Merinthe Galalani

Merinthe Galalani (919 SEoP - ) is a Wood Elf Cleric of The Sun and an original party member of Group 1 of the Legacy of Izal campaign. Having joined Group 1 reluctantly out of concern for their safety, she has since grown to understand the seriousness of the events in which they are now embroiled, and serves as both a watchful protector and a perpetual skeptic.

Born in Kalan, one of the Twin Dagger Cities, and having spent the bulk of her life living on the streets of both it and Klortho, Merinthe's world view and sense of right and wrong is somewhat skewed, and she lacks the knowledge of the rest of the world and its occupants that may be taken for granted by most seasoned adventurers; however, she is a valuable and connected ally to anyone who has business to conduct in the region, being known to its denizens by one of many aliases - more often favourably than not - and her upbringing has given her a rather unorthodox skill set compared to a traditional cleric.

Physical Description
Merinthe stands a shade under five and a half feet tall, and is lean and lithe in stature. Her slender face is framed by her blonde hair, kept short in a cropped pixie cut. Helix ear and eyebrow piercings, a silver diadem inlaid with a small amethyst, and a stone mistletoe 'pendant' hanging around her neck stand out as her only real accessories. She is rarely ever seen without a shortsword at her side and a crossbow hanging from her backpack. With faded clothes, battle-worn studded leather armor, and weathered weapons, she fits the mold of a bandit, with a shield - emblazoned with an image of the sun - being the only hint that there may be something more to her appearance.

Early Years
The youngest of four children, Merinthe was born to merchant parents (her mother, a jeweler, and her father, a tailor) originally from the Whispering Forest who had recently settled in the human city of Kalan. Her siblings left home when she was still an infant, leaving her with only vague memories of them.

Merinthe's parents were fairly successful in their craft, owing in part to Kalan's status as a cosmopolitan city ensuring interest in garb and trinkets of elven design, allowing them to live a comfortable lifestyle. She was a fixture in her parents' shop, and would often watch her parents work their crafts and deal with their clients with rapt interest. Occasionally, customers to the shop would occasionally present her with small tokens as a gift 'to the girl with the angelic eyes', contributing in part to Merinthe's vanity and her association of wealth with importance.

Break-ins and petty thefts were not particularly uncommon, and the guard presence in that sector of the city was usually regular enough that losses were minimized; however, on one rainy night, some fifteen years after their arrival, things would turn sour. A small group of thugs happened to break into the shop while her parents were still cleaning up the storefront. The noise woke Merinthe, who grabbed her mother's crossbow and snuck downstairs. Her father, ever the peacekeeper, was trying to negotiate, while her mother, a firebrand tired of being robbed, was taking a far more aggressive stance. A fight between the two sides broke out - in the confusion, Merinthe fired a single bolt, killing one of them. Two thugs chased her, but she fled the storefront and disappeared into the mist.

Merinthe returned to the shop the next morning to find the city watch present, and learned that her parents were both dead, with the thugs having cleaned out the store of all its wealth and having fled before their arrival. Though she still had a home in which to stay, she eventually lost that as well - one of her parents' competitors, a member of the family to which both soon-to-be-Queens of the Twin Dagger Cities belonged, quickly scooped up the space and unceremoniously kicked Merinthe to the streets, an act for which Merinthe still harbors resentment to this day.

With no home to speak of, some of the rich and powerful former customers of her parents offered her a place to stay - however, in each case, Merinthe found out that they had less than noble motives, or were offering her less than savoury opportunities to earn her keep. With no other avenues to pursue, Merinthe fell in with the streetfolk of the Twin Dagger Cities to earn her survival.

The Abandoned
Despite her lifestyle, Merinthe had frequently associated with other street children in her youth. She was curious and inquisitive, and the street kids knew about parts of the city that the well-to-do citizens did not. Merinthe quickly fell in with a group that would eventually be led by one of those she had met ten years prior to her parents' passing, a half-elf by the name of Saelthana.

Saelthana served as the matriarch of a group of urchins that she called 'The Abandoned'. Consisting mostly of orphans, Saelthana hoped to build a home for them where their skills could be nurtured and they could eventually move on to a better life. The group was small, staying around roughly twenty strong and members came and went, but Saelthana's guidance led to a tight-knit and loyal community. They often moved between the cities of Kalan and Klortho based on opportunities available to them.

The group was no formal thieves' guild, and no band of bandits - as such, they mostly relied on pickpocketing and petty theft to get the resources they needed to survive. For forty-odd years, Merinthe served 'The Abandoned' as a scout, decoy, and diplomat. She came to know the layout of the cities - and, in a broad sense, their occupants - by heart, and became Saelthana's go-to resource for information gathering, negotiation, and casing. Saelthana called her 'Angel Eyes', owing in part to her striking blue eyes and innocent childlike appearance, and in part to her ability to save members of the group from trouble.

In time, Saelthana would leave the group, citing an everbuilding wanderlust that drove her to see the elven homelands representing one half of her lineage. Merinthe, along with two other members of the group, would take up its leadership, continuing the doctrine Saelthana had established.

The Heist
Under Saelthana's leadership, 'The Abandoned' had generally avoided engaging in any significant thefts, wanting to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Merinthe felt especially comfortable with this stance, preferring to stick to cons and other small robberies and targeting only those that could afford the losses; however, in some cases, the opportunities were too good to pass up.

Rumours had indicated the potential for a fairly large score from an unassuming new arrival to the Twin Dagger Cities - a merchant with a collection of rare and fascinating art. Several members of the group felt this would be a good choice for a higher risk robbery, as the arrival was new to the city and would not know any of them should things go awry. Merinthe was reluctant to give her approval, but the rumoured value of the score was enough to pique her interest.

Unfortunately, the merchant (and his home) were more than they appeared to be. As they split up to scout it out, Merinthe stumbled upon bizarre, abstract paintings and curious curios. She felt herself enthralled by their bizarre appearance, as though they were calling out to her. A crash and muffled scream broke her from her reverie, and she quickly grabbed one of the curios and ran to find the source of the noise. Merinthe found herself in a hall of armoured mannequins and saw one of her friends bloodied and lying on the floor. As Merinthe ran to check on him, she was caught completely off guard by a mailed fist that nearly knocked her unconscious. Reeling from the blow, she turned and saw that two of the suits of armour had seemingly sprung to life. Tasting her own blood, she grabbed his sword, turned and ran for the exit, barely escaping with her life and a single prize - a strange puzzle box that she has been unable to solve.

Praise The Sun
Despite fleeing the house and seemingly losing the armoured pursuers, Merinthe could not shake the feeling of being followed. Not wanting to bring retribution down upon her charges, she opted to flee the city, looking to hide in the forest to the north. The sense of being pursued followed her as she disappeared into the treeline, though she could not see or hear anything out of the ordinary. Though not a strong believer in faith, she found herself praying - or, more aptly, begging - for someone or something to save her from this nightmare. As she crept through the woods, the rays of the early light of the sun began to break through the canopy. Merinthe opted to follow them, hoping they would lead her to an exit on the far side of the forest.

The light led her to a clearing in the woods, where she found an elf, seemingly with all of his equipment, who appeared to have succumbed to his wounds. While searching the body for a ranged weapon with which to defend herself, she found a small shield with a sun-shaped emblem enlaid within it. As she examined the emblem, she was beset upon by a strange, shadowy assailant - grabbing the shield, she held it above her to guard against the incoming blow, and was shocked to see a bolt of radiant energy fly forth and obliterate her attacker. Stunned, she felt herself slowly starting to fill with some sort of divine presence, feeling that her prayers had been answered by the sun itself. She made a pledge to herself to devote herself to the sun, as much as she had devoted herself to 'The Abandoned' for saving her before, and to encourage the downtrodden to look to it (but not at it) for guidance.

Though she no longer felt pursued, Merinthe was still concerned that more mundane forces may be after her for her theft, and decided that now was the right time to cut ties to the cities she had spent her whole life. Emerging from the forest, she decided to follow the roads north to wherever they may lead. Eventually, through rumours and news gathered in the communities in which she stopped, she learned that the elven clan wars were taking place in the Whispering Forest. Figuring that hiding among a forest full of elves may be one of her better options to avoid pursuit, she set out for the city of Quelren, at the foot of Galadriel, hoping to earn a reprieve from the madness that had followed her in the days and weeks prior.

