside from some more crossbows and empty bottles of alcohol. She also spots a rope seemingly connected to a path or hole of some kind in the side of the cliff, presumably what the dwarves used to reach the roof from above - as such, the party deduces there is another exit in or near the house... possibly through the sewers. Scouting around inside the house, they find footprints for four dwarves clearly leading into a lightly concealed sewer grate. Moving the grate, they see what appears to be about a ten foot drop into about an inch of water. Begrudgingly, the party takes the plunge.

As they splash down, Zook advises that based on his understanding of the sewer layout (per the gnomes), the party is about five minutes from the forge. They decide their best bet is to try and try and cut the gnomes off before they get to their destination, hopefully neutralizing Nome and quelling the uprising before it begins. They travel, reaching a T-shape intersection. Zook can hear the sounds of fervent partying coming from their underground inn - Yenkas inches up to listen at the door as the group contemplates why the gnomes would already be celebrating, and overhears them taking about the dwarves not protecting their ale, and discussing that they will soon strike out against the gnomes. The party checks for clues or tracks and finds hints that the dwarves did come down this path and ran towards the forge.

Before the party proceeds, Zook decides to talk with the gnomes to find out when they are actually looking to strike. Knocking at the door, he is greeted by none other than Boddyknock Gimbal. Bobbyknock advises Zook that the gnomes were reading to strike, but as they reached the forge, they found a bunch of kegs of dwarven ale sitting idle and, at Nome's instruction, they simply took the ale back to party and planned to launch their assault at another time - "soon", according to Nome. Zook approaches Nome to try and get a feel for when they were going to strike - according to Nome, it was when the "others" would strike. Zook asks who the "others" are - Nome says they're rich, famous, and not corrupt like the dwarves, and paid Nome to strike. Zook continues to probe and gets a bunch of vague answers - they're rich, tall like humans, cloaked, very hairy. Nome shares that they were going to strike tonight - first - and Nome was going to come in behind them to clean up.

Zook returns to the group, apprising the party of his findings. His speculation is that the same two cloaked figures they saw in the Whispering Forest were due to strike tonight and, indeed, based on the alarmed state of the dwarves, may have already struck. The party decides to pursue the dwarven tracks. Eventually, they reach a section of the sewer that Zook doesn't not recognize, and seem to lose the trail. Cautiously, the party scouts ahead. They find that the main path they are traveling upon continues for some time before hitting a corner, and that there are several branching paths along the way - some blocked off by grates, and one particularly wide and open. As Elgroth pries off one of the gates, Yenkas hears chatter further down a side corridor and calls for silence. The chatter seemed to have heard them acting, but seems somewhat disinterested in checking on it.

The party withdraws, cautiously, and investigates the second side corridor that Elgroth discovered, finding a room containing a treasure chest. The room seems 'clean' compared to the rest of the sewer, almost as if it was someone's abandoned abode. The chest itself seems to be open. As the party peers further into the room, they notice a large mirror off to the side. Searching the room for magical presence, Duran determines that there is a strong magical bond between the chest and mirror. Creeping into the room, Duran sees that the chest is empty, but notices that it appears to be full when he glances into the mirror. Duran tries to grab something out of the chest with a mage hand, using the mirror as a guide, but sees nothing happen. As he continues to experiment, he sees a dwarf enter the room (in the mirror version), walk up to the chest, and remove a sack. The rest of the party suggests that they leave this for later - as they have a higher priority - but Duran watches the dwarf enter the room, remove another sack from the chest... and then point at Duran and laugh. The party stresses that they need to go, but Duran insists they need to figure this out. After continued badgering, Duran eventually agrees to table the room for later, and the party withdraws.

The party begins to travel further down the corridor. While half the group stops at the intersection, Merinthe and Zook press forward to the end of the corridor, identifying their paths. They note it appears to wrap around in a serpentine fashion; however, as they explore, Yenkas hears a clawing, scratching sound coming from behind the party. Curious, he creeps over to investigate, and finds some sort of decrepit creature with graying skin and claws starting to push through the first side corridor. Seeing a second, Yenkas calls Duran over, the latter arriving quickly thereafter and identifying the creature as a ghoul. The party backs off to the edge of the branching corridor - curious, Zook shouts to Merinthe (who had begun exploring the serpentine), calling her back to the group to deal with this unseen threat. Merinthe calls out to Duran, asking about the commotion - Duran shouts back that feral ghouls have emerged from the passageway. No sooner does he call out than another grate snaps off the wall, and yet more ghastly creatures emerge from the wall. Steeling themselves for a fight, the party draws their weapons.

Undeterred, the undead creatures continue to press down the corridor, as the party bombards them with ranged weaponry and sorcery. As they begin to skirmish, the party hears a disinterested dwarven voice to their east, muttering about the ghouls being hungry again. The party continues to skirmish, until Duran withdraws and activates the driftglobe. The ghastly creatures seem undeterred; however, the light illuminates a pale-skinned, emaciated figure down the hall to the east - one who is not impressed with the sudden increase in illumination. He grows increasingly agitated, verbally arguing with Duran, while the party nevertheless continues to press the attack. As Yenkas fells the final ghoul, the dwarf begins advancing towards them. He continues to yell at Duran to extinguish the light, which Duran eventually does (after some hesitation). The light extinguished, the dwarf turns and begins to walk away, until Duran challenges him about his identity.

The dwarf, annoyed, draws his bow. Duran, extremely annoying, pulls the light out of his cloak. The dwarf, now extremely annoyed, looses an arrow from a longbow, planting it firmly in the dwarf's side. A tense standoff follows, with Zook and the dwarf exchanging unpleasantries. As the dwarf attempts to push the party to pursue the southern corridor and - once again - begins walking away, Zook can't help but feel he is hiding something. Yenkas takes umbrage with the dwarf shooting Duran, but Zook is able to talk him down. Though the group feels mostly in agreement that they need to investigate the dwarf further, they debate whether or not to take a moment to catch their breath and nurse their wounds; however, while discussing, Elgroth takes a menacing step forward, drawing the dwarf's eye. (A1, W6)

Zook, unwilling to start another fight, calls out to the dwarf, asking him why he shot Duran - the dwarf replies that he did not appreciate the light. Duran, hoping to get information and, perhaps, draw the dwarf into a dangerous position, magically compels him - aided by his power of foresight. Elgroth, much like Zook, challenges the dwarf again on why he shot Duran, making him increasingly more agitated; regardless, he moves forward as compelled by Duran's spell. Yenkas, impatiently, takes the shot he wished he'd taken earlier, striking the dwarf with his crossbow, and causing a fight to break out. As the party begins to rain blows down upon him, the dwarf causes their shadows to pop from the wall, attacking them. Merinthe, in particular, is significantly weakened by their blows, collapsing under the weight of her pack; however, before they drain the life from her, she manages to channel the sun's power, casting them unto oblivion. Yenkas triumphantly finishes the dwarf off in the chaos, avenging the slight against his elven counterpart.

The party, albeit wounded and weakened, searches the dwarf for any clues as to his identity (and, for some, for any loot to purloin), finding his weapons and a ring. The party decides to push forward into the room in which the dwarf was resting, and finds a small cage, covered in a somewhat translucent black cloth, which contains a small creature. Duran removes the cloth to get a better look at the creature, finding the cloth disintegrates as soon as it hits the floor. Yenkas recognizes the creature as a fey spirit of some kind, and begins speaking with it in sylvan. The creature introduces herself as Esmerelda. The fey, eyeing Zook suspiciously, explains she was given (sold, basically) to the dwarf creature by gnomes (Nome, in particular) in exchange for the latter's safe passage through the sewer. The party explains the dwarf has been slain, and releases the fey from the cage. In exchange for her freedom, she grants the party a boon - either restoring their strength or providing them with magical resistance to fire. Elgroth and Yenkas opt for the resistance, expecting to be on the front line, while the rest of the party - drained of their strength by the shadows - opts for the gift. With the fey having provided her boon, she vanishes.

The party takes a moment to search the room, finding trinkets and baubles of some minor value, while Elgroth checks a grate in the corner of the room. The party determines that it likely just loops around to the other grates they found, and opts to not check it out further as they don't feel they can afford to waste time. They return to the zig-zagging corridor that Merinthe and Zook had began exploring earlier. Aside from an electricity trap of some sorts, which gives Zook a very slight shock, and a pair of large rats, with which Zook chats and the party bypasses uneventfully, they find nothing until they get nearer to - what they presume is - the forge itself. As they near it, they find the air around themselves warming up, and they eventually find a trapped section of hallway, exposing those passing upon it to magma below. After much deliberation, and a few harrowing attempts, they cross it and continue down the winding corridor, eventually finding themselves behind a closed grate, facing the forge itself.

Heart of Glass
The grate itself is large, made of steel. Peering through it, they see a large, circular platform suspended over a pit of lava. The platform itself is connected to the 'wall' in several places, including beneath the grate at which the party stands (about ten feet beneath them) and to a set of stairs leading up and out, and contains several grates, through which bursts of fiery periodically roar. In the middle of the platform sits a giant anvil, atop which sits a large, fiery stone: the heart of the forge of Moradin.

As the eyes of the party adjust to the brightness of the room, they see five giant, fiery beetles curiously roaming around the platform. Yenkas recognizes them as creatures he has seen in the wilderness, but notes that these ones seem to be alert, as though trained and on watch. The party discusses whether or not to open the grate and enter the room. Zook figures the party won't be able to get past the grate, but Yenkas notes that the grate appears to have been frequently opened and closed, and would be easy for the party to remove. Yenkas notes that he would have an angle to shoot at the beetles through the grate, allowing the party to eliminate them with little risk. Zook asks Yenkas to hold his fire, as he would like to see if he can converse with these small beasts. Merinthe points out that the party was supposed to have been chasing or following someone into this chamber, but the gate is sealed and the room looks otherwise undisturbed - Duran, curious, ritually casts detect magic and scans the room, noting that the floor itself (still in range of the party's spell) seems to be magically abjured. He warns the party that the floor appears to be set to trigger a magical alarm and that, if possible, the party should avoid stepping on the floor - to the disbelief of Elgroth and Yenkas. Zook attempts to call out to someone using his gifts and the power of illusion - the beetles becoming visibly agitated as a result. Duran, inquisitive, fires a ray of frost at the heart of the forge itself - instantly, the ray of frost ignites, with fire surging up from the stone back to Duran's hand and exploding, scorching the party and earning the ire of a quite wounded Zook.

Feeling they have no way to proceed but forward, the party agrees that they need to work on eliminating the beetles before they decide how to enter the room. Yenkas, with great precision, drops beetle after beetle with his crossbow until all five lay dead on the forge's floor. With the beetles dead, the party loosens and removes the giant grate between the party and the forge. Duran suggests Elgroth leap onto one of the beetles' corpses, as the beetles don't seem to trip the alarm, perplexing most of the party though they nevertheless agree to his suggestion. Elgroth makes the leap and lands perfectly on the beetle; however, owing to his bulky size, he fails to stick the landing, touching the platform and sounding the alarm. With the alarm tripped, the party (with the exception of Merinthe, who keeps watch on the southern grate) descends a rope and advances to the platform.

As Yenkas moves towards the anvil, hears a commotion coming from upstairs over the din of the alarm, though he cannot determine whether or not they are coming closer. He calls for the others to help him investigate; however, as they approach, the six grate panels are simultaneously engulfed in flames and recede to reveal two serpentine creatures and two vaguely dwarven looking creatures with beards of flame. Startled by their sudden appearance, Zook begins to fleet up the stairs exiting the room, but pauses when he hears screaming and sounds of combat from around the left-hand fork of the stairwell - and someone shouting that they are 'almost to the orb' - followed by a roar of flame from the right-hand fork. He turns to the party, alerting them of the sounds of combat and imminent danger the dwarves are in, and calls for the party to push through. While Merinthe tangles with one of the fire snakes from afar, Yenkas moves to follow, taking a shot at one of the serpents as he goes, as does Elgroth; before the party can withdraw completely, however, Duran is set upon by the two azer, one wounding him greatly with his warhammer, and the other fire snake, incapacitating him. Begrudgingly, and not willing to leave him behind, the party turns to deal with these threats.

Zook attempts to singe one of the snakes and the azer with acid, which they both nimbly dodge. Yenkas, taking advantage of the snake's focus on Zook, manages to wound him again with his crossbow, before running in and trying to drag Duran to safety; however, the azer then advance upon he and Elgroth, nearly incapacitating them both. Elgroth swings back, wounding the azer, but is surprised to find himself scalded by heat radiating from the Azer. Hesitantly, Merinthe pushes into the room, stealthily dashing towards the anvil, and heals Elgroth, hoping that he can survive the azer's attacks. As Yenkas begins dragging Duran's corpse away, he hears footsteps coming from above. One of the azer takes another swing at Elgroth, nearly killing him. Enraged, Elgroth swings back, trading blows and damage with the azer. Merinthe, seeing the serious nature of Duran's injuries, healing him while also bathing one of the azer in radiance - though no sooner than Duran stands does Zook fall to one of the fire snakes. Sensing that time is not on their side, the party throws caution to the wind, putting all of their effort into attacks - in doing so, they are able to fell both one of the azer, though not without Elgroth and Yenkas both also falling to the flames.

Cornered, Duran begins to move to the other end of the room (closer to Merinthe), hoping that they may be able to finish off the two remaining foes. No sooner does he reach the midpoint of the room than do two figures enter: one, a large bipedal ape-like creature holding a dwarf in his hands; the other, a jacked, red-haired woman dragging a well-dressed dwarf behind her. Seeing Duran, the azer, and the fire snake in the room, they toss the two dwarves aside and begin to walk towards the anvil. The azer and fire snake turn their attention to the two intruders, allowing Merinthe to slay one with a spiritual hammer, to the amusement of the woman. The ape places a hand on the remaining fire snake, causing it to instantly decay to nothingness. Merinthe, seeing they have no options, prepares herself for a dangerous gambit, while Duran floats over to stabilize the wounded.

As the woman approaches the anvil, she spots Merinthe, and pauses for a moment, before she and the ape move to the anvil. As the ape reaches for the gem atop it, Merinthe darts up and snipes it from his grasp before attempting to dash away; however, she cannot withstand blows from both of them, as a swing from the ape followed by a kick from the red-haired woman send Merinthe toppling to the ground, unconscious. Recovering the orb, the two vanish as quickly as they appeared and leaving their dwarven victims behind. Still reeling from their fight, Duran and Zook quickly check on the dwarves as well as their fallen comrades, finding that while the dwarves, Merinthe, and Elgroth are fine (as fine as they could be), Yenkas has died. (A1, W7)

Taking a closer look at the dwarves, they recognize one of them as the dwarf that they met during their last trip to the gate, but cannot place the other. Lacking any true healing ability, and hoping to avoid further loss of life, the two remaining party members begin attempting to move the wounded to (relative) safety around the forge, ideally in the hopes of finding others to aid them, and proceed to take a moment to catch their breath. No sooner do they finish nursing their wounds then do they hear the sounds of footsteps and hushed voices coming from the tunnel/gate to their south (the one through which the party initially entered the forge), voices which Zook instantly recognizes as Nome and his entourage. Duran, recognizing the potential danger, asks Zook to conjure an illusion surrounding the dwarves to conceal their presence from the gnomes, which he does. With nowhere to go, the two spellcasters wait for Nome to enter the forge, hoping to rush him along - mission accomplished and all - so that they can make their escape.

Zook greets Nome (and Boddyknock), inquiring as to why they are in the forge at this time. Nome, rather aggressively, asks Zook about the location of the king. Zook, playing dumb, inquires as to what king. Nome shares that his 'contact' - the ape-man the group saw prior - was supposed to have brought the king to the forge for Nome to kill and take over. Zook advises they haven't seen any dwarves in the forge, other than the guardians (gesturing to the corpses). Nome insists that he needs to find the king, and kill him, to prove that he has taken control. Zook, again, indicates that he has seen no sign of the king, attempt to magically charm Nome into accepting his version of events. Nome, clearly delusional, insists that he will wait here for the king, having completed the rest of his plans. Zook shares that they did see the ape-man in the forge, and that he indicates the dwarf king would be brought to Nome's party hall/tavern, rather than simply left here where anyone could get to him. Nome, ensorcelled, accepted this version of events, and - taking credit for the 'success' of his contacts - led his entourage back up the tunnel towards the inn - just in time for Zook's illusion to drop.

Relieved, the party again rests, tending to their wounded. Merinthe and Elgroth both wake up shortly thereafter - discovering that Yenkas has passed on - to Merinthe's distress. A brief argument ensues between her and Zook over Yenkas' demise, with Merinthe blaming herself for his death and Zook attempting to reassure her. Elgroth, at this point, notices the dwarves, previously hidden by Duran and Zook. Duran indicates that he believes one - based on Nome's statement - is the king, and the other - the one the party had encountered before - is apparently one of his lieutenants. Zook informs Elgroth and Merinthe as to the events that transpired while they were unconscious. As he finishes his tale, the group notices their dwarven visitors beginning to stir.

Behold the King
After brief introductions, Duran informs the two dwarves - Rurik Fireforge and Jorrik Steelmind - as to what transpired in the forge, including describing the two figures who dragged them into the forge. Zook asks if the dwarves have any clerics or healers who may be able to aid Yenkas - Jorrik expresses that he believes most of the powerful spellcasters were slain in the attack, noting that the two assailants cut through them effortlessly. Rurik asks the group of adventurers why they are here, in the forge - Duran explains the nature of the party's business in Moradin, informing he and Jorrik of the happenings in the Whispering Forest and of Nome's meddling and goals. Zook asks Rurik if there is a safer place they can continue this discussion, noting that Nome will likely return, angry, and none of the group is in a position to deal with them. The king agrees, and begins leading the party up from the forge into a hidden, safe room/panic room of sorts. Rurik closes the door, suggesting the party take the time to nurse their wounds while they try to figure out what happened.

