The Road so Far...

Arc 1: Whimsy's Trick

Sessions 1-5

The party began their story in the quaint and strange town of Perdu, where their destinies converged at the Day of Longest Light festival of Aeon. Mysterious magical items found their way to the party as they went about their business, each one containing a note directing them to 'Whimsy's Whimsical Curios', a local magic shop in the town. It was here that these five met in search of Whimsy himself, though they came up short.
Together, the party enjoyed a bit of the festival before finally finding Whimsy, an eccentric old Halfling with a wizard's hat. He told them that the magical items were a scheme to bring together a group of adventurers who might help him in finding a pack of Boggles that had stolen a box of magic amulets from his shop. The party agreed to track down these creatures at the promise of some coin and to keep the magical items they found.
As the festival wound to a close, the crowd parted as two Uniters from Concorde entered, haggerd and bleeding and without the sacred Eternal Torch of Aeon, the reason for this festival. The party followed these Uniters to the Temple of the Twelve Champions, and Ariella Sacre revealed that they had been ambushed by Boggles along the Champions' Road...and that they had stolen the Eternal Torch. Since the party was already going to investigate these creatures, they offered to find the Eternal Torch as well.
The party tracked the path of the Uniters along the Champions' Road to the Uniter's broken cart and the site of their ambush, where the party was ambushed in much the same fashion. Some of the Boggles, however, escaped, and the party followed them into the eerie Whisper Woods. Some travel into the woods revealed an ancient ruined tower, where they discoverd the ancient pommel to a sword. They took it and continued on through the woods, finding not only a pack of Boggles, but also the homestead of a Hag calling the Whisper Woods her home.
The party spoke with the Hag, who revealed that Whimsy had made a deal with the Hag and her sisters for Perdu's protection against Rifts opening to the Darkened Paths. In exchange, his magic became more chaotic and he was unhappy with this, so he hired members of the Board of Adventurers to come and kill the Hags. The Hag believes the party was tricked into this by Whimsy after the Board of Adventurers refused to send more members in to take on the remaining Hag after the last party was killed.
Unhappy with being fooled into a dangerous encounter with a Hag, the party offered to leave the Hag to herself so long as she returned the Eternal Torch to them. The Hag agreed after some persuasion, bidding that the Boggles return it, but they came back empty-handed. The Hag asked the party to leave.
The party, however, decided to search for the torch on their own, and followed the trail a little way away from the cabin to a group of Boggles waiting for a Rift to open to return them to the Feywild. They convinced a Boggle to hand the torch over to them, but the Hag returned, invisible and angry that they did not uphold their agreement to leave. In her anger, the Hag killed the Boggle that handed over the torch and the party exacted quick retribution, using a perfectly timed banishment arrow from Trystan to plan their attack and take her out.
The party made friends with the Boggles and ifig suggested that they not anger the nearby citizens while they are stuck on the Material Plane. Then, with the Eternal Torch in hand and an incriminating note from Whimsy found on the bodies of three missing adventurers, the party ventured back to Perdu.
In Perdu, they went to question Whimsy for his actions, only to come up empty-handed. Whimsy had vanished in the night, fleeing just as reports that the Valley Raiders were nearing Perdu and may attack the town. The party brought news of the dead adventurers to Raphael at the Board of Adventurers and he requested that the party bring Whimsy back to Perdu for justice. They agreed that they would. They also returned the Eternal Torch to Ariella and Bertrand, receiving gracious thanks and the promise that should they ever arrive in Concorde, the party would have a place to stay and allies to help them.

