Session Two of "The Horrors Beyond the Crypt!"

General Summary

Starting this session off mid-day on the 25th of May, 3168 Era of Man, our party finds themselves walking through the forest to find the clearing that contains Scrag Caverns. Once they arrive, they notice that there are several corpses strewn around the clearing. They also find that the sign for Scrag Caverns has been modified by blood graffiti, changed the name from Scrag Caverns to Skull Caverns. Without hesitation, our team draws their weapons and enters the caverns. They walk through a corridor until reaching the first room, where several more bodies of miners lay. They continue further, getting to a room with a small water feature in it. Once they try to move past this large room, however, some Chu Chus, gelatinous monsters of unknown origin, come out of the water, ready to attack. There weren't many of them, so the party swiftly took care of them. There was one, however, that was very different than the rest. It had a big nose, curled hair like appendages, and a yarmulke adorning it's jelly head. Seeing one in an old history book before, Bianca recognized this beast to be an ancient, presumed extinct, creature known as a Jew Chu. It spat a coin at her, attempting to attack her, and once she picked it up off the ground, she recognized it as the currency for the lost civilization that this creature belongs to, a Shekel. There are no recorded instances of a Jew Chu meeting with mankind, so this was a monumentis occasion for the party. They attempted to tame the creature and catch it, however, it disappeared into the water before it could be obtained.
After that encounter, the party continued forward, looking for anything related to Vondutt or a cause of all the bodies. They happen upon a large atrium, where several Goblin bodies and bodies of miners lay. The party then notices black and purple portals coming from the ground, where Skeleton Warriors appear from. There were a few Skeleton ground troops, and a Skeleton Horse Rider, which was pretty strong. William managed to push a minecart towards the Skeleton Rider and mortally wounded it, they finished it off, along with the rest of the warriors. Once every enemy was defeated, the black and purple Abyssal portal appeared under the enemies and Skeletal arms came from it and dragged the creatures back to Terra Terrorium, where they belong... With the Skeletons defeated, the party searches the rest of the mines, finding a note left by Vondutt. It states that he hid and ran away from all the commotion as he watched all his friends die. With this note in hand and no clue where he went at the moment, the party leaves Scrag Caverns and heads back to Oceania.
Once our party gets back to Oceania, they notice buildings are on fire and there are hundreds of bodies littering the streets. It appears that all of the people that were at the Squid Festival were slaughtered by an unknown force. As our group makes their way into the town to investigate what could have done this, the gates to the town are blocked by those same skeletal hands that appeared earlier. This time, they were a lot larger and there were several of them. Suddenly, a whole bunch of Skeletal Warriors spawn from portals all around the town, including several warriors in two hordes. The rest of the warriors surrounded all exits from the town, creating a sort of barricade. A massive Skeletal Minotaur appears from a massive black and purple portal that appeared near the edge of the town's fountain. It appears that the group had to fight to survive. However, with all of the chaos that appears to have happened before, how could they defeat all these warriors?
Unfortunately, the party does not succeed in killing all these enemies, and in fact, get horribly brutalized by the monsters, ending up on the ground, dead. However, that was not the end for our party. They wake up in hanging cages in Terra Terrorium. The cages are hanging above a black void and are surrounded by pulsing, purple and black cavernous walls. William wonders how to get out of there, almost seeming unaffected by what just happened to them. Kimball and Bianca take a moment to get their bearings and understand that they are alive, in a way. After what feels like hours, they are eventually led out of the cage by Skeleton Warriors and into a huge line of mortals. The people are sobbing and begging for forgiveness, however, they are funneled through to this massive throne room, where a huge, 50 foot tall, Skeleton Woman adorned by a large, wispy black cloak. Her throne appears to have hundreds of trinkets and valuables from the mortal realm. This is Yharm, the Goddess of the Dead and the Damned...
The party eventually is filed forward, watching people get judged by the Goddess. The person getting judged kneels at this altar made of bone, and while they cry and plead, they are read a run down of their life by the Goddess and sent to either a location known as the Ad Terram Condemnabitur, or a location known as the Flaying Pits. On either side of the Goddess are Skeletal Warriors surrounding these black and purple portals, much like the ones our party saw spawning the monsters up on the surface world. These ones are just much bigger, and those who are sent to them are thrown in, getting sent to their respective 'afterlife.' Those who end up in the Ad Terram Condemnabitur experience their worst version of Hell over and over again for the rest of eternity. Those who are sent to the Flaying Pits have their skin ripped from their bones, their mind controlled by Yharm, and are sent to the surface to wreak havoc under her guide. Beside the Goddess is a Lich, known only as Darvaaq, and he is seemingly helping her keep the mortals in line and summoning the scrolls that list their life details and such.
As our party gets up to the altar, each one is told a little bit about their life, and knowning how strong they seemed to be, Yharm sends them to the Flaying Pits. However, before they can be escorted through the portal, a boombox, an invention never seen by mortals before, drops from the black void above the Throne Room. It starts playing the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" theme song, a song never heard by mortals of this world before. Coming from that black void as well is a Blue skinned man with glowing red eyes, dressed in very dapper clothing and a top hat. He is descending from a rope, singing along to the song. Everyone in the Throne Room is stunned and baffled, when suddenly, his rope breaks and he falls to the ground. He dusts himself off, then informs the party that he has been watching them. He summoned what he calls a "Dank Cloud Portal" to visit Terra Terrorium to rescue them. He argues with Yharm a bunch, also informing the party that she is his Ex romantic relationship partner. He proceeds to call her various names as she attempts to regain her composure and have them all slain. The man asks them to take his hand to escape, and after a few shenanigans, they do so, warping to Terra Firma, at the Battle of Oceania once again. 
This time, there are no more Skeletons, as they all seem to have been slain by the strange magic man. He tells them that his name is "The Dapper Dabber," and that he is what is called a "Dabulon." This race of people are very rare and hardly ever documented. For some reason, the Dapper Dabber has chosen them to save. He tells them that he can only leave this realm once a decade, so they should consider themselves lucky. He disappears in a cloud of green smoke, leaving the party to wonder what the actual hell has just happened to them, but not before giving Bianca a tin can with a string attached to it, telling her that it's a way to contact him. He leaves then, giving them more questions than answers, but they are thankful to be alive again. 
The Battle of Oceania is considered a turning point in Terra Firma's history as it is the first true attack of the surface world by Yharm's army. Almost mocking the Goddess Oceania, her sister Goddess, by attacking the town of her name. This marks the start of a new Era, the Era of Blood. The Timeline is now split into three sections. The beginning was the Era of Demise. Once Yharm was imprisoned by the Gods and Goddesses of Terra Etheria, it started the Era of Man, and now, with this invasion starting, it created the Era of Blood... Late at night on May 25th, Era of Man is the starting point for it the new Era of Blood. Every timeline event after this moment is considered to be in the Era of Blood Timeline.
After being resurrected, the party heads towards the Iron and Shite. The building, still standing, appears to be ransacked, however, they find a note by Taldek stating that he helped who he could and then escaped the calamity. He writes that he is making his way to Dawnbury, the nearest town West of Oceania, where he will meet up with the blacksmith there. The Dame of Flame, Aqualis Boulderbrew is a human blacksmith that he states he will be heading to. With this note in hand, the party heads out of the remnants of Oceania, leaving the chaos and damage behind...