Act 01: Stop Dragon My Heart Around
Merinthe's arrival in Quelren was a peaceful one. The clan wars were indeed more spectacle than conflict, and the people were engage in a wondrous festival. It finally seemed that she was once again in a safe place; however, looks can be deceiving.

As the festival was due to kick off, and speeches were being made, time slowed to a crawl and the skies seemed to be torn asunder. A great bolt of lightning shot through the skies and struck deep at the heart of Galadriel, the Great Tree, cracking the tree open. Two mysterious assailants, with cloaks emblazoned with the logo of Black Suns, ruthlessly murdered the elders and many of the clans' warriors, before diving into the tree itself. As time seemed to return to normal, chaos reigned. Merinthe assisted many others in treating the injured and wounded.

Eventually, she overheard dialogue between a mixed crew of other travelers that appeared to be interested in pursuing the attackers into the tree. An angry gnome, a brooding half-orc warrior, a fidgety half-elven warrior, an aloof high elf magician, and a bizarrely impatient wood elf all seemed committed to trying to find out exactly what had happened. Concerned for their safety, and knowing they were making an irrational decision fueled by anger - the elves having lost family or friends in the attack, and the half-orc seemingly having a vendetta against the group responsible - Merinthe tried, unsuccessfully, to talk them down. Feeling a tinge of guilt for being unable to protect her family or her friends in the past, she begrudgingly offered to accompany them, hoping she could leverage the gifts granted to her by the sun to keep them safe. Unsurprisingly, Merinthe didn't know the nature of what she was getting herself into this time, either.

The party would delve deep into the core of Galadriel, only to discover that its heart had been removed from an altar therein. The party's pursuit of this would led them to discover the existence of a secret order devoted to ensuring that the gods - banished a thousand years prior - remained sealed away. The heart of Galadriel - along with several other similar relics - was one of many seals required to keep them banished, and these assailants were, presumably, looking to release the gods.

Though inexperienced, the party would volunteer to try and stop this ritual from being completed. With little information to work on, they set out to speak with other possible members of the order. Their travels led them to numerous destinations - Alucard Castle, where they ran afoul of Dalv, a vampire lord with still unknown motives; Moradin, the City of the Dwarves, where they would succeed in preventing a gnomish uprising, fail to prevent the capture of the Heart of the Forge by two other agents of the Black Suns, and lose one of their companions in battle while gaining another stalwart warrior; and, Fallsworn Jungle, where they would ultimately face their greatest betrayal and fail to stop the gods' resurrection.

Rescued in their darkest hour by a draconic ally, the party would withdraw to briefly nurse their wounds and attempt to decide on their next course of action.

Act 02: There's No Time to Explain: Remastered
Unfortunately, time waits for no one, and with nought but a half day to regroup, the party needed to immediately spring to action to identify what allies remain and what force can be brought to bear against the demonic insurrection pouring fourth from the skies.

Chrysanthemum took the party to her lair and advised that one of her strongest allies, Murdoch, was alive but that she was unable to reach him. She suggested the party may be able to quickly travel to the college of Buoyanth via secret ley lines located under Izal. The party set forth in search of Murdoch with an ostensible end goal of repelling the invasion and trying to undo the damage that Cyric had wrought.

In their search for the mysterious wizard, the party would travel to several locations foreign and familiar - the Underdark, where they would discover (and ultimately disrupt/delay) a dark elf invasion force mustering (and where Merinthe would be afflicted, albeit briefly, with an unknown curse); the college of Buoyanth, where the party would ultimately discover the root cause of Murdoch's disappearance; the Twin Dagger City of Kalan, where the party discovered a dramatic shift in power and influence (both here and in Moradin) and found themselves hounded by agents of Madam Ling and bounty hunters from Kyassa (organization) in their search for information and met a strange little goblin; the depths of Buoyanth itself, where the party would overcome harrowing challenges (physically and emotionally) in order to find themselves worthy of 'operating' the flying castle itself (and wherein Lastree would perish and the party would meet Ruus Marekar, Murdoch's pilot; and the city Twin Dagger City of Klortho, where the party would redefine fashion and Merinthe would redefine her belief surrounding the rulers of the cities (and, incidentally, where the party would finally locate Llathriel).

Their journey to find Murdoch would ultimately end in tragic success, as they discovered him to be bound/trapped within a gem and making the ultimate sacrifice in order to reseal the gods and disrupts Cyric's plan, a task they ultimately completed with the unexpected aid of Dalv's Sumrak Riders.

''Everything below this is still from Arc 2 but I'm leaving it here to reference as I go through the re-watches. I'll be deleting it once I recap those segments in the Story So Far article.''

Saved By The Elgroth: The College Years
With Falkrunn's assistance to buy time, the party was able to - again - escape pursuit, and at Merinthe's suggestion, fled to a safe house to consider their plan of attack. Staying in the city was risky, their plan to move to Klortho was no better, and Moradin and the Whispering Forest were both unknown quantities. At this point, the party settled on a desperate gambit - take over and steal the flying college of Buoyanth. They set out for the college and ascended to the headmaster's chambers, weapons drawn, only to discover a meeting was taking place between Judy, the Queen of Klortho, and a girl who could pass as Jessen's twin sister.

The girl was, as the party would come to discover, a fiendish succubus, and a spirited battle broke out between the party, the girl - who had identified herself as Jessa - and the Queen's retinue. Things took a dire turn when a mountainous, four-armed demonic beast landed just outside the open platform extending from Murdoch's quarters, apparently heeding Jessa(n)'s call to wait. Fortunately, upon his arrival, the party looked to receive aid from a deluded little goblin they had met the previous day; unfortunately, his aid consisted of reciting a scroll and striking the demon - and seemingly killing Judy - with a bolt of magical lightning. The party was eventually able to overcome the beast and set their sights upon Jessa who, vulnerable and surrounded, faded away into nothingness.

Following her disappearance, Merinthe called for the guards to detain the goblin, but one of the guards noted that Judy appeared to still be barely alive. Merinthe, conflicted between her hatred for the Queen and the nagging consideration that she may have been operating under Jessa's influence, chose to heal her and save her life... but, as no good deed goes unpunished, her act of healing would be a regrettable one. Belrus, using the gift granted to him by Torm in an attempt to find the succubus, identified that the Queen herself was a fiend. With her true nature revealed, she, too, would vanish, leaving the party and her former retinue confused and in an uneasy standoff.

Fortunately for all involved, it appeared that Queen's personal retinue had been magicked by Jessa or Judy herself, and they had no quarrel with the party. As they had been ensorcelled for a time, Zook leveraged his keen mind and brought the guards, led by their commanding officer Colonel Lionel, along a journey to the present time. The guards agreed to support the party's efforts, helping to evacuate the castle of its residents to allow the party to conduct an 'investigation' and indicating they would take steps to try and deescalate (or slow) the conflict between Klortho and Kalan.

The Goblin the Stone
With the guards having left Murdoch's chambers, the party was left with only one loose end - the little goblin. Merinthe's brief interrogation led her to believe that he, himself, was mostly a naive little fool, bearing them no direct ill will but entirely capable of causing them complications down the road. Both she and Zook were unable to convince him to leave peacefully; however, before either could consider less savoury means of resolving the problem, Belrus informed them that the goblin held a consecrated staff in his possession. Duran, ever the researcher, opted to take the time to identify the staff and its magical properties, while the rest of the party scoured the room for clues as to the flying school's control room.

Neither group was able to glean much in the way of information - the room held no secret passage that any of the party could find, and Duran's attempts to identify the staff led him only to discover that he had healing or restorative powers of some kind, but could not be activated in the traditional way. The only remaining place to check was a locked drawer on Murdoch's desk - which both Zook and Duran identified as having a 'keyhole' that fit the shape of the medallion once held by their companion, Yenkas. Merinthe produced the amulet from her backpack and provided it to Duran, who was able to unlock the desk. A single sheet of paper flew forth from the desk, along with a crystal and magical rod, which Duran snatched from the air and read to the party. It seemed their good friend Murdoch, like Duran, was also able to see into the future, and had seemingly already made plans in the event of his disappearance. Murdoch's message also warned the party that they would be stuck with the goblin, who the letter identified as Lastree, no matter what. Begrudgingly, the party decided to bring him with them - at least for the short term - a responsibility which Zook placed on Merinthe's shoulders, politely reminding her of her stewardship of Eustace (a situation that she had already been considering since they first encountered the little goblin). With everything sorted, the party took a quick rest and, thanks to information gleaned from Murdoch's message, began their search for the control room by descending into the halls hidden in the depths of Buoyanth.

