Team 2 1-25
The party tried to get as much information as possible, filling in some but not many blanks in the whole story.
Deciding it was best to circle back round to Ank to collect their cart and doggos they did just that. Upon arriving they take a well earned rest and look for their driver the next day, after a bit of detective work it seems he left a note for them at the tavern they were at last time letting them know he took everything back to Raux. Setting off again they made the long walk to Raux and stayed the night after catching up with the driver, cart and animals and paying him up for further adventuring.
Making their way north, a good opportunity to join the adventurers guild later with some extra members! Talking with the groups there you find a few willing groups up for banding together to take on the dragon. The group set off for O'Pax to see the damage and what they can do to help.
Upon their arrival, seeing the destruction the dragon has caused and also seeing the rebuilding efforts underway already as well as some additional aid from black guard and volunteers, it seems as if they have started to get back to normal routines. While many are dead and mass grave digging occuring closer to the abbey and sacred grounds, the elves seemed determined to almost act as if nothing had happened and to get back to normal. Hanging back and taking time to observe, they made friends with a few younger elves and convinced them to ask questions on the groups behalf to get more information as to why the elves were the target. After a couple of days they learn a royal artifact in the abbey had started to glow bright hot magical energy and some experts came in and dispelled it. Coincidentally lining up with the first time the Val Viri were about. The group check out the abbey and the crown in mention and detect no residual magic.
Learning the dragon went over towards the mountains they head towards Odek to leave theirdriver/cart/animals behind and make their way through the badlands on foot to see their old friend Karnor and enquire about the dragon. Takeda holds back and goes towards Fooks but will meet the party in Mog later... | Session 25 (23rd May 2019) - Gathering Intel
Picking up from last time, the group decide to look for more clues around Maku Keno. This time they decide to check out the forge at the base of the mountain, speaking with dwarves and others inside. They learn that while none of them have seen people climbing the volcano, the idea that people are in there is ludicrous. There had been sightings over the last few weeks of one of the wizards dressed in red, both alone and with company. Syl want's to further scout out the inside of the volcano base and uses his helmet to teleport back inside the lava flow area in the cavern as a fire elemental. Dashing out and taking rocks as cover he makes his way into one of the tunnels and has a scout out before being sighted by a short chubby elf. Thinking that silencing him is the best option, Syl reaches out and 'accidentally' reduces the elf to a flaming mess. Syl walks round another twist, encountering a robed figure looking the other way and decides it's time to teleport back to the group. After a quick catch up they head into the mountains to stay the night in the Dwarven City (Groc). Making their way into the elegant complex or carved stone work and intricate metallic patterns they find the 'town square' and a large inn to spend the night. Upon waking and regrouping, they decide to get a good breakfast in before they further investigate. As they eat they hear an almighty roar echo through the mountains and guards immediatleyrun off to see what is happening. The party decide to quickly grab their gear and follow, running up the pass towards the exit. Bursting out into the sunlight, their eyes squint and adjust to the brightness as a massive shadow falls over them from an enormous winged beast flying north over the mountains. A guard running back past you shout's it's a red dragon and panic ensues in the mountains. The party decide their best bet is teleporting directly into the underground base, they link arms and vanish. Appearing inside the empty cavern, they notice the lava flowing a little more aggressively than before. Exploring the tunnels and connecting rooms they discover 30 ish sleeping bodies and a chamber that obviously belongs to the wizards, filled with comfortable furniture and research materials. Bagging up everything that looks important, they go back to the sleeping folk and quickly snatch one from their beds, demand they keep quiet and begin interrogating them. It is learned that the 'workers' don't really know anything abouth the plans just what work they do, the gold given to them and powers given with promise of greater power and riches to come. The party manage to convince them all to leave and inform them of the dragon now free and their part played in this happeneing. The party leave and head to Fooks again where the dragon is the talk of the town as it flew by hours ago. They pour over the information in the texts they stole and learn a bit more about what's happening. The dragon is called Raphhar and was last seen around 1000 years ago when it was supposedly imprisoned by elves from O'Pax. A small group of powerful mages were behind it but they were wiped out years later in a tragic accident and the secret of Raphhar gone with them. A few months back, the magic item keeping the dragon frozen in place was dispelled and Raphhar was free. The Val Viri seem to have struck a deal and helped restored his power. |Session 24 (14th May 2019) - Even Deeper Underground
The session begins with Syl, Nelia and Takeda discussing their recent mission to the volcano base and their plans going forward. Certain people may not be using their indoor voices and a group on the next table overhear them and seem interested in offering a hand. There are also three people on this table (Raul,Balmyar and Erthak) and the six spend time drinking and getting to know one another before deciding to do a little shopping in town. With their current plans in mind, they manage to secure 8 potions of fire resistance for a good price as well as a couple of trinkets and begin the journey south. Deciding to check out the woodland around the Groc Pass as a likely area to encounter such groups they plan an ambush, using their owl/raven scouts to alert them of any dangers. After almost four hours, with daylight fading, they are alerted to a group moving along the outskirts of the Groc Pass towards them and they prepare an ambush. A figure dressed in elegant red robes leads a group of people into the clearing the party is hiding in and begin to make their way through it. Raul and Erthak are making a sort of distraction while the others hide and the group moves past them, although slightly hesitant of the drunken duo. The players eventually try to charm some of them resulting in resistance and eventually combat. Erthak strikes a devastating charge of lightning energy into the ground, downing half of their group and injuring the rest. The hooded figure vanishes, leaving the rest to deal with the party. Through a series of torture and killin' they get what information the remaining two have before further killing and letting one go. It is discovered that while they didn't really know much, they were given gold and promised powers to join them and it was a tempting offer. One was recruited in Torrow, giving a contact for their mercenary work (Harlan at the crab shack) and the other caught off guard by chance while traveling the roads looking for work. They loot the corpses, recovering some gold and gems and sit down to discuss what their next steps are.| Session 23 (09th May 2019) - New Friends
The group decides to head for Fooks to try and gain more information about the goings-on. Upon reaching the town and having a good look around, the party comes across a team sent by Reggie and swap information, learning that there have been sightings of these wizards in the Groc Peaks. The party rest up and reconvene with Reggie's group (Runar/Vegril/Orman/Sora) and set off towards the mountains. Darkness falls as they make their way up the Groc Pass into the mountains when a minuscule flicker of light grabs the attention of Nelia who alerts Syl. Deciding to mention it to the others they wait and all begin to stare intently at the volcano to their right and after what seems a really long time they do see another very brief flicker of light. Runar doesn't seem to think it's anything to be concerned with but is convinced otherwise by the party although begrudgingly. Using the help of an owl or two they can get a rough layout of the area and find a space to teleport to just on the inside of the mountain. Syl, using the helm of teleportation manages to successfully transport the entire group (minus Vegril who is against magic) to the summit. Immediately hit with a wave of heat and ash, they take a few minutes to get accustomed to the new surroundings. Syl, Nelia and Takeda venture further inside the volcano while the others search the summit and outsides. It gets to a point where the heat is too intense for the group to continue any deeper as they discover a series of sloped tunnels seemingly heading beneath the lava floor just off to the side but Syl uses his abilities to become a fire elemental and heads deeper into the tunnels. The other two make their way back up to the top to help the others in their searches. The other group now joined by Takeda and Nelia discover many natural caves, tunnels and holes in the rock, a mix of natural and man-made structures. They find evidence of some tracks and burned out torches which could well have been the flickers of light they saw from the pass. Syl discovers an enormous cavern, hundreds of feet in all directions with tunnels extending from many points. There are some pools of lave over to the right-hand side of the room along with a weak flowing lava flow dripping down through cracks in the rocks, while incredibly hot here the other side of the cavern is rather cool. After only investigating for a good 15 minutes, footsteps and mumbling along with the clanking of metal force Syl to hide in the lava flow on the far side of the cavern as it fills with 30-40 humanoid figures, a variety of ages, genders and races. Some begin mining away at rocks, some cutting lumber, forming ropes from fibres, transporting materials to and from tunnels. Every so often a hooded figure dressed all in red will enter the chamber, converse with one or two of the workers and then vanish. Worried that time might be running out to maintain the fire resistant form of the fire elemental, Syl manages to climb through the gaps the lava is falling from and make his way into the base of the volcano. About halfway up the climb, the form drops and he becomes his regular self, meeting the rest of the party and relaying the information. Sunlight approaches and they decide to get a rest and regroup/replan. Teleoprting once again to the base of the volcano to meet with Vegril, they make their way back down the pass towards Arkin Cross. Vegril has arranged transport back to Fooks and the group return and rest. |Session 22 (29th April 2019) - Maku Keno