Rewards Granted

A Mysterious blue and white portal opened up before our party after they exited Scrag Caverns. They judge that this may be a way to get a gift from the Goddess, Oceania. They stick their hand in the portal and manage to get a couple unique trinkets or weapons. Kimball receives a Slingshot of Neverending Shots, while Bianca receives a fascinating skull of a unrecognizable creature.

Missions/Quests Completed

-Locate Vondutt: They haven't exactly found him yet, however, they are aware that he is still alive. -Figure Out the Issue at Scrag Caverns

Character(s) interacted with

-Bianca Farless of Daggerveil  -Kimball Cho of Sapphiria  -William 'Whaddaya' Buyin' of Oceania  -Taldek Breithiem of Oceania -Darvaaq, the Lich, of Terra Terrorium -Yharm, Goddess of the Dead -Tetra, Goddess of the Wilderness -Vondutt Breithiem of Oceania (Indirectly) -Tuskar of Faron Mountain

Report Date

28 Jan 2024

Primary Location

Scrag [Skull] Caverns

Secondary Location

Town of Oceania

Related Characters

• Bianca Farless of Daggerveil
• Darvaaq, the Lich, of Terra Terrorium
• Esmeralda Viola Aratois of Oceania
• Kimball Cho of Sapphiria
• Oceania, the Goddess of Life and the Ocean
• Taldek Breitheim of Oceania [Iron and Shite]
• Tetra, Goddess of the Wilderness and Fertility
• The Dapper Dabber, the Demon of Swag
• Vondutt Breitheim of Oceania [Iron and Shite]
• William "Whaddaya" Buyin' of Oceania
• Yharm, Goddess of Death and Blood (Also Known as the Goddess of the Damned)