The path to the control room looked to be straight-forward - a series of winding corridors broken up by small chambers, each seemingly housing some sort of metallic construct in its ceiling, their purpose unknown. The party quickly advanced through the halls, seeking their objective. They narrowly avoided an encounter with a strange woman with a twisted mess of snakes in place of her hair, but were nearly bested in combat by a huge, wicked, multi-headed serpent. The party agreed these foes seemed bizarrely out of place, and questions arose about their purpose and how they even ended up in these rooms - the serpent, in particular, was too large to fit through either doorway. A quick search of the room revealed a hidden lift that led to another area, which they activated using the same magical passphrase Murdoch had provided to them prior; however, before the party could investigate at length, they were beset upon by a serpent-haired woman. Merinthe was gravely wounded in her initial strike, venom from the snakes coursing through her veins; at the same time, one of the metallic constructs dropped down from the tunnel above it and immediately incapacitated Belrus with two thunderous swings from its fists.

Realizing the dire straits they were in, Duran managed to dull their foes reaction speeds and ordered everyone to jump down the hole. As everyone began to move and prepared to jump in in unison, Merinthe saw that Lastree, perhaps foolishly or out of a sense of duty, has moved to the far end of the room and continue to harry the woman with arrows. She hesitated, seemingly reluctant to once again abandoned her friends. Zook, catching her hesitation, reminded her of Murdoch's message - that Lastree would always find his way back to them. The party jumped together, and Duran used his magic to slow their descent in the unknown. As she fell, Merinthe listened to the fading din of combat - but never heard another volley fly from Lastree's bow.

The party's slow descent brought them to rest at the bottom of the elevator shaft, in a small room. The room was filled with fish, a dim red light, and several sleeping smaller serpents akin to the one they fought merely minutes prior. The party, wounded and light on resources, opted to let them lie and tried to rest. One of the creatures awoke and began curiously inspecting Elgroth, delaying their plans slightly; however, their effort at resting was ultimately interrupted when Merinthe caught the sound of something coming from above. She looked up and saw something falling rapidly towards them. She nudged Duran, who managed to slow its fall, and they tried to see what, exactly, it was.

Fate has a dark sense of humour, of course, and apparently so does Murdoch, as his words rang true - Lastree had indeed found his way back to the party, in headless, stone statue form, apparently petrified by something up above. Merinthe, startled and horrified, sprung to her feet, alerting the rest of the creatures, and a brief skirmish ensued. The battle was won, but not without a cost - during the fight, Elgroth, clearly weakened from wounds sustained in the initial battle against the larger serpent, swung wild a few times and smashed what remained of Lastree into slivers and dust. Merinthe, visibly distraught and borderline hysterical with guilt, frantically began trying to assemble what pieces remained, pleading with Duran and Zook to help, but all of their magic - through which they could mend - couldn't put Lastree together again.

The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
Still wounded, the party opted to take their time before looking to re-engage the creatures above. Fortunately, they were able to nurse their wounds and recover relatively unmolested, though they did discover an interesting mechanism regarding the hidden alcove and its means to nourish creatures contained therein. With their warriors rested and wizard wary, the party began their ascent to the corridors above.

The hall above was empty, swept clean of the hydra's corpse and any remnants of their prior battle, with all doors closed and the shield guardian once again at rest in the chute above. Cautious, the party swept the room and listened at the door - all they could hear was faint crying from further down the hall. They advanced, weapons drawn and with much trepidation, 'til they came upon the next room. The crying was much louder here, much as had been when they first entered the halls beneath the college. Merinthe opened the door and cautiously peeked in - however, before she could withdraw, Elgroth inadvertently (Merinthe would say "inadvertently") bumped her further into the room.

A fierce combat broke out as the medusa engaged and another shield guardian dropped down to guard her. The party brought their firepower to bear upon the shield guardian (though Duran, to Merinthe's chagrin, insisted on attacking the medusa) but was rapidly becoming overwhelmed - indeed, Merinthe and Duran would both fall in combat before being revived by their allies. Elgroth eventually managed to grab hold of the medusa and snatched diadem from her forehead - placing it on his, he was able to wrest control of the shield guardian from the medusa and, with its assistance, the party was finally able to vanquish their foe. The trial completed, the diadem vanished and the shield guardian returned to its chute.

Following a short rest, the party pressed further onward. They stumbled upon another chamber containing a magical gate of some kind guarded by a winged lion - an androsphinx. Sensing that the creature had discovered their presence, the party opted not to withdraw, but instead stood before the creature, waiting to assess its motives. The creature identified itself as an aide of Murdoch's and the arbiter of the trials through which the party had been proceeding. Before them stood their final challenges - one, to satisfy the androsphinx's whimsy (which Zook cleanly did thanks to his wand of wonder), and the other, teased by Murdoch's later, to come to terms with and share their deepest secrets with their closest allies.

Each, in turn, would share a story shaped by their tragic past. Zook would share a tale of being deceived by both an ally and the power of the illusions he now wields. Belrus would reveal the tragedy of greed and temptation that would cost his community their lives. Elgroth would retell a tale of revenge-driven blood-lust - and, perhaps more worrisome, his total lack of remorse. Duran would reflect upon the steep price he and his friends paid to satisfy his unrestrained thirst for knowledge. Merinthe, too, would share a story, recounting the mistakes that were a part of her failed heist and seemingly repeat themselves again and again.

All five would share their tale, as the others listened on in silence, as the androsphinx would share seeming reflections and fortunes relating to each of their stories. With all tales told, the androsphinx acknowledge that they had completed the trials, and that they would soon reach their goal. With that, the gate opened, and out stepped a figure the party had never seen before.

Castle in the Sky
Standing before the party was the man who would be Murdoch's pilot, Ruus Marekar. After a brief indirect introduction on the part of the androsphinx (who the party would learn was named Amuar), the party would question him at length regarding his role and how he became "trapped" in the control room. The party would learn that he, too, was beguiled and deceived by Judy and Jessa. Interestingly, Amuar would also provide conflicting stories about Dalv, further complicating the party's view of their vampiric foe. After identifying their common allegiances and enemies, both sides would tentatively agree to work together. With that, they would begin to travel to Klortho.

Arriving in Klortho, with Buoyanth now under their command, the party was met by a small defending army. The tense standoff would be diffused when Kevin, a guard that had harassed the party since their arrival in Kalan, emerged from the supposedly emptied castle behind them; Kevin, however, would reveal himself to be Enzo, a member of the court of the Queen of Klortho, and a spy operating as a member of Judy's army - he would also share that he had received word from Colonel Lionel that Judy had been found, slain, in her castle, and that the Judy they saw in Buoyanth was likely an impostor. Enzo offered to arrange a meeting with Queen Jocelyn of Klortho, the Queen of Klortho, for the party, and would also inform them that his brother, Cass, was the head of Kalan's armies. Accepting his offer, the party would move to the castle, leaving Zook behind to stand watch over the castle in their absence.

The party would arrive at the castle as the Queen's court was in session. Merinthe, with the party's encouragement, would eavesdrop on the heated debate about war and conflict and glean insight into the relationship of Klortho with its vassals. Eventually, the party would meet with Jocelyn, and both sides would exchange their information and news - the party would give her insight into the state of Moradin, the Whispering Forest, and the impending drow invasion among other events, while the Queen would Jocelyn giving insight into the geopolitical landscape of the Twin Dagger Cities and their vassals, and (via Cass) a clue to the location of the legless elf mentioned in Murdoch's letter. Both sides would agree to keep each other apprised of future developments, and the party would provide Cass with a sending stone to aid in further contact. With cordial relations established with the Queen and head of Klortho's armies, the party would plan to return to Buoyanth to regroup before pursuing their leads in the city. Shortly after stepping out of the Queen's palace, the party (accompanied to the door by Enzo) noticed billowing smoke far off to the north - Enzo believed the fire was located in the woods north of Urach, though he couldn't say for sure.