The party begins to explore the Underdark, taking in the strange plantlife and rock formations, noticing they appear to be on a large plateau with another directly opposite them, a vast and seemingly cavern in between. Their curiosity is cut short when Takeda notices a couple of drow a few hundred feet away and alerts the others. When it's become clear they have been spotted, they begin to charge the party with several more drow behind them joining in the charge! Elias and Mirael lead the party in a charge right back at them readying an array of spells and attacks and the gap between the forces closes tighter. Just 100ft between them several spells are fired off from both sides, most missing or just scratching and the gap continues to close. As they stand a mere 10ft apart ready to engage in close combat battle, a booming, explosion of rock from the left scatters out and out emerges a gigantic deep purple worm seemingly made of fangs, spikes and teeth. Heading right towards the large group directly in front of it, churning up the rocks as it moves, it dives down into the mix of drow and the party making an incredible 15ft diameter hole in the ground in its wake. Takeda, Syl and Nelia are pushed backward and land on the ground prone, on the other side of the hole 2 drow escape the worms clutches but the rock has become unstable and they crumble into the cavern below. Elias and Mirael are nowhere to be seen, a quick glance down the hole reveals trails of blood and destruction but they don't have long to reflect on these events as the worm makes a return springing out behind the party, causing their plateau to become unstable as part of it also falls. Almost feeling the worm making its way to them from tremors underground, the group decide to make a run for it back to the tunnels they arrived in. As they begin to run, sure enough, the ground bursts open behind them, missing them by inches, sounds of crumbling rocks all around, the worm is churning everything in its path and heading towards the party who just make it by the skin of their teeth back into the tunnels. Making their way up the steep incline, the ground beneath them still shaking, the monstrosity still chasing as rocks fall from the tunnels. Reaching the first set of rope ladders they hurridly ascend and much to their delight the tremors and noises seem to grow fainter and as they reach the underground caverns they found themselves in earlier they can no longer hear or feel anything at all. They make their way back up to the Red Cave taking a moment of silence for their fallen team mates, making a quick plan and heading back out to Mog. Going back to Karnor, they fill him in on the situation and he is sorry for their loss but greatly pleased the cave is now free of dangers. He rewards the party with a few treasures he has in his shack, a potent potion of strength, some rare gems and a feather token. The party have a look around and rescue three dogs from the beast pen, likely to have become dinner at some point, they head out with Odek in mind and leave Mog. Navigating through the badlands avoiding some rather large scorpions along the way they arrive in Odek, stay the night and reunite with the horses and cart. They decide the best plan is to check back at the capital and see if Reggie has any leads, work or updates for them. In Raux they head to the Orc's Armpit and indeed find Reggie behind the bar talking to the workers, Nelia approaches and strikes up a conversation. They trade rare goods and make chit chat and the rest of the party come and join the discussions, Reggie mentions disturbances to the south and they seem to align with the Val Viri and fire bandits you have previously encountered. Their numbers have grown but as ever the mystery remains, the wizards appear to be an old cult originally from the Pomm Woodland next to Fooks and they seem to be more focused on the northern parts of the Vermell Forest and the Groc Peaks. Deciding that this is probably worth another look, they head to Ank to prepare, Nelia disguising herself as to not be recognized. Leaving their cart behind they begin making their way out at sundown. They head along the Tokrin Way towards Arkin Cross when they hear orcish coming from around the corner, they manage to duck in and hide among the bushes. A raiding party makes their way along the path and upon noticing something in the bushes they double their speed and run past the party who make a split second decision to attack, unleashing fireballs and other spells to ultimately destroy the group. | Session 21 (25th April 2019) - Purple Destruction
The party uses their recently controlled dragon to assist in clearing out the cave of any remaining drow. The dragon and drow get into a fight and both suffer damage, the party assist the dragon and finish off the drow. They have a quick look around and take anything that they could use to turn a profit or could be of use down the line and regroup at the hole in the ground the drow were using. Deciding to descend deeper underground they climb down the rope ladders into the passageway below. It's a little warmer with a slight breeze and the tunnels are a mix of natural and man-made with various supports in place and evidence of digging/chipping away at soil and rock. Following the path deeper with some large drops along the way, they come out into a large cavern with running water and harsher winds. It's a little colder than expected most likely from the drafts and moisture, there are stacks of mining equipment and supplies and evidence of footfall here. Noticing another exit across the other side of the cavern, they make their way down more steep inclines following the river down hill. After a short time, voices can be heard and upon getting closer it sounds like undercommon that was being thrown around earlier by the drow. Mirael casts a spell to understand the dialog and learns that one of the drow has come from above to tell others of the events in the Red Cave, sensing that this might be good to nip in the bud and with the help of the dragon they exterminate the three drow. The party regroup where the drow were and find some strange hexagonal slate chips on them as well as some gemstones, following the winding pathways round and even further down several hundred feet, they notice a green and purple moss start to appear on the sides of the passageway. Getting further down, the moss is thicker and denser and some plantlife and bright purple mushrooms begin to appear and a faint purple light seems to be coming from the end of the tunnel. Making their way towards the light the passage opens up into a gigantic underground world full of rocky platforms and strange vibrant plant life, with everything seeming to contribute to the purple glow filling the air. It's quite a bit warmer down here but stunningly beautiful to gaze upon, some members of the party know from books they have read or texts discovered that this is the Underdark, home to some of the most beautiful and dangerous things in the known universe. |Session 20 (16th April 2019) - Deeper Underground
The party begins the session in the Red Cave, they wait for the drow to finish rummaging through the crates in the walkway and then they head deeper into the cave. Following at a distance, Nelia turns invisible and manages to sneak her way around the entire cave, relaying the info to the rest of the group through the telepathic bond. They come up with a plan to awaken the dragon and cause a diversion to make the dragon fight the drow, however, this is flawed when it becomes apparent the dragon is under their control, it has a collar with a bright green gem in it. Some of them try and fight but are quickly overwhelmed and the party teleports their way out of there. Making their way back into Mog, they relay the information to Karnor, make a new plan and take a rest. They set off back to the cave at sunset and manage to sneak around the dragon into a side passage. Taking out the guards silently, the group make it through into the heart of the cave before giving away their position and triggering a mass assault. The party mows down the drow and at the last minute, the dragon flies around the corner to greet the party. As the dragon swings into view, the party behead the shadowblade controlling it and dig the gem out of their neck, it unleashes a devastating breath weapon upon some of the party before Elias uses the stone to command the dragon. It understands and as a command is issued the green gem on the dragon's collar glows a bright green. |Session 19 (11th April 2019) - Drow and the Dragon
After the battle in the badlands a sandstorm picks up, the party decide to head for the gates of Mog and see if they can sneak or charm their way in. Upon getting closer to the city and the defense towers they notice a lone elephant wandering, lost in the sandstorm. A split second later bolts are fired from the tower at the elephant and five orcs riding gorgons approached. An attempt to save and hide the elephant was made by the group but ultimately it was going with the orcs one way or another. After a very brief chat with one of the orcs it is revealed Mog is host to a battle arena which peaks the interest of the party who are more than welcome inside as long as they fight. As soon as they get into the city the winds die down, the overly large walls obviously do a lot of good. They are led towards the center of town which essentially is a ring spanning half a mile from one end to the other. A horn sounds and a crowd gathers, a whole mix of species coming to check out the fight. A large, blueish orc with a booming voice (any shiny red ruby necklace) takes the stage and warms up the crowd and gives the party the terms of the fight. It's a fight to the death, surprise! The ground shakes, the orc with the ruby is muttering enchantments over it while it glows brightly, red and black smoke engulfing it. A creature begins to rise from the dirt and dust in the center of the ring and in a matter of seconds, the giant form of a dragon emerges fully. It's quite apparent that this dragon is not what it once was, even at a distance it's clear there are chunks of flesh missing or rotting away and a hint of an unpleasant smell strikes the noses of the group. The fight begins, the dragon does indeed have the most awful smell to it as it flies around trying to do some damage. A few claws, bites and tails are thrown around as well as an exceptionally strong necrotic breath weapon. The party are able to use a lot of fire among other things to defeat the creature and a chorus of booing and shouting erupts from the crowd. They are rewarded with a coating of special mud which also smells unpleasant but guarantees them safety for a few hours as a reward for winning the fight. The party does a little shopping and a little digging. and find out the name and location of the orc with the ruby. His name is Karnor and after a short journey they arrive at his location, a shack near the battle arena After speaking to him and detecting his thoughts they discover something has been troubling the people of Mog for some time. One of the treasure caves in the mountains has been named the red cave because it's now full of blood. An unknown entity is inside, ripping to shreds anything or anyone that goes too far in. The group decides that this sounds like a job for them! They find the cave and check it out with a mix of stealth and invisibility. Discovering a sleeping dragon and some drow going through the treasure and loot in the cave. |Session 18 (2nd April 2019) - Mmm, what's that smell?