Rurik and Jorrik share what they saw with the party - an intrusion as detected, and Jorrik and the king's elite guard rallied around Rurik, preparing to guard him against any attack; however, the ape-man and red-haired woman merely appeared among them, out of thin air, and cut down their entire entourage effortlessly. As best Jorrik can tell, he and Rurik were subdued and dragged to the forge for some purpose. Jorrik asks the party if they are aware as to what that may have been. Zook shares that they were being surrendered to the gnomes, presumably to start a civil war or conflict of sorts. Rurik is confused at this, as he feels the gnomes have been treated fairly under his rule - Zook challenges this, explaining what he has seen since their arrival. Rurik feels this is abnormal, and seems perplexed, but tables this for later (after Zook declines a job as Rurik's new gnomish advisor).

Rurik, again, asks the party what their business is in Moradin. Duran explains that the party was in the Whispering Forest for the clan war when Galadriel was besieged in the same way as Moradin. Rurik asks for information on the elders, the clan war, and the guardians of the tree - the party informs him that two of the three elders are dead, the clan war was interrupted, and there are no current guardians as most of the able-bodied elves were slain in the attack. Duran advises that, as the group explored the Great Tree, they discovered a note in dwarven from the Council of Ertol, and that led them here to investigate further. Upon their arrival, they discovered the gnomish plans, and they attempted to warn/save the king. Duran produces the note and shows it to the king, asking if this his is hand writing.

The king eyes the note and, after a brief delay, confirms it is his handwriting. Taking the party's story as truth, and despite the objections of Jorrik, Rurik shares information with the party regarding the Council of Ertol - its membership, its aims, and its goals. He shares that the council's goal was to keep the gods sealed away to prevent further misery and suffering on the part of the mortals of Izal. Jorrik surmises that they are recovering certain relics - the heart of the forge, the heart of Galadriel - to release the gods and, potentially, re-seal the good gods, giving the gods of evil free reign. Rurik suggests that the party seek out a gold dragon, the leader of the Council of Ertol, and her silver dragon guardian. Rurik stresses they were supposed to join the dwarves, elves, and humans here (the human royalty the party had heard about earlier, who apparently escaped via airship during the attack) - the fact that they have not arrived has him concerned.

After contemplating their likely courses of action, Rurik suggests they may still be at the flying wizard college of Buoyanth. Rurik wanders over to a shelf and begins riffling through some small stones - sending stones, as it were - before eventually seemingly finding one allowing him to contact someone at the college. He eventually reaches someone, asking for a status update - clearly surprised by what he is hearing. Finishing his 'call', Rurik turns to the party, clearly concerned. He explains that he has received word that all of the relics used to seal the gods appear to have been recovered by agents of their mysterious foe - all they are missing is a 'key', the location of which is unknown to most of the Council of Ertol. Duran and Zook ask if there is someone who might know the location of the key - say, a historian for the Council. Rurik advises there was one, but he was banished from the Council after foretelling that the seal would be compromised - in exactly the way the party is seeing. Rurik says he was an elf, one who was both an erudite scholar and a skilled smith. Trying to recall the elf, Rurik remembers that the elf had no legs, a trait which would certainly make him easier to spot or recall. Elgroth notes that the elven smith the group first met in Quelren had no legs, and the party expects they may need to return to the forest for more information.

Jorrik interrupts their conversation to ask if the party can relay to him, in detail, the actions taken by their foes once they entered the forge. The party describes the scenario to him - they descended into the forge, grabbed the heart, and teleported away. Zook mentions that the ape-man dropped a banana to his feet as they teleported away, and Jorrik speculates that it may have been something used as a focus or locator of sorts for their destination. Sprinting over to the wall, Jorrik grabs a map of Izal and lays it out across the table. He points to a spot in the northwest - the Fallsworn Jungle - and notes that it is the only region on the continent where these fruit naturally occur.

The party contemplates heading to the Twin Dagger Cities to consult with those members of the Council currently at Buoyanth, but Rurik advises that they are currently indisposed - the Council leader is incapacitated, the other members are indisposed or preoccupied, and there is a group of adventurers already aiding them with that. Rurik suggests that the party either do something to help him, or investigate the lead Jorrik suggests involving Fallsworn Jungle, as the group may still be able to interrupt their foes' plans. Rurik advises that he can provide the party with an airship that can take them half way to the jungle - owing to fuel limitations - dropping them along the way in the open or at the nearest major city - Urach. He advises that the journey takes about a month by foot, but with the airship, the journey would take a total of roughly ten days. Jorrik advises the party that the airship should be ready in the next two days, and provides the party with one of a pair of sending stones so that the party and the dwarves can communicate. The party inquires if Rurik can help supply them with supplies, as they are woefully unequipped - Rurik advises the castle's personal stores are depleted following the attacks, but he provides the party with a writ of sorts to present to merchants. The king shares that they can rest at the castle until they depart, and offers to make appropriate burial arrangements for Yenkas, given that he died 'in service' to Moradin, while Merinthe attempts to make arrangements to have his body preserved (via gentle repose) in the hopes that she can one day return to revive him. After taking a brief rest, the party departs.

Aiming to collect Eustace, the party returns to the inn, finding nothing out of sorts. The innkeeper acknowledges their return, and the party returns to the room. Duran opens the door and finds a bizarre scene - the contents of the room are now suspended from the ceiling, along with their occupants (Durkin still tied to the chair, Eustace sleeping in the chair). Duran wakes Eustace, asking him what happened. Eustace explains Durkin woke up, they had a brief chat, and then went back to sleep. Duran asks Eustace how the furniture ended up on the ceiling - Eustace merely replies they were already there when he went to sleep. Puzzled, Duran asks Eustace if Durkin taught him any magic - Eustace replies that Durkin never woke up (contradicting his earlier statement). Duran asks Eustace if he did or didn't wake up - Eustace says he thinks he did, causing Duran to ask Eustace to whom he was actually speaking. Eustace is uncertain, but believes it is Durkin. Duran attempts to rouse Durkin from his slumber, but is unable to do so. Concerned, Merinthe checks to see if he is alive, and finds he is - barely. Merinthe attempts to magically heal him and rouse him from his slumber, unsuccessfully.

The party attempts to 'retrieve' Durkin from the ceiling, with Duran and Zook using mage hands to lasso a rope around him and pull him down securely. While doing so, Eustace begins to ask the group about Yenkas' whereabouts, noting he did not return with them. Duran tells Eustace that Yenkas has left on a journey, to a farm, causing Eustace to excitedly ask if the party can visit the farm. Disgusted with the fabrication, Merinthe leaves the room. Zook, irritated, assures Eustace that he may be able to go join him on the farm soon enough. Duran stresses that the party has a very important mission they need to complete, causing Eustace to drop the issue.

Duran asks Eustace to descend/climb down from the ceiling - Eustace expresses that he cannot, and that he appears to be stuck to it. Duran instructs Eustace to stand up - he does, and instantly falls head-first from the ceiling, landing on the ground and knocking himself unconscious (or worse). Startled by the loud bump, Merinthe returns to the room, seeing Eustace on the ground, and shoots Duran an accusatory glance. Elgroth and Duran dismisses her concerns, with Duran explaining that he merely 'fell' from the ceiling and is fine as he has a thick skull. He and Zook then resume their efforts to try and retrieve Durkin from the ceiling and are able to do with Elgroth's aid. Elgroth gently sets him down, and the party notes he seems to be - peacefully - sleeping. Elgroth suggests the party just leave him on the street, as they have no further need to him, earning admonishment from Merinthe. Duran advises that they need to ask him about what happened during the night with Eustace, first. Duran is able to rouse Durkin from his slumber, asking him about what happened. He doesn't recall much, aside from a night of heavy drinking and Eustace showing him a card trick. He has no explanation for what happened.

After some further conversation, including an inquiry from Durkin as to Yenkas' whereabouts, he returns downstairs with the party, offering to help them find a new companion for their journey (as much as he can) in exchange for the shelter they provided him the night before. As the party leaves, Merinthe revives Eustace. She and Eustace have a brief conversation, where Eustace shares that Duran has given him the 'gone to a farm' excuse more than once, and that he is fully aware of what truly happened to Yenkas - he explains that Duran used it twice, with two of Eustaces pets, though Eustace believes Duran killed them. He asks Merinthe if Duran killed Yenkas. Merinthe assures him that, as far as she knows, he did not, and attempts to change the topic, directing Eustace downstairs to join the rest of the party. Zook, having picked up that Durkin may not have been entirely honest about what he recalls happening the previous night, steps aside to discuss it with him further. He is able to convince Durkin to open up - Durkin shares that he woke up from his slumber, finding himself tied up and seeing Eustace speaking in tongues, then fell asleep again, and woke up again to find everything suspended from the ceiling. Slightly fearful, he feigned being asleep until he fell asleep again, and he next woke up with the party.

After some further drinking and merriment, the party parts ways with the dwarf and splits up to accomplish some additional tasks - Elgroth leaves to pub crawl with Durkin, while the rest of the group (at Duran's insistence) returns to the sewers to investigate the mirror and chest. Their journey is uneventful, and they return to the room to find it exactly as they left it - including the dwarf in the mirror looting the chest and taunting Duran. The party begins probing the mirror and chest, trying to find out how it works. After much experimentation, they are able to flip the mirror on its side, which causes the chest in the room to also flip on its side (spilling its contents onto the floor) - and also, curiously, causing the dwarf in the mirror to tumble out of it. The dwarf is clearly startled, and a little intimidated by the party, but quickly offers that he is the master of knowledge and will answer one of their questions - a statement the party takes as true. Duran asks him about the location of the missing key that is required to release the gods. The dwarf explains that the key is nearby, old, and surrounded by death - and vanishes. Uncertain as to how to interpret the message, the party gathers the loot that spilled out of the chest.

Their investigation complete, the party spends the remainder of the next two days gathering supplies, arming themselves (and salvaging Yenkas' gear), and doing research. Scouring the dwarves' library, Duran finds some information on the vampire and Kristen Stewart. Curiously, Duran finds detailed records on Stewart that provide no indication that she has died, and no indication that she and Dalv ever fought. He also finds records indicating that Dalv once had an army that would rival the gods - and an elite retinue known as the Sumrak Riders, a group of cursed lycanthropes.

On the third morning, the party is met by Jorrik and Rurik, who take them up to the airship. As they arrive, they are met with a golden dragonborn. Rurik advises the party that Durkin had contacted Rurik and advised him that the party was in search of another skilled warrior to aid them on their quest. He introduces them to the dragonborn, Belrus Gillio. Rurik advises the party that the airship captain, Captain Lewis, and his crew have been advised of the party's goals/objectives (in as vague terms as possible), and wishes them luck on their mission. With, the party boards the ship, and find themselves facing their captain - a human with two peg legs, two peg arms, and an eye patch. (A1, W8)

This Flight Tonight
After a brief introduction, the captain gives Zook a brief overview of the ship's functions. Duran inquires as to the nature of the captain's injuries - finding out that the captain lost his limbs in a somewhat absurd-sounding encounter with a dragon. With that settled, the party sets out westward towards the Fallsworn Jungle and the town of Nani Kulanakauhale - with Captain Lewis warning the party that the town has some strange customs and suggesting they seek out the town's "leader", a halfling by the name of Meia. As the party sets out from Moradin, and travels within sight of the Whispering Forest, Belrus catches a half dozen heavily armored beings riding on large creatures, with their leader atop a flaming horse of some kind, keenly following the airship's movement, who - based on the records he read in the libraries of Moradin - Duran recognizes as the Sumrak Riders. Concerned, but unable to act, the party makes note of their appearance for future reference. As they traveled, the party engaged in additional conversation with the captain and some of his crew. They came to discover that Lewis was given this airship by Rurik Fireforge in exchange for saving his life.

Suddenly, a handful of days into their travel, the airship suddenly listed to one side, sending several of the party sprawling and some nearly overboard. The party struggled to regain their footing as Lewis called out that something had rammed the ship. A wicked screeched confirmed that 'something' was indeed a creature of some kind, as Belrus spotted a pair of human-headed, lion-tailed winged creatures - manticores - attacking the underside of the ship. A harrowing battle ensues, with the party eventually emerging victorious, despite Lewis' piloting and a particularly disastrous sequence where Elgroth and Duran ended up falling overboard (eventually saved by a harpoon gun).

With the manticores vanquished, the party takes time examining both them and the current status of the ship, as Lewis continues to fly towards their destination. Repairs completed, the party spends the next five days traveling in relative quiet, observing their path and spotting some notable locations like the city of Urach (with Lewis keeping his distance on the route). At the dawn of this fifth day, the group begins to see the jungle on the horizon, along with a tent village that Captain Lewis informs them is Nani Kulanakauhale. Captain Lewis eventually touches down on the edge of the jungle to allow the party to disembark. Duran asks if Lewis will be staying here waiting for them or returning - the captain advises that his duty requires he returns. As they disembark, Eustace asks Duran if he can thank Lewis for their help - which Duran approves. Eustace runs over to thank Captain Lewis but, as Eustace is want to do, curiously presses a button on the wheel - a button which, for some reason, releases the balloon which, buoyed by the heat, drifts up and away. Lewis is distraught and clearly in a state of shock. The party tries to soothe him, unsuccessfully, asking him how they can help - Lewis implies there isn't much they can do. Reluctantly, and despite Merinthe's protests, the party leaves Lewis to his own devices. The party radios in to Rurik and Jorrik to apprise them of the current status of Lewis' airship before finally starting towards the halfling village. (A1, W9)

Welcome to the Jungle
The party heads south, leaving the airship behind. They note the jungle to the west is filled with thick, densely packed vegetation. After an hour of travel, they arrive at the outskirts of town of Nani Kulanakauhale, and see a handful of people lying on the ground. Elgroth notes that they have their hands extended to the sky. Curious, the party approaches, confirming what Elgroth had seen from afar. The first they come across is a male halfling - eyes closed, hands extended - though they now see that several others (mostly halflings) are similarly arrayed around the area. They seem mostly unarmed and dressed in simple garb - and do not react to the party passing by them. Not wanting to disrupt their ritual, the party leaves them be and continues to approach the village, noting it is mostly made up of tents, mud huts, and yurts. As they enter the town, they spot a totem (similarly surrounded by 'entranced' residents of the town, with a halfling female nearest to it) adorned with a variety of jungle beasts, topped by an ape. The totem appears to be carved out of a tree - the party, in fact, notices roots leading into the ground, confirming this is the case. Belrus detects that the totem seems to be radiating positive energy in some form.

The party decides to wait and see how the scene plays out. As they wait, Eustace decides to lie down and mimic the residents' behaviour, to no effect. A short while later (roughly five minutes go by), everyone seems to rouse from their trance, standing up and returning to their business, oblivious to the party's presence - with the exception of the extremely relaxed halfling female they'd noted before, who approaches them. The party confirms she is Meia and, after exchanging greetings, begins asking her about the strange rituals in this down. Meia confirms the town's residents are worshipers of the Sun (raising great - if cautious - interest from Merinthe), speaking to the party about its protective warmth and radiance, and explains some of the town's customs (in particular, and to Elgroth's chagrin, that he won't be able to get a drink until nightfall). Duran asks if she is familiar with a red-haired woman and a bipedal ape man, eliciting a brief, almost feral reaction from Meia, before her mask returns, explaining that she hasn't seen either, and that the only apes she knows are ferocious and reside in the jungle itself. The party engages in further discussion - including some minor diplomatic faux pas - and gathers more information from Meia regarding their destination (points of interest, where to travel, and what to consider), determining that it will take them four or five days of travel to reach their destination. The party decides to wait until the next morning to depart.

With an afternoon and evening to spare, the party prepares for their trip and mingles with the townsfolk. Duran attempts to research and recall any information about the totem and its history, asking Meia for information about its origins (Meia advises the totem has been here since before even her grandparents were born, but cannot say how long as they do not keep records - Duran has a minor stroke at this revelation) - and eventually casting comprehend languages to read the runes engraved upon it (he discovers they make reference to Helm, a deity who considers light to be within his domain - Duran suggests Merinthe attempt to follow a 'real' religion, like Helm, earning her ire). Zook seeks the local herbalist, hoping to gather some new interesting components for his alchemy, with he, Duran, and Belrus all following Meia's directions to the market district to buy and sell gear for their voyage. Merinthe spends some time engaging with Meia, trying to discover if this town is indeed a sacred site for her faith and get other information about their history or rituals. Duran, Eustace, and Merinthe partake in the Nani Kulanakauhalian sun-worship ritual, feeling themselves filled with a protective warmth (though Merinthe finds this abnormal and does not believe it to be part and parcel with her faith).

The party spends the rest of the evening partaking in food and drink with the residents of the town, during which Meia shares that the rainy season begins the next day, to the party's chagrin. During this time of revelry, Zook and Elgroth poll the hunters for information about safe or dangerous paths (pointing out some curious landmarks - a fork in the road, where the 'left' path is safe and the 'right' path leads deeper into the jungle; a yellow river, with waters dangerous to the touch and which is normally traversed by swinging across vines; and, a giant ape skull, which none have seen up close but is visible form afar), while Belrus tries to identify whether there are any other rival tribes or communities in the area (there are none). Eventually, as the revelry winds down, the party settles in for the night.

Following a good night's rest, the party wakes up to the sound of pounding rain - the rainy season well underway, as Meia had predicted. The party quickly sets out, entering the jungle and heading north towards their destination. The trees and brush are thick, but a well-trodden path nevertheless allows them to make haste. The party moves forward, cautiously (with the exception of Duran, who is shielding a book in an attempt to read in the rain), eventually reaching a part of the jungle that opens up slightly. Merinthe, scouting ahead, hears the sounds of hurried footfalls somewhere ahead of the party, and attempts to warn the party - unfortunately, slightly obscured by the lack of light and pouring rain, the party does not understand her message, and trudges forward unaware.

Suddenly, Merinthe hears movement to her north, though whatever it is seems to be unaware of her presence. She turns to move back to warn the party, breaking behind cover just as some sort of large dog emerges from the treeline. Merinthe quickly warns the party, and suggests they attempt to sneak by; however, as they begin to move, Eustace stumbles over Zook, yelling and alerting the dog (or, more correctly, as Merinthe quickly discovered, dogs). As the party tried to steel themselves for the attack, they were beset upon on all sides by these vicious beasts - including a tree, sprung to life - but managed to emerge victorious with only minor wounds. With their foes dispatched, the party recovers Eustace (buried under a tree), and seeks shelter from the rain and to nurse their wounds. (A1, W10)

With shelter located, the party discusses how to best proceed. As the rain begins to slow and the thunder and lightning begins to subside, they settle on an approach and once again emerge to continue their push deeper into the jungle. After roughly a half hour, the party reaches a fork in the road. They recall that the left fork is the 'safest' path, and is the one most clearly traveled, and elect to follow it. After roughly another hour of travel, the party comes across a clearing in the tree line, the air thick with an acidic odor. Pressing forward, they eventually emerge and find themselves facing the 'yellow river' about which they had previously been told. The party notes that the flora surrounding the river is clearly dead or dying, and cautiously approaches it to assess how to passe the impasse.