Rebuilding the Prison
Returning to Buoyanth, the party located Zook and begun discussing their next moves. Agreement was reached that locating Llathriel, the legless elf, should be their next play; however, the party identified and agreed to table several other outstanding issues - the fate of Murdoch (beyond their current capabilities to address), the Dalv dilemma (needing to be addressed sooner rather than later), the mysterious fire to the north (too far to easily address), the outstanding bounties on their head (something they need to deal with), and the day-to-day operation of Buoyanth (to be discussed upon return to Kalan). After the group would elect to rest, Merinthe would reach out to Chrysanthemum via magical sending to update her on the latest developments - receiving acknowledgement and a brief update from Chrysanthemum in return (regarding her own troubles in the Dragon Plains and an effort to support the occupied city of Moradin). Following a brief misadventure by Elgroth, the party would make their way back into Klortho, intent on finding the mysterious elven smith.

With relative ease, thanks to clues from Murdoch and Cass, the party managed to locate him in the slums. He had hidden himself away in a small smithy located near a beer garden, having seemingly taken no pains to hide his appearance or location. Though blunt and seemingly downright verbally hostile, Llathriel seemed willing to share information with the party. He explained that he had constructed both Buoyanth (and its control mechanism) as well as the original prison used to seal the gods. Llathriel believed a new control mechanism had been created and had been used to re-seal the gods of good following the breaking of the original seal, and surmised that this same mechanism could be used to bind and trap Cyric and the other gods of evil with the right tools. He noted that he could forge such a trap using powerful items - the control mechanism for Buoyanth, specifically, and the essence of a god - and could forge a new control mechanism for Buoyanth out of a sufficiently powerful magic item. The party knew they could satisfy the first and last criteria, as they had Buoyanth's control mechanism and had at least one magic item that would allow them to replace it, but were surprised to find that they had satisfied the middle criteria - indeed, the crystal that had appeared alongside Murdoch's note contained the essence of a god - Murdoch himself.

Processing that revelation, the party managed to ask a few more questions before Llathriel directed their attention towards an ambush waiting outside. While the party discussed what to do, Llathriel began working on creating the tools they would need. Ruus attempted to sneak a peek outside to identify what they were dealing with; however, the attackers were waiting and took that chance to strike. After a fierce and violent battle with a party of drow - who were apparently seeking to enlist Llathriel's "assistance" in releasing their queen, Lolth - lay slain at the party's feet.

With the dark elves neutralized, and Llathriel seemingly unharmed (for he continued to work his craft in the background, conversing with Zook at length and answering some of his questions), the party contacted Cass, informing him of the presence of drow agents in his city. Investigating the bodies, the party found two curiosities: a travel stone similar to the ones they had found before, red and yet crackling with blue energy, and a cloth note written in a script that none present could understand. With the aid of magic, Zook was able to translate the text of the message, which confirmed the drow were here seeking Llathriel (regarding 'power gems', presumably what they called the crystals used to power the ley line travel network) and also re-assured the party that their efforts to delay the drow invasion had been successful.

As Llathriel finished his work, he presented the finished relic to the party, with Duran taking it into his possession. The sudden arrival of Enzo and Cass and a complement of guards seemed to spook Llathriel, who went into hiding. The party shared information on the drow with the two, and the guards gathered the corpses before leaving. Cass advised he would locate and dispatch some clerics to tend to the party's wounds.

While waiting for Cass to arrive, and again while waiting for the clerics, the party discussed several things with Llathriel at length - Buoyanth, the magic ley line teleportation network, his bizarre pseudo-cannibalism (not at any length), his lack of legs (which Duran solved via a set of peg legs they had obtained from Captain Lewis) and his fear of Enzo and Cass. The party learned that the drow city in the Underdark was not, in fact, a drow city, but served as a 'hub' for the teleportation network. Control of this 'hub' changed between factions often during past wars, and the same applied to the attuned/connected waypoints or portals (meaning there are, presumably, detached ones out there). Their conversation essentially ended just in time for the arrival of two priests of Eldath, who tended to the party's wounds, before departing again.

With their questions mostly answered, the party began to discuss the next phase - crafting a replacement control mechanism for Booyanth. Llathriel reiterated that a magic item of sufficient power would need to be drained in order to power the new mechanism, and after brief discussion, the party agreed upon the ebony fly figurine in their possession. Llathriel advised he could craft it with that item, two weeks, and four thousand gold pieces - a number which caused Zook and Duran much duress. Llathriel imparted that they would need a sufficiently large and valuable crystal - of one of a number of types - and that was his estimate at the cost and time to locate it.

The party did have a sufficiently valuable gem - a black sapphire - in their possession (to their surprise), but the feeling (read: Zook's believe as self-appointed fiduciary of the party's finances) was that they could negotiate a better deal themselves. With that, the party traveled to the high-class end of Klortho. After a brief shopping adventure - wherein Elgroth and Duran bought some new attire (horrible gaudy, in Merinthe's eyes) and Zook kicked off a new era of serpentine fashion - they were able to haggle a reasonable price for a valuable jacinthe: three thousand gold and a bit information. With their purchased secured (and their pockets lighter), the party would return to Buoyanth and allow Llathriel to begin his work - two days of effort required, he speculated.

No sooner had the work begun than a pounding began at the front door of the college. Concerned - in part because the guard Cass had posted at the end of the rainbow bridge had instructions to not let anyone pass, and in part as their visitor was not identifying himself as a member of the guard as they would expect - Duran and Zook both attempted to use their familiars to scout. Though they were unable to view their visitor directly, as their familiars were dismissed at any point where they would be able to see the visitor directly, they did get enough information (along with a touch of Belrus' ability to identify the undead) to confirm their visitor's identity: Dalv had seemingly found them at the college, and come to visit.

Quickly, the party tried to come up with a makeshift plan - Ruus, who was unknown to Dalv (and to whom Dalv was unknown) would take the bag of holding with the party's key possessions (and Dalv's magical jug) and hide, should things go sour; Belrus, similarly unknown to Dalv, would go with him to protect him; Merinthe, currently wearing a magical disguise thanks to the hat she had found, would answer the door and try to get Dalv to leave (suggesting that the college was not accessible and, if Dalv asked or insisted, informing him the party - the 'management' - was not there); Duran, Zook, and Elgroth (who was contemplating crafting a new sign for the front door) would lie in wait should a fight break out. With much trepidation, Merinthe cracked the door slightly, apologized and informed their visitor that the college was closed for renovations, and closed the door - to everyone's surprise, they heard footsteps walking away from the door. Perplexed, Merinthe opened the door, and saw no sign of him. With the party's consent, she looked to cross the rainbow bridge to speak with the guards, trying to find out if they had seen Dalv (and, if so, why they let him pass) - and looked up just in time to see a cloud of bats vanish from sight. Perplexed, the party would return to discuss this development, as Llathriel emerged from his forged with a new completed control mechanism for Buoyanth in hand - well ahead of his estimated timeline.

Completing the Ritual
Advising the party that the task was complete, Llathriel handed the relic over to the party for safekeeping. The party asked him some other questions - questions about whether he knew where they needed to look to seal the gods, questions about Murdoch, and questions about the castle itself, some of which he was able to answer, though the most important of which he could not.

Not long into their questioning, the party heard another knock at the door; fortunately, their scouting would determine that their visitor was not a foe, but a friend, with Queen Jocelyn having made the trek from the castle to meet with the party. The party invited her into Buoyanth - a place where she had seemingly never set foot - and brought her to the library for a conversation. The Queen shared with the party grave news: an undead scourge had arisen in the forests just north of the Twin Dagger Cities, and while her armies were holding it back, they were fully taxed and would not be able to do so for much longer. Given the tense geopolitical climate between Kalan, Klortho, and their vassals, she feared these forces would remain unchecked. She hoped the party would be able to aid her. The party seemed to be somewhat split as to whether to offer support - some of the group felt they had an obligation to do so for the people of the cities, while others were cognizant of the time sensitivity of their mission and the fact that diverting from our tasks to assist the Queen may result in treating the symptom and not curing the cause. Regrettably, the party informed her they would not be able to help her immediately, but would return to address this issue as soon as they had completed their primary goal (of re-sealing the gods, a task they did not share with her). Jocelyn left, her disappointment evident.