Finding themselves in the middle of what appears to be endless fields, the party head off in a random direction. After several days of travel and scouting, they make out what looks to be some form of civilization. Upon entering they discover it's just like any town on the material plane just incredibly large, almost impossibly big. The townsfolk are a mix of human and various half breeds and all seen content with their existence, they almost don't really notice the party. Once they make contact with one of the townsfolk she seems alarmed that they are outsiders but before any real conversation gets to develop, time seems to pause for the town and a shadowy figure emerges from the side of a building, revealing himself to be Ashari (a guardinal). Standing tall and well built, with the features of a lion but the shape of a man, he introduces himself to the party and explains the situation. This is a place where good mortals come for their afterlife should they choose to cling on to their old life, these people are best left alone. The party mentiontheGith and the portal location and Ashari summons some other guardinals to assist in checking the claims out. The party gets a tour of Amoria, the part of Elysium they are on, and are directed to Light's Blessing to do some shopping, browsing many rare and exotic items for sale. After buying a few things they are ready to leave. Ashari appears again, informing them their information was good and they have discovered a portal location and will watch it closely. In return the party is granted a rune sequence to teleport to The City of the Star although they are warned spending anything over an hour there could be dangerous, it is a place so beautiful that even the most strong-willed can't stay for long without never wanting to leave. Ashari summons another friend, this time a sort of angel to conjure a portal back to the material plane. The party emerges in the middle of a cave in the Yama Valley, scaring a group of miners in the process. They make their way to Odek to rest for the night and discover they have been gone 12 days although it only feels like 4 or so have passed. They travel towards Mog through the badlands, hoping to learn more about it when they spot an orc raiding party up ahead. Catching them by surprise, the manage to pick them off one by one in style after a barrage of area of effect attacks weaken their group. | Session 17 (20th March 2019) - Elysium
The group decides to head for Fooks to try and gain more information about the goings-on. Upon reaching the town and having a good look around, the party comes across a team sent by Reggie and swap information, learning that there have been sightings of these wizards in the Groc Peaks. The party rest up and reconvene with Reggie's group (Runar/Vegril/Orman/Sora) and set off towards the mountains. Darkness falls as they make their way up the Groc Pass into the mountains when a minuscule flicker of light grabs the attention of Nelia who alerts Syl. Deciding to mention it to the others they wait and all begin to stare intently at the volcano to their right and after what seems a really long time they do see another very brief flicker of light. Runar doesn't seem to think it's anything to be concerned with but is convinced otherwise by the party although begrudgingly. Using the help of an owl or two they can get a rough layout of the area and find a space to teleport to just on the inside of the mountain. Syl, using the helm of teleportation manages to successfully transport the entire group (minus Vegril who is against magic) to the summit. Immediately hit with a wave of heat and ash, they take a few minutes to get accustomed to the new surroundings. Syl, Nelia and Takeda venture further inside the volcano while the others search the summit and outsides. It gets to a point where the heat is too intense for the group to continue any deeper as they discover a series of sloped tunnels seemingly heading beneath the lava floor just off to the side but Syl uses his abilities to become a fire elemental and heads deeper into the tunnels. The other two make their way back up to the top to help the others in their searches. The other group now joined by Takeda and Nelia discover many natural caves, tunnels and holes in the rock, a mix of natural and man-made structures. They find evidence of some tracks and burned out torches which could well have been the flickers of light they saw from the pass. Syl discovers an enormous cavern, hundreds of feet in all directions with tunnels extending from many points. There are some pools of lave over to the right-hand side of the room along with a weak flowing lava flow dripping down through cracks in the rocks, while incredibly hot here the other side of the cavern is rather cool. After only investigating for a good 15 minutes, footsteps and mumbling along with the clanking of metal force Syl to hide in the lava flow on the far side of the cavern as it fills with 30-40 humanoid figures, a variety of ages, genders and races. Some begin mining away at rocks, some cutting lumber, forming ropes from fibres, transporting materials to and from tunnels. Every so often a hooded figure dressed all in red will enter the chamber, converse with one or two of the workers and then vanish. Worried that time might be running out to maintain the fire resistant form of the fire elemental, Syl manages to climb through the gaps the lava is falling from and make his way into the base of the volcano. About halfway up the climb, the form drops and he becomes his regular self, meeting the rest of the party and relaying the information. Sunlight approaches and they decide to get a rest and regroup/replan. Teleoprting once again to the base of the volcano to meet with Vegril, they make their way back down the pass towards Arkin Cross. Vegril has arranged transport back to Fooks and the group return and rest.) to take a rest, while keeping watch they notice a few groups of Githyanki come and go through the portal but no other activity. Using their combined knowledge of different planes the party has some good estimates of where they may be and some exploration is bound to narrow that down further. | Session 16 (14th March 2019) - Meeting the Gith
Deciding that while in Fooks, the party should really check out the magic school and library, they go and do just that. For some reason, they want to gather more info about dragons and the mysterious Bozwell Tower to the north. Arcanus (the library) reveals dragons seem to spend most of their time deep in the Zeleno Mountains venturing out rarely in search of food or treasure. The party also study different dragon types and weaknesses/strengths to be extra prepared. Traveling to Odek to get some additional perspective on the area, the guards offer helpful advice. Mog is a hub of monstrous creatures that prefer their own company, their friendliness seems to differ from day to day so avoid at all costs. Bozwell Tower has been acting strangely for hundreds of years constantly shifting and many have been hurt or even killed trying to access it. The undead and the orcs occupy a lot of middle - southern badlands territory engaged in constant war and fighting. Creatures from the Underdark emerge from cracks in the land from time to time but don't often venture too far. Naturally, Bozwell Tower is the first item on the list and after spending the night in Odek they set off for the tower, leaving their cart behind. As they get closer, the strangeness of the tower becomes more and more apparent. Every 10-15 seconds the whole appearance of the tower changes, some things instantly vanish/appear, some slide slowly into place and some morph into other features. The door and windows are constantly moving all over the place and very rarely are in accessible areas. Timing it well they use a combination of spells to seemingly unlock the door and sure enough, it opens once they can get to it on the ground floor. The tower is giving off powerful levels of conjuration magic. Once inside the tower, they are greeted with what looks to be a reception room although it doesn't take them long to see the insides move around as much as the outsides do. Desks, tables, bookcases, plants, rugs and the like constantly shift every 10-15 seconds and a staircase leading upwards also has a new position every time. Making sure to time it right the party ascend level by level, the higher up they go, the faster everything seems to move around and the more violently it all moves. A few ill-timed voyages up staircases throw the party down some stairs and a few of them need rests or need to be sick. Eventually, they start to see windows on the higher floors with views of Ethea. It is established that the windows can be broken although there could be a kind of force field around the tower as no air or wind is felt, Elias risks his fingers to get the information that there is air and wind outside the force field. Higher up still, they reach a room with a high concentration of windows, not just with views out but many with different fantastic colours. The party eventually discover they are likely to be portals and decide to go through the orange one. They appear almost immediately in luscious green fields stretching miles and miles around, a small ghostly outline of the portal remains but the soon discover walking away from it causes it to vanish to the naked eye. Taking in the scenery of this place, they want to explore but fear losing their way back home. They go back through the portal and appear back inside the tower although on a different floor. In this room, windows sometimes appear on the ceiling and floor, not wanting to risk falling into another portal accidentally they aim for the stairs behind them. As the room shifts, they notice the stairs didn't move this time, heading up the stairs they are greeted by an odd sight. This appears to be the very top of the tower, the insides of the room are completely still. Hovering in the center of the room is a humanoid shaped figure encased in swirling silver light with strands coming out of it and into the building itself. Attempts to dispel it fail and looking through some notebooks in the room they can see it looks to be a magical experiment gone bad and the figure could indeed be Bozwell. |Session 15 (05th March 2019) - The Strange Tower
