The Adventure So Far
Plot points/Scenes
Table of Contents
Upon arriving at the Jessup farm, the party was greeted by a middle-aged country bumpkin by the name of Davron Jessup, singular owner of the Jessup farm. They had a brief and uninformative conversation with him about the ruins, gathering that there were indeed ruins (that may, or may not be haunted) and that ever since he had found them strange noises have plagued the outskirts of his farm. The party also discovered that another party had gone ahead of them and had yet to return. Deciding that haste was the appropriate response to the situation, the party immediately journeyed into the woods in search of the ruins. While traveling, the party was repeatedly compelled to confusion by some strange happenings in the wood, that only Hiaya's hound Taiki was able to save them from. Along with the misdirection compulsion, the passage of time also seemed to be skewed, causing nightfall to come much faster than it should have. While taking a precautionary rest, the night's watch, Jack and Nephali Anders let a few monstrously large spiders slip past them and into Tassarion Agis's tent! Managing to wake from his nightly stasis with alacrity, the Elf was able to avoid being wrapped up and consumed in the spider's lair, alerting his party so they could quickly dispatch the creatures.
The next morning, the party was able to locate the ruins. They were dilapidated and overgrown with nature, giving off an ancient barrow or abandoned keep feel. The party underwent quite a few battles with disppraportionately sized vermin: rats, centipedes, scorpions, and their ilk. After fighting past the enormous wildlife, they came to a room that had caved in, leaving it bare to the canopy and outside flora.
There they found the previous adventuring party... headless. Tassarion carefully inspected the room, making sure to stay as quiet as possible. He found a tree with a short sword inside it, bearing a mysterious symbol and more bodies in the forest beyond the broken wall. When he began to loot a corpse for valuables, however, small Fey descended upon him with a hideous shriek that immobilized much of the party. Only by divine grace did he live through their onslaught while his allies rushed to his aid. After laying low the enemies, Jack sadly informed the party that they were most likely driven mad by the iron that pierced one of their sacred life trees, something that is bound to them much like a dryad is to her tree. The party inspected the sword and its strange scratched-out three crown symbol. It could have belonged to anyone, but Tassarion, being a member of the military, recognized it as an Altrian Military insignia that had a large x-shaped gash etched into it... mysterious indeed!
After resupplying at the local apothecary, the party is able to find a boat that will transport them to Philos if they provide protection while they are aboard. The trip is normally peaceful, but two days into the journey the boat is abruptly shaken, knocking Hiaya and Tassarion into the water! Quick on her feet, Nephali dives in after them in an attempt to minimize any injuries. To her surprise, she is stared down by two frog-like entities and an enormous catfish! After a treacherous battle that nearly drown Tassarion and Jack, who had jumped into the water to assist his allies, the silent spellsword Errakir identified the frog-like creatures as nixies. Jack and Errakir confirm that this is atypical behavior for nixies and that the fey's recent behavior is more than just coincidence.
When the party finally reaches the city of Philos they quickly set out to explore the town and stretch their sea-legs. Most of the party sets out for the various sights, but Errakir and Tassarion head straight to the blacksmith: Sosandro. Among other things, the duo inquires about the military blade and its strange etchings. Sosandro is a busy man and, for a small fee, is willing to carve out some time to disassemble the sword and look for its issuance number. Seeing Sosandro is a professional, the two agree and leave the blade with smith until morning. Later in the evening the party converged on the Wizard's Alehouse. What they were told was an inn, however, turns out to be more of a tavern that simply moonlights as an inn. On every table there was buxom barmaids in unrealistically revealing wizard's robes. The party made the most of their lodgings before nodding off for the night, save for Errakir who preferred sleeping somewhere quieter: the ally across the way.