With this situation resolved, the party then began to contemplate how they would find the ritual site where they would be able to seal the evil gods. Merinthe and Zook both knew that someone - possibly Jorrik Steelmind, or possibly Chrysanthemum, though they could not recall who, had mentioned that Murdoch had another group of adventurers working to help disrupt Cyric's plans. They felt that it may be possible that this group would have visited the ritual site in question during their (also failed) attempt to disrupt Cyric's plans. The party decided they should take the remainder of the day to search for clues and information regarding this group as well as any other pertinent information (which, for some, meant looking for magical items and weapons and, for others, reading through salacious works of fiction about Dalv and Kristen Stewart) and meet up to discuss. The party did, indeed, find information regarding another group of adventurers, who were looking to stop Murdoch's cousin, Floric Powersnoof, from completing a ritual to seal the gods of good. The notes provided the general location of the site of power - conveniently, it was located in the forest north of the Twin Dagger Cities, in the general area where Queen Jocelyn had described the undead menace. The party concluded that they may be related and that we may be able to address Jocelyn's problems incidentally while they were working on their main mission, and contacted Cass to inform him that they had changed their minds after much discussion and would divert their resources to attempt to aid the city of Kalan. The party agreed it would be best to begin in the morning, freshly rested and with daylight on their side, and turned in for the evening.

Morning broke, and the party met to discuss how to proceed. The consensus feeling at the conclusion of the previous day was that they should simply fly Buoyanth to the camp that Jocelyn's soldiers had set up, rather than taking extra time to travel there on foot or by horseback. Merinthe felt compelled to share two concerns she had with that plan: first, that they had yet to clearly identify the safest way to enter/leave Buoyanth 'in the field' (the magical bridges didn't seem to extend doward, for ample); and, second, that flying the castle around would draw undue attention to themselves - potentially from Madam Ling, in particular, as they may be flying over her territory to get to their destination. This latter concern drew a particularly inquisitive response from Duran, who polled Merinthe for more information on her level of interaction with and relationship to Madam Ling. Merinthe tried to skirt the issue, yet Duran continued to press for information. With some frustration, and not wanting to risk further friction on the topic (since, she felt, the party had rightly pointed out that their lives were at risk because of this issue), Merinthe shared the details of her involvement, and showed the party what she had stolen: what, to her, was simply a curiosity - a puzzle box that she had struggled for weeks to disassemble and, once able to do so, had been unable to reassemble - but that, to Llathriel's eyes, was a far more valuable prize. Llathriel informed the party that this puzzle box was in fact a magical cube of force, seemingly forged by Moradin himself, yet tainted in some way to make it incredibly dangerous. Though he provided some detail, he was not sure as to what other changes had taken place; in the interest of saving time, Merinthe proposed they table the topic for later discussion, and hurriedly put it back into storage. With the question as settled as it would be, the party made arrangements to depart for their destination, opting to fly the castle there.

The party traveled northward, arriving quickly at the soldiers' camp. They met with the head of the camp, who advised them that a small, elite force had been sent ahead and was currently monitoring a small group of undead. The party was informed that the soldiers were expecting their arrival, and that they hoped they would be able to support the party as they dealt with the threat by guarding their flanks (targeting areas where the bulk of the undead seemed to be massing, allowing the party to push directly in towards the apparent source of the undead) - for now, the party would need to rally with that small force and help them dispatch the foes they had found. With haste, they made their way to meet up with the other soldiers. They found a very, very small complement of soldiers - led by two captains, Todd Mo and Harridan Serrisom, who briefly apprised them on what they were dealing with. There seemed to be a large number of zombies large and small and one curious creature that neither of them had seen before (to Merin, this looked like a weirdly decaying and far more vicious version of the strange creature they had encountered in the apothecary's garden in Kalan, similar yet far more dangerous). After quickly assessing the battlefield, they came up with an impromptu plan, and seeing the undead actively moving about, decided to strike before they lost their advantage. The battle was quick and fierce, and several of the soldiers lost their lives; however, the party and their allies would emerge slightly wounded yet victorious.

With the first wave of zombies defeated, the group undertook discussion on how to proceed. The group preferred exercising caution, escorting the sole remaining soldier - Jerry - back to camp and taking the time to catch their breath and nurse their wounds; Captains Mo and Serrisom, however, felt a need to continue to press forward, as any delay on our advance could result in their rest of the army being enveloped or flanked and destroyed. After further discussion, the party agreed to compromise with the captains, taking a brief rest here holding their position while sending Jerry back to camp on his own (Jerry shared that he was once trained to be a messenger, but preferred to be on the front lines) with messages to be delivered to the head of the camp: one for his eyes, and one to be delivered to Queen Jocelyn should the party not return within the next few days. While resting, the party took advantage of Duran's owl familiar, Purdue, to scout out the positions of their allies, getting a feel for the current state of the skirmishes taking place around them.

Jerry returned with perfect timing, arriving just as the party finished their rest. He explained that he had handed their messages off to another messenger that he had met along the way, and had run into heavily armored reinforcements already on their way. The party's relief quickly turned to caution and then to concern as Jerry shared that the reinforcements were not members of Klortho's army, but outside actors, garbed in red and black armor. Zook and Merinthe exchanged worried glances as they both recognized Jerry's description of the same figures they had seen watching them (and, arguably, following them) while the party was aboard Captain Lewis' airship. Jerry stressed that they had saved them from the undead scourge and had already been aiding the army on its eastern flank, and that they were friendly. Not wanting to end up being caught between two hostile forces, the party opted to scout the woods before of them ahead of the knights' arrival. Moving forward, they eventually found the mouth of a cave cut into a cliff side, surrounded by a number of undead similar to what they had fought earlier in the day. The group agreed to wait for the knights' arrival at this point, while taking this opportunity to discuss tactics.

Shortly thereafter, the group saw three armored figures approaching from the south, and confirmed they were indeed Sumrak Riders. Two of the figures moved past the party on their flanks, getting into position to strike, while a third approached the party. After some brief, one-sided conversation (for the riders did not speak and deigned only to answer some questions), the party decided to engage the massing undead at range (at Merinthe's insistence), hoping to reduce their numbers without putting them in danger. They agreed to attempt to instruct the other Klortho forces to engage at the same time, using Zook's illusion magic to replicate the signal trumpet with Captain Mo's guidance. With that, the party engaged the undead menace.

The fight was relatively quick, but not without great danger. The undead they saw initially posed little threat, but the group's careless pushes forward led to ambushes by skeletons and strange, four-legged monsters that resembled humanoid brains, isolating their aggressive front line, putting their back line on the back foot, and forcing all involved to re-prioritize their targets. The situation turned from bad to worse when, not long after the combat began, a strange, tentacle-mouthed humanoid wielding arcane magic emerged from the depths of the cavern. Were it not for the Riders, things would have ended up far more dire than they did, though the party's losses were great - Captain Serrisom was slain by the tentacled humanoid, Ruus and Elgroth were seemingly incapacitated by the strange brain creatures, Jerry lay unconscious having been felled by the undead, and Duran and Zook were gravely wounded.

Luckily for the party, their fortunes were finally about to take a turn for the better. The Sumrak Riders seemed to genuinely be there to help the party, assisting the recovery of Ruus and Elgroth (albeit at the party's expense), and - to everyone's surprise - Belrus arrived (well, flew in, sort of) from Buoyanth to bring them aid. Belrus explained that a strange old man had arrived at the castle, provided Belrus with some healing potions, and instructed him to assist us before sending him on his way. Merinthe expressed concern that Buoyanth was no longer under their control and was upset that Belrus had abandoned it, but Belrus seemed to imply he hadn't been given much of a choice in the matter.

With the party once again whole, they turned their attention to the cave and the potential trials that lay ahead of them. After allowing Captain Mo to pay his respects to Captain Serrisom (and engaging Jerry to bring him back to camp for proper rites befitting an officer), engaging in further discussion with the Sumrak Riders regarding their motives, and seeing the tattered remnants of the Klortho forces on their flanks arrive at the cave entrance, the party began to move towards the cave entrance; however, no sooner had they reached the mouth of the cave than a colossal shadow set in upon the forest. Looking skywards, the party saw a mammoth multi-headed draconic beast descending upon them, and quickly sprinted into the cave itself.