Starting their journey in Keate, the players decide to make a move to Frea to see if any more information about the cult can be gleaned. After some chatting with locals they learn that they tried to come into town and recruit people but were chased away but some of the inhabitants and their 'extra abilities'. The party sees if any work is going in the man time while waiting for word on the state of the cult to surface. They take on a request for a security team to retrieve a stolen item. Upon visiting a farm on the outskirts of the town, the owner reveals a Baron has it in his possession at the Baark Lodges and it's a family heirloom passed down through generations. The party sign a contract of retrieval and terms and set off to go and get the item (Staff of healing). Bluffing their way into the compound, Nelia sets off on a mission to retrieve the item from the lodge the Baron is staying at while the others keep up appearances. Managing to sneak in and out without a trace, locate the item and rejoin the party in time to make their excuses and leave. They travel south a little and set up camp for the night. In the morning they see the Baron's cart speeding south towards Frea, the party assuming he is making his way to the farmhouse decide to try and intervene and take the cart off the road. Acting a little too efficiently the party manage to destroy a wheel sending the cart twisting on its side and into some trees and rocks at full speed resulting in the death of all inside. They burn everything to cover their tracks. Making their way to the farmhouse, they determine the one that sent them on the quest had tricked them and was in fact up to no good! More killing and burning later the party was away, passing through Keate for the night and then making their way to Fooks the next morning. Arriving somewhere around lunchtime the group partakes in some shopping... | Session 14 (28th Feb 2019) - Vacation of Death
Spending a couple of days downtime in Raux, the party go visit Cal as he mentioned a reward. Upon visiting him he hands over a couple of crates he intercepted from Marcus as a reward for saving him assuring them they are full of assorted items and riches. Sure enough, they are. Hearing gossip of a cult operating in the Vermell Forest the party decide they might check it out. Reaching the Dragonborn home of Keate they experience exquisite hospitality of the Dragonborn and find a local barman who informs the party there have been a few attacks in the last few days by bandits with additional fiery powers. Sure enough, as they go exploring in the dark they encounter said bandits and use a swarm of tentacles to end them, they discover coded maps and break the code allowing them to see proposed ambush sites, stashes and camps. With this info and a few stops along the way, the party visit a few stash points and collect the riches although weirdly most of the contents appear to be clothing and accessories. The party hit up another camp on the map and encounter more flamey bandits but take pleasure in reducing them to a crisp or crunching them in half. They head back to Keate for a rest before planning their next move... |Session 13 (19th Feb 2019) - Cults, Bandits and Fire
Keeping the plans to meet the two halflings and see what items they had for sale, the party bought a few items grabbing their attention. The rogue sneaking back after dark, stealing the rest of the items and then the group deciding not to stick around head to Raux. They get a message from Rhia and meet at the Broken Arrow, she reveals some leads on Cal and a joint operation is formed to stealthily track a group of wronguns led by Marcus operating out of The Emerald Serpent. The party use their tools to become invisible and follow the group to a location just off the Raux Highway where Marcus reads a script and opens a portal. The party, still invisible go in behind them and appear in a small cave where Cal and his team/guards are all tied up and Marcus and co approach them. Before they can get across the cave the party use a combination of fire and tentacles to make short work of them. Rummaging through Marcus' belongings the party find an odd set of scissors made from a yellowish stone and the enchantment used to activate them, this is what is used to open the portal. Using thie scissors, the party go back to the material plane and back to Raux. Reggie is pleased to hear the situation with Marcus and rewards Nelia for the information and service. | Session 12 (13th Feb 2019) - A plan!
Deciding to make a move to Bolor Market the party travel north, after waiting around for a few hours the traders return. Their wagons full of merchandise after successfully reclaiming it from the Kenku they then give the party 70 gp each for their efforts and welcome them back anytime. The party then go to Raux to speak to Rhia but it's late and they must wait till morning, they decide to go to the adventurers guild to inform them the bounty is complete and to see if anything new has appeared ( JOUSTING COMPETITION!! ). After spending the night at the guild, they develop a sort of hunger for adventure. Talking to some of the other adventuring groups at the guild they learn a little bit more about the different places on their map and what to expect there. The southern forest is dangerous as well as the far east and there is always trouble to be found, serious threats are much less likely to surface in a heavily guarded city or town. Making their way back down south to Ank they go to The Grumpy Ogre and listen to the conversations being thrown around. They make an appointment to see some rare exotic items for sale, learn about a blacksmith in search of rare metals and investigate a farm with dried soil and dead crops. They discover the source of the farming issue while exploring a tunnel network beneath the Al'Tea Ruins and put a fix they hope is permanent enough in place with a little magic and some wood. The party return to the farmer and pass on the information, then they retire to Ank to rest and plan what to do next... |Session 11 (05th Feb 2019) - A bit all over the place
Finishing up their chat with Rhia, the party go to bed, waking the next morning to discover she left early to go search for Cal. You set off in the direction of Raux as she was sighted that way and catch up with her just outside the city. Aiding her in her serach you manage to track down the abandoned carts of Cal and his team as well as signs of struggles, a little blood and numerous weapons. The clean up job to hide this from view was pretty good as well as the covering of the tracks. Heading back to Raux, Rhia mentions she will take further action with the other council members and to update her if they do find anything. The party go south to investigate the mysterious vanishing goods from a trade cart and end up at the Bolor Market. meeting the contact and agreeing a plan of action they set off towards Ank with the party following behind in a wagon. With an inside man (or lady in this case) inside the cart they discover magic afoot and a portal activating to remove a crate from the cart secretly, however the party manage to get through the portal in time, by pure luck a fallen barrel is maintaining the connection. Diving down they discover a cave littered with boxes and crates and eventually get the Kenku to reveal themselves and eventually getting them to surrender their magic portal generating orb in exchange for leaving them be. The party make their way to Ank and let the traders know the situation and they are promised a reward the next time the swing by the market once everything is dealt with. | Session 10 (31st Jan 2019) - Kenku Cave
Deciding to investigate the Scarlett Squid and Cal Moses further, the party travel to Westport for leads. On the way they check out the Adventurers guild and sign up, at a cost of 5gp per month you can use their services free of charge. They find Rhia in Westport and have a brief chat before going to bed for the evening. |Session 9 (22nd Jan 2019) - A Guild and a Mystery
Finally finding what looks to be the right place the party discovers a large, fairly hot, well-decorated room. They are greeted by a loud voice but can not see who speaks. Some players are tempted with offers of riches and power for turning on their friends but do not take the bait, magical darkness fills the room and two hell hounds spring forth to attack the party. Making short work of them a Glabrezu emerges from the darkness and delivers some heavy damage but is ultimately defeated. Riches and magical items were taken from the room and the players backtracked their way out of the keep and back into the badlands. Making their way across to Odek they spend the night and plan a trip to the capital Raux. Once there they do a little investigating of their own trying to figure out some clues to why the Scarlett squid was burned down. They learn a couple of figures were seen escaping the fire and running off out of the northern gates of the city. Some quick research on the idols found in the keep reveals them to be that of Tormanna although her whereabouts are unknown. | Session 8 (17th Jan 2019) - Tormanna's Lair
Picking up with further exploration of the keep, the players navigate through winding tunnels, secret passageways and traps to the centre of the keep. | Session 7 (08th Jan 2019) - Trawling
Making their way to the keep the players discover it nearly totally covered in fallen rocks from the mountains. Determined to get in they fly up to the top of the structure and blast their way down. Navigating through a few empty rooms they discover a hub of demon activity and begin taking them out one by one. We end the session after a fight with some demonic casters. |Session 6 (03rd Jan 2019) - Kermill Keep
Party made their way north east to investigate a tower being built, turns out it's a regular team of builders constructing an honest tower. Venturing further north to Odek they stay the night. The next day they discover a mad man rambling about long forgotten treasure and secrets in Kermil Keep located in the badlands at the base of the mountain. Deciding they could check it out they venture into the badlands, avoid being trampled by giant metallic bulls and slaughter an orc raiding party getting some loot too. They are 2 hours away from the keep. |Session 5 (unknown date) - Mad Mans Secrets
Getting intel that Boden (the one responsible for capture) had retrurned the group lays explosives all over the boat. Sure enough Boden and his men arrive then board the ship. Once they were all on they blew it to bits aiming some firey shots at the explosives. Travelling by night to Frea and staying the night, nobody seems to have spotted you leave. Moving onto Keate the next day and picking up a bounty to deliver magic items to Frea. Completed mission, ambushed by bandits, killed em, got paid. |Session 4 (unknown date) - The Explosion