Not long after hitting the hay, Douglass, Tassarion, and Errakir noticed that they were being watched by shady figures upon the rooftops. A chase ensued, Errakir on the streets and the Isliari natives on the rooftops. They tracked the spies to the market ward where Douglass confronted them immediately, causing a brawl that left Tassarion unconscious and bleeding. Though two got away, one of which was a spellcaster, the trio managed to round up three prisoners. Douglass interrogated them, yielding very little information: save for a metal placard marked with three crowns, carefully x'd out. When the constables were near, Douglass knocked one of the prisoners unconscious while Errakir slit the other's throat. Unfortunately the third prisoner escaped in the last moments. The next morning the party briefed each other on the night before and decided it was best they skip town immediately. Tassarion picked up the blade from Sosandro and was able to obtain the blade's identification number. Sosandro told him that the Grand Library in Godhome would hold all the identification numbers for every blade issued by the military, giving the party a clear direction to head in while they fled town and their apparent pursuers.
Disembarking the ship, the party found themselves in a small outpost created for the specific purpose of harboring ships during severe storms and storing non-perishable goods for the passing merchant vessels to pick up and ship. They spent the night behind the fort's safe walls and, the next morning, Nephali Anders announced that she would continue south with the Jolly Peryton, in hopes to join a voyage to Isliari. Saying their sad goodbyes, the party left the fort and set a good pace, falling into a routine of traveling for long periods before setting up camp, joining up with the occasional caravan that happened to be going along the same direction as they were.
Roughly three weeks into the journey towards Godhome, the party encountered a band of Rovers and a pack of Gnolls hastily making their way towards the north. Errakir found this especially odd, as Rovers generally do not find themselves much further north than the Altrian border and Tassarion Agis, being a military man himself, concurred that this was indeed abnormal.
It was not until the unusual group made it closer that they party recognized they were being chased by a group of avian monsters. Indeed; by the time the party made it to the caravan, two Harpies had escaped, along with a Fury who had kidnapped the caravan leader's brother: Garrick. Though he tried his best, Gnash, the caravan leader, was unable to keep pace with the adventurers due to an old battle wound. They promised they would do their best to return his brother and ventured forth into a small wooded area that they had tracked the Fury to.
Once inside the forest, the harpies' beautiful song ensnared Douglass and Tassarion. Hiaya Yuurekka knocked the charmed Tassarion unconscious in a single blow, right before she managed to obliterate one of the harpies that Errakir had just de-winged. Even a charmed Douglass thought it was better to take her "advice" and just stay put for a while. The second harpy knew it had been beat and directed the party towards the Fury in exchange for its life.
The party finally entered a clearing within the wood, finding a sobbing man, stripped of his clothing. He leaned upon a large rock and, as the party approached it, the Fury descended upon them from above. The beast fought hard, but it was no match for the combined might of the heroes and they slaughtered it where it stood. When they approached Garrick after the battle, they discovered that the rock he was leaning against was actually an enormous egg... a harpy egg. Despite the horrific events that had occurred, the party delivered Garrick to his brother along with his half-beast child. Rovers are resilient, and the party had simply provided another misfit to call family in the eyes of the caravan leader. Errakir elected to stay behind with the Rovers as protection, though ultimately he knew that where Rovers travel, good trade a coin tend to flow. A job well done, the party continued on their way towards Godhome, less one member and only a few days behind schedule.
Their search of the city led them to the town square, where they came upon a strange, masked man bestowing cursed powers upon a familiar face: the wizard who had escaped Tassarion, Douglass, and Errakir back in Philos. Just as the party was about to strike, an ear-splitting crack rang out as a canonball ricocheted off a previously invisible magic barrier surrounding the two figures. Tassarion was able to make out a small form carrying a portable canon with her. This started a string of events that led to the disappearance of the Masked Man and the unholy raising of the entire town's populace as undead. The party was eventually able to put down the wizard and break his hold on the town's residents.
After the battle, the party introduced themselves to the newcomer who happened to be one Roza Underspeaker. Having many, many tales to tell, she accompanied the party the remainder of their uneventful journey to the capital city of Godhome. Once inside the city, Roza took her leave to deliver the canon to the Knights of Godhome. Accompanied by Jack, she walked directly through the guards and into the central sanctum of the Knight's leader: Barnabas Flanders. A brief interaction left Jack starstruck as he returned to the party sans Roza.