After much deliberation, the party leverages Zook's new found ability to teleport short distances to cross the lake, and begins constructing yet another elaborate rope bridge to cut across. As they begin to cross, Duran falters momentarily, causing a strange black goop to attempt to reach at him - unsuccessfully - from the pool of acid below. Scampering across, the party opts to make haste in crossing... and suddenly hears the faint sound of a woman singing somewhere in the jungle, feeling them with a sense of calm. Before the enchantment can take hold, however, each of the members of the party manages to steel themselves against it, and the singing falls silent before quickly during into a scream - one clearly close by and coming from the northeast.

The last two to cross - Elgroth and Belrus - hastily cross the rope bridge, and no sooner does Belrus clear it, than does the strange black goop emerge from the lake, prompting Duran to pepper it with a ray of frost. The party begins withdrawing from the lake edge, pursued by the slime, when suddenly a harpy swoops down from the sky and attempts to waylay Merinthe. Fortunately, Elgroth fells it with two swings of its axe, and through judicious use of spells to maintain distance, the party manages to deter further pursuit from the ooze, causing it to retreat into the acidic river that now lay behind them.

The party continues heading north, noting that there is little-to-no path to follow in this part of the jungle. The light from above begins to fade as the jungle canopy grows thicker and thicker. After roughly an hour of travel, the party comes across two dark red lights beginning to peek through the jungle ahead of them. Creeping forward, towards what seems to be a treeline edge, Merinthe eventually comes to to a less densely populated region of the jungle (one that looks to have been intentionally cleared) containing a large skull - presumably the large ape skull the party was given as a landmark/waypoint to seek out before they left the village. She retreats to the party to apprise them of their findings (the rest of the party having seen the illumination), and the party opts to retreat to find shelter to rest before pushing into what they surmise will be a fight (especially as late evening/afternoon has begun).

As the party begins to set up camp, they begin to hear the pounding of drums coming even further from the north. The group debates whether or not to continue their rest. Zook posits the music will not prevent them from resting, while Duran notes that the drumming may be indicative of a ritual beginning - potentially the ritual they were here to disrupt. The party decides to scout out the area around the skull again, this time in more detail. As Merinthe begins to scout, she notices large apes - similar to the one the party encountered in Moradin - set up, clearly standing guard or watch around the skull and from treetop perches. Retreating to the party, she shares her findings, and the group debates how to proceed. The party expresses concern that engaging these creatures will consume some of their already-depleted resources, and likely alert anyone else to their presence.

Zook, looking to take advantage of his ability to speak with small animals, locates a snake and begins to question it about the goings-on around the skull. Zook is able to determine, from the snake's understanding, that there are several more apes (or other creatures) beyond the skull, and that there is far more activity in this area than the snake is used to seeing. The party, not wanting to engage these foes at this time, discusses sending someone (likely Merinthe) past them aided by magical invisibility to try and disrupt any rituals. Zook is able to convince the snake to allow Elgroth to use his ability to ritually cast *beast sense* to scout using the snake's eyes. As Elgroth begins his ritual, Merinthe continues her scouting, and sees another ape - wearing shamanistic garb - standing atop the skull, pacing (or patrolling?) impatiently. Eventually, Elgroth completes his ritual, and with Zook's guidance, the snake begins to slither towards the skull.

As the snake nears the entrance, the shaman jumps down from the top of the skull, and begins talking to the snake and, after getting the answers desired, reveals he is aware of the party's presence, and crushes the snake. The party's cover blown, the apes spring to action, and the party deliberates their fight or flight response; however, the apes begin to move on their position, and the party readies themselves for combat. The fight itself is quick and vicious; however, the shaman flees, and the party's decision on whether or not to take a rest is more or less decided for them. Curiously, the party notes that Eustace is missing, but decides they do not have time to pursue him. (A1, W11)

The party pushes through the skull to the semi-cleared section of jungle behind in pursuit of the shaman and their final goal. The deeper they drive into the jungle, the thicker and taller the trees become, and the louder and louder the drums beat. The trees themselves look to be (currently empty) habitats, covered in vines and makeshift handholds and footholds, and show signs of frequently being scaled. As they draw nearer to the pounding drums, the party discovers a massive worked tree trunk, reaching high enough to touch the sky, surrounded by equally tall but thinner trees and 'topped' by a wooden platform - a platform from which the party determines the drumming originates. Moving closer, the party notes a staircase winding around the tree, seemingly leading to the top, and makes out the guttural sounds of what is likely around fifty apes. Steeling themselves for what is likely an unfavourable conflict, the party begins to creep up the stairwell as stealthily as they can.

As the party begins their ascent, they make it only a short distance before hearing heavy footfalls descending from above them. The party begins to creep forward, cautiously, before one of Merinthe's errant steps alerts the enemy to their presence. Suddenly, the shaman they saw before steps into view - along with a handful of other apes. A pitched battle ensues, with the party emerging victorious but seriously wounded. The party decides to try and catch their breath, agreeing to push onward if something seemingly changes with the drumming (and, now, light chanting) from above. As they rest, Duran examines the tree, and tries to recall if there is any historical significance to it - and determines that this is likely the second of two 'great trees' that historical records discussed but many scholars dismissed as erroneous. It is clearly a sacred site of some kind, akin to Galadriel for the elves. Belrus senses a great evil radiating from the top of the tree itself. Now having rested, the party decides to continue their ascent to the top of the tree.

After climbing the spiral to its top, they finally reach a part where the ramp breaks the plane of the top of the tree, with the drumming and chanting rising to near thunderous levels. With Zook's assistance to ensure she doesn't repeat her gaffe from earlier, Merinthe sneaks ahead to scout out the platform. Cresting the plane, she sees two apes on a platform on a tree roughly twenty feet from the main platform. Rounding the final corner to scout the platform at large, she sees more apes on similar platforms arrayed around the tree, a giant ape statue behind a large black altar, and can make out that the apes are chanting what is, presumably, the name of being idolized in this statue -- Harambe. A larger ape the party saw attacking Galadriel and again in the depths of Moradin stands some distance away from this altar, behind a robed figure that Merinthe recognizes as the one responsible for the destruction wrought upon the Great Tree itself. The figure stands at the altar alongside a chest that contains several gems (one of which Merinthe recognizes from the forge), the entire setup surrounded by a powerful aura or ward of some kind. Merinthe rapidly retreats to apprise the party of the goings on.

After some discussion, the party agrees to reach out to the dwarves with the sending stone to see if Jorrik Steelmind has any understanding of this ritual or how imminent their doom may indeed be. They call over to Jorrik and share their findings - he asks them to hold while he attempts to contact someone else. Jorrik returns shortly thereafter and advises the party that he reached out to Murdoch, the headmaster of the college of Buoyanth, and that Murdoch told him to advise the party that help was on the way, but provided no other direction. With nothing else to discuss, the party ends the call (Jorrik wishing them luck) and elects to wait until help arrives or something changes from above.

While resting, the party contemplates what help may be being sent. Merinthe, having heard the name Murdoch but unfamiliar with him, asks Zook and Duran if they know anything about them. Both wizards share that he is the most powerful spellcaster the land has seen, and has created the college of Buoyanth by his hand, and that if his help was being granted, conquest of the world would be an easy feat. Merinthe finds it suspicious that this all-powerful wizard would not simply solve the problem himself, though the party acknowledges he may be preoccupied (or wildly eccentric). The party prepares themselves for some sort of unexpected twist, and begins a long rest while waiting for circumstances to change.

Roughly four and a half hours later, around the stroke of midnight, the drumming ceases, and the chanting begins to grow increasingly louder. Nervously, Merinthe once again scouts the treetop, shielded from prying eyes by the falling rain. The large ape, impatiently, asks the robed figure if the ritual is nearly complete - to which the figure gestures in agreement. The ape eagerly celebrates the impending return of Harambe to the mortal plane. Merinthe quickly retreats to warn the party of the apparent impending completion of this ritual. Duran, perplexed, indicates he has never heard of this deity, and believes that the apes must be being duped as he has never heard of this deity. The party decides it is time to strike, and begins formulating a battle plan (aided by Merinthe's improvised map using her shield and several coins and trinkets). The party decides to strike at the head of the operation - the large ape - acknowledging that the ward around the altar may not be something they can address. The party decides they will move into position while hidden by the disappearing dust that they found on the shaman, and strike simultaneously.

The plan decided, the party gathers up their gear, sprinkles themselves with dust, and moves into position, striking once they are set. The large ape, however, is more resilient than the party expected, and they are unable to fell him with their initial volley. Responding to their intrusion, the apes on the platforms surrounding the tree begin drumming once again, and the party can hear what sounds to be a series of apes climbing the sides of the platform. Suddenly, a girallon bursts over the side, pouncing on Zook and dividing the party's attention. The girallon takes down Zook quickly, but before things can take a turn for the worse, the party - through good fortune and Duran's prescience - manages to fell both the ape and girallon before they can do much more damage.

Victorious, albeit seriously wounded, the party turns their attention towards the altar and ritual underway. Their attempts to penetrate the shield are unsuccessful, and the robed figure completes his ritual, the gems floating into the sky, fusing into an orb, and shattering - along with the statue - into millions of pieces. The robed figure reveals himself as Eustace - or, more accurately, Cyric masquerading as Eustace - and establishes that with the ritual complete, the gods have been released, and war was beginning. The party, stunned, is powerless to react as he draws a dagger from his robes, utters a few words, and vanished. No sooner has this happened than the tree and altar begin to tear themselves apart; fortunately for the party, though too late to prevent the ritual, Murdoch's help - in the form of a spectacular golden dragon, arrives to pick them off and retreat from the collapsing ritual site. (A1, W12)

Riding atop the golden dragon, the party travels southwest, with the dragon keeping low and flying close to the tree line. The dragon warns the party that they need to stay low to avoid notice. Shortly thereafter, a large shadow flies overhead towards the ritual site. Looking up, the party sees a large, multi-headed dragon flying overhead, who Zook recognizes as Tiamat. Fortunately, the group evades Tiamat's notice, and continues their journey. As the party reaches the jungle's edge, the dragon suddenly pauses, and everyone looks skyward to see a tear in the sky from which myriad creatures seem to be emerging. The dragon continues her flight towards the mountains separating the Dragon Plains from Fallsworn Jungle and surrounding area, a region both Elgroth and Belrus recognize as familiar.

A Land Down Underdark
Eventually, the party flies into the dragon's lair, concealed within the mountain. After dismounting, the dragon changes her form, transforming into the form of a human woman, and directs the party to follow her deeper into the lair. The lair is large, with several chambers - including a large treasure hoard. The dragon introduces herself as Chrysanthemum, an ally of the wizard Murdoch, who was tasked to protect the orbs. She advises she failed in her task, having been waylaid and injured, and that she arrived too late to prevent the ritual. She explains that the gods were trapped, but released by Cyric's ritual, and that another agent of Cyric has resealed any gods not previously associated with The Dark Six. Concerned, she also informs the party that she has seemingly lost contact with Murdoch, something that has never happened before.

Concerned, the party reaches out to Jorrik Steelmind (or, rather, attempts to, as Rurik Fireforge answers the call) with their sending stone. Rurik advises the party that Jorrik is unavailable, having been dispatched to try and retrieve the downed airship. The party asks Rurik to contact Murdoch, with Zook guiding him towards the stone Jorrik previously used, but Rurik is unsuccessful. During their conversation, the sounds of alarms begin to ring out in the background. Rurik describes a large winged creature approaching Moradin, which Merinthe and Duran both recognize as a bone devil. The call ends as the dwarves rush to defend the city.

The party asks Chrysanthemum if there is any way she can get the party to the Twin Dagger Cities and the college of Buoyanth so they can try to locate or meet with Murdoch in person. She suggests there are two available routes - one, traveling by foot, which would likely take a month of travel, and the other involving going into the Underdark and using ancient draconic ley lines. She cautions the party that she is unfamiliar with the details of their operation, but that they should still be functional, and warns them that the creatures underground are quite dangerous. It is well known that the Underdark is a mostly unexplored and dangerous region, but Zook, Merinthe, and Duran are also aware that Lolth], the Queen of Spiders, is rumoured to consider it her domain.

Duran acknowledges that they will likely not find any allies underground, making it risky, but Chrysanthemum mentions that navigating the ley line network should only take a day or two. Zook asks if she is aware of how many 'stops' may be required using this network, or if it is strictly point-to-point. Chrysanthemum confesses she has not used them, but her understanding is that they were originally formed by dragon mages with the intent of allowing for rapid transport, and were subsequently modified by the Council of Ertol to add other access points and connect major points of influence - Galadriel, the Great Tree; the dwarven homestead of Moradin; the college of Buoyanth, near the Twin Dagger Cities; and, the mountains surrounding Dragon Pass and the Dragon Plains, a place she subsequently turned into her lair. Curious, Merinthe asks how many dragons still exist, and how many are friendly. Chrysanthemum advises the dragons would - for the most part - remain neutral in this conflict, as both the mortals and gods of Izal attempted to control or leverage them for their own designs. Zook inquires if she is familiar with a dragon who, like her, can change its form into a human one (referring to the woman they saw in the great forge of Moradin) - Chrysanthemum confirms this would be Červený, her rival and foe. Duran takes a moment to ask her if she is familiar with Dalv - she confirms she is, and warns that his plans are generally very convoluted and that he should not be taken at face value. She advises that he is dangerous and, when he last was active, he was taken down by a human vampire hunter named Kristen Stewart. Duran informs her that it seems to be active and mustering armies again, and Chrysanthemum cautious that this is of concern but stresses it is imperative he did not recover his jar (she notes that she sealed it away under his lair where he could not reach it). Duran asks what last happened with Kristen Stewart - Chrysanthemum advises her fascinating with hunting the undead turned to obsession and she lost contact with Kristen roughly 800 years ago.

After brief deliberation, the party agrees to take the underground passage and takes advantage of the rejuvenating pool in the dragon's lair to heal. To aid in their journey, Chrysanthemum gives the party some coin (and rope!), gives Belrus a new golden warhammer, and gives Merinthe a case that seems to match Yenkas' amulet - she notes that the amulet that Yenkas held was apparently crafted by the smith who made the orbs used to seal the gods, and may be a key to resealing them, noting the elf's name is Llathriel, and he used to be a member of the Council of Ertol before he went into hiding following the successful sealing of the gods. She hands the party a travel crystal, explaining that it is used to activate the ley lines, and escorts the party to the lift leading down into the Underdark.

After a slow, five minute descent, the party arrives at the bottom of the lift and finds themselves at a landing with two narrow paths - one leading south, ending at what they night-sighted among them see as a body of water; the other, ending abruptly at a muddy wall of some kind. While the party deliberates on what to do, Merinthe takes this opportunity to poll the party on what to do if they run into anyone that gets in their way. She expresses concern that anyone they run into that asks too many questions or gets in their way could be an agent of evil in disguise, like Eustace or the werewolf they found on their way to Moradin, and she is worried this may impede their mission. After some deliberation, the party decides they will not go out of their way to kill everyone they encounter, but agree that they will not hesitate to kill anyone that is a threat or that they deem knows too much.

With this decided, the party decides to approach the muddy wall to the east, noting that it seems to be makeshift and thus likely made by someone - or something - on the other side. Merinthe tries to listen at the mud wall and hears the crackling of a torch and a deep humming on the far side. She conveys this information to the party, who seem surprised she could make this out, and Duran unsurprisingly takes this opportunity to grill her on her past, a topic she mostly dodges while directing the party's focus towards the mud wall and the creature(s) on the other side. The party decides to try and reach out to whoever is there, hopefully avoiding bloodshed. Zook approaches the mud wall and calls out to the creature on the other side, and hears only a grunt in response. Suddenly, a large hand busts through the mud wall and attempts to grab Zook. Started, the party nevertheless springs to action, engaging the single-eyed giant. When Zook manages to evade his clutches, the giant grabs Merinthe and attempts to toss her down a large well/hole in the ground behind him. She is able to grasp the ledge and pull herself up, but the sounds of battle and her struggling cause four large bats to stir and join the fight. Fortunately, they prove no match for the party. Belrus - thanks to Torm's fury - knocks the cyclops back and down into the hole, and the bats are subsequently dispatched without much difficulty.

As Duran explains the origins of the cyclops to the party, the party attempts to peer down the hole to see if the cyclops survived. Merinthe is able to toss a coin - imbued with light - to its base, which the party notes is at a distance that would surely kill any of them were they to have fallen in. As the party peeks down, Duran spots something stuck to the side of the hole - a small box - which the party carefully recovers (thanks to Zook's skill). As the party sits down to rest, Duran and Zook attempt to identify the contents therein. Opening the box, they find a smaller box. They open this smaller box, to find a pair of goggles - Belrus, wearing them, discovers he is able to see in darkness. Searching the room to try them out, he locates a small cache of rubble, which contains a small trinket - an ebony fly. (A2, W13)

Finishing their rest, the part decides to scout out the other passage near the entrance. They find the water at the end of the path is flowing rapidly, west to east. They abandon it, returning to the cyclops' chamber, and taking the southern exit (which requires a jump over this flowing water). The southern passageway is a winding corridor, with a trapped (or at least unstable) section near its end. Probing it further with a javelin, Elgroth discovers it seems to be something like quicksand. The party is able to bypass this by jumping across the short side, and finds themselves coming to a doorway, presumably made of worked clay. The door appears to be non-magical, though the party detects magic beyond it. It is covered in worn symbols, though not in a language the party recognizes - Duran says the shapes seem to be something he has seen in a book before, but that it was an unknown alphabet or script - and has a keyhole of sorts. Using magic to understand the script, he learns that it says "What lies beyond are the secrets to everything". The party backs up as Duran attempts to open the door, unsuccessfully. Zook hands the gem provided by Chrysanthemum to Elgroth, who inserts it in the "keyhole", following which the party opens the door.