The group decides to explore the nearby forest to stretch their legs and check out this new land. They encountered some groups of beasts and killed em, got loot too! |Session 3 (unknown date) - Into the wild
Sailng to Torrow and gathering intel the party lured Devin (a local who deals in black market buying/selling) to the ship, interrogated him and then murdered him. Sent the kids working on the boat for additional intel and they are brought a town guide book for Ethea and a rough layout of the town of Torrow. |Session 2 (unknown date) - Planning Revenge
The players have landed themselves kidnapped and thrown on a boat, banding together and managing to break free of their cell they take over the ship, murdering pirates and a wizard along the way. |Session 1 (unknown date) - Prisoners
Picking up from last time, the group decide to look for more clues around Maku Keno. This time they decide to check out the forge at the base of the mountain, speaking with dwarves and others inside. They learn that while none of them have seen people climbing the volcano, the idea that people are in there is ludicrous. There had been sightings over the last few weeks of one of the wizards dressed in red, both alone and with company. Syl want's to further scout out the inside of the volcano base and uses his helmet to teleport back inside the lava flow area in the cavern as a fire elemental. Dashing out and taking rocks as cover he makes his way into one of the tunnels and has a scout out before being sighted by a short chubby elf. Thinking that silencing him is the best option, Syl reaches out and 'accidentally' reduces the elf to a flaming mess. Syl walks round another twist, encountering a robed figure looking the other way and decides it's time to teleport back to the group. After a quick catch up they head into the mountains to stay the night in the Dwarven City (Groc). Making their way into the elegant complex or carved stone work and intricate metallic patterns they find the 'town square' and a large inn to spend the night. Upon waking and regrouping, they decide to get a good breakfast in before they further investigate. As they eat they hear an almighty roar echo through the mountains and guards immediatleyrun off to see what is happening. The party decide to quickly grab their gear and follow, running up the pass towards the exit. Bursting out into the sunlight, their eyes squint and adjust to the brightness as a massive shadow falls over them from an enormous winged beast flying north over the mountains. A guard running back past you shout's it's a red dragon and panic ensues in the mountains. The party decide their best bet is teleporting directly into the underground base, they link arms and vanish. Appearing inside the empty cavern, they notice the lava flowing a little more aggressively than before. Exploring the tunnels and connecting rooms they discover 30 ish sleeping bodies and a chamber that obviously belongs to the wizards, filled with comfortable furniture and research materials. Bagging up everything that looks important, they go back to the sleeping folk and quickly snatch one from their beds, demand they keep quiet and begin interrogating them. It is learned that the 'workers' don't really know anything abouth the plans just what work they do, the gold given to them and powers given with promise of greater power and riches to come. The party manage to convince them all to leave and inform them of the dragon now free and their part played in this happeneing. The party leave and head to Fooks again where the dragon is the talk of the town as it flew by hours ago. They pour over the information in the texts they stole and learn a bit more about what's happening. The dragon is called Raphhar and was last seen around 1000 years ago when it was supposedly imprisoned by elves from O'Pax. A small group of powerful mages were behind it but they were wiped out years later in a tragic accident and the secret of Raphhar gone with them. A few months back, the magic item keeping the dragon frozen in place was dispelled and Raphhar was free. The Val Viri seem to have struck a deal and helped restored his power. |Session 24 (14th May 2019) - Even Deeper Underground
The session begins with Syl, Nelia and Takeda discussing their recent mission to the volcano base and their plans going forward. Certain people may not be using their indoor voices and a group on the next table overhear them and seem interested in offering a hand. There are also three people on this table (Raul,Balmyar and Erthak) and the six spend time drinking and getting to know one another before deciding to do a little shopping in town. With their current plans in mind, they manage to secure 8 potions of fire resistance for a good price as well as a couple of trinkets and begin the journey south. Deciding to check out the woodland around the Groc Pass as a likely area to encounter such groups they plan an ambush, using their owl/raven scouts to alert them of any dangers. After almost four hours, with daylight fading, they are alerted to a group moving along the outskirts of the Groc Pass towards them and they prepare an ambush. A figure dressed in elegant red robes leads a group of people into the clearing the party is hiding in and begin to make their way through it. Raul and Erthak are making a sort of distraction while the others hide and the group moves past them, although slightly hesitant of the drunken duo. The players eventually try to charm some of them resulting in resistance and eventually combat. Erthak strikes a devastating charge of lightning energy into the ground, downing half of their group and injuring the rest. The hooded figure vanishes, leaving the rest to deal with the party. Through a series of torture and killin' they get what information the remaining two have before further killing and letting one go. It is discovered that while they didn't really know much, they were given gold and promised powers to join them and it was a tempting offer. One was recruited in Torrow, giving a contact for their mercenary work (Harlan at the crab shack) and the other caught off guard by chance while traveling the roads looking for work. They loot the corpses, recovering some gold and gems and sit down to discuss what their next steps are.| Session 23 (09th May 2019) - New Friends
The group decides to head for Fooks to try and gain more information about the goings-on. Upon reaching the town and having a good look around, the party comes across a team sent by Reggie and swap information, learning that there have been sightings of these wizards in the Groc Peaks. The party rest up and reconvene with Reggie's group (Runar/Vegril/Orman/Sora) and set off towards the mountains. Darkness falls as they make their way up the Groc Pass into the mountains when a minuscule flicker of light grabs the attention of Nelia who alerts Syl. Deciding to mention it to the others they wait and all begin to stare intently at the volcano to their right and after what seems a really long time they do see another very brief flicker of light. Runar doesn't seem to think it's anything to be concerned with but is convinced otherwise by the party although begrudgingly. Using the help of an owl or two they can get a rough layout of the area and find a space to teleport to just on the inside of the mountain. Syl, using the helm of teleportation manages to successfully transport the entire group (minus Vegril who is against magic) to the summit. Immediately hit with a wave of heat and ash, they take a few minutes to get accustomed to the new surroundings. Syl, Nelia and Takeda venture further inside the volcano while the others search the summit and outsides. It gets to a point where the heat is too intense for the group to continue any deeper as they discover a series of sloped tunnels seemingly heading beneath the lava floor just off to the side but Syl uses his abilities to become a fire elemental and heads deeper into the tunnels. The other two make their way back up to the top to help the others in their searches. The other group now joined by Takeda and Nelia discover many natural caves, tunnels and holes in the rock, a mix of natural and man-made structures. They find evidence of some tracks and burned out torches which could well have been the flickers of light they saw from the pass. Syl discovers an enormous cavern, hundreds of feet in all directions with tunnels extending from many points. There are some pools of lave over to the right-hand side of the room along with a weak flowing lava flow dripping down through cracks in the rocks, while incredibly hot here the other side of the cavern is rather cool. After only investigating for a good 15 minutes, footsteps and mumbling along with the clanking of metal force Syl to hide in the lava flow on the far side of the cavern as it fills with 30-40 humanoid figures, a variety of ages, genders and races. Some begin mining away at rocks, some cutting lumber, forming ropes from fibres, transporting materials to and from tunnels. Every so often a hooded figure dressed all in red will enter the chamber, converse with one or two of the workers and then vanish. Worried that time might be running out to maintain the fire resistant form of the fire elemental, Syl manages to climb through the gaps the lava is falling from and make his way into the base of the volcano. About halfway up the climb, the form drops and he becomes his regular self, meeting the rest of the party and relaying the information. Sunlight approaches and they decide to get a rest and regroup/replan. Teleoprting once again to the base of the volcano to meet with Vegril, they make their way back down the pass towards Arkin Cross. Vegril has arranged transport back to Fooks and the group return and rest. |Session 22 (29th April 2019) - Maku Keno