Arriving in the cave, the party quickly discovered that it appeared to be a small tomb or mausoleum of sorts, cut into the cliff side. A small landing area and a sepulcher were separated by a small body of water, nary sixty feet across, and both were connected by a series of ruined or broken foot bridges. Atop the sepulcher sat an orb, clearly radiating divine power. The party spotted a small keyhole in the sepulcher, which looked to fit the keystone that Llathriel had crafted for them, and not having any information as to what tasks needed to be performed here, put their hopes into the conclusion that this was the trigger to activate the seal. With the sounds of battle picking up behind them, punctuated by draconic cries, the party decided they needed to act - and as quickly as they could, given their propensity for discussion. Merinthe, in the interests of full disclosure, gave as much information as she felt she could safely share with Captain Mo so that he could just to stay or go (though the presence of a dragon outside certainly influenced his decision), and the party then moved to assessing the situation.

Belrus drew upon Torm's wisdom to sense the lay of the tomb - he noted that the water seemed to be filled with bones, bones which reeked with the negative energy stench of the undead, and that a particularly powerful force of undead rested near the near side of the sepulcher itself. Torm's guidance also told Belrus that the sphere resting atop it seemed to be made up of competing positive and negative energy forces, as though battling to determine whether or not to consecrate or desecrate the site itself. With this information in hand, the party began formulating a plan, though not without conflict - Ruus, rather impatiently, began working his way across the bridge, to Merinthe's consternation and Duran's delight, leading to a brief and heated exchange between the two. Experimenting briefly with the site, and noting that the water and bones therein became increasingly and decreasingly agitated the closer and further one was from the sepulcher, the party decided to simply have one of their number dash across the gap, buoyed by protective magics, and insert the keystone into the sepulcher. Ruus, being the most nimble (and the most impatient), was chosen. Merinthe, bemused, could not help but mentally note the irony of a party so distrusting of nearly everyone they met placing the entirety of the success of their quest - and, perhaps, the fate of Izal and the lands beyond - in the hands of someone they had essentially just met and who did not fully understand the scope of their mission.

With Ruus sufficiently guarded, and the party ready to attack or otherwise neutralize any other potential threats, Ruus sent out sprinting across the land bridge. As he crossed, the waters began to churn more and more wickedly, and skeletal figures began emerging from their depths. Undeterred, he leaped across a the last remaining gap and sprinted to the sepulcher itself. Avoiding an attack from a strange, spectral figure emerging from the floor in front of the sepulcher, Ruus inserted the keystone and turned into, locking it in place. As he did so, a spectral apparition (which Ruus recognizes as Murdoch) appeared from the keyhole, gazing at Ruus.

As quickly as it appeared, the apparition phased into the sphere itself. The sphere suddenly began rotating faster and faster, glowing with a radiant blue-white light. The spirit at the edge of the sepulcher was drawn into the sphere itself, causing the skeletal figures to immediately break apart and fall into the water. Duran, speculating that the sphere was drawing in the undead and liberated gods, called for the party to jump aside, just as the clawing, screaming, thrashing form of a five-headed dragon was forcefully drawn down the stairwell and into the cave, it, too, draw into the sphere. As the sphere spun faster and faster, indistinguishable black shapes began being drawn into the sphere, and the sphere started to dissolve, eventually fading into nothingness. All that remained was the keystone - drained, blackened, and smaller in size. The water itself calmed. Belrus feels that the room is purged of any unholy presence. As the party recovers from the shock of the events that just transpired, Zook called to Ruus, asking what happened. Ruus explained that the apparition was Murdoch, who gave him three choices - seal the gods away, release the gods, or do nothing at all. Fortunately for the party, Murdoch shared that he would not be returning regardless of Ruus' choice, and Ruus opted to seal the gods away, assuming that was the party's objective to begin with. Merinthe took a moment to explain everything to Ruus, albeit too late for it to truly matter.

With their mission accomplished, the party took a quick peek outside to see what had transpired in the battle above. An assortment of elemental attacks had razed the forest - some trees were set aflame, the ground was frozen, rocks were melted. The Sumrak Riders were nowhere to be seen, and the ground was littered with corpses of the Klortho soldiers. The party stepped back inside to assess their next move, with Duran suggesting they take a moment to catch their breath before returning to camp.

Not long after entering, the party begins to search the cave to make sure it is safe and that there is nothing else untoward remaining inside. Sensing a great magical presence from it, several members of the party turned their attention to the sarcophagus at the far end of the room. Tempted by the potential for spoils inside, Elgroth - as he had done in the elven tombs when the party first met - attempted to open it, enlisting the aid of Belrus and anyone else who would offer to help. They were able to open the sarcophagus, finding a preserved corpse inside (that seemed strangely familiar to many of the group but who they could not identify), and determining that the chamber was some sort of sepulcher to an unfamiliar but clearly notable figure. Following a very heated debate on the subject of grave robbery (Merinthe one of those greatly opposed to it), the party eventually removed several magical items from the sepulcher, but were unable to close it; fortunately for them, as Elgroth walked away after finally giving up on it, the sarcophagus closed itself.

The party returned to Buoyanth and the war camp unimpeded, spending most of the walk in silence. After discussing the outcome of their mission with the camp's head, and amicably parting ways with Captain Mo, the party returned to Buoyanth and to Murdoch's (former quarters); however, setting foot inside, they found themselves greeted by the strange old man Belrus had mentioned seeing before. Uneasily preparing themselves for a conflict, the uneasy silence was broken only by Ruus' confused recognition of the man as Murdoch.

The Planar Prince
After a brief discussion, the party discovers that the man in question is a nephew of Murdoch's, one Dortmunder Powersnoof. He has returned to Buoyanth to take over his inheritance. Fortunately for the party, Murdoch has given one quarter of Buoyanth to Ruus, and Ruus quickly negotiates an amicable agreement for shared use of the facility. Dortmunder agrees to take Buoyanth back to the Twin Dagger Cities while the party nurses their wounds. During their travel, Duran identifies the magical spoilers the party stole from the sepulcher, discovering the sword Elgroth had taken contains a powerful effect giving its bearer a magical, compelling ability to claim *casus belli* to wage war and rule all of Izal - a secret he opts to keep to himself.

The negotiations complete, and their items identified, the party moves on to meet with the Queen to apprise her of their success - however, they (are unsurprised to) discover that she has given birth to her son and that the city is in the midst of celebration. Nevertheless, the party stresses a need to meet with her with the aim of at least advising her that the undead menace has been defeated (and opting to save the other details for later). After much pleading, Enzo and Cass - currently protecting the Queen - agree to let the party meet with her. Belrus, curious, uses his ability to sense evil and extraplanar creatures on the Queen's child, and discovers that the child claims both celestial and fiendish heritage. Concerned, he hauls Merinthe aside, informing her - the two agree to bring this to the party's attention when they are aware from prying eyes and gossiping ears.

The party leaves the castle and, at Belrus' request, seeks out a temple of Torm, wherein he shares his findings with the rest of the party. The party agrees that they will take no action at this time (merely observing), but that they need to make someone trustworthy and close to the Queen aware of this issue. They elect to contact her spymaster, Enzo, and subsequently meet with him and apprise him of their discovery. Enzo, concerned, asks the party to give him a week to try and do some research. The party agrees, informing Enzo they may be away on other business, but can be reached via Cass' sending stone.

Their affairs settled, the party discusses and decides their next course of action will be to investigate the current status of the Whispering Forest, reportedly having gone silent following Cyric's actions and infested with a strange plague. They spent the next two days preparing their affairs; while they are preparing, however, Duran advises Merinthe and Zook of the true nature of Elgroth's sword (which they discovered belonged to Galiton the Conqueror), driving Merinthe to reach out to Captain Mo to ensure he had not said and would not say too much to other members of the kingdom.