No sooner is the door opened than two hand crossbow bolts fly forth from the room, one towards Elgroth and one towards Belrus. Elgroth is hit by a grazing blow, while the shot intended for Belrus sails wide. Before the party can react, they are set upon by two wolves and two dark-skinned, white-haired elves (which Duran recognizes as drow). Elgroth effortlessly defeats the wolves, and he and Belrus press forward as Duran attempts to (unsuccessfully) parlay with the elf. Following Duran's botched attempt to negotiate, the elf furthest from the party runs towards the center of the room, holds a red crystal in his or her hand (similar to the one the party has), and vanishes. The other elf quickly pushes forward and fells Belrus with a flurry of blows. Duran manages to paralyze him with magic, following which Zook runs up and grabs his sword, calling for the party to grab him. Merinthe pushes forward to grapple him (as she has no rope) as he shakes off the paralysis, just in time for Elgroth and Duran to finish him off with their attacks.

With the threats neutralized, the party quickly searches the downed drow - who Duran identifies as seemingly being higher rank than the one that ran - before pushing into the room hoping to find a way to pursue the runner. Zook speculates that they may have been preventing us from using the ley line for a reason, while Merinthe supposes they may have just stumbled through it as we did. The party quickly searches the room, finding plenty of evidence of foot traffic and stumbling upon a hidden passage way (ultimately leading nowhere). The party returns to the room and, following the steps Zook saw the dark elf take, seeks to activate the ley line. Duran recalls that most 'automated' teleportation mechanisms he's read about (mostly wizardly teleportation circles) tend to require the use of an object attuned to or tied to that location - Merinthe advises she has a trinket (a small needle) from her family's shop in Kalan - and the party decides to try to leverage that as a focus/shortcut.

Suddenly, the party finds themselves in another location - one that is certainly not Kalan, and that is mostly certainly the Underdark - and finds themselves in a room pulsating with a faint red glow. Some sort of conduit of magical energy flows along the floor. Following it, the party sees that it flows to a series of other - similar - inset landings, as though forming a network, and that the network of ley lines ultimately funnels inward towards the center of a mammoth circular chamber containing a sprawling underground city at its center. The cunning spellcasters among the party estimate the city is likely three miles away, based on the size of the structures therein. A river/stream cuts through the city itself, and the party notes strange fungi adorning the cavern in various locations. Zook recalls reading a poem many years ago regarding a city that was eerily like this one - the story was considered to basically be a scary elven bed-time story, but the city now appears to be real.

As the party takes in their surroundings, they spot the elf that had ran, a little over a hundred feet away from them (having taken a ridiculously tall zigzagging stairway down to ground level). The party debates whether to pursue or let him run, and elects to change locations to try and figure out where they are, hoping that he did not glean enough information to put the party at risk. They leave the current landing - which Zook identifies as the southernmost - and travels to the east, cautiously/quietly. It takes the party roughly two hours to reach the next staircase, at which point they notice the pillar at the center of the underground city is pulsating with magical energy. Concerned, but ultimately powerless, the party begins climbing the stairs. They eventually reach the top and attempt to activate the leyline, only to find nothing happens - after inserting it into the socket, Duran noted the stone become brighter before fading and remaining faded.

Scanning the horizon, Merinthe catches movement heading towards the party's current location. Neither she nor Zook could make out their numbers or appearance, and the party discusses how best to handle it. They settle on hiding in wait (magically concealed) to see what they are dealing with. Eventually, they see a dwarf (wielding a whip and hammer) and a small group of malnourished gnome-looking creatures (wielding pickaxes). Duran, having prepared himself with the ability to magically understand languages, discovers that the dwarf appears to be a slavemaster bringing the smaller creatures to mine. The party observes as, after a brief stop, they activate the ley line and disappear. Zook peeks out to scan the other ley lines and sees similar activity around them, noting that it appears workers (and, perhaps, soldiers) are leaving for the day city-wide.

The party elects to try and intercept a group at another ley line, and begins to descend the stairs. As they begin their descent, they hear the faint hum of the teleporter activating behind them. Zook creeps up to see who has come through, and notes the dwarf slavemaster - and only the dwarf slavemaster - has emerged. The party all moves to hide individually - unfortunately, Merinthe slips on a crumbling piece of the stairwell, alerting the dwarf to her presence. Merinthe tries to play this off as merely a slip, acting like she belongs, and attempting to move past the dwarf. The dwarf suddenly grows in size and attempts to grab Merinthe. Before he can raise any alarm, the party subdues him. Searching him, they find only faded crystals.

The conversation turns towards what they should do with the incapacitated dwarf. The party decides to bring him down the stairwell, attempting to find an out-of-the-way location to interrogate him. They begin to move to another ley line/landing area. As they travel, the dwarf begins to regain consciousness. Duran, supported by Elgroth and Belrus, decide to interrogate him. He is wholly unwilling to answer their questions, but the party is eventually able to negotiate an agreement: in exchange for the party retrieving something for him from the mine, he will give them information on the city and the ley line network. Although the idea met some resistance from Elgroth, they agreed to let the dwarf return to the city to obtain some crystals, and that they would recover his missing trinket in exchange for his aid.

The dwarf returns, as promised, two hours later, with two red crystals in hand. The party activates the portal, with the dwarf in toe, and much as before, they fade out and and appear in another location - however, they do not see the dwarf anywhere with them. They find themselves in a chamber similar to the one containing the ley line entrance beneath Chrysanthemum's lair, and exit to the east to find a precarious cavern filled with stalactites, narrow platforms, and dangerous pitfalls. They leverage the ebony fly to fly across, with Belrus flying first - suddenly, one of the "stalactites" falls down and slams into him, grabbing him and blinding him. (A2, W14) Fortunately, Belrus was able to leverage his dragon breath, the blast of flame killing the creature and dislodging it from his face, and completing his crossing successfully. This is not the only creature of its kind, however, and the party is attacked by several other darkmantles crossing the gap. The party quickly fells the creatures, though Zook and Duran are badly injured in the process. After debating whether or not to take a rest, the party decides to press on, not knowing that they are in a safe location.

Having crossed the gap, the party presses further into the mine. A relatively narrow tunnel with footpaths on each side of a chasm proves to be only a minor inconvenience, and the party follows it to its end, wrapping around a corner and finding a large empty chamber (roughly sixty-five-feet by sixty-five-feet) opening into the depths below (beyond the radius of Merinthe's light). They try to use the fly to cross, only to find that it cannot enter the open area. Further experimentation (via cantrips and Belrus leaning his head in to test his goggles) indicates that the chamber seems to be filled with some sort of nullification or anti-magic field. Zook begins probing the 'ground' in front of them with his staff, finding that in two spots his staff strikes invisible ground. Belrus tests these squares with rocks, and notes that the 'floor' only seems to hold for ten seconds or so - the rock lands just fine, but falls into the chasm shortly thereafter. Duran tests putting a rock across the 'plane' of the floor, finding that after ten seconds the floor seems to be restored, indicating that it is 'on' by default and shut 'off' by pressure. Zook and Duran experiment to test if the entire floor or disparate segments of the floor are linked to give way, staggering pressure, and finding that they are not. Merinthe imbues a crossbow bolt with the radiance of the sun, firing it across the chasm, and notes that the light cuts out only for the time it spends in the 'void'. The party decides that the area seems to only temporarily nullify magic, rather than ending it outright. Tediously, the party begins mapping out the floor using a combination of debris, sling bullets, crossbow bolts, and javelins.

With confidence in the mapping, the party secures their rope to the fly - noting that the fly could not pass through the 'plane' of the nullification field. Zook dashes across the gap first and, supported by the rope, makes it across without incident. Before the rest of the party crosses, Zook scouts the other side, finding nothing of note beyond a slight breeze passing by him. The rest of the party follows in Zook's wake, with the party seeing a chest tucked in a corner once Merinthe crosses and her radiant daylight illuminates the far side. Elgroth and Belrus find that the room contains no concealed threats, while Duran identifies the chest radiates magic and begins ritually casting a spell to find out the particulars. Zook chests of the chest is locked or not from range, finding his mage hand cannot lift it. Finishing his cast, Duran notes that the chest is warded with some kind of abjuration magic - as is the chasm.

The party deliberates briefly before Duran walks over and pops the chest open - it opens without incident. Inside the chest rests a small box, the contents magical of an indeterminate school. Shrugging, Zook pops open the box - but before he can peer inside, the ground starts rumbling around the party. Suddenly, a section of the north wall bursts open, and a large bipedal creature with mandibles and hooked claws steps out, eyeing Elgroth; mere seconds thereafter, a four-legged monstrosity with a gaping maw burrows out of the ground behind Merinthe. The party finds themselves pinned between these two sudden threats, and braces for battle. Zook's timely illusion mesmerizes the four-legged creature, allowing the party to bring their firepower to bear upon the other thread. The creature's mandibles and claws prove to be powerful indeed, felling Belrus as he attempted to shield a vulnerable Elgroth; however, as the party continues to pressure it, it eventually disappears back underground. As the party quickly prepares to turn their attention back towards the four-legged creature, the dwarf slavemaster suddenly appears beside it, still shackled, and punches the bulette, breaking the entrancing charm upon it, a gift of kindness it repays by promptly biting him in half. It then turns and leaps upon Elgroth, knocking him to the ground, as the other creature re-emerges from the ground and charges at Duran. Though the creature lands a forceful blow upon Duran with its mandibles, the wizard is able to weather the blow, and incinerate it in response. The party then quickly turns their attention back to the four-legged monster attacking the barbarian, felling it with a flurry of gold, steel, and the elements.

Beaten and worn, the party opts to try and take a rest here to nurse their wounds and refresh their energy. While Zook begins conjuring his magical ward within which they can rest, the party searches the corpses of the dwarf and the creatures. They find four more crystals akin to those used to traverse the leylines. Zook's spell complete, Merinthe moves away from the party and cautiously opens the box. Dust inside bursts out, causing Merinthe to cough, but seemingly otherwise causing no effect. Merinthe brings the box to the party, showing them the wand inside. Duran identifies the wand as a wand of wonder, and the party sits down to rest. Belrus, suspicious of dusty boxes in caves, attempts to cure Merinthe of any disease that may be affecting her, also triggering her paranoia. She asks Duran if his magic is capable of identifying whether or not she may be under the effects of any magics, and he advises he can. (A2, W15) With their rest complete, Duran identifies that Merinthe is cursed, though not the nature of the curse. The party is powerless to address this at this time, so they move on to discussing the crystals and what steps to take next to escape the Underdark.

After a brief discussion, they decide their best bet may be to move to the next pad to try and see where they are going. They manage to cross both 'chasms' without incident, and proceed back towards the entrance teleportation platform that brought them to the mine. The party activates the pad and passes through the teleporter, arriving back in the cavern. No sooner do they arrive than Zook is grabbed and gagged by a scimitar-wielding drow. The party tenses for a fight, but their assailant quickly interjects in common tongue. He explains he has no interest in fighting the party, but is interested in helping them escape. The party is suspicious of their story, but Merinthe believes his claim is legitimate, and asks him to explain how he aims to do that. He indicates he will elaborate further, but warns the party that they won't like the route they will be required to take. Duran asks him for his name, and why he is so interested in helping them. The dark elf doesn't share his name (but offers that the party can refer to him as "D"), but explains that he is not from this section of the Underdark and is stuck here (like the party). He notes he also hopes to implore the party to pass a warning to those above regarding an impending drow invasion (in conjunction with the demonic invasion, which has apparently already happened). He explains he is interested in preserving peace, and hopes we can motivate others to take action to prevent the invasion from resulting in unnecessary bloodshed.

Their new companion explains that the stone they were provided by "their dragon friend" (a piece of knowledge Duran is curious as to how the drow discovered, with him explaining only that he is skilled at what he does) is the key to them getting to their destination; however, in order to do so, they will need to travel into the city, to the centre spire, and 'recharge' it. He explains that the best time to sneak in is when the city's residents are traveling to or returning from work - the watch/guard is generally less vigilant, especially since access to this city is quite restricted, being isolated and accessed via teleportation magic. The drow explains they should travel in a group, as the guards - while potentially inattentive - are quite dangerous, and the centre spire itself is guarded by a naga. Duran is unfamiliar with naga, but Zook is familiar enough to intimate the dangers. The dark elf suggests the party may be able to have the elves disguise themselves as dark elves, and then escort the other three members of their party in as slaves. Elgroth expresses concern about accessing his weapons - the drow provides Elgroth with a small sack, far deeper than its appearance would belie, in which they can store their goods. With that, he splits up with the party to scout, while they prepare.

The party is suspicious of "D"s motives, though after some deliberation, agree they don't have another viable option. They agree to have Belrus press him for further information upon his return. Merinthe expresses additional concern over the drow runner that got away, who may have warned the guard and described the party, and she suggests they take some steps to disguise everyone in the party, in addition to the drow. Elgroth suggests it may be worth presenting themselves as agents of Cyric come to enlist their help for the invasion - this seems to be plausible, though the party only knows of Lolth and Deep Duerra as targets of worship in the Underdark. The party decides to play the drow angle - masquerading, if needed, as drow from another Underdark city - and save the Cyric angle as a fallback. The party runs through their inventory trying to identify items that may help support either story. The party expresses concern over their susceptibility to magical detection, but have no options to mitigate this, and cede it as a weakness.

As they wrap up their discussion, "D" returns. He advises them that the work shift is about to begin, and they should make haste to enter. He tells the party that there are no gates bordering the city, so they should be able to walk in unimpeded as long as they don't make efforts to stand out, and that all paths lead to the city centre and the pillar they need to reach. Duran asks the drow why he won't just escort the party there, since he is not wanted by the guard, familiar with the city, and speaks the language. He is evasive, but indicates he will be watching the party from the rooftops of the buildings, dispatching any guards there that get in the way. Duran and Elgroth both object to this but - again - in absence of better options, begrudgingly agree. With their plan broadly decided, Merinthe begins work disguising herself and Duran as dark elves, Zook as one of the types of gnomes they saw with the dwarf slavemaster, and Belrus as a particularly large kobold champion, leaving only Elgroth unchanged. Disguises complete, and cover stories decided, the party leaves towards the city.

Reaching the city, the party makes it past the guard post unimpeded - though the guards do make remarks about the size of the kobold prisoner they have captured - and begin traveling through the city and its obsidian structures, making their way towards the spire. Traveling through the city, the party encounters a group of drow with a couple of svirfneblin. Duran attempts to ignore them, but one of the drow - seemingly their leader - asks him to half. Duran explains that he's transporting their prisoners for processing, a story their opponents find suspect. After further argument, Duran eventually agreed to begrudgingly cede Zook, sending him forward to the drow; Zook, not aware of the nature of the conversation, and not interested in yielding, breaks his 'bonds' and bathes several of their assailants in flames, causing combat to break out between both sides. Duran reveals himself to be a 'traitor', arming Belrus, while Merinthe pretends to have been deceived and flees to ally with the drow, offering to protect one of them (and keeping them out of the combat) while 'accidentally' firing upon the other drow and svirfneblin. Though the denizens of the Underdark are reinforced by duergar, and Merinthe's ruse eventually fails, they are able to dispatch their foes with relatively little difficulty (and with "D" dealing with unseen threats from the rooftop). Hiding the bodies, and looting them, they find some additional ranged weaponry and some more teleportation crystals.

Their misstep and combat unnoticed, the party continues to press towards the center of the city and the spire. As they near it, they notice three large, serpentine beasts - presumably the naga - standing guard, with two sitting on the ground and one sitting on a pedestal in an elevated position. They also see a smaller 'stand' where it looks like they can charge their crystals. The party takes time to discuss how best they can approach the pillar, using either magic or mundane means. As they near it, they notice two of the naga are made entirely of bone, while one is made of flesh. (A2, W16) The party elects to have Duran approach to attempt to charge the crystals, knowing that (thanks to his magic) he can understand the language of the naga, and also noting that he had the higher rank insignia (looted from the corpses of the drow they defeated earlier). Should the naga question them, the party's cover is that they are a surface infiltration group and need to charge their crystal to get to the surface.

As Duran approaches the naga, the two made of bone turn towards him and order him to halt, and begin questioning him on his purpose. Duran explains that he is leading a scouting party to the surface to identify a route for the invasion forces. Suspicious of his story, the two bone naga slither closer to Duran, asking him why he is so nervous. Duran attempts to play off his nervousness as anxious excitement over travel to the surface. The bone naga find it curious he is traveling to the surface, as none have traveled there from this city in over a thousand years, and ask for his commanding officer. Duran replies that he goes by the alias of "D". The naga ask for his rank, a question Duran attempts to deflect. The bone naga begin conferring among themselves, discussing the validity of Duran's story; curious, the naga made of flesh seems to gaze intently at Duran, his interest piqued. After further discussion, the naga warn Duran that if he advances further, he will die. Duran begins to withdraw, but suddenly turns and uses mage hand to guide the stone into the pedestal to charge it, technically adhering to their demands. Unfortunately, the naga don't feel the same way, and move to attack Duran.

A short but pitched battle ensues, with the party emerging battered but victorious, and the party moves to recover their crystal. As the stone seems to finish charging, the centre pillar begins pulsating with magical energy, causing the ambient light permeating the ley line network to shift from a murky red to a crackling blue. The party suspects that this is purifying or otherwise modifying the ley line network in some way, a fact which "D" confirms. "D" advises that this is both good and bad - good, because it will delay the drow in their invasion plans, and bad, because now every drow, dwarf, gnome, and other denizen of the city knows that the party is here. Moving with haste, Duran removes the initial stone, and quickly places two others to charge, before the party flees for the nearest portal. As they party looks to leave, "D" jumps down from the rooftops, advising the party that they are surrounded. He tosses a small sack at Belrus, which Belrus opens to see contains an assortment of jewels. He calls for them to get near him, and pulls something out of his pockets. The world begins to swirl by the party, and the party suddenly finds themselves near the portal where they first met "D". Looking back into the city, the party sees a huge rush of people swarming back into the city and towards its centre.