Arc 2: The Darkened Paths

Sessions 6-14

As some of the party enjoyed a night with the Board of Adventurers--and Balor and Adaline snuck off to investigate Whimsy's shop--alarm bells sounded at the gates of Perdu. With the town already under threat of attack by the Valley Raiders, many of the adventurers had already gone out into the field and were not around to protect the city, while a majority of the farmers had been evacuated into Perdu's walls. Despite this, Perdu was lacking in defense and unprepared as the town came under attack by undead--Ghouls, Ghasts, and a Banshee. 
The party jumped into the fray alongside their new allies, Raphael and Alexandria. The party was able to help stop the undead that had flooded the city, but now Perdu was left concerned how they would protected themselves from two threats. The party, however, was ready to leave Perdu rather than deal upfront with these problems. After all, they had Whimsy to track down and Adaline and Balor had uncovered that he was likely in Larmes with his contact, Pixis. 
Unofficial leader of Perdu, Elodie the Elder, approached the party, asking that since they were headed south, if they could request help in closing the Rift to the Darkened Paths from the Dark Wardens at the Dark Gateway and if they could ask the Assembly to send assistance for protection of the town against the Valley Raiders. The party agreed to relay the messages. Elodie then approached Balor about a list of wanted fugitives from Zinyra, and Balor was on this list, though did not understand why. Elodie explained that she used to work with Zinyra in her younger days and informed Balor to be careful. She would send more information once the party reached the Dark Gateway.
The party set off. On the road, they got to know one another, sharing in shenanigans and some stories, though there was still some distrust between them. They encountered a traveling circus known as the Sirens, lead by an illustrious Tabaxi known only as Friend. Friend taught the 'Dance of the Moon' to Adaline,--and ifig, unknowingly--a dance sacred to Mirage and believed to open a portal to the Feywild on a full moon. All seemed well, but Trystan woke the next morning at the edge of the Whisper Woods, a sensation of drowning overcoming him. ifig could only discern that this was the effect of something magical. 
Then, further along the road, an encounter with some Dryads sealed the party's understanding that there are many Rifts opening on the Material Plane and that it is causing trouble for more than just the mortals here. Creatures are getting trapped in the wrong places, and in this happening, they are bringing some of their home planes with them.
The party eventually encountered a group of Valley Raiders who were fueled with a sort of uncanny and odd battle rage. A note on them implied that they were supposed to have moved on after raiding the village, but these ones lingered, calling Adaline a heretic for her worship of Mirage. It was in this small, abandoned village that Meepo found a wanted poster for him for his theft of chickens. 
Another day on the road and they finally neared the Dark Gateway, only to be lured by a pack of Harpies along the banks of the Opening. After a successful fight against them, the party uncovered their nest in a ruined temple, which seemed to have a strong hold on ifig's missing memories. There, the party uncovered a dead courrier carrying a letter to Lady Mysteria of the North from Queen Faebynn herself, a letter that drew the keen interest of Trystan. They also discovered the pristine blade of a sword here and it seemed to fit with the pommel they found at an earlier ruin. The letter, however, was coded in a draconic script and would require some time to decipher. 
Finally, the party arrived to the Dark Gateway, an eerie estate located within the Whisper Woods. Home to a cult of Lyssras, the plants here were all tend, though well-tended, and the shadows of this place seemed to be sucked in toward two central locations--the portal to the Darkened Paths in the central courtyard and Gabriel Lavigne, the Head Warden. The party relayed Elodie's message to Gabriel, who agreed to send Dark Wardens to close the Rift in Perdu, and then they met with Lucas de Villiers, a flamboyant and confusing individual who contacted Elodie about the news.
After a bit of shenanigans gone awry in Lucas's room, the party was asked to leave the estate before they became a problem. Lucas gave Balor a list of names Zinyra has a warrant out for, and ifig sent her familiar to explore the portal at the center of the estate. The familiar descended into total darkness, a sense of despair overcoming her. As they left, the party witnessed empty, emotionless people tending to the dead gardens, sealing the uneasiness they'd felt since entering the Dark Gateway.