The party begins to explore the Underdark, taking in the strange plantlife and rock formations, noticing they appear to be on a large plateau with another directly opposite them, a vast and seemingly cavern in between. Their curiosity is cut short when Takeda notices a couple of drow a few hundred feet away and alerts the others. When it's become clear they have been spotted, they begin to charge the party with several more drow behind them joining in the charge! Elias and Mirael lead the party in a charge right back at them readying an array of spells and attacks and the gap between the forces closes tighter. Just 100ft between them several spells are fired off from both sides, most missing or just scratching and the gap continues to close. As they stand a mere 10ft apart ready to engage in close combat battle, a booming, explosion of rock from the left scatters out and out emerges a gigantic deep purple worm seemingly made of fangs, spikes and teeth. Heading right towards the large group directly in front of it, churning up the rocks as it moves, it dives down into the mix of drow and the party making an incredible 15ft diameter hole in the ground in its wake. Takeda, Syl and Nelia are pushed backward and land on the ground prone, on the other side of the hole 2 drow escape the worms clutches but the rock has become unstable and they crumble into the cavern below. Elias and Mirael are nowhere to be seen, a quick glance down the hole reveals trails of blood and destruction but they don't have long to reflect on these events as the worm makes a return springing out behind the party, causing their plateau to become unstable as part of it also falls. Almost feeling the worm making its way to them from tremors underground, the group decide to make a run for it back to the tunnels they arrived in. As they begin to run, sure enough, the ground bursts open behind them, missing them by inches, sounds of crumbling rocks all around, the worm is churning everything in its path and heading towards the party who just make it by the skin of their teeth back into the tunnels. Making their way up the steep incline, the ground beneath them still shaking, the monstrosity still chasing as rocks fall from the tunnels. Reaching the first set of rope ladders they hurridly ascend and much to their delight the tremors and noises seem to grow fainter and as they reach the underground caverns they found themselves in earlier they can no longer hear or feel anything at all. They make their way back up to the Red Cave taking a moment of silence for their fallen team mates, making a quick plan and heading back out to Mog. Going back to Karnor, they fill him in on the situation and he is sorry for their loss but greatly pleased the cave is now free of dangers. He rewards the party with a few treasures he has in his shack, a potent potion of strength, some rare gems and a feather token. The party have a look around and rescue three dogs from the beast pen, likely to have become dinner at some point, they head out with Odek in mind and leave Mog. Navigating through the badlands avoiding some rather large scorpions along the way they arrive in Odek, stay the night and reunite with the horses and cart. They decide the best plan is to check back at the capital and see if Reggie has any leads, work or updates for them. In Raux they head to the Orc's Armpit and indeed find Reggie behind the bar talking to the workers, Nelia approaches and strikes up a conversation. They trade rare goods and make chit chat and the rest of the party come and join the discussions, Reggie mentions disturbances to the south and they seem to align with the Val Viri and fire bandits you have previously encountered. Their numbers have grown but as ever the mystery remains, the wizards appear to be an old cult originally from the Pomm Woodland next to Fooks and they seem to be more focused on the northern parts of the Vermell Forest and the Groc Peaks. Deciding that this is probably worth another look, they head to Ank to prepare, Nelia disguising herself as to not be recognized. Leaving their cart behind they begin making their way out at sundown. They head along the Tokrin Way towards Arkin Cross when they hear orcish coming from around the corner, they manage to duck in and hide among the bushes. A raiding party makes their way along the path and upon noticing something in the bushes they double their speed and run past the party who make a split second decision to attack, unleashing fireballs and other spells to ultimately destroy the group. | Session 21 (25th April 2019) - Purple Destruction
The party uses their recently controlled dragon to assist in clearing out the cave of any remaining drow. The dragon and drow get into a fight and both suffer damage, the party assist the dragon and finish off the drow. They have a quick look around and take anything that they could use to turn a profit or could be of use down the line and regroup at the hole in the ground the drow were using. Deciding to descend deeper underground they climb down the rope ladders into the passageway below. It's a little warmer with a slight breeze and the tunnels are a mix of natural and man-made with various supports in place and evidence of digging/chipping away at soil and rock. Following the path deeper with some large drops along the way, they come out into a large cavern with running water and harsher winds. It's a little colder than expected most likely from the drafts and moisture, there are stacks of mining equipment and supplies and evidence of footfall here. Noticing another exit across the other side of the cavern, they make their way down more steep inclines following the river down hill. After a short time, voices can be heard and upon getting closer it sounds like undercommon that was being thrown around earlier by the drow. Mirael casts a spell to understand the dialog and learns that one of the drow has come from above to tell others of the events in the Red Cave, sensing that this might be good to nip in the bud and with the help of the dragon they exterminate the three drow. The party regroup where the drow were and find some strange hexagonal slate chips on them as well as some gemstones, following the winding pathways round and even further down several hundred feet, they notice a green and purple moss start to appear on the sides of the passageway. Getting further down, the moss is thicker and denser and some plantlife and bright purple mushrooms begin to appear and a faint purple light seems to be coming from the end of the tunnel. Making their way towards the light the passage opens up into a gigantic underground world full of rocky platforms and strange vibrant plant life, with everything seeming to contribute to the purple glow filling the air. It's quite a bit warmer down here but stunningly beautiful to gaze upon, some members of the party know from books they have read or texts discovered that this is the Underdark, home to some of the most beautiful and dangerous things in the known universe. |Session 20 (16th April 2019) - Deeper Underground
The party begins the session in the Red Cave, they wait for the drow to finish rummaging through the crates in the walkway and then they head deeper into the cave. Following at a distance, Nelia turns invisible and manages to sneak her way around the entire cave, relaying the info to the rest of the group through the telepathic bond. They come up with a plan to awaken the dragon and cause a diversion to make the dragon fight the drow, however, this is flawed when it becomes apparent the dragon is under their control, it has a collar with a bright green gem in it. Some of them try and fight but are quickly overwhelmed and the party teleports their way out of there. Making their way back into Mog, they relay the information to Karnor, make a new plan and take a rest. They set off back to the cave at sunset and manage to sneak around the dragon into a side passage. Taking out the guards silently, the group make it through into the heart of the cave before giving away their position and triggering a mass assault. The party mows down the drow and at the last minute, the dragon flies around the corner to greet the party. As the dragon swings into view, the party behead the shadowblade controlling it and dig the gem out of their neck, it unleashes a devastating breath weapon upon some of the party before Elias uses the stone to command the dragon. It understands and as a command is issued the green gem on the dragon's collar glows a bright green. |Session 19 (11th April 2019) - Drow and the Dragon
After the battle in the badlands a sandstorm picks up, the party decide to head for the gates of Mog and see if they can sneak or charm their way in. Upon getting closer to the city and the defense towers they notice a lone elephant wandering, lost in the sandstorm. A split second later bolts are fired from the tower at the elephant and five orcs riding gorgons approached. An attempt to save and hide the elephant was made by the group but ultimately it was going with the orcs one way or another. After a very brief chat with one of the orcs it is revealed Mog is host to a battle arena which peaks the interest of the party who are more than welcome inside as long as they fight. As soon as they get into the city the winds die down, the overly large walls obviously do a lot of good. They are led towards the center of town which essentially is a ring spanning half a mile from one end to the other. A horn sounds and a crowd gathers, a whole mix of species coming to check out the fight. A large, blueish orc with a booming voice (any shiny red ruby necklace) takes the stage and warms up the crowd and gives the party the terms of the fight. It's a fight to the death, surprise! The ground shakes, the orc with the ruby is muttering enchantments over it while it glows brightly, red and black smoke engulfing it. A creature begins to rise from the dirt and dust in the center of the ring and in a matter of seconds, the giant form of a dragon emerges fully. It's quite apparent that this dragon is not what it once was, even at a distance it's clear there are chunks of flesh missing or rotting away and a hint of an unpleasant smell strikes the noses of the group. The fight begins, the dragon does indeed have the most awful smell to it as it flies around trying to do some damage. A few claws, bites and tails are thrown around as well as an exceptionally strong necrotic breath weapon. The party are able to use a lot of fire among other things to defeat the creature and a chorus of booing and shouting erupts from the crowd. They are rewarded with a coating of special mud which also smells unpleasant but guarantees them safety for a few hours as a reward for winning the fight. The party does a little shopping and a little digging. and find out the name and location of the orc with the ruby. His name is Karnor and after a short journey they arrive at his location, a shack near the battle arena After speaking to him and detecting his thoughts they discover something has been troubling the people of Mog for some time. One of the treasure caves in the mountains has been named the red cave because it's now full of blood. An unknown entity is inside, ripping to shreds anything or anyone that goes too far in. The group decides that this sounds like a job for them! They find the cave and check it out with a mix of stealth and invisibility. Discovering a sleeping dragon and some drow going through the treasure and loot in the cave. |Session 18 (2nd April 2019) - Mmm, what's that smell?