"D" explains that the crystal they received from Chrysanthemum is basically a 'wild card', allowing the user to travel anywhere from this city (which is the source of the ley lines' power). He explains they should be able to use this pad - which Duran notes is now glowing with blue energy - to get where they need to be, and that he will be parting ways with them, as he has unfinished business in the Underdark. He hands the party a bag - which they later discover contains several precious gems - before departing. Following his departure, the party discusses to which ley line they should flee, settling on traveling to the Twin Dagger Cities and Buoyanth to find Murdoch, as was their initial plan. The party concentrates on the concept of Buoyanth and activates the teleportation stone, finding themselves blinded by a blue flash.

Castles in the Air
The party suddenly finds themselves in a sort of small cavern, with only a wooden door and a lift visible to them as the only exists. The door seems to be stuck, and difficult to move. Figuring they are as safe as they can be, the party sets down to take a short rest. Zook asks Merinthe what she can share about the Twin Dagger Cities and Buoyanth, as she is from here. She apprises them of the general nature of the city and the city guard. Belrus suggests Merinthe take the spoils they earned from "D" as she can likely find someone interest in buying them - the implication of which causes her to admonish him for making assumptions about her character. Peeling off their disguises, the party climbs aboard the lift and Duran pulls the lever beside it, causing the platform to ascend. Eventually, the lift reaches the top of its path, and the party finds themselves up to another dead end, facing a wooden panel with a button on the wall beside it.

Duran pushes the button, causing the wooden panel to slide open. The party finds themselves exiting into a hallway lined with rich decor and several doors. There are several banners present, which Merinthe recognizes as flying the colours/standards of Buoyanth. A chime begins to sound, and the party notices several doors lining the corridor opening as people begin to pour out, and another chime sounds shortly thereafter as the halls quickly exit, signally the end and beginning of classes. Fortunately, the travelers pay the party no mind, and the party begins working their way down the hallway towards a staircase.

As they approach the staircase, they hear someone hollering from behind them, asking them to stop. He seems to be dressed as a city guard, but Merinthe notes he is not dressed as a typical guard. Merinthe recognizes his garb as that of one of the personal guards of Judy, Queen of Kalan. The guard, out of breath, ask the party if they are "the school's representatives", noting the Queen is searching for them. The party quickly states that they are not, and suggests he looks elsewhere. The guard doesn't believe the party - noting they are armed and armoured. Zook asks the guard why he is searching for these representatives, and the guard explains he the school's representatives are due to fight in the arena in an hour. The party again stresses they are not the representatives he is looking for, but that they would happily attempt to locate them, as the party are merely spider exterminators who have returned from solving Buoyanth's spider problem and are looking to get paid. The guard suggests the party could seek their payment when they arrive at the arena, as the Queen is now the head of the school and she is there. The party - again - refuses to follow his instruction. The guard firmly stresses that they must be the school's representatives and, either way, should attend as they are armed, armored, and in the school. The party continues to distance themselves from the school, as the guard - who introduces himself as Kevin - continues to attempt to persuade (or pressure) them into attending the arena. Flustered and exhausted, the guard eventually passes out.

With the guard passed out, the party begin discusses how to **deal** with him. After begrudgingly entertaining some more violent and permanent solutions, and acknowledging the pitfalls of some of the less violent ones given the discovery that there is suddenly an arena and the Queen is now running the college, the party settles on dousing Kevin in alcohol and leaving him passed out, figuring his drunken appearance and rambling may turn any story he tells about the party suspect. The party then continues to move through the college, attempting to locate what was presumably Murdoch's office and passing by classrooms where students were clearly studying. The party eventually arrives at another lift, which Duran deduces is controlled by the use of **mage hand** along a control crystal. The party climbs aboard the lift and begins their ascent, noting that one wall is made of glass and shows a view of the city of Kalan - a city that looks mostly unchanged to Merinthe from when she left it a couple of months prior, with the exception of a brand new and quite massive arena to which a large part of the city had seemingly been converted. The lift eventually reaches the top of the passageway, ending at a wooden door. Listening at the door, Merinthe hears the sound of quill on parchment, as someone appears to be writing notes. She unsuccessfully signals this information to the party, resulting in the party misinterpreting her message and Belrus and Elgroth both attempting to knock the door down. Merinthe is able to stop Belrus from doing so by getting in the way, but Elgroth punches the door off hits hinges as Merinthe dodges her swing. As the door pops off, the party is surprised to see a single human male sitting at a table looking at the party confused. The party looks at Merinthe, confused, with Merinthe baffled at the party's inability to understand her simple signs.

The man at the table looks at the party, unsurprised, and asks the party if they plan to pay to replace it. Merinthe suggests the man can simply take it out of their pay for exterminating the spiders in the basement. He seems confused about both the existence of spiders and of a basement in the castle, and seems uninterested in paying them (a solution Zook solves through careful illusion use, describing the party as Exterminatus and adding a pay entry to a log book as the man is thumbing through it). The party asks to speak with Murdoch - the man, stroking a gem absent-mindedly while stating it, says that Murdoch is away on vacation 'to the west' and that he is acting headmaster in Murdoch's absence. Merinthe non-verbally communicates an instruction to the party to distract the man, as she attempts to make a play for the gem. Belrus attempts to distract the man by asking about Murdoch's travels to the west, explaining he is from the region - though the distraction is mostly successful, she is unable to wrest the gem from his grasp. The party decides to not press the issue further.

The party converses further with the man, getting information about the arena, inquiring about the location of the school's representatives, and collecting their pay before eventually leaving. They discover that the school's representatives apparently all fell ill just before they were due to participate in the arena, an unfortunate turn of events as it means the school will be reprimanded. He explains that the reprimand might 'only' involve the sacrifice of a couple of students, to the party's surprise. He elaborates that the Queen is meting out punishment to those that do not band together in this time of war - again, to the party's surprise - and details that the Twin Dagger Cities are currently on the brink of war with each other. As the discussion is ongoing, Duran attempts to use his divination magic to read the thoughts of the man, and notes that he has taken an interest in Merinthe beyond mere curiosity, a fact Duran communicates to Merinthe, intimating she should try to distract him further. Picking up on the hint, Merinthe tries to keep the man distracted by asking for more information about the arena and its prize - noting the reward they earned for killing the spiders was somewhat lacking. With him distracted, Zook attempts to subtly investigate the rest of the room, noting that the floor is covered in a thin slime in a few places, and also finds a message scrawled into the floor stating "Dag was here".

The conversation continues, with Zook unsuccessfully attempting to sway the man into ceding the gem as part of a reward Murdoch had promised and Merinthe unsuccessfully attempting to convince him to follow them to the basement so she can show proof of the work they had done, much to the man's irritation. He eventually cedes a different gem and a potion to the party in a bid to get them to leave - the party, feeling they've pushed this as far as they can, elects to leave the office (and, indeed, the castle itself).

Kalan Calling
The party exits the college and finds themselves at a rainbow bridge extending to Kalan. The party crosses over and begins discussing their next steps. As the party crosses the bridge, Zook finds a gnome and begins asking him about the state of the city. The gnome explains that the Queen of Klortho is pregnant and, with the recent death of both kings, stands to be the sole heir to a unified Kalan and Klortho. The gnome suspects the Queen of Kalan is looking to assassinate her sister or kill her in a war. The gnome also discusses the arena and how the assassins guild - headed by a gnomish assassin named Paflaumir - seems to be nominating the tournament. Paflaumir, in particular, has earned enough favour to ascend to the position of being a member of the Queen's entourage. With the information gathered from the gnome and from Murdoch's replacement, the party decides to steer clear of the arena, electing to find a place to spend the evening and deciding to discuss their next move the following morning. Merinthe suggest's an inn that she last knew to be safe, but warns that it - like everything else - may have fallen under someone else's control.

The party arrives at the brick building and enters, welcomed by the friendly half-elven proprietor. (A2, W17) The inn is quite populated, with the innkeeper and several bartenders flitting about. The inn's patrons are quite inebriated, with many of them discussing their gambling wins and losses of the day at the arena. Merinthe describes that this was not uncommon beforehand, as this inn was often filled with patrons playing cards and dice (and was generally 'safe' as a result due to the population), so she is not surprised to see this extending to this new arena. The party approaches the bar, speaking with a human male (who introduces himself as Romero) regarding securing a room. The party secures two rooms, with Romero explaining that he secured them two adjoining and connected rooms (as is a typical ask for large groups). The party retires to their rooms to clean their gear and equipment and discuss what to do next.

Retiring through their room, Zook decides to rummage through the magical bag (of holding) that the party had retained from "D". He pulls out a strange dark hooded cloak - which Duran then magical identifies as a piwafwi - and the party elects to give it to Belrus (as he is arguably the least covert part member). The party also elects to leave the bag itself with Merinthe, noting her struggles carrying loads of equipment. As the party finishes going through their equipment, there is a knock at the door. Romero arrives, advising that one of the patrons offered to buy a round for everyone, and hands them tray with a carafe and some mugs. The party - with the exception of Merinthe - partakes in the drink, and finds a note at the bottom of the container. Removing the sheet, they find it is blank, but as they move it around they note that strange red text - mirror the text on the messages they presumably received from Dalv in the Whispering Forest. The note congratulates the party on making it as to Kalan, but warning that they still owe him something they took from him, and wishing them luck in the arena. Before they can put the note away, they find the text suddenly shifts to another message, in blue, warning that they will be ambushed in the city. Zook identifies the writing as feminine, and the party wonders if it may be a warning from Kristen Stewart.

Concerned, the party discusses the implications of this message (and the writing both being on the same message). Zook suspects that the party may be ambushed by the creatures they saw from the airship. Duran surmises he may have an interest in ensuring his jug does not fall into the wrong hands (well, more specifically, a different set of wrong hands), which is why he sent a letter containing these warnings. Merinthe is curious as to how the party was located this quickly after their arrival in the city (wondering if it may be because of the curse Duran identified as afflicting her). Zook suggests the party attempts to discover who bought the round of drinks for the bar, and perhaps ask Romero about the note in the carafe. Duran steps out of their room to scan the patrons and inn with detect magic active - a performer on stage has a lute, which glows; a green dragonborn male dancing on a table has a magical surrounding him; and, a couple of flagons of ale on assorted tables glow. Duran also notes the party's carafe is not glowing, but the letter obviously is, and that Merinthe is surrounded by a strange necrotic aura (presumably from the curse).

The group elects to have Merinthe and Belrus approach Romero to return the carafe. The pair ask the bartender who bought the drink - receiving confirmation that it was the dancing man, Kriv the Poor (a name and, subsequently, face that Merinthe vaguely recognizes) - and about the performer - who Romero identifies as Erazima, a bard who plays at several inns in the city. Romero shares that Kriv had a favourable bet on an underdog - a solo entrant into the tournament - and won ten thousand gold pieces. Doing a double take, Merinthe thanks Romero for his time and drags Belrus back upstairs to discuss this information. She shares her findings with the party, especially regarding Kriv. Duran points out that the coin could be fake, to Merinthe's disappointment. The party agrees that they should get Kriv up to their room to discuss his miraculous "good fortune", and Belrus and Duran both suggest that Merinthe should try to lure him up to the room for further discussion. They agree to take the approach of seeking a financier for Exterminatus, though Merinthe insists that a) they are not going to go to the arena for him to try and increase his profit, and b) they are not going to rob him. Belrus elects to accompany her.

The two return to the ground floor of the inn and approach Romero looking to secure a drink for Kriv. Belrus buys a bottle of good wine, and the two work their way over to the table uninterrupted. Belrus invites Kriv to share a drink; Kriv, in contrast, invites him to join him on the table for a dance. Belrus attempts to 'subtly' flip the table by leaning on it, sending Kriv toppling. Belrus attempts to catch him, and does so magnificently while still holding the bottle of wine. Kriv swoons in amazement, cuddling closer to Belrus. Merinthe suggests that they take Kriv to their room to sleep off his drink, advising Romero where he will be located if anyone is looking for him. Setting him down (and noting he has fallen asleep), the party notices he has a sack on his back, and they elect to investigate it on the off chance there may be something through which they could locate him. They open the backpack and do, indeed, find a large sum of (seemingly genuine) gold coins.

The party decides that they have an obligation to protect the dragonborn, at least until he regains consciousness in the morning. Duran casts identify to see what magic is affecting Kriv, discovering he is compelled by a wish spell. Rummaging through his affairs, they find betting receipts, and note that the underdog he bet on was none other than Dalv, arousing concern from the party, but they note they have nothing to counter this. They agree to spend the night here, in a - hopefully save - location, and travel tomorrow during the day to conduct their business after speaking with Kriv. With their downtime, the party shares several common hand signals to try and avoid confusion caused by Merinthe's seemingly obscure signs, agreeing to standard gestures for "follow", "stop", "creatures here", and "it's safe". Before resting, the party attempts to dispel the magic afflicting Kriv, and though Duran feels he has dispelled one spell, the wish remains. The party elects to use only one room (taking advantage of Zook's tiny hut) while leaving the door to the other room shut. Zook bars one of the doors with his quarterstaff, while Duran takes the time it takes for Zook to cast his ritual to similarly cast detect magic and scout for any magical presence near them, finding nothing. The party then settles down for the evening, though elects to maintain a watch schedule.

During Duran's watch, he catches the window to the room being opened quietly, as a lithe, cloaked feminine-looking figure slips into the room. She looks around, confused (not seeing the party thanks to the opaque nature of the hut). Duran wakes Merinthe, who watches as the intruder walks up and begins investigating the dome of the hut. Her hood is a full mask, and all they can see are her dark green eyes. She draws a dagger and taps it on the dome of force, with a small resounding metal-on-metal sound waking up the rest of the party. As the rest of the party slowly rouses from their slumber, another figure slips in through the window. Zook leans out the back of the dome to try and trap them in a web, but the second intruder counters the spell with a wand. He tries to charm them, but is similarly counterspelled. The intruders elect to flee, eluding Belrus' attempts to detain them, jumping back out through the window through which they entered, but not before Belrus tears the woman's cloak from her back and identifies her as Erazima. The party discusses whether they were after the gold or something else - but are uncertain. They decide they will wait to try and get whatever information they can out of Kriv in the morning, persuading him that they are here to help.

The party settles in to an otherwise uneventful rest, waking up as the sun rises. Belrus and Zook step out to scout the rest of the inn, just to make sure nothing else happens. They find nothing of note, returning just in time for Kriv to wake up. The party introduces themselves as Exterminatus and addresses his confusion about how he got there by explaining the party protected him from someone trying to rob him. Kriv thanks them for protecting him, and responds to the party's suggestion that he find somewhere safe to store his coin by suggesting he will: by spending it at the arena. Merinthe attempts to dissuade him from foolish gambling his spoils away - Kriv admits he has an addiction to gambling. While the party tries to convince him that he is being targeted and vulnerable, Kriv dismisses them offhand, suggesting he can hire protection. Zook tries to convince him to hire the party - he suggests the party could escort him to the arena. Duran seems on board with this idea, while Merinthe is concerned he will simply be leading them into a trap. Zook suggests they should escort him anyway, as they need to sell some of their spoils, and the bulk of the vendors are not at the arena.

The discussion shifts to the arena, as Kriv began trying to suss out information about the alchemist's guild to guide his betting. Kriv mentions the alchemists had lost in a recent fight to someone who looked suspiciously like Dalv - a fact confirmed with Kriv pulled out his betting slip with Dalv's name on it. To the party's consternation (at least to the wizards, who were familiar with vampires), he seemed to be fighting during the day, shielded by a strange umbrella. Kriv, oblivious to the party's reaction to this statement, stresses the party needs to head to the arena as soon as possible so he can place bets, saying he'd heard that representatives from Buoyanth are favourites to win today. Kriv begins discussing the arena events further with the party, and the party notices he is continually circling back to intimidating stories about Dalv - how he beat teams single-handedly, how he bit and drained the life out of one of his opponents, how he decapitated one of his foes and use their skill to destroy their companions, and so forth. Krogoth seems suspicious, and after focusing a little more intently, senses some magical tampering. Zook shares this with Merinthe and Duran, and Duran uses his magic to dispel the affliction upon him.

Kriv stirs from some sort of magical affliction, as Zook suspects, and seems surprised to find himself with the party and a stash of gold. He doesn't recognize any of the party - save Merinthe, who he believes he has seen around the city. Duran, in Elven, immediately suggests the party keep the gold. Kriv asks what day it is, which Zook shares - Kriv asks about the gold, and the party suggests it is common to all of them, offering to give him his share. The party counts out a thousand gold pieces and gives it to Kriv, sending him on his way. Belrus is conflicted but feels it was necessary as he would otherwise waste it and this can be used for a greater good, while Merinthe suggests it may be needed to pay for supplies to support an uprising if this city has truly fallen to unfavourable forces (her paranoia about the sudden change in the city kicking in). Kriv suggests the party come with him to gamble - Duran convinces him to not take the party along, as that might reduce his changes of winning. With Kriv out of the room, the party pools up the remaining gold, throwing it in the bag of holding in Merinthe's possession, ceding they have no other place to safely store it. The party eventually decides they should try to spend as much as they can to reduce their profile, seeking out a store where they may be able to buy some magical trinkets. Merinthe is aware of two locations - one near the arena, and one not near the arena - and the party, after pre-paying for another night's accommodations, sets out for the latter. Elgroth advises he needs to take some time to take care of some affairs, and the party agrees to split ways, meeting back up at the inn later that day.

Using Merinthe's familiarity with the city, the party takes the shortest route to the shop, noting along the way that the city's denizens are almost universally heading towards the arena. The sentiment seems to be that morale and patriotism are high, and the city's occupants are fully invested. Unsurprisingly, this is reflected when the party arrives at their destination and find the shop is closed with a note that its proprietor is selling at the arena (something they find is also true of other shops in the area). The party discusses leaving and heading to Klortho - Zook suggests they may be able to gather some information about entering and leaving the city from his guild, as the Alchemist's Guild offices generally have lots of traffic from travelers. Merinthe takes the party to Guild Row, near the city centre (which is away from the Arena, though the party notes that there is a continual stream of people heading towards the arena), and Zook steers them to the Alchemist's Guild.

