Chapter 1: Dreams, Denizens and Drinking

General Summary

Our story began when the group that would soon become known as Persicorum were invited by letter to take part in a mercenary venture with a tiefling called Lyren Killian who is searching for the 'Library of the Spectre' which he believes lies in The Mammoth Peaks . A far off mountain pass on the other side of Alturis. To reach these mountains, Lyren visited the island of Umala to buy a ship... whilst Lyren did this, he asked his hired mercenaries to wait for him in the fishing town of Oar's Rest to be picked up.
The party, all taking their own routes, found themselves in the Oar's Rest tavern known as The Broken Oar, a pleasant and homely looking space owned by Irena Hupperdook, a Halfling with a Texan drawl and an emphasis on easy and cheap pub food. The party members arrived in the tavern at different times and soon were relaxing on some of the tables scattered about the space.
Eventually, drawn by the display of a drunk but cheerful goblin monk named Mimsi, the adventurers began to chat with one another. Kodo, Olympia and Thordak knew each other as they were from neighbouring towns whilst Gwydion and Mimsi had completed jobs together in the past. The final newcomer, Baralas, was a stranger to them all however.
Eventually the party began to chat with one another and get to know eachother better, all explaining that they were hired as part of the same mercenary group to work with Lyren.
At this time they were made aware of a commotion outside and saw a group of the town gearkeepers assaulting and destroying the area... seemingly going berserk.
Irena, the owner of the bar, begged the party to go out as her brother was working on the town stalls, the centre of the fight. The party agreed to (with varying levels of enthusiasm).
They went into the town centre and saw that there were three berserk gearkeepers currently. The town Crownsguard fought one of them whilst another figure in white robes and a hood with a silver rapier and a summoned shadow blade fought a gearkeeper on their own. The party decided to face the final gearkeeper that was damaging the stalls in the town centre, it was a tough fight for them but, despite Kodo taking significant damage at one point, the party emerged victorious and saved Irena's brother in the process.
During the fight, the nearby mines of Oar Mountain were also a scene of chaos as the miners began to evacuate and rushed out of the mountain en-masse as one of them angrily shouted at the group for leaving his partner behind.
The party took Irena's brother back to the inn and Irena promised them free rooms and board as thanks for their help. After this, the party decided it was time to investigate what exactly happened with the Gearkeepers.
They did this by speaking to the leader of Oar's Rest Crownsguard, a Drow called Helmed Crown Layla. Thordak and Kodo spoke to her and she explained that the town artificer was Isadora Schmitt and that, in the evening Layla was going to interrogate her to see what happened and invited Kodo and Thordak to join her. They agreed to this and, as they left, Layla warned them that the white robed fighter was the Oar's Rest Inquisitor, Inquisitor Dairon.
Gwydion decided to wander the town and get a feel for things whilst Mimsi and Olympia stayed in the inn, they were focused on improving morale amongst the scared and shocked miners and so Olympia started performing with Mimsi rousing up the people of the bar to drink and dance. Soon enough, with a very strong Olympia performance check, the tavern had started drinking and partying, becoming merry in order to overcome their fear and sadness. As they partied, Baralas spoke to the Dwarf miner he'd seen angrily asking for help in finding his friend. Baralas took the Dwarf aside, who explained their name was Steep Digger, and he discovered that, as the Gearkeeper bots went wild, the Digger bots (creations made to assist the Oar's Rest miners) also went berserk. Steep and his partner Steppen went after their digger bot only for Steep to see his partner get swallowed up by the ground and vanish. Baralas agreed that, tomorrow morning, he would discuss this with his new friends and they'll see if they can help find Steep's friend.
Kodo, Gwydion and Thordak returned to The Broken Oar as the party was still in full swing and Baralas was seemingly trying to trance for a short time. They interrupted his trance so that they could chat amongst themselves and, notably, by this point, many of the group were intoxicated.
The group discussed what they were going to do next and decided to see how things played out with Layla and Isadora before making a decision on whether or not to involve themselves in the job at Oar's Rest.
With that, the group relaxed together for a time before splitting up once more to go about their own business.