The rest of the day was spent mulling about the library while Tassarion got the information about the sword they have been carrying. Or rather, they would have spent the day mulling about had Hiaya not challenged Douglass to jump to the top shelf of a bookshelf, essentially destroying it. Forced to wait outside for Tassarion to complete his business, the party eventually learned that the sword was made in southern Godhome for a man named Soren Magara, a scout captain for the Altrian Military, but not before a mysterious figure slipped a coin with strange markings and an address on it.
Later that night, while the party slept at the Dilly's Dally, Tassarion snuck out to the address on the coin and met a mysterious man who provided him information regarding his inquiries at seemingly no cost. He also warned that a powerful fey is attempting to pit Mab and Altria against each other. His only request was that Tassarion assassinate a rebellion leader, Damon Jataris, in a town just south of Godhome named Tarassis. Tassarion filled his party in on this information, leaving his source out of the conversation at the man's request.
a dart from afar. Chasing after him, the party tracked the assassin to the storage facility behind the town used to keep all their grains. A small mission of stealth by Tassarion and a stylish pile-driver by Douglass later, the small band of turncoats that had been using the storage facility as a gathering point unveiled their true hideout: the old Berkshire estate.
After much scouting of the estate's premises, the party ventured inside and waded through the variety of traps that had been laid out in home. While most traps were avoided, a magical rug trap, which transformed a skinned tiger into an animated facsimile of the real thing sprung to life and attacked Tassarion, but with the help of his allies, he managed to escape. After navigating the spiral stairs to the top floor, a false panel with a chute was discovered, which the party swiftly descended into.
Once in the base, the party found a stockpile of loot and weapons that they sorted through before being attacked by members of the anti-Altrian group.
It took some time to navigate the surprisingly extensive underground base, but eventually after many fights and encounters, the party made it to the end. It was here that they began to hear singing, which lulled Tassarion, Douglass, and even Hiaya into a sense of false security. They stumbled into a room filled with water to find themselves face-to-face with a mythical siren! Their battle was fierce, but eventually they slew her and they were able to defeat Damon Jataris as well. Mission complete, the party has only to report back in Godhome.
After his brief introduction, he asked the rowdy adventurers to accompany him on a night of drunken revelry, to which they immediately agree. Competitions, revelry, and dancing ensued, sweeping a whole district of Godhome up in the shenanigans. During this time, the distraction allowed Tassarion Agis to slip out unnoticed and meet up with his secret contact, revealed to be Alexander Tombs. Alexander, an honored and decorated veteran of the Altrian Military, introduced Tassarion to the Augur: one Alwyn Dramriel. They offered Tassarion a place among their organization, the Tenets of the Augur. He accepted and sealed the deal with the brand of the tenets.
The next morning, the party awoke to the sound of Roza Underspeaker happily prancing into the main room of the tavern. She delivered them a message from Luke Flanders who said he must speak to them at once in the Ivory Citadel. Quickly brushing off the dust and disorderlyness of the night before, the party rushed after Roza and to be introduced to the son of Altria's greatest hero. At the brisk pace only an excited Pukiri can maintain, Roza sped off to the center of Godhome, party in tow.
Upon arriving, the party was taken to one of the grand halls of the cathedral. Inside, Luke waited to greet them. He explained that due to the recent attack and other events around Altria he was incredibly short-handed and required aid. He signed them generous waivers worth 10,000 gold pieces and a letter addressed to the Mab, Queen of Air and Darkness. Before he was able to hand off the letter, Luke was captured by the Masked Man, who was not keen on Luke disrupting his plans to create unrest between the Unseelie Court and Altria. After teleporting away from the party, the masked man leaves a parting gift: fallen fey with the ability absorb the existence of mortals. After a particularly grueling battle, Jack comforted Roza at the lost of her dear friend and swears he will bring Luke back.