Entering, the party finds a single occupant - a halfling woman, who is intently staring into an orb, watching the arena battle. After introducing himself and paying his dues, Zook asks her about entering and leaving in the city. She suggests there's heavy vetting at the gates, with guards taking a watchful eye. Zook asks her about the war between the two cities - she clarifies that it's a rumour, based on the guards mustering and increased gate activity, but that it seems to just be posturing between the two cities and not actual war. Zook asks how the guard handles people entering and leaving, especially heavily armed, with all of the fighting. The halfling explains that there is a specific gate where arena combatants are screened which takes them directly to living quarters for arena participants, and which seems to have worked well enough so far. Zook asks about the arena - she, like Kriv, begins gushing over the performance of Dalv in the arena. Merinthe asks if the orb has the ability to show a past battle - she says it only seems to show what is currently happening in the arena. The halfling explains that the queen and her assistant have provided these viewing orbs to each guild hall so the hall's denizens can watch while they work, though most have still left to watch in person. She manipulates the orb and shows the party the queen's presence at the arena, along with her assistant - who the party recognize as Jessen.

With the information they wanted gleaned and their idle conversation completed, the party begins discussing their best bet for leaving the city. As they converse among themselves, the halfling woman excitedly shouts, gesturing Zook to her side. She explains the Alchemist's Guild scored favourably in the strength trials at the arena, and are one of the favourites to win, especially owing to their potions. Zook asks about the potions, and the woman notes that there is an apprentice in the back who has information about them. Zook engages the apprentice in conversation, trading some of his strange alchemy components for an assortment of potions. Equipped, they leave the guild and step outside, and hear a raucous roar coming from the arena, followed by similar excited shouting from other guild halls near by. The party steps back inside, and approaches the orb. Peering inside, the party sees two parties - cobblers and glassblowers, apparently - engaged in battle. The cobblers soundly defeat the glassblowers using exploding shoes. After briefly humouring her regarding her excitement over the fight, the halfling and Zook begin discussing rumours from across the land - the strange blight in the Whispering Forest, the tear in the sky near the Fallsworn Jungle, the strange appearance of a brass dragon to the east - stopping only as the next match begins. Two groups enter the area, with one group appearing to be chefs, while the other side seems to be wearing full body cloaks and masks. Zook asks the halfling if she recognizes them - she does not. One of the cloaked figures steps forward and a whistle sounds - suddenly, all five chefs drop dead, decapitated - followed by another whistle. Without any reaction, the black cloaked figures exit the area to the thundering roar of the crowd. (A2, W18) Intrigued by their performance, Zook asks the halfling woman if she knows who they may be, as she's been watching the whole time. She shrugs, stating the team is entirely new to her. She notes each round of the tournament tends to have a handful of 'independent' entrants, who she does not know. She believes the bulk of competitors not affiliated with guilds or factions in Kalan are from Urach - mercenaries and other sorts.

Once again, feeling they have all the information they need, and having completed their business, the party steps outside the guild hall, to find themselves facing a group of ne'er-do-wells, one of whom has a tight grip on Kriv. The latter man greets the party and invites them to join him in the street for a 'friendly chat'. The emblem on their gear - a snake looping into a rune - is familiar to Merinthe, though she can't identify it. Duran suggests the group leave, and begins turning inside. Their antagonist, calls to the party and gesturing to Kriv, suggests that Kriv owes them money and told them the party owes him money. Merinthe denies any affilation with Kriv, and the party looks to move inside. Their assailant confirms that they only want their money and then they will leave. The party, once again, denies any relationship with or knowledge of Kriv. The brigand says that Kriv put up their company, Exterminatus, as collateral in the arena, and they are looking to collect. The party - once again - denies any affilation or knowledge of the company. The mercenary continues to stare down the party, pausing on Merinthe, asking if he knows her. Merinthe denies any familiarity. The mercenary warns the party that they - through Kriv - owe a great debt, and implies that Madam Ling (who Merinthe recognizes as the proprietress of the home she burgled before meeting the party) is running the betting ring at the arena and does not take kindly to those who default on their debts. After some further - ultimately unfruitful discussion - the party elects to leave; as they turn to do so, however, one of the mercenary archers takes a shot at Duran as the mercenary leader drops Kriv to the ground and rallies his men forward to attack the party.

Fortunately, the party was ready, and manages to unleash a barrage of fire and lightning on their attackers before the gap can be closed. Surprised by Merinthe's fireball, the mercenary leader turns to run, but is hypnotized by Zook's illusions. As the battle rages, Elgroth stumbles upon the scene (ostensibly looking for the Brewer's Guild for more drink), and charges forth to aid the party, splitting the elven archer in twain with a mighty swing of his greataxe. Their two leaders felled, the mercenaries nevertheless engage the party, though they are ultimately defeated. As the party moves to grab the stunned mercenary leader, a pale-skinned woman with red eyes charges out of an alleyway towards Duran, screaming about blood. With surprising speed and strength, she grabs him and attempts to sink her teeth into his neck. She eventually lands one bite before Duran incinerates her.

Their foes vanquished, the party elects to search their attackers, hide the corpses in crates and barrels, and drag the leader and Kriv into the guild hall to interrogate him. As they enter, Zook calls to the halfling woman to ask if they can use a backroom to question their attacker. The woman, intently watching the arena orb, quickly looks back and forth between it and Zook before breaking down crying. Zook walks over to ask what happened - she explains that the Alchemist's Guild's team (which included her husband) have lost and were all killed in the arena. Elgroth and Belrus ineffectually console her, while Zook at least expresses some sympathy. The party slips into a back room (a greenhouse) to interrogate their prisoner, noting that it has a back exit leading to the outside. Zook secures the lock on this door, and the party sets up shop to interrogate their witness. Questioning him, they find out the goal of the mercenaries was ostensibly exactly as stated - to recover money that Kriv had gambled away. Kriv had led the archer - a veteran tracker - to the party's original location, and based on other information, the tracker deduced they may have a tie to the guilds. That they stumbled upon the party when they did was merely good fortune. Belrus is suspicious that the man may not be telling the whole story, and he calls him out on it, threatening to break his bones if he doesn't tell the whole truth. The man blusters that he won't share the truth, then turns to Merinthe and informs the party that Madam Ling is already aware of their involvement, knows that Merinthe is back in Kalan, and is looking for the thief that stole from her. Nervous, Merinthe signals for Belrus to execute the prisoner, as the latter draws his greataxe. Unfortunately, Belrus' swing is less than clean, as he takes several swings to butcher and murder their 'prisoner', splattering and spilling blood everywhere.

Suddenly, the party notices the flora and fauna around reacting to the blood, and a piercing shriek begins to bellow forth form one of the mushrooms. Others rise up and begin approaching the party, accompanied by a large floating orb. In a panic, the party quickly dispatches the larger fungi with a fury of fire and flame. The shriekers persist, however, and Duran attempts to incinerate them with his flaming sphere, setting the greenhouse on fire. Belrus kicks the outer door down so the party can leave, but Merinthe is able to put the fire out by conjuring water. Exhausted, Merinthe advises the party they need to rest. Zook steps out to the lobby to attempt to pay the halfing girl for the costs of damage done, but notes that she's gone. Merinthe rushes over to examine the orb to see if something therein may have driven her to leave (though the party is concerned she was complicit with their assailants). The orb seems to be demonstrating an awards ceremony, and the party sees the victors in the orb - the black cloaked figures from before, who the party now see are wearing full metal masks. Duran grabs the orb as the party departs, hearing the potion seller emerge and cry out in dismay at the state of his greenhouse.

As the party emerges, the party sees people milling about, though they seem completely oblivious to what has happened here. The party asks Merinthe if she is aware of any locations where they may be able to hide, or where the closest known escape from the city could be found. Merinthe advises the party that she is aware of three points of interest: a gate in and out of the city, located nearby to the east, which may allow them to exit if the guards are compliant; a sewer path near to the north that her gang of street urchins have used sparingly (once) to escape the city owing to its precarious nature; and, as a potential safe place to state, an inn known as The Circled Square. As the party is debating on how to proceed, a piece of parchment float down from above, featuring writing in red-coloured script signed by Dalv congratulating them on their success, and a blue-coloured script on the reverse encouraging the party. Looking skyward, Merinthe spots something, but it is too far to make out. The party elects to stay the night at the Circled Square, given that one of their pursuers are already able to track them with ease and figuring their proximity to other citizens may at least give them a night to rest before they are next waylaid.

Merinthe leads them to the Circled Square, and they enter to find an extremely raucous crowd spectating bizarre, theatrical brawling narrated by a blusterous announcer. Duran suggests they should leave, while Merinthe suggests they stay as this place's unique nature will help keep them concealed. Duran balks, but is unable to provide an alternative location. Belrus attempts to sense the presence of holy or unholy creatures, and finds the 'ring' in the center seems to be consecrated, possibly serving as some holy ground. The party approaches the bar, finding a human male wearing a vibrant mask serving the bar. The party inquires about renting a room - the bartender-slash-innkeeper asks if the party wants to pay or earn their way by brawling in the arena. Zook offers to pay, while the bartender eyeballs Elgroth and tries to sweet talk him into fighting in the arena, which Elgroth declines as he is unable to wield his axe. The innkeeper shrugs and provides the party with keys for their rooms. Battered, beaten, and exhausted, the party retires to their rooms, finalizing some minor affairs: Duran scans the inn for magic, noting only two men at a table using what appears to be thaumaturgy to project commentary over the battle, but nothing else; Duran attempts to identify any magics that may be affecting him as a result of being bit by the pale woman, finding nothing; concerned about the spores projected by the gas spore, Duran asks Belrus to cure him as a precaution, which Belrus does; Duran looks into the orb waiting for Zook to cast his tiny hut, seeing nothing broadcast; Duran identifies the orb and notes that it appears to be a scrying stone which may be able to screen two-ways; Merinthe cleanses herself of the unknown curse afflicting her, which Duran confirms by attempting to identifying the magic affecting her, and coincidentally manages to finally disassemble the puzzle box she stole from one Madam Ling; Zook and Duran share some spells; finally, Zook teaches Elgroth the hand signs the party had discussed the night before. They settle in for the night, setting up watch - fortunately, the night passes uneventfully, with the party waking early in the morning to blustering horns from downstairs. (A2, W19)

The party briefly discusses whether or not they were seen fighting in the alleyway, and whether this would lead to them getting in trouble, eventually concluding it was unlikely they were seen. Given this consideration, Zook suggests they just leave the city through the gate, as Zook still has his papers reflecting his guild membership. Merinthe supports this, suggesting they avoid the sewers (as her and her friends used it once - and only once - for a reason). Before they leave, Duran decides to reach out to Jorrik Steelmind via their sending stone to apprise the dwarves' situation. Jorrik indicates they lost Moradin and that he, the king, and their entourage are hiding out in a sanctuary roughly fifty miles from the city itself. Duran asks who holds the city now. Jorrik advises the gnomes hold it, supported by demonic forces - the latter attacked the city during Nome's public execution, and the king was captured but fortunately rescued by another group of adventurers. Duran shares the party's experience within the Underdark, the fact that the kings of the Twin Dagger Cities have gone missing and the queens rule in their stead (and are at war), that Chrysanthemum is safe (as far as the party knows) and hiding in her lair, and that Buoyanth has fallen under the control of Judy, Queen of Kalan. Duran asks Jorrik if the Council of Ertol has any resources to spare or if he has any guidance. Jorrik suggests that the demons need to be dealt with as a priority, and believes Queen Judy may be compromised by demonic influence, noting that he knew both queens in their youth and they would not war with each other if they were themselves. Duran advises the party is currently pinned in Kalan but looking to leave - he asks if Jorrik is familiar with Llathriel - Jorrik advises he was before his time in the Council, but recalls he was banished for his controversial views (namely wanting to destroy the gems used to seal the gods to ensure they could never return). Duran asks if Jorrik is familiar with what is happening in the Whispering Forest. Jorrik shares that the seeming plague afflicting it - which, in some cases, reacts explosively to fire - has spread to encompass it, but will not stretch beyond the forest's edge. Duran asks if there has been any word received from the forest since the party left Moradin - Jorrik advises trade has dried up completely and they have heard nothing.

Belrus steps in and asks Jorrik about the status of Urach. Jorrik advises that the last news he received spoke well of the city, but that The True Order has been re-arming themselves and growing their numbers. The name is unfamiliar to most of the group, but Belrus shares that they are a militant order that only musters themselves ahead of great crusades - this time, likely in response to the demonic invasion, as the last time they truly rallied was a thousand years ago during the Gods' War. Belrus inquires as to the current leadership of the True Order. Jorrik shares that the leadership of the organization falls under followers of Bahamut, though he cannot say under whom specifically.

Jorrik asks the party about who is leading Buoyanth with Murdoch gone. The party shares leadership has been taken over by a man named Jessen. The party asks Jorrik about the gem that Jessen had in his possession, describing his behaviour and its appearance. Jorrik consults with one of his wizards, who believes it was a stone that may have been used to seal or trap Murdoch.

With this information, Duran suggests that the party's goals should change, and they should pursue one of three avenues: returning to Buoyanth to recover the gem, hunt down Llathriel (possibly in the Whispering Forest, encountering Dalv), or return to Moradin to try and help the dwarves. Belrus suggests the school is the safest, as we may be able to obtain it and then use the teleportation page to leave. The party ultimately feels that returning to Buoyanth is the safest plan. They take a look at the 'deed' to Exterminatus that Kriv had provided to their attackers the night before, to see if it is viable for use as a cover elsewhere in the city (given it likely will not do them any good with Jessen). Investigating it, Duran confirms it is legitimate, though it references a business created a year and a half prior and owned by Westra Hornraven (a name Merinthe does not recognize), out of Klortho.

Duran and Merinthe poll Jorrik for his advice on how to proceed. He suggests they start with trying to locate Llathriel, and suggests they attempt to locate Falkrunn Lutgehr (a name vaguely familiar), an information broker contact they work with in the Twin Dagger Cities, for information. He advises the party that he, unfortunately, cannot contact her as the sending stone he had is still back in Moradin, but suggests that Falkrunn has contacts in Kalan they may be able to locate. He wishes the party luck and ends the call as he has other business to attend.

Duran, knowing that Merinthe is from the area, asks Merinthe if she knows any information brokers that may be affiliated with Falkrunn. Merinthe is hesitant to give up this information as it would require her betraying her presence in the city. Elgroth suggests her presence may already be known, given the recent attacks they've faced and the fact that someone will be looking for who burned down the guild hall. Merinthe eventually cedes to the pressure and agrees to take the party to some locations where she has previously bartered for information, though she stresses she has no interest in doing the talking in case someone is looking for her. Duran, curious, asks Merinthe just how notorious she is. She stresses she isn't, and has a good relationship with most denizens, but money is money and given her origins many of the people that she knows would be more than happy to cede her presence in exchange for their next drink. Zook suggests that they just head to Klortho, instead, to avoid notice and to try and locate Falkrunn directly, but Duran and Elgroth feel they may be ceding too much time as well as the ability to get back into Buoyanth. Zook wonders if establishing contacts in Klortho may actually make it easier for them to into and out of both cities through a variety of means, and suggests we make contact with Falkrunn as soon as possible. Duran is still reluctant to leave the opportunity to get back into Buoyanth which, currently, is extremely lightly guarded. Zook is cautious about how the party will make it all the way back to Buoyanth given that Jessen is aware of their presence and certainly unwilling to meet with them again and the party is seemingly wanted by an unknown number of actors.

Merinthe wonders allowed if they may be able to steal the college of Buoyanth and just take it to Klortho. Duran recalls hearing about a hidden control room in the interior of the college, which is guarded by a 'dungeon' of sorts with traps and guardians; however, there is 'shortcut' of sorts rumoured to exist within the headmaster's quarters, albeit incredibly difficult to locate and regarding a mage of some repute to activate. Belrus suggests they may be able to use the love potion they acquired earlier to convince Jessen to assist them, with the party looking to Merinthe to take action (to her mortification). Zook expresses concern over this plan, noting that the guard and denizens of Klortho would be suspicious of a castle arriving there; however, his concerns become secondary when Duran shares that the castle can apparently cover the distance between Kalan and Klortho (a day and a half's travel by foot) in nearly a half hour. The party begins seriously contemplating taking this castle as a new home base (for them and/or, perhaps, for the, and the party's discussion (despite Merinthe's objections) returns to leveraging the love potion to usurp control of the castle. Merinthe advises she isn't prepared for this task, but that she could pray for the right divine assistance the next day. Duran suggests divine intervention may guide her hand, and that she should pray to the sun for its blessing. Puzzled, Merinthe follows his lead, and steps outside, praying (unsuccessfully) to the sun.

With their plan to attack Buoyanth delayed by (at least) a day, the party discusses pursuing the information broker leads and perhaps acquiring some new gear (notably, armor for Belrus, and diamond dust). As the party was informed that the arena was closed today, Merinthe takes the party to the marketplace - unfortunately, the smiths' stalls all seem to be closed (they are still at the arena working on gear for the participants), though several other shops are open for business. Merinthe suggests the party take today to head to the arena, earning skeptical looks from the rest of the party (as she had been so staunchly opposed) - Merinthe states that the arena is closed and the smiths are there, so if they are going to get the armor they wanted to get for Belrus, they have no other choice. Belrus notes it's also quite early, so there may not be many citizens in the area. Resigned, the party finally heads to the arena.

Arriving at the arena unimpeded, they find a large golden-coloured gate leading to the arena. On the sides of the gate are several bronze statues that appear to reflect the winners of various rounds in the arena - one of which they recognize as Dalv. Beyond the gate, they see a small version of the combat area of the arena, beyond which there is a marketplace set up. The party walks towards the marketplace, getting the odd curious stare from passers-by, and eventually enter it, seeing the entrance to the arena proper beyond it. They approach the various smiths and begin shopping around for Belrus' armor. They settle upon a vendor and their purchases (full plate with some Torm-styled flair for Belrus, and silvering of Elgroth's greataxe), who advises he will have the finished goods ready for them the next morning. As the party checks out other stalls, they find themselves running into Kevin again. Kevin asks where the party has been and says he has their prize money - the party, skeptical, decides to abandon the arena altogether until tomorrow, leaving Kevin behind winded and catching his breath.