That evening, Kodo and Thordak met the Helmed Crown outside Isadora's workshop and were asked to wait outside as Layla went to speak to Isadora alone at first. Gwydion eavesdropped from the roof where he observed Layla exchange the greeting of the denizens with Isadora before she revealed that she was in on the plan to drive the Gearkeepers berserk and was working with the Denizens to assault Oar's Rest. She rebuked Isadora for 'acting too soon' before explaining that she was planning on sending the party out to sea on a job to ensure Oar's Rest was completely vulnerable.
After that, Kodo and Thordak spoke to Isadora who eventually came clean after being threatened by Thordak. They learned she had been paid by an outsider to use strange black cursed crystals known as denizen shards on the automatons for the denizens in the Oar Mountain. Thordak and Kodo advised her to pack a bag and leave... she's been compromised and they don't want her to get hurt or arrested for being a fool. They also found a box of denizen shards in her basement which they took with them to show the party.
Back at the inn, they discussed the interrogation and revealed the box still filled with the black shards. Olympia felt drawn to them for an unknown reason and took one (Gwydion took one as well)and they both felt the shard influence them with curses that affected their minds.
The party eventually resolved to find the local inquisitor and speak to her about these shards, they tracked down Inquisitor Dairon. 
As the rest of the group found Inquisitor Dairon Gwydion investigated Isadora's house and found that she was missing with a half packed suitcase and a trail of blood that led to the cellar that was seemingly buried in earth. He also found materials to make firearm ammunition.
Dairon confiscated the party's denizen shards from them as evidence as well as explaining to Olympia and Gwydion that, by the next time they meet, they will not possess any Aist mage items. At that point Dairon began to head towards Isadora Schmitt's house. The party ran ahead whilst Olympia distracted Dairon with a song about how great the inquisitors are as well as asking Dairon for info on 'how to inquisitor'.
The party's investigation didn't reveal anything of note, until they realised the cellar was no longer a shallow pit of earth but now a wine cellar with a deep crack in the side of the room that seemed to lead to far deeper beneath the earth than it should.
At that point the party heard Olympia and Dairon approach so left the house to hide. A moment later Dairon took control of Olympia's mind and locked every door and window in the workshop before leading Olympia into the basement where Dairon transformed into a Barlgura... an underdark denizen monstrosity.
The party joined Olympia and killed the Barlgura that seemed to be disguised as an imposter Dairon.
After this the party FINALLY slept and ended day 1 in Oar's Rest.
Day 2 came and the party agreed to help Steep find his 'friend' Steppen who was lost in the oar mountain. Notably, Gwydion had little interest in helping Steep due to the lack of 'real reward' though the party voted to help in 'the name of love'.
As they moved they went through a wall of gems that Olympia and Mimsi both took deep interest in that almost killed Gwydion. After that they investigated the space where Steppen 'disappeared' and, through some ingenuitive tactics by Baralas and his alcohol, they realised a creature under the ground was swallowing people up and seemed to be attracted by the scents of alcohol... almost like a trap.
As they turned around they realised Steep had fled in the moment they were piecing it together.
They went into another tunnel underneath and assaulted the creature, a bullette that was infused with a denizen shard, they killed the creature once before it seemingly came back to life and assaulted the party once more. During the fight, Kodo noticed that there was a figure amidst a large pile of bones and corpses... offerings to the bullette. Steppen was within, exhausted and enraged.
Eventually, Thordak went inside the bullette and attacked the heart, destroying the shard within and finally killing the creature.
They healed Steppen and he revealed that Steep was a traitor and a snake who lured Steppen into being caught by the bullette and he's the reason several miners have disappeared. Steppen promised the party 500gp for making sure Steep was dealt with.
The party tracked down Steep Digger and did a BUNCH OF AWFUL THINGS TO THE GUY as he revealed that he was hired by the Denizens to test the bullette on individuals as well as revealing the denizens had a very powerful weapon that they were intending on using to execute the village of oar's rest.
They escorted Steep Digger to Inquisitor Dairon who thanked the party and gave them Steep's magical dagger which Olympia took. The Inquisitor promised the party they would return in a day with information from Steep and likely hire the party for more work.