Arc 3: Converging Threads

Sessions 15-24

After one more day on the road, the party finally arrived to their second destination--Concorde. Tired and ready for a bit of civilized life--at least for some--the party immediately went in search of their earlier contact, Ariella Sacre, at the Temple of Aeon. However, as they entered the city, they realized that Concorde was in a state of some distress as refugees from neighboring villages have begun to flood the city following attacks by the Valley Raiders. 
It took some time to make it through the crowds, but they eventually arrived at the Temple of Aeon, meeting first the Head Priestess, Fela. Fela was the mentor of Ariella and was particularly thankful to the party for their assistance in retrieving the Eternal Torch. Ariella arrived and escorted the group to a spa in one of the nicer districts of the city.
The party explained the problems they encounted on the road to Concorde to Ariella and she told them that this information would be important to Fela. Fela was disturbed by what they said, telling the party that there was an attack recently within the walls of Concorde by members of the Valley Raiders, also fueled by the same rage the party experienced in the village. Fela believed that they might have entered the city through an entrance to the ruins beneath Concorde, though the Assembly had been refusing to send anyone down there to investigate given the influx of refugees in the city.
Fela asked if the party might investigate the ruins and find any entry points, all for a handsome price. The party agreed to help and after attending a meeting with the Assembly, Fela was given permission to send the group below.
The party ventured into the buried ruins of an ancient city from before the Shattering, traversing the tunnels and uncovering lost mysteries. They encountered undead, which seemed to sap the life force from them and a room that sent Balor and Trystan into a sudden, uncontrolable rage. Upon further inspection of their surroundings, they found stone charred and the imprints of burned bodies across the ground. Something horrible happened here and their discoveries only worsened as they continued, finding an ancient temple of the Twelve Champions with twelve thrones in a semi-circle, one of the thrones specifically charred and blackened. 
This all came to a head when they heard footsteps echoing in the abandoned corridors. They followed the sound, expecting the bandits they were looking for, but found even more than they could imagine. There were bandits, but they were surrounding a portal to the Nine Hells, awaiting the arrival of a figure from beyond. A cambion emerged. A loyal servant of Arrozus, a Forgotten Idol intent on breaking free from his prison on the Material Plane where he has been since before the Shattering. The party fought, claiming victory, though also opening up more questions. They found more of the scorching on a hall of heroes within an old graveyard, and as the portal disappeared, it left a similar mark. Worse still, Meepo began to make connections to these marks below Concorde and the attack that killed his pack.
Exhausted and hurt, the party made their way back up to Concorde to heal up and relay what they discovered to Fela. Fela began to suspect that a splinter group within the Valley Raiders has made a dangerous deal with the followers of Arrozus, filling them with rage and intent to destory Concorde. An infernal pact such as this would prove impossible for the Assembly to fight without more information. 
The party also met with a member of the Assembly, Council leader of Bevara, Wynona Stryder, a kobold from another pack within the Acadia Range. In connection with Fela's concerns, Wynona suspects that something may also be seeking to destroy any information relating to before the Shattering, and this may have been why Meepo's pack was targeted and killed. She suggests that Meepo return to the Winding Passes to find out any information, and if the party does, bring it back to Wynona.
In the wake of these new revelations, the party took a much needed break within the city. After some shopping, the party split up. 
Meepo joined Fela for another Assembly meeting, meeting up again with Lucas who'd traveled back to the city with Gabriel Lavigne who was petitioning the Assembly to keep the services of the Dark Gateway. The Temple of Lyssras officially disassociated with the Dark Gateway after the Assembly agreed to continue sending prisoners to them, though Fela and Lucas seemed to think this would not last. The Assembly had also come to no conclusion on what to do about the influx of refugees and two sectors of the city continue to refuse refugees. At the end of the meeting, Fela asked the Assembly for a task force to investigate the infernal influence on the Valley Raiders and to set up a potential meeting with their leader. The Assembly agreed to the task force and Wynona, Lucas, and Meepo joined.
On the other side of the city, Trystan and ifig went on a hunt for wine together, though Trystan's hunt came up short. They made their way back to the Temple of Aeon empty-handed.
Meanwhile, Balor and Adaline found themselves into a bit of trouble. Adaline had spotted Celaena Lanaster, a noble of the Eladrin Kingdom, through the crowds earlier in the day and convinced Balor to search for the Lady with her, curiosity about the woman getting the better of her. Together, they pretended to be acolytes of the Temple of Mirage, knocking on doors until they pushed a bit too far with an elf named Elwin. Elwin, concerned for the safety of his Lady after a failed charm spell on him by Adaline, threatened the girls, only to have Celaena herself come outside to intervene.
Celaena seemed to know of Balor and the warrant on her head by Zinyra. In fact, Celaena was to bring anyone on the list to Calamite should they be found. But Celaena left Balor with a warning instead, telling her that Perran had escaped Celaena's grasp and was still somewhere in Concorde. Balor was to find Perran and return to the Eladrin Kingdom, otherwise, Celaena would take matters into her own hands. As they parted, Celaena left them with one last message: to tell Trystan that she said hello.
The party reconvened at the Temple of Aeon just as Meepo cracked the letter addressed from Queen Faebynn, though it too spelled more trouble for the party. In breaking the letter's seal, they may have sealed the fate of a woman named Lady Mysteria. Whatever the case, things were happening and threads were beginning to converge for the party.
Adaline revealed her Changeling nature to the party while Trystan told the group about his bad history with Celaena Lanaster. Meepo told them that they might need to return to his home to see about the Winding Passes, and so, the party decided to help Balor find her friend Perran, then get the heck out of Concorde.