Sensing that time may be fleeting, especially as 'random' people keep stumbling upon them, Merinthe leads the party to an old 'safe spot' full of retired guards, the Sweet Liberty Inn, hoping to direct the party to one of her old contacts on the guard who spends most of his time here socializing. Appearing rough on the outside, the tavern itself is quite upscale inside - a stark contrast to its tavern keeper, missing an arm and an eye, who looks more like the outside than the inside. Stepping inside, Merinthe spots the captain in the back, flanked by two muscled men. Merinthe directs the party's attention towards him while disappearing into the background. Belrus cautiously walks over towards him, eyeing the captain's entourage cautiously. He introduces himself to the captain, making small talk before asking the guard about Falkrunn. Belrus, nervous and flustered, stumbles over his words, confusing the captain. Looking to the party for aid, he gets only a thumbs up from Duran in response. After a couple of attempts, he manages to call Duran over, who engages in conversation with the captain. Duran clarifies the target of the party's search, and barters with the captain to try and track her. The captain informs the party that they should engage the Kalan Thieves' Guild at their hideout, the Ratskull Tavern, and get in their good graces to obtain an audience with Falkrunn.

With that question answered, Duran begins chatting with the captain regarding the recent events in Kalan. Duran asks the captain if he is aware as to why the queen seems to have become bloodthirsty. The captain advises he heard, through the guard, that she seems to have gone mad following the death of her husband; however, he feels the reaction is disproportionate, and believes there is something is suspicious. Duran asks if there has been a change in the guard as well. The captain indicates nothing drastic, but she took a group of her most trusted guards (possibly seducing them) and formed a new entourage of her private, secret police. She seems to have left the rest mostly as is, but they are always trying to recruit more guards and soldiers, and the arena seems to be an effort to reduce peoples' resistance to the idea and drum up their bloodthirsty. This patriotism, combined with harsher crackdowns from elements of the guard - the captain notes crime or, perhaps more specifically, arrests, are down over the last few weeks - reflects her attempts to mold the population.

Duran also asks if the captain has any information about Dalv - he only saw him in the arena, but he was impressed (the captain's entourage nods in agreement). Duran asks the captain if he has any information on Klortho itself and the checkpoint in the forest - Klortho seems to have no interest in Kalan's posturing, and the guard at the checkpoint are mostly still engaging in pomp and circumstance. He believes the queen of Klortho is well aware, and also potentially aware of the king's death (the two kings were traveling together and have not been heard from since the sky was torn asunder). Duran notes that they haven't heard much about the rift in the sky, and the captain shares that the queen announced a proclamation reassuring the city that it was merely showboating from Murdoch (and he was subsequently relieved of his duties).

Belrus asks if the captain is familiar with the absence of Murdoch from Buoyanth. The captain shares he heard a group of adventurers stormed the college and, shortly thereafter, a creature with a tentacled face emerged from the upper levels and dove into the sea - Murdoch hasn't been seen since. The captain notes there are rumours among the student body that Murdoch's screams can be rarely heard near the lift to his quarters. Belrus then asks if the captain is familiar with Exterminatus - he echos what they have heard, sharing the rough location of their headquarters in Klortho. Finally, Belrus asks about Madam Ling, and whether or not the captain is aware of her activity. The captain advises he knows her as Mistress Ling, but is familiar with her - she tends to trade in rare, magical trinkets, and is currently running the betting in the arena.

Their questioning completed, the two return to the rest of the party to discuss their findings. Belrus stresses the sewers may be even less viable than originally thought, as the captain had mentioned the sewers being dangerous as result of those that tend them being preoccupied in the arena. Merinthe is uneasy hearing the involvement of Madam Ling, and visibly anxious at heading to the thieves' guild to try and track down Falkrunn. She tries to talk the party out of it, coming under questioning by Belrus and Duran as to her business and relationship with the guild. Merinthe deflects the conversation away and begins leading the party towards the guild hall.

As the party approaches the inn, Merinthe halts the party, warning that there is an active guard/watch presence here, and that they should be vigilant and on their guard. After many minutes of nervous warnings and instruction to the party, running through every worst case scenario, she eventually leads the party forward. Walking forward, they notice the activity of the guild's members watching them. Approaching the door, they are stopped by a heavy-set halfling, sitting on a stool. He asks the party for their business - Duran shares they are looking for Falkrunn Luthgier.

The halfling sticks out his hand, expecting a bribe - Belrus, naively, goes to give him a high-five, but is unaware of his (relative) strength and ends up breaking the halfling's arm and sending him sprawling to the ground. Belrus, in a sequence that almost seems to be practice, attempts to plant a knife on the halfling, but fails, instead planting the knife in the downed halfling's back. As the sentries on the roof draw their arrows, Zook and Duran attempt to talk them down. Zook removes the dagger from the halfling's back with a mage hand - exacerbating his injury - while Elgroth and Merinthe tend to his wounds as footsteps approach from inside.

The door unlocks and swings open. Six figures stand inside, wary of the party - two in mages' cloth, with broadswords; two sentries, with bows knocked; a gnome; and, a female dwarf, wearing high spurred boots and carrying a wooden tube of sorts aimed directly at the party. The dwarf asks the party as to their identity. Zook explains that they are there to meet her and would like to step inside. She indicates the party has done nothing to earn her favour or that of the thieves' guild - in fact, they've only done the opposite. Eyeing the party, she pauses, before dismissing the sentries/guards and gesturing for the party to follow her inside.

Band on the Run
Falkrunn leads the party inside and to a hidden back chamber. She says she knows what the party is there for, and that she is willing to discuss it with them, but time is of the essence. She informs the party that she doesn't work for the thieves' guild, but works with them. She says that Steelmind has informed her of their reasons for seeking her - to Duran's surprise, as Steelmind had told the party he had no way of reaching her. Merinthe shares some details of how Falkrunn operates, and how she likely already had spies in the king's midst, which Falkrunn confirms. She calls Merinthe out by her real name - causing curious glances from the party, as Merinthe had been operating under an alias to this point.

Falkrunn then asks the party to clarify exactly what they are seeking. Duran shares that the party is searching for Llathriel. Falkrunn shares that, as of a month ago, she heard he was smithing in the elven city. Belrus asks about news from the Whispering Forest, noting it seemed to be lost. Falkrunn shares that the last messages she received from her contact before she lost contact indicates that the plague was taking over the forest and harming the elves, and that Quelren had been invaded/overrun by hooved creatures. Duran asks Falkrunn about sealing the gods, knowing that Llathriel may be inaccessible. She shares that she is not, but that many people have come asking for this information - Zook posits this is good, as others have the same goals, but she quickly corrects that these are mostly ne'er-do-wells who could not be trusted. Zook asks about Murdoch's disappearance - Falkrunn echos that what the captain told them at the Sweet Liberty Inn was correct, and she suspects the new headmaster may have a problem. Duran asks if she is aware of how to enter the college or Murdoch's quarters covertly - she says she is not, and any resources she has sent to intrude have come back. Zook asks if she has any other information regarding the college itself, and Falkrunn shares that Murdoch paid her far too hefty a sum for her secrecy to betray his trust.

The party asks her for any information she may have on Cyric or his allies, noting that Jessen is a person of interest for them. She shares she has no knowledge on Cyric beyond common knowledge, but shares that Jessen seems to stay by the queen's side when he is not in Buoyanth, and tends to flirt with anyone he finds attractive. The spy she sent to watch him does not he fiddles quite often with a black stone hanging from a chain around his neck when he is otherwise unoccupied. She suspects Madam Ling may be involved.

The party also asks if she has any information regarding Dalv. She mentions the combat prowess he demonstrated in the area, echoing what they heard elsewhere. She does mention that she did some searching in her libraries and records for information on him following this, and found only one record of note. She pulls out a large dusty tome titled The Histories of Izal and begins reading what seems like a short tale about a vampire named Dalv who had a forest in a castle to the north. She notes that the Dalv in the tome and the Dalv seen in the arena seem to be wildly different people. He was known as a benevolent ruler, until a blood feud erupted between he and a vampire hunter named Kristen Stewart. As the elves began to consolidate their power, and emerge as the dominant race of the forest (and a dominant power in Izal), several Elven tribes wanted Dalv's power for themselves. They hired Stewart to kill him, and the two met in mortal combat. No one knows their conflict ended - the castle itself seemingly disappeared in the forest, along with the vampire lord and the vampire slayer. The party shows her the latest letter they received from Dalv and a mysterious benefactor, trying to find out if she recognizes the blue handwriting - she does not.

Finally, the party asks her for knowledge on the True Order. She informs the party that they are a religious order that uses religious warriors from a variety of sects - mostly good aligned faiths - to handle fiendish outbreaks and other threats to order. They are known for meting out swift justice with no mercy. They have recently emerged for the first time since the last Gods' War. Currently, they have deigned to use Urach as their base of operations, seemingly pushing out the Urlak Mercenaries. There is no individual leader at this time, but leadership from the church of Bahamut is currently guiding the order's actions. (A2, W20)

Suddenly, their conversation is interrupted by a knock on the wall behind the party. Falkrunn fidgets with a switch on her desk, and the wall panel opens. One of her aides walks in and quickly rushes to her side, whispering in her ear. Duran manages to hear bits and pieces of the conversation - the implication being that someone is here looking for the party. Falkrunn questions the party as to why they may be hunted or have a bounty on their heads - a discovery that is a surprise to the party. She shares that agents of Kyassa are here searching for the party, something that caught her by surprise. She suspects that, given the fact that the organization's founder and namesake herself is here, Madam Ling may be behind the bounty, as she is one of the only people influential enough to merit such a response and, if she were involved in Murdoch's disappearance, the party's meddling at the college may have drawn her notice. Falkrunn shows the party to an escape hatch beneath her desk, advising them they can escape through the basement, taking a path south.

The party quickly descends into the basement, with Falkrunn closing the latch behind them, and finds themselves in a dank cellar. Looking around the room, they see rows of this wet smelling weed, and a small goblin tending to them. No sooner do they take in the room do they hear footsteps from above them, and the beginnings of a muffled exchange of pleasantries between Falkrunn and Kyassa. The party attempts to quietly search the room, but Elgroth stumbles over one of the planters, earning the goblin's notice. He cheerfully greets the party, and asks what brings them here. Zook attempts to keep the conversation brief, by telling the goblin it's nothing to worry about and that the party will soon be gone, but this only seems to pique the goblin's curiosity further. Merinthe asks what he is doing here, and the goblin advises he is tending to the plants in Falkrunn's service, as she has told him it will destroy the city. The party attempts to ask for clarification, but the goblin seems more interested with the novelty of Belrus' appearance than anything else. Concerned about his statements, Duran looks to Zook for information regarding the plants. Zook examines them and confirms they are schweed, merely herbs with a psychotropic property.

As the goblin badgers Belrus with an assortment of questions, the party continues to search the room. Zook and Duran both find doors on opposite ends of the room, neither of which lead south. While the two wizards discuss which path would be most logical to take, Merinthe hears the conversation above drift from small talk to the nature of Kyassa's business with Falkrunn. Kyassa confirms that Madam Ling is the originator of the bounty, and states that her contacts in the city reported seeing the party heading to this end of town. Kyassa assumed they must have been looking to speak with Falkrunn for some information, given not much else goes on here. She notes that there are bounties on the head of each member of the party, with Merinthe's being higher than the rest. Merinthe mimes to the party that the conversation is ongoing above, just as the rest of the party settles on trying the east door.

The east door seems to be stuck, so Elgroth and Belrus decide to attempt to pry it open with a crowbar, while Duran searches for a lever or switch. Unfortunately, the efforts of the former are only successful in making noise, noise which does not go unnoticed by those above. Merinthe signals for quiet from the party (and the goblin). Falkrunn attempts to deflect Kyassa's questioning, though Kyassa states that she suspects she is hiding something. Suddenly, Duran locates a hidden switch underneath one of the schweed troughs, and instinctively tips it over to gain access, causing the contents to spill out everywhere and earning a shocked reaction from the goblin. Kyassa continues to challenge Falkrunn over the 'strange noises', with Falkrunn stating she it's merely some of the thieves brawling in the alley. Falkrunn stresses she has no reason to hide anything from Kyassa or Madam Ling, as the latter is a frequent and trusted client of hers. Kyassa does not buy it, and kindly asks Falkrunn to allow her and her men to investigate further as a gesture of good faith. Merinthe stresses a need for urgency, as Zook and Duran investigate the mechanism.

Eventually, the two wizards discover and activate a lever, causing a door on the eastern side to swing open, just as Kyassa notices an illusion Zook cast on the floor of Falkrunn's office to try and hide the trap door. Sensing they are out of time, the party quickly flees out the eastern door. Duran attempts to convince the goblin to conceal their presence by closing the lever behind them and tending to his plants, but the goblin has overheard the arguing above and feels he may be in danger, electing to flee down the corridor with the party. Once in the corridor, the party closes the door from the other side and jams the mechanism behind them (with pitons) to deter pursuit. They now find themselves in a pitch black corridor, barely five feet wide, and travel down it for a short period of time. As they travel down it, they begin to see small buildups of water, and eventually reach the end of the corridor to find it exits roughly fifteen feet above a retention pond, within which several street urchins are bathing.

The party elects to wait at the end of the corridor to discuss how to proceed. Merinthe points out that they are now clearly being pursued, and need to both find a place to stay and recover the items they left with the smith before they leave. Zook suggests they camp in the tunnel, using his magical ward. As they converse, the goblin pipes up suggesting he has some options for getting around the city. Further discussion ensues, where the party discovers the goblin is a little slow, believing himself to be an elf among other things, and learns his name (Lastree). The party elects to just leave him to his own devices. In the end, noting the pooling of water in places along the tunnel, and the retention pond, the party elects to move elsewhere. Merinthe informs the party she is aware of two other potential safe spots nearby - one, an inn that will guarantee their privacy (but at a cost of 10 gp per room); the other, an out-of-the-way abandoned building where urchins tend to stay, but where people (generally) mind their own business. Balking at the price, the party elects to go for the abandoned building. The party jumps out of the tunnel (and, Elgroth, into the retention pool), startling the folks nearby who otherwise give the party a wide berth.

The party begins working their way to the abandoned building, with the goblin following behind. Merinthe makes small talk with him, finding out that the goblin believes himself to be the last elf from a circle known as the Tree Watch (which Zook and Duran recognize as a small fringe elven group that works near the Fallsworn Jungle), who were all slain. He says he has been wandering around since. Elgroth asks what happened to his friends, and Lastree reveals he was out gathering berries and returned to find only death, uncertain even as to what weapons killed him. Electing to not risk pursuit, Zook casts an illusion to mislead Lastree in a direction away from the party. The party eventually arrives at their destination, a damaged, abandoned house in a district that looks to have been razed by fire. She points to a trap door located near a pile of rubble, and listens, hearing some muffled voices speaking common below. Entering through the trap door, they see a group of six off in the corner, who pay them no mind. Merinthe recognizes their leader as Dirty Mike and the rest as his entourage. She advises the party they are mostly a non-issue and are well known to the urchins of the city. The party sets up in another corner, and Zook prepares his tiny hut as the party settles down for the night.

Meanwhile, Lastree suddenly notices the illusory versions of the party fade from view around him. Confused, the goblin seems torn between searching for the party and, as evening approaches, finding a place to stay. He settles for finding a nice outdoor spot to stay. He eventually finds a small group of relatively young oak trees, expressing surprise that they left this behind in a city of this size, reiterating his belief that while it may betray some goodness in their hearts the city must still be returned to nature. Nearby, he sees a marketplace filled with common traders. He approaches an herbalist, looking to see if he can find anything that might help him attain the power of the druids of the Tree Watch. He examines the nice walking sticks/staves she has, several of which are much larger than his height. He grabs the attention of the herbalist, who seems startled by the appearance of a goblin in the city. He attempts to correct her, stating he is an elf, but she is having none of it. Regardless, intrigued by his nature, she gives him a small stick (which she claims is crafted from the wood of Galadriel) and a small scroll. He offers to pay her for her wares, but she insists he simply take it.

Lastree asks her if she happens to have seen the party, as they vanished, and briefly describes them. The herbalist pulls some paper off the wall and asks if they look like the party - the paintings/portraits looking like Lastree's friends. Unable to read the text, he confirms they look like the party. She advises Lastree that someone else is looking for the party, and suggests she go find them, giving him directions to Kyassa's Bounty Acquisitions. Lastree eventually makes his way there, walking in and finding it filled with exceptionally hefty humanoids. Lastree eventually gets the attention of one of them, who asks if he is placing a bounty. He explains his it not, but that he's looking for his friends. The man picks Lastree up and carries him over to a wall with a bunch of bounties, explaining that one half of the wall is for people wanted dead, while the other is for people wanted dead or alive. He sees that Merinthe is on the dead or alive board, while the other four he met earlier today are on the wanted dead board. Lastree asks if the man can tell him why they are wanted, which he explains he cannot. He tells the man he hasn't seen any of the folks on the board, but would tell him if he did. The man laughs uproariously and thanks him for his support, sending him on his way. As he leaves, a female dragonborn walks in, shouting to get the attention of those in the tavern. She exclaims they almost had 'them', but Falkrunn was unwilling to assist her, apparently as a result of a falling out with Madam Ling. The dragonborn orders everyone to redouble their efforts, reinforcing security at the gates, before storming off. Lastree retreats to the tree he had found earlier and settles in for the night.

As morning dawns, the party rouses from their slumber and elects to pursue their plans for the day: recovering Belrus's and Elgroth's equipment from the arena vendors, and then pushing to the college to try and confront Jessen. They arrive at the arena to find it hustling and bustling, with many trading with the vendors early in the morning. They find the smith they had dealt with previously, who confirmed he had completed the work. As Belrus and Elgroth inspect their goods, Zook spots Kevin lurking near the main entrance (seemingly as always), and advises the party as to his presence. The party debates whether to take one of the side paths or push past him out the gate. Zook asks the merchant if he knows where those paths lead - one leads to beneath the arena, where teams and monsters reside; the other leads above the arena, to seating reserved for notable people. The party elects to leave out the gate itself, hiding among the crowd, with Belrus and Elgroth somehow avoiding his notice.