After that the party returned to the tavern and had a raging argument over how they should function together as a team and how they should discuss these things in the future with each other. To resolve tensions (momentarily) Baralas made the party make up with one another and stay in the same room for the night. With all but Gwydion agreeing.
That night, Mimsi had a dream that she was watching a strange child, kept deep beneath the Oar Mountains... it seemed the child was bald, female and incredibly magical, a prisoner of the Denizens. The Goblin woke outside the Oar Mountain alone and in the dark. She sprinted back to the inn and woke the party at once, telling them what happened and that she knew there was a child within the mountain.
The party couldn't agree on what to do as they tried to calm down Mimsi's panicked state and discussed either going immediately or waiting for Dairon. This led to Gwydion and Thordak almost coming to blows (again) at which Gwydion left, with Thordak following a while later.
Gwydion went to Oar Mountain and moved through the tunnels, the first was incorrect and he felt the frightening presence of a figure breathing onto his neck, as though directly behind him. He left that tunnel and chose a different one that led him to a broken digger bot and a 100ft deep pit.
The party eventually caught up and, while some immediately helped Gwydion, Mimsi and Olympia decided to throw the digger bot down the pit, destroying it and revealing the underdark beneath. An endlessly dark cavern filled with whispers. The party descended and soon came across the temple Mimsi recognised from her dream.
The party realised it was heavily guarded and attempted to enter by pretending to be Layla. Something that Baralas did well until they were inside... then all fucking hell broke loose.
Combat everywhere as the party fought denizen drow and even driders. It was a near tpk, especially when Kodo was mind controlled, but luckily the party chose to strike a deal with a Drow woman there. Denizen General Chaln'ilee... or 'Chardonnay' as Mimsi called her... She took the denizen general shard from around the neck of one of the dead drow in the room and asked that, when the party save the child, they are to leave behind the shard.
The party went below, where they found more drow waiting and were soon led to the cellar where Mimsi found the girl from her dream, she extracted the black crystal from the girls chest and the girl transported the party back to the surface. She told the party she was an elder brain from another world that was trapped by the denizens and treated like a production line by Helmed Crown Layla to mass produce denizen shards, she expresses to the party that if they ever find themselves in a land of purple and black then they should get in touch with her. Mimsi called the girl 'Dream' as a way to remember the elder brain.
After this, the party returned to the inn and took a long rest, waking up later in the morning than usual.
The party woke and had breakfast in the broken oar where they heard a procession outside as Xander and Ivanka were preparing for their wedding feast and wanted to hire any in the village who could hunt... the party signed up immediately. It goes without saying. With Thordak choosing not to take part and instead relax by the sun and do some fishing and reading with Paw Caw.
The rest of the party headed into the forests and found three sets of tracks: Deer, triceratops and T-Rex. The party discussed for a while before deciding to go investigate the t-rex tracks. They snuck up on the sleeping creature but spent so much time discussing and debating what to do next that the beast woke up and, with an enraged roar, the battle started.
The party fled soon after, with Gwydion using himself as bait to draw the t-rex away from the rest of the party.
Eventually, through magic by Olympia, Gwydion's unfailing luck and Barallas' fear that he'd got his friend killed. The party escaped and met back up again. They slaughtered a field of deer as their wedding contribution and returned to the village.
While fishing, Thordak read his book on a barbarian horde known as the 'Utrunks' and learned that his family were once the leaders of the horde and that they have a celestial bloodline blessed by Pelor.
When the party met back up Gwydion was injured and so was taken to Gwynithar who heals him up without cost. The party discuss what happened and decide to all go shopping for fancy clothes for the wedding... it works and they all look fly AF for the event.
Before they head out, Dairon returns and learns they already completed the job she was going to hire them for and so she gives them a reward of a single magic item each. After that, she asks if they will investigate Helmed Crown Layla's home to find evidence she is a Aist mage so Dairon can arrest her and ensure that she no longer fucks with Oar's Rest. She offers the party 1000gp to do it and they agree both for the money and to ensure that a corrupt town guard can't ruin Oar's Rest.
They agree to investigate Layla's home before the wedding.
CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 1 FINALE

Report Date

20 Sep 2020