Open Threads

Whimsy made a deal with a group of Hags, then broke it and put Perdu at risk. He is allegedly hiding out in Larmes with his contact, Pixis.
There are Rifts opening to the Feywild in the Whisper Woods, Rifts to the Darkened Paths along the Smiling River, and now a Rift to the Nine Hells beneath Concorde. The party has found a pommel and a blade in some ancient ruins associated with Lorena.
Arrozus is perhaps attempting to escape his prison on the Material Plane, using Cambions to influence the Valley Raiders. One Cambion was also using a locket similar to the one that ifig carries. Elements of these attacks are similar to those that Meepo experienced when his pack was killed.
A letter addressed to Lady Mysteria of the North from Queen Faebynn was opened by the party, perhaps sealing the fate of this Lady.
The Dark Wardens are the only ones to have ever successfully close a Rift, though they do so through the use of a sacrifice.

Relations

Protagonists

Meepo Loreword (Wild Magic Sorcerer - Kobold)
Trystan (Arcane Archer Fighter - Half-Elf)
ifig (Circle of the Moon Druid/Barbarian - Dwarf)
Adaline (Trickery Cleric - Changeling)
Balor (Rogue Thief - Dwarf)

Allies

Ariella Sacre (Uniter of Aeon - Concorde) - Human woman who carried the Eternal Torch through the Valley of Nova as the sacred rite for Aeon's festival. She and her party were attacked by Boggles on the road and the Eternal Torch stolen. The party retrieved it for her and she completed her duty. She was very grateful to the party, especially Adaline.
Raphael (Board of Adventurers - Perdu) - Older Tiefling man who knows a lot of languages and has many stories of adventures he had before settling into Perdu. He requested that the party track Whimsy and bring him back for justice in Perdu. The party would be rewarded a pretty penny for Whimsy's capture.
Elodie the Elder (Ex-Thieves' Guild and Mayor of Perdu) - Older Halfling woman who appears to know her way around a crossbow. She seemed to know abot Balor and her criminal activity before coming to Perdu, and gave Balor a list of wanted individuals across Fragmentia who were associated with Balor's thieves' guild. This list included Balor's friend Perran Elwarin. She sent the party on an errand to the Dark Gateway to request help from the wardens in closing the Rift to the Darkened Paths that opened near to the town.
Fela (Uniter of Aeon and Head Priestess of the Temple of Aeon - Concorde) - Half-Elf woman who is the mentor of Ariella and the main contact of the party in Concorde. She heard of their help to Ariella and requested that they delve into the ruins beneath Concorde to find any entrances the Valley Raiders might be using to enter the city. She has established a task force with Wynona Styder and Lucas to find out more information about the Valley Raiders and their associations with the Forgotten Idol, Arrozus. She has requested that if the party discovers anything, they bring her the information.
Wynona Stryder (Council Leader of Bevara - Concorde) - Older Kobold woman who took a keen interest in Meepo and his plight with the death of his pack in the Winding Passes. She told the party that something may be concealing and destroying information regarding the Shattering and told Meepo that he might find more answers returning to his home in the Winding Passes.

