36: Under the Sea - Part 2

General Summary

The gems were all in place, the ritual was almost complete, and the planets were nearly aligned. The Crimson crew awoke from their restless sleep and set off to the ancient temple in the final hour of the final day.
In the innermost sanctum stood a stone pedestal awash in the light of the ethereal blue and purple flames lining the room. Vash produced the Worldstone from his pack and placed it upon the alter without hesitation. It has all come down to this very moment. Immediately a magical reaction occurred, and, just as promised, the four elemental gems began charging the orb.
Just as the beams of elemental energy soaked into the orb the temple began to quake. With little warning, the long lost Moon Temple Island was lifted from the bottom of the sea and sat once more above the waves. For the first time the band of heroes stood before the prophesied eclipse. The black sun glowed with a purple corona- Shar’s very sign hung above the world for all to see.
Energy buzzed and crackled while the Worldstone drew in more and more power. As the party watched the orb eagerly, nervously- they heard a heavy pounding on the large wooden doors of the inner sanctum. Interlopers had arrived to see Shar’s dark designs be made manifest.
Aralia summoned twisting vines keep Shar’s minions out, which slowed their assault and allowed the group to gather their wits for the attack. In time, Dark Justiciers and Cultists breached the doors. Shar’s chosen knights seared the druids' brambles with the same unholy flame that had ravaged the Silver Spoon just days ago. A bloody battle ensued with the fate of the planet hanging by a thread.
The hallowed halls echoed with clashing blades and magical chords. Vash and Dandy were keeping Shar’s knights at bay when a dark wraith coalesced in the chamber and assumed the form of a beautiful Drow maiden. Viconia, Shar’s highest priestess, whose soul Rowan had spared from oblivion, stood before them now in physical form.
Viconia called Rowan “the consort of Shar’s child” and asked him to join her in Shar’s favor. Rowan sneered at the witch’s offer and released Stellan, Kedar’s dragon familiar, from his sailing coat. Stellan proceeded to take flight and torch the justiciars and the flames of chaos grew ever higher.
The orb vibrated and produced a chromatic aura. Vash ended a Sharran acolyte’s chanting by removing his jaw from his face. Dandelion deftly manipulated the battlefield and confounded his foes. Viconia attempted to magically drain the life from Rowan but the endlessly brave Aralia jumped between them and repelled the priestess's pestilence with ease.
Viconia glanced skyward. BOOM. Something huge had struck the roof of the temple. For a moment the fighting stopped as rubble fell from the ceiling and all was quiet. A huge reptilian eye looked in from an open window before a brutal blast of starry dragon breath befell friend and foe alike. The Crimson Eight(ish) and Shar’s loyal clang to dear life while the Worldstone appeared to be reaching its apex.
The grand doors of the cloister creaked open. Under the archway stood the awful presence of the god of thieves. Mask, reborn of Jin-e, entered the room with a twisted grin. His attacks were swift and he slipped into the shadows over and over, striking and retreating.
As the orb reached its final moments of charging, Mask stepped out of the shadows before it, raised his long slender arms, and tendrils of pure darkness slithered from his fingertips into the nearly-charged orb. The image harkened back to when Sharran Cultists channeled the same dark magic into Jin-e, creating Mask. Now, it seemed, the dark magic was corrupting the orb which was meant to balance the world.
The heroes jumped to stop Mask’s corruption, but he was truly the manifestation of a god and would not be so easily stopped. Meanwhile, Rowan had been locked in a duel with Viconia. Unfortunately, the young wizard’s mercy proved to be his doom when Viconia landed a vicious blow. Rowan cried out in pain as he fell, dead, to the floor- ended by Viconia’s poisoned blade.
Rowan’s death-scream echoed through the chamber and the dragon outside, which had been trying to claw its way in through a window, went quiet. Stellan flew to the window to meet a great draconic warrior-clad in ornate golden armor- as they entered. Why did Rowan’s cry seem to halt the enormous dragon outside? Why did Stellen seemingly switch sides? Was this dragon, now dragon-warrior, Kedar? Had Kedar turned against them?
The answers grew even hazier at the draconic fighter’s next actions - resisting the psychic influence of the priestess Viconia, the warrior cut a swathe through the Sharrans. Viconia and the Dark Justiciars laid slain but it was too late- Rowan was dead and Mask’s inky darkness had consumed the orb’s radiance.
Vash buried his greatsword in the thief god’s back to little effect. Mask simply grinned and dissolved into shadow, slipping away once again.
All was lost. The heroes had played into Shar’s hands and no hope remained. The now darkened orb had reached criticality and collapsed into a black hole, slowly drawing in all matter.
Suddenly- a flash of light. Time stood still. In this, the darkest moment, a shining portal opened in the temple chamber. A group of Indistinct figures stepped out from the portal, reached for the orb, and the Crimson heroes blacked out.
When they awoke, the party found themselves alive, washed ashore an unfamiliar beach. They gathered themselves, shaking off sand and a lingering feeling of failure before recalling to the Efreeti’s Fortune.
Something aboard the ship was amiss. The ghostly crew greeted them, as did ghostly kobolds.
It was revealed that roughly twenty years had passed since the team had struck their deal with Umberlee. The heroes were now in some grim future. They marvelled at the new vastness of the ocean and the broken shores they passed. They returned to Ember Island, finding only a small part of the island remaining above the sea.


What they found was gruesome. Plague and ruin had swept over the land in the hero's absence. Jasmina, Kyoko, Rusty, Percival, and Bowie the orphan, all now hardened survivors, greeted the party and explained the state of the world. Was this the end of the story- or was this a second chance?
This hardened group had a plan for the heroes - travel to the Temple of Tymora and beg her assistance so that they may fix this broken fate.
Maybe she will see fit to send them back from whence they came -- but if not, there are many things to consider in this desolated version of the world they once knew. And if they do get sent back, how will they change the course of time with their second chance? What will they do differently to stop Shar and her followers from bringing an even worse fate to the world?
These people, their friends in the future, what will happen to them? They are a hardened, resilient crew. Not quick to smile, but quick to draw a blade. In each of their eyes is a darkness, and a tiredness that the Crimson heroes know too well. They call themselves the Red Renegades, taking up the name Bowie the Brave gave his little crew of orphans so many years ago. But now they have grown, and are the primary resistance against Shar's forces.

Report Date

30 Mar 2024