Robbo Rendesvous
Winter 30, 6840 CA
After a surprisingly successful date, Yuri brings Valia and Zed back to the house. The two date-stalkers are completely wasted. This is a matter of concern, since they have to go meet Havmos in only an hour. Wally offers to de-drunk the two of them, but Zed and Valia are too happy to have their good time ruined. They delegate Yuri to be in charge of the conversation and all make their way to a small pub in the city.
Havmos is concerned at their drunken state. What happened to his group of professionals? Well, there's not much to be done. They all head in. Havmos takes a seat across a gruff and hooded Orc by the name of Robbo. Yuri and Ursa take their seats and Wally painstakingly drags another one over as well. Robbo presses the group about what they know, because he's unwilling to propose any kind of alliance until he knows this group is on the level. The group turn to Yuri expectantly. Yuri panics. Was he supposed to be keeping notes? He's too busy making his own hours!
Ursa and Wally summarize what they know: There is some kind of giant Aetherstone known as an Eye. It went missing about ten years ago, but there's very few records and no one seems to miss it. They have a Hexbreaker working on deciphering the notes on it. Robbo is able to corraborate this information. The Eye of Aureon is a large aetherstone that the Brass Whispers recently uncovered thanks to their chief artificer deciphering their old notes. Ever since they started looking into it, the Swordrunners have become incredible aggressive against the Brass Whispers.
The group suspect that this might mean the Swordrunners also want the Aetherstone or might already have it. Valia vaguely recalls the name Aureon and that it belonged to one of the creator gods that were slain during Cosmic Abolition. Robbo is reluctant to share more information with the group, since the Brass Whispers have no intention of sharing the Aetherstone if they find it. However, Ursa is able to convince him that they're only in it for the money. Havmos and the others agree to this. Robbo considers this and promises to arrange things with their Chief Artificer, Mr. Hobbes.
The group being to head home and discuss their findings. Havmos butts in and says that actually he did want the Aetherstone and congratulates Ursa on the clever deception. Ursa, who was not being deceptive, reluctantly accepts the praise while reflecting on her criminal dealings. They split ways and the party heads home for some well deserved rest.
Parting Words
Winter 31, 6840 CA
The next morning comes. The party discusses last night now that two of the party is no longer wasted. Valia wants to set up a meeting with her father to discuss Aureon and hopefully find something that might help find the Eye of Aureon. Conveniently, Percy shows up soon after. He doesn't have any messages, although he assures Valia that her brother isn't having him snoop! He eyes Ursa's freshly baked treats hungrily. He is denied the delicious flavor of temporary hit points and gets a more mundane treat instead.
Valia instructs Percy to have her father meet him at the Wanderlust at supper time the next day. Percy questions if Valia intends to bring her dad, a Cleric and father and married man, to a brothel. Valia sees no problem with this, so neither does Percy! He happily obliges and takes off. Zed returns from somewhere. The group decide they might as well make a trip to the Wanderlust now to give Mama Ava a heads up.
When the group arrive, Yuri is horrified to see his mother flirting with a customer who doesn't seem at all receptive to her. Once she is free, the group swarm in to talk to her. They inform her of Yuri's date and that he has a second date! Moreover, Ava is decidedly pleased when she finds out Yuri is dating a successful dwarf lady. Valia asks her to setup a table for her and her father for tomorrow. They also inform her that they'll be heading into the sewers to take care of a crocodile causing mischief. Ava is concerned and makes the others vow that they'll make sure Yuri comes back safe and sound.
All that's left is to get some information on where to start. The group drop in at the Watch Hall and find Angelica on desk duty. She regrets not being able to tag along, but she shares all of the known sightings. Using that information, Wally is able to recall his knowledge of the city's underground network of sewers to find a good place to start.
A Load of Croc
It takes a few hours of navigating the sewers before Wally is able to start finding some evidence of where the crocodile has been moving. They can immediately tell from the signs that it's much larger than anticipated. As they begin to close in on its location, they hear the sounds of fighting off in another tunnel. They go to explore and find a group of shambling corpses fighting a group of giant spiders. Just beyond them and illuminated by torchlight is a goblin woman.
The corpses notice the party and start shambling towards them. Ursa is horrified when one of them approaches her and then unloads the contents of its stomach on her. She is coated in a horrifying bile that is filled with leeches that begin sucking the life from her. Zed soon finds herself likewise afflicted. They are able to kill the corpses, but the leeches sap the life from them and transfer it back into the corpses. Thanks to Wally's Chill Touch, he is able to halt the healing on the corpses to prevent them from getting back up. In the meantime, the spiders are slain and soon replaced with a swarm of giant wasps. With their combined forces, the corpses are eliminated.
In the aftermath, Wally recognizes the goblin. He has a long history with her and they are quite happy to see each other. She introduces herself as Evening Flowers That Wilt In The Light, but just Eve for short. She has been searching for a powerful Feymire Crocodile in hopes of sending it back to its home in the Feywild. This aligns well with the party's interests. They agree to work with her as she casts the ritual that will transport the crocodile back to its home. After taking a moment to rest, the group move onwards.
Following Wally and Eve, the group close in on the Feymire Crocodile. Once more they hear the sounds of combat and find the Feymire Crocodile in the middle of a conflict with a group of Sahuagin who are struggling to fight off this massive beast. When the group get close enough, the crocodile takes notice of them and starts attacking them as well. The powerful nature of the crocodile influences the area around him, causing vines to burst out of the walls and restrain Wally, Eve, and Ursa. Ursa is able to break free, but the group quickly realize they've discovered a creature more powerful than they expected.
Yuri and Ursa try to hold the front line, but the crocodile tries to make tasty snacks of them. At one point, Yuri is swallowed whole. Valia is able to free him by using Command to force the crocodile to spit him up. Ursa likewise finds herself in its stomach, but is able to manipulate her way out using her Echo. The Sahaguin champion ends up in the same situation, but is unable to free himself. Wally does his best to keep his friends alive with his spells while Valia tries to occupy the crocodile's attention by commanding it to grovel instead of attack. But its resilience and strength overwhelms the party and the Sahuagins.
Eve has nearly finish the ritual. Yuri tries to escape the crocodile, but it takes a bite at him and he finds himself back in its mouth. It swallows his lifeless body. Eve's eyes go alight as the ritual is complete. Zed realizes what is happening and begins to protest, but it's too late. The ritual is completed and the crocodile vanishes. The party stands in frozen horror. Is Yuri still in the beast or will they find him in the murky sewer water left behind?
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