Neutrals/Bystanders

Bertrand (Uniter of Domini - Concorde) - The Dwarf companion of Ariella Sacre when they arrived in Perdu.
Alexandria Dubois (Board of Adventurers - Perdu) - Aasimar woman with a kind-heart and free spirit. She is a member of the adventuring guild in Perdu and makes really poor tea.
Friend (Ringleader of the Sirens, a traveling circus) - Tabaxi who leads a caravan of female circus entertainers. They claim to be a follower of Mirage and to know the 'Dance of the Moon', a sacred dance of Mirage that is believed to open a portal to Mirage's domain on a full moon. The party ran into the circus along the Champions' Road and Trystan experienced a strange sense of drowning the following morning.
Lucas de Villiers (Uniter of Lyssras - Concorde) - Flamboyant Half-Elf man with a turbulent past as a Uniter of Lyssras. According to Fela, Lucas had been in line to take over the cult of Lyssras at the Dark Gateway, but disagreed vehemently with their practices. He set fire to the Temple of Lyssras and killed a few members of the cult. The Uniters, unsure of what to do with him, sent him to the Dark Gateway as a ward of Gabriel Lavigne, but it is unclear the true intention of his stay there. He is now part of Fela's task force to uncover information about the Valley Raiders.
Gabriel Lavigne (Head Warden - The Dark Gateway) - Half-Elf man who appears old and ragged despite his young age. People cower wherever he goes and he seems to suck in all the light in a room and turn them to shadow. He agreed to provide assistance in Perdu with closing the Rift that opened there.
Elwin (Elite Guard - Calamite) - Elven man who encountered Adaline and Balor when they knocked on his door. He is a guard to Lady Celaena Lanaster.

Adversaries

Whimsy (Sorcerer - Perdu originally, now Larmes) - Older Halfling man who tricked the party into fighting and killing a hag for him within the Whisper Woods so that he could get out of the deal he made with her and her sisters. However, this deal he made also protected Perdu from Rifts to the Darkened Paths opening and in killing the hag, Perdu was no longer protected. Raphael is seeking to bring him to justice, but Whimsy is apparently hiding out in Larmes with his contact, Pixis. He seems to be going to Larmes to seek a cure to his wild magic.
Celaena Lanaster (Lady of House Lanaster and member of the Shadow Auxiliary - Calamite) - Elven woman known for being ruthless and one of the best students to have exited the school for the Shadow Auxiliary. She is apparently on a mission for Queen Faebynn in the Valley of Nova and has also been tasked with hunting down people who used to work for Zinyra, such as Balor and Perran Elwarin. She tells Balor that she should find Perran and return to Zinyra in Calamite or otherwise Celaena will have to take matters into her own hands. Celaena also seems to have a dark history with Trystan.

Backdrops

Locations

Perdu (Valley of Nova) - Small town with a penchant for finding lost things. Whimsical and colorful, this town is home to Halfling and Human farmers.
The Whisper Woods - An eerie wood thought to be haunted. Many Rifts to the Feywild have been opening here, trapping creatures on the Material Plane. 
The Dark Gateway - A large estate associated with the cult of Lyssras who have discovered a way to close Rifts to the Darkened Paths...through sacrifice. This is also where high profile prisoners of Concorde are sent. There is a massive portal in a courtyard of this estate.
Concorde (Valley of Nova) - Large city and homebase for the Assembly of Concorde. It is also the religious epicenter of the Valley.

Plot type

Campaign Year 1 Recap