Similarly, as the sun begins to rise, Lastree awakens from a quiet night, and finds himself facing a strange, floating castle. He notes the perimeter of the castle seems to be filled with massive trees - trees he has never seen before. Curious, he returns to the marketplace, hoping to find someone with information on the castle. Knowing that books are a source of knowledge, he seeks out a bookseller, finding one. After a brief conversation (about magic, Lastree's nature, and the party), the bookmonger directs Lastree towards the rainbow bridge connecting the floating castle to Kalan - and also selling him a scroll (which the goblin is unable to read).

Grand Theft Buoyanth
Their gear re-acquired, the party makes their way back towards Buoyanth. As the party reaches the rainbow bridge, the party spots two guardsmen located at the far end. Merinthe recognizes their colouring and garb as the attire of the Queen's royal guard. The party notes that the castle itself does not seem to be blocked off or sealed off, and it appears class is underway. Duran suggests the party enter the college with him taking the position of being a guest lecturer here to speak on the topic of Malak Empire-era elven architecture, his specialty, and the rest of the party serving as his escort from the Whispering Forest. As the party attempts enter the castle, they are halted by the cards, who press them for the nature of their business. As Duran inundates the guards with the deepest of architectural lore, they are decidedly confused, and eventually elect to just usher the party in.

The party moves through the halls of the college unimpeded, noting that the classrooms are full and the students appear to be firmly invested in their studies. The party begins making their way to the hidden chamber with the teleporter room, discussing whether they should attempt to confront Jessen during the day, potentially with the Queen around, or try to strike at night, when defences may be active. Duran suggests that the party scouts it out innocuously, noting that he could simply be 'lost' trying to find his lecture hall.

While the party wanders through the college, Lastree makes his way to its outskirts, crossing the rainbow bridge. The door itself is unguarded, and slightly ajar. He enters uncontested, finding several people standing around. Lastree approaches a small group of individuals, and engages them in conversation regarding the college and magic. They direct him to a tree towards the center of the college grounds, noting that there is a master druid on the college grounds who may be able to help him. He eventually finds this druid about to begin a lecture and, taking a rest in the tree, takes it in.

As Lastree listens to the druid, the party makes their way to the lift back up to Jessen's office. Seeing it guarded, they nevertheless approach. The guards stop the party, advising them that no one can visit the headmaster while the Queen is in session. Duran is unable to convince them to let him pass, and the party eventually retreats to discuss further options. The party opts to hide in an empty room nearby, causing Zook to project an illusion near the guards making it seem like a fight has broken out downstairs, hoping this will draw the guards away. As they wander looking for empty rooms, they find one door marked 'keep out' in a variety of languages, but elect to leave it untouched. Duran eventually locates what appears to be a storage room, and the party hides out.

Fortunately, Zook's illusion is successful, and draws the guards aware from their post. The party quickly pushes past their former position to the lift, as Duran casts mage hand to draw to cause the lift to begin its climb. It completes its climb without incident, and the party once again finds themselves at the entrance to the headmaster's chambers - noting that the wooden door they broke previously has since been replaced with a heavier, metal door. Listening at the door, Merinthe hears the sounds of two women conversing on the other side over what sound like battle plans - in particular, the best ways to attack Klortho. She attempts to peek through the keyhole, but notes it is covered in a magical haze. She whispers to the group the nature of the conversation she overheard, and notes that one of the voices is that of Judy, Queen of Kalan. Examining the door, the party notes it does not 'open' like a regular door. Merinthe attempts to open it using the sun's magic unsuccessfully, but Zook suggests that the party may simply be able to convince them to open the door by impersonating the guards' voices. Belrus knocks at the door with his gauntlet, with Zook impersonating a guard's voice and advising the Queen of a need to evacuate. The doors suddenly swing open, and the party finds themselves staring at room with a slightly different layout (hinting that an illusion was masking the full size of the chamber on their last visit) and containing a small complement of guards, the Queen, and a red-haired woman that Elgroth and Merinthe find looks like a fraternal twin of Jessen. Elgroth questions her on this, and she reveals that they are one and the same. Belrus, recognizing the taint of a fiendish creature, draws his weapon. (A2, W21)

Before they can strike, however, the red-haired woman suddenly sprouts wings and flies towards the party, entrancing Elgroth with her charms. As Belrus strikes forward to attack, Elgroth swings at him, missing but alerting the party to his state. As Zook manages to hypnotize the Queen and two of her guards, Elgroth sets his sights on Merinthe, noting that she still has Jessa's eye, and though she manages to block the first swing of his greataxe he wounds her severely with the second. Duran, recognizing he is under some form of compulsion, attempts to break the enchantment with a swing of his staff, but is unable to hit Elgroth as he presses forward, instead snapping his staff in two on the wall, and elects to blink away to take cover behind the shelves. Merinthe manages to cause Elgroth to hesitate by convincing him that Jessa wouldn't want Merinthe dead, and slips away to hide behind a nearby fountain. As she targets Jessa with her spells, the red-haired woman fades from view. Duran notes the lift seems to begin descending behind the party.

The demoness gone, and uncertain as to what is transpiring with Elgroth, Belrus turns his attention towards neutralizing one of the guards, raining blows down upon him with his hammer. The guards, similarly, turn their attention towards both neutralizing him (one managing to push him into the fountain) and containing Merinthe, who through her retreat has moved closer to the Queen. Zook attempts to charm Elgroth, also unsuccessfully, and (like Duran) steps through the mist to the shelf. With his mistress gone, Elgroth nonetheless pursues threats, and receiving guidance from her, he sets his sights upon Zook, scaling the shelves in pursuit. Duran attempts to draw upon his magic to slow down their attackers, affecting some but not all. Merinthe takes advantage of this to quickly subdue one of the guards. Jessa appears beside Duran, and teases that she has a 'friend' coming. Belrus attempts to escape from the pool, but is forced to rely on magic to step away. The two guards nearest the Queen, slowed by Zook's magic, attempt to shake Judy awake; however, before they can withdraw, Zook traps them in a magical web while continuing to flee from Elgroth. Scanning his surroundings, Zook sees three curious items that he can feel radiating magic - a ball, filled with strange gases; a small box; and, a dagger. The Queen, roused from her slumber, attempts to withdraw from the webbing, but is unsuccessful.

The lift to the room suddenly reappears, introducing Lastree and two other guards to the fray. Duran attempts to blast Jessa with a bolt of lightning, landing only a glancing blow, before stepping away. The succubus seems determined to pursue him, however, and continues to chase him across the room as Merinthe tries to neutralize the guards. Suddenly, a giant four-armed demon lands on the landing pad outside, and begins moving towards the party. Lastree, trying to save his "friends", pulls out a scroll and conjures a lightning bolt, striking the creature - but also striking and killing the Queen in its path. Enraged, the guards turn their sights upon Lastree, while the party moves to engage the glabrezu. The battle is fierce, with the glabrezu scoring many blows and shrugging off their attacks, but is eventually felled by Zook's chromatic orb. Belrus narrowly evades an encounter with Torm, as the party turns their attention to the succubus, who he had previously rooted in place with Torm's power; unfortunately, before they could kill or subdue her, she vanished from sight.

With all non-Lastree threats seemingly neutralized, the party begins to assess the damage. One of the guards calls out that the Queen seems to be alive, albeit barely. As the party (unsuccessfully) attempts to locate Jessa, Merinthe revives the Queen with magical healing, and shouts to the guards to move to restrain and detain Lastree. Suddenly, Belrus calls out that Judy is a fiend - as the guards are surprised, the Queen suddenly stands up, shrugs, and vanishes from sight. (A2, W22) Concerned, Zook quickly conjures a *mage hand* and uses it to shut the door to the room while the party attempts to determine what happens.

The guards seem confused, as though they'd just awoken from a trance. Belrus wanders over to check out the wounded guard, while Lastree approaches Merinthe to ask what she means by the word 'detain'. Merinthe, concerned about Lastree's sudden appearance and interference, proceeds to question him about how he arrived at Buoyanth. Lastree explains that he was confused when the party that he was following 'disappeared' (as Zook's illusion dropped). He says he wandered around and eventually received a scroll from a nice lady in the marketplace, though he didn't know what it was; a druid near 'the tree' taught him how it worked, and not to point it at his friends. Merinthe explains that while avoiding his 'friends' he hit the Queen with his magic, to which Lastree seems unconcerned. Lastree continues to explain his story, saying he continued to wander around, heard the clash of swords, and came here to where he found the party.

Merinthe, concerned for his well-being, warns Lastree that hanging out with the party may continue to be far too dangerous, and suggests that it would be in Lastree's best interests to just return to his friends and family and pretend he never saw them and certainly never saw them here. Lastree shares that he has no living friends or family in Kalan to speak of. He explains that his 'family' was a community of elves in the Fallsworn Jungle, and they were all slain mysteriously a year ago, which is why he started wandering. Merinthe expresses concern but is uncertain how to proceed, and polls Duran and Zook for input. Duran is indifferent at best, suggesting they move away from Lastree as quickly as possible. The goblin, perhaps naively, helpfully offers Merinthe some berries.

While this conversation occurs, Zook and Elgroth continue to examine the 'landing pad' and the environs to see if they can identify the source of the demon's arrival or any other threats. Elgroth, thanks to his high visual acuity, spots a brass dragon departing a forest to the northeast, but no other nearby threats. Examining the demon corpse, Zook spots draconic clawmarks embedded in the creature's shoulders, as though he was dropped off by a dragon - though no sign of the dragon remains. Duran scans the desk at which Jessa sat, attempting to locate the gem she so covetously held, but is unable to do so. He spots four drawers on the desk - three seemingly normal with handles, one with some sort of strange lock. As he examines it.

As the guards continue to stir from their state, Zook, Merinthe, and Belrus approach them to question them. The guards seem uncertain as to how they arrived here, with all of the uniformly reporting that the last thing they recall was entering the Queen's chambers (individually). The guards all say it was the first time they were ever asked to join her there, as that was usually off limits for even her elite guard. Curious as to how long ago this took place, they all confirm it was about two weeks ago. One of the men confirms they were all palace guards. Zook and Merinthe, in Elvish (and to Belrus' mild annoyance), discuss what to disclose to the guards, as they are clearly unfamiliar with recent events. Merinthe is adamant that they disclose what they know happened to the Queen - including that she either was, or was possessed by, or was replaced by, some sort of demon which seduced them - and that the party recommends the guard do what they can to keep the city running as smoothly as they can. She stresses that the party should instruct them to "remember" that they were never here, the party was never here, and they never met the party. Duran interjects to advise that they need to know about what else is going on in the kingdom, including the recent death of the King and other turmoil, to which Zook and Merinthe agree.

After Lastree revives the incapacitated guard, and he wanders over to join his companions, Zook asks the guards to have a seat, and recaps the current state of affairs between the Twin Dagger Cities, as well as any information they have regarding the arena, the King, the Queen, and Jessa. One of the guards advises the party that he is the ranking officer and will ensure everyone's compliance in engaging in discretion and keeping this information from the public, but adds that he is gravely concerned and has some other questions for the party. He asks if the party is aware if that Queen was an impostor - the party was uncertain, noting she could have been a demon all along. Merinthe notes the only scandal that ever truly came about surrounding the royals - at least from the King's side - had to do with succession, and in a city like Kalan rumours would have spread if there was any chance the Queen was a fiend or the King was known to consort with otherworldly powers, though she's always been suspicious of the families of the two Queens. Zook asks the guards they if they noticed any changes in the King or Queen prior to their last memory - they note that the King was away to meet with the dwarves (a meeting the party was aware took place); however, the Queen became reclusive for a short few days when the tear in the sky and fiends first appeared, before re-emerging as regal as ever and resumed her duties.

The guard captain seems contemplative, and after a few pensive moments, advises they will return to the castle and do their best to maintain order and attempt to de-escalate the situation with Klortho, noting he has significant influence as a colonel of the palace guard. He asks if there is any way he may be able to contact or keep in touch with the party - Zook notices some *sending stone* pairs on the shelves in the room, and hands one to the officer. He shares that his name is Colonel Lionel, commander of the palace guard's first division, the Thundercats. After conferring with Merinthe and Duran, Zook asks if Lionel can clear Buoyanth out of guards and faculty/students residing in Kalan so that the party can investigate. Lionel agrees, and the guard disperses to begin this effort.

With the guard gone, the party attempts to address the situation with Lastree. Though the goblin seems intent on helping the party, Zook is staunchly opposed given his 'accidental' help, and encourages him to leave for his own safety. When Zook instructs him to forget he ever saw the party, Lastree replies that he could never forget them, leading Zook to intimate to Merinthe that Lastree may be a loose end they need to tie up. Merinthe balks at the idea, noting Lastree is too simple to be a threat and that she can't bring herself to kill him. At this point, Belrus, who had been preoccupied with chipping souvenirs out of the glabrezu's skull, notes that Lastree carries a consecrated staff (well, more like a rod, given his stature). Lastree is surprised to hear this, and shares that he received this staff from the same nice lady who gave him the scroll. Belrus inquires about the appearance of the woman who gave him the staff - Lastree can't quite recall, but notes she 'disappeared' after giving him the toys. Duran asks to have the staff to *identify* it, and Lastree graciously provides it to him. Zook reminds the party of Lastree's resemblance (in candor and attitude) to Eustace, prior to his betrayal, something of which all of the PCs are very cognizant.

As Belrus continues to question Lastree, and Duran identifies the staff, the rest of the party begins searching the room for hidden passageways, but is ultimately unsuccessful. Elgroth begins rummaging through the desk and finds nothing but a couple of silver coins and a register of students at the college (containing basic information). Zook scans the room for any differences from the last visit, outside of the destruction wrought from the fight, and is unable to identify anything other some displaced items. Zook deduces that someone was shuffling items around looking for something, and follows that trail. Duran finishes identifying the staff, but curiously notes that he does not get the expected precision or clarity - he notes that the staff has some sort of divine power to revive or heal *something*, and serves as a 'key' in some capacity, though he gains no insight in how to activate it. He also feels a sort of background magical resonance when holding it similar to being in proximity to Galadriel.

Examining the desk, Duran notes that the 'lock' had spotted earlier on the desk has a pattern that resembles the medallion that Yenkas wore (which Zook confirms). Merinthe rummages through her backpack and pulls out the case and medallion, setting them on the table. Duran pops the medallion into the 'lock', and the desk suddenly pops open, ejecting a piece of paper. Reading through the note, the party identifies two things: the mechanism for obtaining the means to control the scheme, and Murdoch's assurances that Lastree is trustworthy and reliable. As the party discusses this note, they receive a message from Colonel Lionel advising the evacuation of students was completed successfully and that they would be lodged at the palace.

Hoping to rid themselves of a liability, Zook attempts to convince Lastree to "help" the party by going off to relay a message to the dwarves. Merinthe reads into his deception and objects to this mistreatment of Lastree, causing Zook to abandon the plan. Acknowledging Belrus' concern that Murdoch's note implies they will never be rid of him, Merinthe attempts to suss out Lastree's motives, and dictates terms surrounding his 'membership' into the party. Belrus, believing it to be Torm's will, supports the decision.

The party elects to examine the shelves again, finding several items, then rests for the evening, identifying anything they found (a scroll of *rope trick*, a scroll of *spider climb*, a glass orb linked to all of the orbs in the town used for watching arena matches, a dagger that can stretch out to ten feet in length when swung, and a box containing a hat of disguise). While on watch, Duran attempts to use the orb to spy on any guildhouses to see if there is anything abnormal, but sees nothing of note. Attempting to locate one affiliated with Madam Ling or Dalv, he finds nothing. Completing their rest, the party takes the lift down per the instructions in Murdoch's note. They note that the building is almost eerily silent. They make their way to the hidden bookshelf door through which they first entered the college, entering in and boarding the elevator. Duran proceeds to utter the command word Murdoch provided before the party flips the switch, to no effect; Belrus notes the letter indicated it needed to be in a *deep* voice, so he utters the words and the party flips the switch. The lift proceeds to descend to a previously unseen part of the college, dumping the party in a small, mostly empty chamber (aside from arcane symbols along the wall which seem to be lighting the way) with one open passageway and a portcullis.

Zook suggests Lastree take the lead as they explore the area, which he does, with Merinthe following at his heels. After passing through many winding corridors, they find themselves arriving at a closed door. Listening at the door, Lastree hears the faint sound of someone (or something) crying, though he can't quite identify it. Belrus steps forward to see if he can sense anything more specific, but is unable to detect anything through the door, though he too hears faint higher-pitched crying. Belrus quietly checks the handle of the door, and notes that it appears to be unlocked. He opens the door slightly, peeking inside and checking for traps in the door frame itself and finding none (though the crying gets slightly louder). Belrus opens the door the rest of the way and quietly enters the room - as he does so, he spots a woman crying to herself in the corner, noting her hair is made of snakes. He also spots a chute in the ceiling in one corner of the room. Stealthily, he moves past to another door in that room, but finds it to be locked when he checks it. Following Belrus' guidance, Merinthe slips into the room and unlocks the door. Listening, she doesn't hear anything on the other side, though the increased volume of the woman's wailing makes it tricky to determine. Merinthe signals for the group to follow before opening the door and moving into the other room. The party manages to slip past her undetected.

Entering into the other room, Merinthe finds it, too, is empty aside from a second door and chute in the ceiling akin to the one Belrus pointed out. With the rest of the party successfully making it past the strange woman in the other room, Merinthe quietly closes the door and moves to examine it. She sees what looks to be a metal construct of some kind. Pointing it out to the party, she backs off, allowing Duran to approach. Nearing it, Duran senses a magical connection - sensing it the air like seeing ribbons in the wind - between the construct and something (presumably the woman) in the other room. Directed to check out the other door, Lastree immediately barges through it (stealthily), to the party's chagrin. Rounding the corner, they find another door, and Lastree hears the sound of eight 'things' breathing heavily on the other side. Zook moves forward and attempts to quietly open the door, and quickly closes it. He relates to the party that he sees some sort of eight-headed creature. Retreating from the doorway, he proposes the party simply launch the first strike. After discussing a plan of action, Belrus opens the door and engages the creature - dispatching it with relative easy thanks to a timely use of Duran's magic. (A2, W23)