Finding themselves in the middle of what appears to be endless fields, the party head off in a random direction. After several days of travel and scouting, they make out what looks to be some form of civilization. Upon entering they discover it's just like any town on the material plane just incredibly large, almost impossibly big. The townsfolk are a mix of human and various half breeds and all seen content with their existence, they almost don't really notice the party. Once they make contact with one of the townsfolk she seems alarmed that they are outsiders but before any real conversation gets to develop, time seems to pause for the town and a shadowy figure emerges from the side of a building, revealing himself to be Ashari (a guardinal). Standing tall and well built, with the features of a lion but the shape of a man, he introduces himself to the party and explains the situation. This is a place where good mortals come for their afterlife should they choose to cling on to their old life, these people are best left alone. The party mentiontheGith and the portal location and Ashari summons some other guardinals to assist in checking the claims out. The party gets a tour of Amoria, the part of Elysium they are on, and are directed to Light's Blessing to do some shopping, browsing many rare and exotic items for sale. After buying a few things they are ready to leave. Ashari appears again, informing them their information was good and they have discovered a portal location and will watch it closely. In return the party is granted a rune sequence to teleport to The City of the Star although they are warned spending anything over an hour there could be dangerous, it is a place so beautiful that even the most strong-willed can't stay for long without never wanting to leave. Ashari summons another friend, this time a sort of angel to conjure a portal back to the material plane. The party emerges in the middle of a cave in the Yama Valley, scaring a group of miners in the process. They make their way to Odek to rest for the night and discover they have been gone 12 days although it only feels like 4 or so have passed. They travel towards Mog through the badlands, hoping to learn more about it when they spot an orc raiding party up ahead. Catching them by surprise, the manage to pick them off one by one in style after a barrage of area of effect attacks weaken their group. | Session 17 (20th March 2019) - Elysium
The group decides to head for Fooks to try and gain more information about the goings-on. Upon reaching the town and having a good look around, the party comes across a team sent by Reggie and swap information, learning that there have been sightings of these wizards in the Groc Peaks. The party rest up and reconvene with Reggie's group (Runar/Vegril/Orman/Sora) and set off towards the mountains. Darkness falls as they make their way up the Groc Pass into the mountains when a minuscule flicker of light grabs the attention of Nelia who alerts Syl. Deciding to mention it to the others they wait and all begin to stare intently at the volcano to their right and after what seems a really long time they do see another very brief flicker of light. Runar doesn't seem to think it's anything to be concerned with but is convinced otherwise by the party although begrudgingly. Using the help of an owl or two they can get a rough layout of the area and find a space to teleport to just on the inside of the mountain. Syl, using the helm of teleportation manages to successfully transport the entire group (minus Vegril who is against magic) to the summit. Immediately hit with a wave of heat and ash, they take a few minutes to get accustomed to the new surroundings. Syl, Nelia and Takeda venture further inside the volcano while the others search the summit and outsides. It gets to a point where the heat is too intense for the group to continue any deeper as they discover a series of sloped tunnels seemingly heading beneath the lava floor just off to the side but Syl uses his abilities to become a fire elemental and heads deeper into the tunnels. The other two make their way back up to the top to help the others in their searches. The other group now joined by Takeda and Nelia discover many natural caves, tunnels and holes in the rock, a mix of natural and man-made structures. They find evidence of some tracks and burned out torches which could well have been the flickers of light they saw from the pass. Syl discovers an enormous cavern, hundreds of feet in all directions with tunnels extending from many points. There are some pools of lave over to the right-hand side of the room along with a weak flowing lava flow dripping down through cracks in the rocks, while incredibly hot here the other side of the cavern is rather cool. After only investigating for a good 15 minutes, footsteps and mumbling along with the clanking of metal force Syl to hide in the lava flow on the far side of the cavern as it fills with 30-40 humanoid figures, a variety of ages, genders and races. Some begin mining away at rocks, some cutting lumber, forming ropes from fibres, transporting materials to and from tunnels. Every so often a hooded figure dressed all in red will enter the chamber, converse with one or two of the workers and then vanish. Worried that time might be running out to maintain the fire resistant form of the fire elemental, Syl manages to climb through the gaps the lava is falling from and make his way into the base of the volcano. About halfway up the climb, the form drops and he becomes his regular self, meeting the rest of the party and relaying the information. Sunlight approaches and they decide to get a rest and regroup/replan. Teleoprting once again to the base of the volcano to meet with Vegril, they make their way back down the pass towards Arkin Cross. Vegril has arranged transport back to Fooks and the group return and rest.) to take a rest, while keeping watch they notice a few groups of Githyanki come and go through the portal but no other activity. Using their combined knowledge of different planes the party has some good estimates of where they may be and some exploration is bound to narrow that down further. | Session 16 (14th March 2019) - Meeting the Gith
Deciding that while in Fooks, the party should really check out the magic school and library, they go and do just that. For some reason, they want to gather more info about dragons and the mysterious Bozwell Tower to the north. Arcanus (the library) reveals dragons seem to spend most of their time deep in the Zeleno Mountains venturing out rarely in search of food or treasure. The party also study different dragon types and weaknesses/strengths to be extra prepared. Traveling to Odek to get some additional perspective on the area, the guards offer helpful advice. Mog is a hub of monstrous creatures that prefer their own company, their friendliness seems to differ from day to day so avoid at all costs. Bozwell Tower has been acting strangely for hundreds of years constantly shifting and many have been hurt or even killed trying to access it. The undead and the orcs occupy a lot of middle - southern badlands territory engaged in constant war and fighting. Creatures from the Underdark emerge from cracks in the land from time to time but don't often venture too far. Naturally, Bozwell Tower is the first item on the list and after spending the night in Odek they set off for the tower, leaving their cart behind. As they get closer, the strangeness of the tower becomes more and more apparent. Every 10-15 seconds the whole appearance of the tower changes, some things instantly vanish/appear, some slide slowly into place and some morph into other features. The door and windows are constantly moving all over the place and very rarely are in accessible areas. Timing it well they use a combination of spells to seemingly unlock the door and sure enough, it opens once they can get to it on the ground floor. The tower is giving off powerful levels of conjuration magic. Once inside the tower, they are greeted with what looks to be a reception room although it doesn't take them long to see the insides move around as much as the outsides do. Desks, tables, bookcases, plants, rugs and the like constantly shift every 10-15 seconds and a staircase leading upwards also has a new position every time. Making sure to time it right the party ascend level by level, the higher up they go, the faster everything seems to move around and the more violently it all moves. A few ill-timed voyages up staircases throw the party down some stairs and a few of them need rests or need to be sick. Eventually, they start to see windows on the higher floors with views of Ethea. It is established that the windows can be broken although there could be a kind of force field around the tower as no air or wind is felt, Elias risks his fingers to get the information that there is air and wind outside the force field. Higher up still, they reach a room with a high concentration of windows, not just with views out but many with different fantastic colours. The party eventually discover they are likely to be portals and decide to go through the orange one. They appear almost immediately in luscious green fields stretching miles and miles around, a small ghostly outline of the portal remains but the soon discover walking away from it causes it to vanish to the naked eye. Taking in the scenery of this place, they want to explore but fear losing their way back home. They go back through the portal and appear back inside the tower although on a different floor. In this room, windows sometimes appear on the ceiling and floor, not wanting to risk falling into another portal accidentally they aim for the stairs behind them. As the room shifts, they notice the stairs didn't move this time, heading up the stairs they are greeted by an odd sight. This appears to be the very top of the tower, the insides of the room are completely still. Hovering in the center of the room is a humanoid shaped figure encased in swirling silver light with strands coming out of it and into the building itself. Attempts to dispel it fail and looking through some notebooks in the room they can see it looks to be a magical experiment gone bad and the figure could indeed be Bozwell. |Session 15 (05th March 2019) - The Strange Tower