After taking a couple of days to gather supplies and prepare (during which Merinthe experimented with her newfound ability to complete wizardly rituals), the party travels northward with Buoyanth towards the edge of the Whispering Forest. Arriving at the forest's edge, they discover that the sickening blight plaguing the forest has seemingly permeated it entirely. Warily, they disembark, leaving instructions with Dortmunder to periodically return with Buoyanth to check in (should they be able to contact him with Merinthe's sending) to see if they have returned to the forest's edge. As they traveled through the unsettling remnants of the forest, they suddenly heard a woman screaming to the north. Cautiously, the party began to approach, only to hear the screaming - seemingly pursued by the sounds of hooves - driving closer. An elven woman, pursued by several centaur and a sickly-looking feminine figure, burst through the brush to the north. Before the party could react, the woman was struct down by a centaur's javelin, prompting the party to respond with aggression in kind. A brief skirmish ensued with these foes (and two blighted manticores that arrived shortly thereafter), with the party defeating all but the strange figure, who (similar to the succubus the party had met before) disappeared from Merinthe's reach.

Their foes defeated, the party quickly rushed to down the examined woman. Determining that she had died, Merinthe channeled the power of the sun to revive her. Having lost an eye to the haggard woman and her fiends pursuing her, she was visibly distraught, but Ruus was able to calm her. She shared that her name was Isabella, and informed the party that the forest - and Quelren were basically lost to corrupted forces, like the monstrosities that had been pursuing her. She explained that she and several other refugees had been holed up in a castle in the forest (which several of the party correctly surmised was Alucard Castle), whose master has taken steps to safeguard and protect them, but had left to forage for additional food and supplies when they were waylaid by these creatures. She fled the scene and presumes the rest of her group are dead. She advises the party - who, at this point, are deliberating whether to risk it all and take her to Alucard Castle or withdraw from the forest and hopefully return her to safety in Buoyanth - that she has family still holed up on the castle and asks if they can return her there. After much deliberation, and with some reluctance on the part of Merinthe, the party agrees and begins traveling towards the forest.

Their travel to the castle is mostly uneventful, though they manage to see the decay of Galadriel and Quelren from afar. The party is also briefly albeit slowly pursued by a moving tree and elects to avoid it rather than engage it. They eventually arrive, following Isabella's lead, at Alucard Castle. Isabella withdraws a note - strangely familiar and glowing red - and waves it at the guards on the rampart, who lower the gate. Duran, curious, checks the note the initial invitation they received from Dalv and notes that it, once again, is glowing brightly. Isabella invites the party to join her, indicating that their help would be appreciated. The party obliges (despite Merinthe's continued objections) and follows her through the gate.

The courtyard and walls are filled with elves - some seeming to be refugees from Quelren, and some seeming to be something else. The denizens generally seem happy, in line with what Isabella had intimated prior to the party's arrival. Seeing her family, she thanks the party for their help, and leaves. No sooner is she out of sight than a familiar mute halfling approaches and gestures for the party to head back into Dalv's inner sanctum. Merinthe balks again but, unwilling to brave the woods alone given what the party had already seen, begrudgingly follows the rest of the party inside. Unsurprisingly, the party enters to find Dalv sitting atop his throne, mostly as he was when the party last met him. Ruus, oblivious as always, extends a warm greeting, as the other party members begin individually considering their options.

Personality
Merinthe is someone who can often see the best in people, and she feels that all people regardless of origin or status deserve respect until they prove otherwise. Having served 'The Abandoned' as a matron, she treats others with compassion, is often sympathetic to their plights, and will try to help as best she can - though she acknowledges that sacrifices must be made for the greater good, and there are those who would try to take advantage of her nature to further their own ends.

Merinthe is a problem solver of sorts, able to be logical when time permits, but tends to rely heavily upon her instinct and intuition whenever quick decisions are made. She can thus be extremely resourceful but prone to squandering that talent on impulsive decisions, a trait that allies may find frustrating.

Owing to her involvement in her family's business and interaction with their clients, and subsequently amplified by her time spent on the street with little to her name, Merinthe is highly materialistic. Though she understands the value of sharing resources for the greater good and benefit of and ongoing success of the group, she tends to overvalue trinkets and equates wealth (and displays thereof) with power and importance. Outside of situations where being wrong could be fatal, she will tend to defer to the knowledge and experience of the wealthy and politically influential - after all, they can afford access to information and resources of which she could only dream.

For better or worse, Merinthe is extremely suspicious and secretive. She will never fully trust anyone other than herself, and has only extended a moderate amount of trust to two groups since losing her home - 'The Abandoned', and the party of adventurers that she is 'stuck' protecting. Anyone unknown - no matter how friendly they appear, no matter how trustworthy they appear, and no matter how wealthy they appear - is still viewed as a potential threat, though she will 'play along' to ensure there are no problems. Even among those she trusts, she tends to keep to herself about her motives and past. Her lack of trust even extends to her equipment - she will only loan equipment to others when she is around to see what they do with it, and is extremely paranoid about others rummaging through her affairs to the point that she even sleeps with her backpack in hand.

Merinthe views herself as a steward and guardian of any groups of which she is a member, and ultimately feels responsible for any of their defeats. Her equipment often consists of equipment taken from those she has lost - an unbreakable needle from her father; a crossbow from her mother; a sword from her consort; armour from a fallen ally - serving as a memento of the person they were and a stark reminder of her failure. She is often down on herself for not being strong enough to protect those she considers friends, and is constantly searching for power that will prevent future loss; however, her primary motive is still, ultimately, self-preservation and survival, and this has led to her abandoning (or contemplating abandoning) allies in their time of need.

Relationships
'''Legend: |A| - Alive, |D| - Deceased, |M| - Missing. This reflects their presumed status.'''

Allies
Belrus Gillio - |A| - A member of her party, Merinthe views Belrus as a wildcard. A vengeful but trustworthy warrior, she worries that her past may put her on the wrong side of his golden hammer. She feels Belrus' unwavering faith in Torm may be misguided, but empathizes, knowing full well that Torm has steered him on his righteous path in much the same way the Sun did to her.

Chrysanthemum - |A| - The leader of the Council of Ertol and an ally to the party. Merinthe has no strong rapport with Chrysanthemum beyond a common goal of preventing Cyric's plan from being entirely successful.

Duran Veneficus - |A| - A member of her party, Merinthe views Duran as a resourceful individual who is willing to step up and talk so she doesn't. She's concerned his thirst for knowledge may lead to him asking too many questions, and secretly wonders if it will doom them as it doomed his past friends. Duran's recent discovery regarding his future wife concerns Merinthe, mostly because of potential conflict with Zook and the rest of the Altmer clan.

Elgroth - |A| - A member of her party who has frequently saved her life, Merinthe still views Elgroth with some level of respect and even adoration, though his recent attempt on her life while (supposedly) beguiled by Jessa and recent revelations about his (what she perceives to be) bloodlust has made her exercise caution around him. As this seems to have been a one-time occurrence, she continues to trust him, though she remains on her guard.

Kellam Glynrora - |D| - A member of 'The Abandoned', Kellam was one of the leaders after Saelthana's departure. He was a high elf who prided himself as a marksman. He was a close consort of Merinthe's, and (to her knowledge) perished during the failed heist. Merinthe took his shortsword out of preceived need, but has since kept it as a memento.

Jorrik Steelmind - |A| - Though Merinthe views him as a bit of an abrasive fool, there is no denying he is the only competent resource they have in Moradin. Jorrik's connection to the Council paint him, at the very least, as an ally with a common greater goal.

Lastree - |D| - A former member of her party, Lastree was a strange, naive little goblin who believed himself to be an elf. Despite their misgivings based on their initial encounters, the party took Lastree along based on guidance from Murdoch. Lastree was with the party only a brief while - only about a day, in fact - before he was petrified by a medusa's gaze as the party fled and, subsequently, shattered into thousands of pieces. Much as with Yenkas, Merinthe holds herself responsible for his fate, as she was unable to discourage Lastree from going on his own and, ultimately, abandoned him to save her own life.

Ruus Marekar - |D| - A member of her party, Merinthe is uncertain how to read Ruus. He seems to be honest and candid with his views and story, but there is enough uncertainty in his tale that she is not sure she can trust him fully; however, she remains willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He serves as the pilot of Buoyanth and claims to have an allegiance to Murdoch. His seeming incompetence and lackadaisical nature when it comes to the party's survival have increasingly grated on Merinthe's nerves.

Saelthana - |M| - The half-elven leader of 'The Abandoned' at the time Merinthe sought refuge, she and Merinthe had an extremely close relationship. The last Merinthe knew of her, she had left for the Whispering Forest some twenty years ago.

