The Hunt for Scaramouche

The Path of Nightshade discovers only 6 routes the chapter could be taking. Together with The Lamplighters, they all investigate all the routes at once. The Party chooses to explore Blackshore. During the investigation, they receive a message from Svee Desh Chef that Wart has died and a mysterious assassin killed a town named Crow and their leader a black dragon named Crowraxas the Grave trying to get Bobushios attention.

Ashi spending time in the brig has friended Bowen and he helps her get some new clothes and change her current look. This is the first time she gets to decide her on her own what she wants to look like. Bowen notices that the tattoos on her arms occasionally shift and move slightly. Bowen says she is very curious and he’s explaining the way of things to her constantly. She didn’t know how to bathe in a tub, so I had to do it. She would take smoke baths in the cave she grew up in. She is fascinated by plants and flowers. She was isolated the cave her whole life and isn’t even sure how to get back there. Mother taught her everything she knows. There were other people who helped Mother, but they rarely, if ever spoke, so Mother was everything.   The party decides to head back to Lonaira to report back about the mission to The Lamplighters. Captain Holt is still there to welcome them and asks Gilly for a playdate for Gerdy and Highwing.   Randolfo looks like he hasn’t moved since the party left on the mission. He’s impressed with the success and expresses it before the part can report. He explains he had people watching as a precausionary measure. His back-up plan then shouts from across the room the Scottish Assassin with all the daughters comes in view. He is boisterously happy that he just got paid to watch and enjoy. He has a pegleg, and Rosco asks how it happens, and The Scot kidnaps Rosco for three hours to tell him the whole sordid tale.   Randolfo learns of the ledger and what Ukaru has been doing behind the scenes. Randolfo shows the web across the country of assassination attempts and chaos spreading. He take out a map and Bobushio tries to figure out which routes are being diverted away from as a clue to were the chapters are being moves. There are six routes and the party decices to split up members of the crew and The Lamplighters to investigate them all.   We would need sending stones if we want to do that. Baronvale, Blackshore, maybe the island off Baronvale, hills north of Flutel, Rosefield, or Tarragon. It seems the aren’t going to go through Ethios, so we need to we need to catch them at the chokepoints.   Bobushio is worried that if we go after Ukaru right now, he won’t be strong enough to face him. Ukaru took everything from Bobushio on just a normal day of conquest. There is worry that if they take the book right now, it will put a bigger target on Bobushio.   Randolfo is going after the book right now. Bobushio asks if we can go under the banner of The Lamplighters, and Randolfo agrees, or sit it out if you want. He gives The Shades Lamplighter vestments and disguise Bobushio. Randolfo has a potion of polymorph, but Bobushio decides to just use makeup.   As they split into groups, The Path of Nightshade party is headed to Blackshore. Each of them choose a Hippogriff to fly on, but Highwing isn’t ready even after an intense training session. Each of the groups in instucted to keep an eye out for any hint of Tuckerrath the Agitator.   It is decided that Sand, Rosco Urnon and Sky Full of Stars stay with the ship. Bowen stays with Ashi. The other six crewmember are sent out to investigate more routes with Zaim Do'Ett and two other Lamplighters. Doctor Tick, Carmela Norman and Gerrig Grimhelm go together, as do the warforged Wart, Luna with Chef Svee Desh (after verifying that his ice cream recipe is written down inside a recipe book in a hidden cabinet that can only be opened by a thrown knife). For the sending stones, we link up to Gilly’s stone that was reactivated by Paelas Oririnn in Ravenbluff.   It takes us longer than normal to get to Blackshore. After eleven days of scouring, and we’re not even halfway back to Ravenbluff. Gilly gets a message from Svee Desh. “Somebody has killed the entire town.” Chef was in the party that had gone close to Tarragon with the warforged to the desert. He wants us to come to the tiny town in the middle of nowhere called Crow between Wildmane and Boneyard.   The Path of Nightshade get on there hippogriffs, and head out immediately. Chef says they managed to escape and are hiding because a Warforged assassin discovered them, he killed this entire town, and during the scurmish Wart died. The warforged is looking for Bobushio and is waiting in the town, waiting for Bobushio. If he doesn’t show up, he’ll go to another town and kill everyone there trying to get Bobushios attention. Wart died on day fifteen of this quest.   As the party gets closer they see the warforged wearing a big hat and bright orange colored scarf, sitting atop what looks like rubble from far away. This small town was ruled by a young, evil black dragon that now lies dead in the middle of the square. The Dragonborn corpses surrounding him look abused and poor. The dragon looks far more decayed than a recent kill, so it likely had a curse or some sort of corruption.   Bobushio lands and approaches. She assassin gloates, “I decimated this village days ago, and you took this long to show up.” Bobushio goes to reply, but the warforged casts Silence on Bobushio so he can keep monologuing. He introduces himself as Scaramouche, Ukaru’s favorite assassin.   Scaramouche starts playing his flute when Bobushio summons his armor. Gilly has steady aim on him. Moz is just behind Bobushio within healing distance. Thuniel is riding her Hippogriff in circles above him, taking aim with her Oathbow. Scarmouche flies backward to the top of a building. The Lamplighters are circling with Thuniel so he is constantly flanked.   Scaramouche summons an earth elemental. Zaim starts us off and the arrows seem to have no effect. The battle is tough, but Skadamoosh is one slippery foe. He has potent earth magic and the party has a hard time hitting. The party witnesses Chef doing some music magic to charm the earth elemental.   Scaramouche opens up six huge cracks in the ground under most members of the party as he casts Earthquake, which almost kills Moz. She manages to turn into an giant eagle to save Gilly and Zaim from the crack that has opened in the earth, but then gets knocked out by Scaramouche. Luna dies as she falls into the crevace and Bobushio tells Chef to stay safe in the gap as he is very hurt.   Once the party manages to surround Scaramouche, he is provoked into fleeing. Moz entangles him and Bobushio blocks his retreat. Thuniel shoots him through the teeth and his head disconnects and his body explodes, leaving just the head. Bobushio realizes that with his head remaining, Scaramouche will eventually regenerate. They realize he is still alive and playing possum.   Thuniel smashes out his teeth and asks about the chapters. He has the chapter in his cloak. Scaramouche says that drawing Bobushio out was a two-fer for him. He just wanted to maintain his top status with Ukaru. He reveals Ukaru works under the guise of the Order of Scarabs Scaramouche has seen Ukaru in his true form. Scaramouche says he read the chapter and the rest of what he knows about Ukaru is in the Chapter 13 of The Wondering and Warnings of Hrothbert and Winifred.   Ukaru doesn’t leave his Obsidian Tower in Drakenwall. Ukaru will invite anyone in because he cannot be hurt. Only the chapter now in the hand of The Path of Nightshade reveal how he can be defeated and hurt.   In the past, Hrothbert reshapes and demon named Aku’s destiny and gets him freed by corrupting a young boy in a white robe in the forest howling like a wolf. Hrothbert comes back and reveals to Bartus that he bound the Sunderer to the tome. The book can only be read in the darkness. You have to know the secret to make the words of the book appear. The only one who can stop the unleashed demon is the White Wolf, the little boy from the past.   Moz has information from being in hell. She remembers that Jack referred to himself as the White Wolf when they asked him his name "most cannot say it properly but there are some who call me Jack". He mentioned that he wanted to defeat Aku and that is why he wants to get out of Fernia - The Sea of Fire.