Starting their journey in Keate, the players decide to make a move to Frea to see if any more information about the cult can be gleaned. After some chatting with locals they learn that they tried to come into town and recruit people but were chased away but some of the inhabitants and their 'extra abilities'. The party sees if any work is going in the man time while waiting for word on the state of the cult to surface. They take on a request for a security team to retrieve a stolen item. Upon visiting a farm on the outskirts of the town, the owner reveals a Baron has it in his possession at the Baark Lodges and it's a family heirloom passed down through generations. The party sign a contract of retrieval and terms and set off to go and get the item (Staff of healing). Bluffing their way into the compound, Nelia sets off on a mission to retrieve the item from the lodge the Baron is staying at while the others keep up appearances. Managing to sneak in and out without a trace, locate the item and rejoin the party in time to make their excuses and leave. They travel south a little and set up camp for the night. In the morning they see the Baron's cart speeding south towards Frea, the party assuming he is making his way to the farmhouse decide to try and intervene and take the cart off the road. Acting a little too efficiently the party manage to destroy a wheel sending the cart twisting on its side and into some trees and rocks at full speed resulting in the death of all inside. They burn everything to cover their tracks. Making their way to the farmhouse, they determine the one that sent them on the quest had tricked them and was in fact up to no good! More killing and burning later the party was away, passing through Keate for the night and then making their way to Fooks the next morning. Arriving somewhere around lunchtime the group partakes in some shopping... | Session 14 (28th Feb 2019) - Vacation of Death
Spending a couple of days downtime in Raux, the party go visit Cal as he mentioned a reward. Upon visiting him he hands over a couple of crates he intercepted from Marcus as a reward for saving him assuring them they are full of assorted items and riches. Sure enough, they are. Hearing gossip of a cult operating in the Vermell Forest the party decide they might check it out. Reaching the Dragonborn home of Keate they experience exquisite hospitality of the Dragonborn and find a local barman who informs the party there have been a few attacks in the last few days by bandits with additional fiery powers. Sure enough, as they go exploring in the dark they encounter said bandits and use a swarm of tentacles to end them, they discover coded maps and break the code allowing them to see proposed ambush sites, stashes and camps. With this info and a few stops along the way, the party visit a few stash points and collect the riches although weirdly most of the contents appear to be clothing and accessories. The party hit up another camp on the map and encounter more flamey bandits but take pleasure in reducing them to a crisp or crunching them in half. They head back to Keate for a rest before planning their next move... |Session 13 (19th Feb 2019) - Cults, Bandits and Fire
Keeping the plans to meet the two halflings and see what items they had for sale, the party bought a few items grabbing their attention. The rogue sneaking back after dark, stealing the rest of the items and then the group deciding not to stick around head to Raux. They get a message from Rhia and meet at the Broken Arrow, she reveals some leads on Cal and a joint operation is formed to stealthily track a group of wronguns led by Marcus operating out of The Emerald Serpent. The party use their tools to become invisible and follow the group to a location just off the Raux Highway where Marcus reads a script and opens a portal. The party, still invisible go in behind them and appear in a small cave where Cal and his team/guards are all tied up and Marcus and co approach them. Before they can get across the cave the party use a combination of fire and tentacles to make short work of them. Rummaging through Marcus' belongings the party find an odd set of scissors made from a yellowish stone and the enchantment used to activate them, this is what is used to open the portal. Using thie scissors, the party go back to the material plane and back to Raux. Reggie is pleased to hear the situation with Marcus and rewards Nelia for the information and service. | Session 12 (13th Feb 2019) - A plan!
Deciding to make a move to Bolor Market the party travel north, after waiting around for a few hours the traders return. Their wagons full of merchandise after successfully reclaiming it from the Kenku they then give the party 70 gp each for their efforts and welcome them back anytime. The party then go to Raux to speak to Rhia but it's late and they must wait till morning, they decide to go to the adventurers guild to inform them the bounty is complete and to see if anything new has appeared ( JOUSTING COMPETITION!! ). After spending the night at the guild, they develop a sort of hunger for adventure. Talking to some of the other adventuring groups at the guild they learn a little bit more about the different places on their map and what to expect there. The southern forest is dangerous as well as the far east and there is always trouble to be found, serious threats are much less likely to surface in a heavily guarded city or town. Making their way back down south to Ank they go to The Grumpy Ogre and listen to the conversations being thrown around. They make an appointment to see some rare exotic items for sale, learn about a blacksmith in search of rare metals and investigate a farm with dried soil and dead crops. They discover the source of the farming issue while exploring a tunnel network beneath the Al'Tea Ruins and put a fix they hope is permanent enough in place with a little magic and some wood. The party return to the farmer and pass on the information, then they retire to Ank to rest and plan what to do next... |Session 11 (05th Feb 2019) - A bit all over the place
Finishing up their chat with Rhia, the party go to bed, waking the next morning to discover she left early to go search for Cal. You set off in the direction of Raux as she was sighted that way and catch up with her just outside the city. Aiding her in her serach you manage to track down the abandoned carts of Cal and his team as well as signs of struggles, a little blood and numerous weapons. The clean up job to hide this from view was pretty good as well as the covering of the tracks. Heading back to Raux, Rhia mentions she will take further action with the other council members and to update her if they do find anything. The party go south to investigate the mysterious vanishing goods from a trade cart and end up at the Bolor Market. meeting the contact and agreeing a plan of action they set off towards Ank with the party following behind in a wagon. With an inside man (or lady in this case) inside the cart they discover magic afoot and a portal activating to remove a crate from the cart secretly, however the party manage to get through the portal in time, by pure luck a fallen barrel is maintaining the connection. Diving down they discover a cave littered with boxes and crates and eventually get the Kenku to reveal themselves and eventually getting them to surrender their magic portal generating orb in exchange for leaving them be. The party make their way to Ank and let the traders know the situation and they are promised a reward the next time the swing by the market once everything is dealt with. | Session 10 (31st Jan 2019) - Kenku Cave
Deciding to investigate the Scarlett Squid and Cal Moses further, the party travel to Westport for leads. On the way they check out the Adventurers guild and sign up, at a cost of 5gp per month you can use their services free of charge. They find Rhia in Westport and have a brief chat before going to bed for the evening. |Session 9 (22nd Jan 2019) - A Guild and a Mystery
Finally finding what looks to be the right place the party discovers a large, fairly hot, well-decorated room. They are greeted by a loud voice but can not see who speaks. Some players are tempted with offers of riches and power for turning on their friends but do not take the bait, magical darkness fills the room and two hell hounds spring forth to attack the party. Making short work of them a Glabrezu emerges from the darkness and delivers some heavy damage but is ultimately defeated. Riches and magical items were taken from the room and the players backtracked their way out of the keep and back into the badlands. Making their way across to Odek they spend the night and plan a trip to the capital Raux. Once there they do a little investigating of their own trying to figure out some clues to why the Scarlett squid was burned down. They learn a couple of figures were seen escaping the fire and running off out of the northern gates of the city. Some quick research on the idols found in the keep reveals them to be that of Tormanna although her whereabouts are unknown. | Session 8 (17th Jan 2019) - Tormanna's Lair
Picking up with further exploration of the keep, the players navigate through winding tunnels, secret passageways and traps to the centre of the keep. | Session 7 (08th Jan 2019) - Trawling
Making their way to the keep the players discover it nearly totally covered in fallen rocks from the mountains. Determined to get in they fly up to the top of the structure and blast their way down. Navigating through a few empty rooms they discover a hub of demon activity and begin taking them out one by one. We end the session after a fight with some demonic casters. |Session 6 (03rd Jan 2019) - Kermill Keep
Party made their way north east to investigate a tower being built, turns out it's a regular team of builders constructing an honest tower. Venturing further north to Odek they stay the night. The next day they discover a mad man rambling about long forgotten treasure and secrets in Kermil Keep located in the badlands at the base of the mountain. Deciding they could check it out they venture into the badlands, avoid being trampled by giant metallic bulls and slaughter an orc raiding party getting some loot too. They are 2 hours away from the keep. |Session 5 (unknown date) - Mad Mans Secrets
Getting intel that Boden (the one responsible for capture) had retrurned the group lays explosives all over the boat. Sure enough Boden and his men arrive then board the ship. Once they were all on they blew it to bits aiming some firey shots at the explosives. Travelling by night to Frea and staying the night, nobody seems to have spotted you leave. Moving onto Keate the next day and picking up a bounty to deliver magic items to Frea. Completed mission, ambushed by bandits, killed em, got paid. |Session 4 (unknown date) - The Explosion
The group decides to explore the nearby forest to stretch their legs and check out this new land. They encountered some groups of beasts and killed em, got loot too! |Session 3 (unknown date) - Into the wild
Sailng to Torrow and gathering intel the party lured Devin (a local who deals in black market buying/selling) to the ship, interrogated him and then murdered him. Sent the kids working on the boat for additional intel and they are brought a town guide book for Ethea and a rough layout of the town of Torrow. |Session 2 (unknown date) - Planning Revenge
The players have landed themselves kidnapped and thrown on a boat, banding together and managing to break free of their cell they take over the ship, murdering pirates and a wizard along the way. |Session 1 (unknown date) - Prisoners
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