The Sun - |A| - Best deity. Brought Merinthe to safety and continues to grant her divine gifts that allow her to save her allies.

Yenkas Two-Steppes - |D| - A former member of her party. Merinthe views herself as ultimately responsible for Yenkas' death, as her decision to be conservative with her resources and try to hide and run away with the Heart during the climactic battle at the dwarven forge ultimately led to his demise. Merinthe wears both his armor and an amulet he treasured as a reminder of what happened.

Zook Z. Pepperclank - |A| - A member of her party, Merinthe views Zook as a reliable if stubborn ally. She feels he brings a tactical angle to their approach and often serves as a foil for her impulsive, gut decisions. Zook is sympathetic to Zook's tragic past, knowing he was deceived and is aiming to make amends.

Friends/Contacts
Adi Milton - |A| - A member of the Klortho city guard, Adi was sympathetic to the urchins of the Twin Dagger Cities, and was easily willing to look the other way where minor crimes were concerned.

Amuar - |A| - The guardian of the depths of Buoyanth, Amuar administers the tests that all must pass to reach the sanctum of the college's control room. Unfortunately for the party, Amuar adheres to his duty to the letter, and as such Merinthe cannot consider him a true 'ally'.

Captain Cox - |A| - A retired guard captain, Merinthe often dealt with him during his active years and occasionally leaned on him as a resource after his retirement. He is a friendly, if foolish, sort of man.

Captain Lewis - |M| - An eccentric and reckless airship captain, Captain Lewis flew the party from Moradin to the Fallsworn Jungle, whereupon Cyric (in the guise of Eustace) 'accidentally' disabled his airship. Rurik Steelforge and Jorrik Steelmind both assured the party someone would be dispatched to recover Lewis and his airship - though the party has not been able to confirm this took place, especially with Moradin falling to demonic invaders.

Cass - |A| - The head of Klortho's's standing armies. He is friendly to the party, and the party has provided him with a sending stone, allowing him to serve as a point of contact for he, his brother, and the Queen. Also, he's seven foot tall, and you can't teach that.

Colonel Lionel - |A| - The ranking officer of the Thundercats, a group of the castle guard that had been bewitched by Judy and Jessa, Lionel seems to be supportive of the party's cause and is a potential ally in Kalan. When they last spoke, the colonel was working to try and defuse or deescalate tensions between Kalan and Klortho.

Enzo - |A| - Formerly known to the party as Kevin, Enzo is a member of the court of the Queen of Klortho and was operating in Kalan as a spy. Realest spy in the room, how you doin'?

Falkrunn Lutgehr - |A| - One of the Twin Dagger Cities' top information brokers, Falkrunn can be relied upon to protect client confidentiality... so long as you pay her enough.

Jocelyn, Queen of Klortho - |A| - The current Queen of Klortho and bearer of the likely male heir to the thrones of the Twin Dagger Cities. Merinthe remains somewhat suspicious of her, given that she is Judy's twin and Merinthe's grudge against the family remains; however, in their brief interactions, she has shown herself to be a more compassionate and altruistic individual than her sister.

Kristen Stewart - |D| - A long dead vampire hunter, the party believed she was merely trapping a force for evil; however, recent information given to the party by Falkrunn and Amuar puts her motives in doubt.

Llathriel - |A| - A short-tempered, short-lower-bodied elf responsible for crafting the prison that trapped the gods a thousand years ago. The party met him first in Quelren and, again, in Klortho and has engaged him to forge the tools they need to trap the escaped gods of evil for a second time. In particular, Merinthe was recently repulsed by his apparent pseudo-cannibalism, eating the cooked flesh of drow attackers, and continues to tolerate him only because of the critical nature of their mission.

Miia - |M| - The tribal leader of Nani Kulanakauhale, Merinthe felt a connection owing to their shared believe in the Sun; however, their faith and power seems to manifest itself in different ways, and Merinthe is not sure she is a true believer.

Murdoch - |D| - Having gone missing around the time of the completion of the deity-liberating ritual, Murdoch appears to be alive but unaccounted for. Chrysanthemum stresses that he is a key ally and the most powerful spellcaster Izal has seen - but he is completely unknown to Merinthe. As (former) head of the college of Buoyanth, Murdoch holds (held) a seat of great power among the Twin Dagger Cities. Recent information shared by Llathriel indicates that Murdoch is, indeed, himself a god.

Roshi Neriro - |A| - A member of 'The Abandoned', Roshi was one of the leaders after Saelthana's departure. She was a halfing with a gift for song, and would focus on managing the group's spirits with tales of better times.

Rurik Fireforge - |A| - He's a dumb guy who happens to be king of the dwarves. Dwarves are idiots.

Enemies/Foes
Cyric - |A| - The god of lies, who took up the identity of Duran's understudy Eustace, and ultimately betrayed the party in order to complete his quest.

Dalv - |A| - A vampire lord in a mysterious castle in the Whispering Forest, Dalv's true motives remain ambiguous to the party, though he claims to be interested in protecting the elves. The party has seen him return to his castle in the forest, trying to defend it any many elven refugees from the Queen of Witches; unfortunately, he has been unsuccessful, and holds the party at fault for the death of those under his care owing to their unwillingness to cooperate.

Jessa - |M| - A succubus (or incubus) who occupied the role of head of the college of Buoyanth in Murdoch's absence, Jessa (alternately, Jessen) has quickly shown an unhealthy fascination with Merinthe. Fortunately, Jessa revealed her hand before the party was able to convince Merinthe to out-tempt the temptress as part of their campaign to seize Buoyanth. She fled when the party took control of the college by force.

Madam Ling - |A| - Unbeknownst to Merinthe, the merchant house 'The Abandoned' robbed belonged to notorious information broker Madam Ling, possibly serving as a front for her to manage client payments. Merinthe bears her no ill will, but based on the nature bounty that was placed on the party's heads, it appears that sentiment has not been reciprocated.

Nome - |A| - The leader of a clan of gnomes in the city of Moradin, who unsuccessfully attempted to lead a gnomish uprising during the party's attempt to protect the Heart of the Forge, Nome is not overtly hostile to Merinthe or her companions; however, she considers him to be a threat.

Judy, Queen of Kalan - |D| - While Merinthe has borne witness to her ruthless nature as judge, jury, and executioner, and has long held Judy's family at large responsible for the death of her parents, she was not entirely surprised to find that Judy was in fact a fiend; however, this would prove to be an imposter, as the party would discover that the (presumed) real Queen of Kalan had been slain and her body hidden in her castle.

Judy, Queen of Kalan (Imposter) - |M| - Indeed, the Queen the party met in Murdoch's quarters was an imposter. Wounded, she fled with Jessa. Her current whereabouts are unknown.

Groups/Organizations
'''Legend: |F| - Friendly, |N| - Neutral, |H| - Hostile. This reflects their attitude as known to Merinthe.'''

The Abandoned - |F| - Merinthe's former gang of street urchins, who are presumably still under the leadership of Roshi Neriro. One of many such street gangs, the Abandoned consist primarily of those orphaned or otherwise left to rot on the street by 'friends' and 'family' and were most commonly known for engaging in petty thefts and other cons, leaving the shadier side of thuggery to Kalan and Klortho's seedier sects.

Council of Ertol - |N| - A mysterious order who she knows only as the forces that sealed the gods away a thousand years ago, Merinthe treats the Council with the same level of skepticism as anyone else. Their motives are unknown and their actions (or inaction) may have put the future of Izal in doubt.

Kalan Thieves' Guild - |N| - Given her role in the Abandoned, Merinthe often found herself employing the services of the thieves guild's fences and operatives to turn their spoils into resources and to keep their members safe. Merinthe made sure to never betray the trust of the guild and they, in turn, have yet to betray her.

Kyassa (organization) - |H| - In search of a bounty put on Merinthe and the party by Madam Ling, they have only encountered the party once, briefly - and not directly. Merinthe knows that they are ruthless, efficient, and - fortunately - prefer taking their bounties alive.

Village of Nani Kulanakauhale - |F| - A small village on the outskirts of the Fallsworn Jungle consisting predominantly of halflings, this peaceful, serene town struck a chord with Merinthe based on their praise of the Sun; however, following the execution of Cyric's plan, the state of the village and the rest of the jungle remain unknown.