The next few days following the kindapping of Luke Flanders was spent by the party preparing for an all-out assault, gearing up and searching for items to aid them on their journey. While Tassarion Agis went looking for a new set of adamantine swords, Jack Goodfellow and Hiaya Yuurekka sought out wondrous items to boost their offensive capabilities. Knowing the majority of the items he needed were back in Kondai, Douglass sought out Hung Bao and purchased a few items secondhand from the legendary monk.
Well equipped and prepared for battle, the party began their three week journey south to the Witchwood. Their journey was mostly uneventful, save for their stumbling accross an Unseelie village. All seemed well at first, but assassins were sent in the night to take out the party. Luckily Tassarion is ever vigilant and caught the intruders on the other side of the door. The battle was hard fought and in the end the party was victorious, not without sacrifices, however. Hiaya suffered a vicious blow at the hands of a particularly audacious faerie, who landed a glancing blow on her spine, paralyzing the Konshi warrior from the waist down.
The party unknowingly carried their wounded party member the remainder of the way to the Unseelie Court, crossing its ivory arches after solving the riddle of two obnoxious pixies. They were granted audience with the Queen, who showed her distaste for Jack's allegiances but was ultimately willing to hear the party out, be it for amusement or for devious means unknown. The party informed her that a member of her own court, the now revealed Lord of Blackwillow was plotting a war between the Unseelie and Altria. Seeing this as an affront to her rule, she ordered him killed but, through means unknown, he escaped. She tasked the party to bring her his head, restoring Hiaya with the Mark of Hoarfrost. Now restored, Hiaya seeks vengeance and the party heads deeper into the Witchwood in search of the Lord's son, hoping to find new information about their destination before journeying into Blackwillow.
- The Adventure Begins
- Ruins Outside the Jessup Farm
- Riverboat to Philos
- Road to Godhome
- Elleah Burns, the Arrival at Godhome
- Tarrassis and the Berkshire Estate
- Return to Godhome
- Which Wood? The Witchwood.
The Adventure Begins
While traveling through northeastern Altria, word got to the adventurers through the usual means: bards, campfire talk, and other forms of adventurer gossip, that a farmer from the town of Arvar recently discovered some old ruins on the edge of the Wildwood. Any good adventurer knows that where there is old ruins there tends to be even older loot! So, looking for a taste of adventure or perhaps some coins to pad their pockets the adventurers headed to the town of Arvar with hopes of getting into the ruins before other daring delvers beat them to the punch... and the gold!Ruins Outside the Jessup Farm
The adventurers awoke in the Old Stables, Arvar's only inn. While they ate their home cooked meal, courtesy of the buxom, yet sassy innkeeper Belinda, a shorter-than-average Dwarf by the name of Douglass worked hard to make friends, but was quickly shut down by a cold-shoulder from the Konshi samurai: Hiaya Yuurekka. Seeing that at least someone was friendly around these parts Jack Goodfellow, a semi-frequent patron of the Old Stables quickly introduced himself to everyone with a reckless abandon for all manners and social queues. After brief talks, the adventurers discovered that they were all planning to attempt the ruins that the local gossip had informed them of. Finding strength in numbers, they set off for the Jessup farm together.Upon arriving at the Jessup farm, the party was greeted by a middle-aged country bumpkin by the name of Davron Jessup, singular owner of the Jessup farm. They had a brief and uninformative conversation with him about the ruins, gathering that there were indeed ruins (that may, or may not be haunted) and that ever since he had found them strange noises have plagued the outskirts of his farm. The party also discovered that another party had gone ahead of them and had yet to return. Deciding that haste was the appropriate response to the situation, the party immediately journeyed into the woods in search of the ruins. While traveling, the party was repeatedly compelled to confusion by some strange happenings in the wood, that only Hiaya's hound Taiki was able to save them from. Along with the misdirection compulsion, the passage of time also seemed to be skewed, causing nightfall to come much faster than it should have. While taking a precautionary rest, the night's watch, Jack and Nephali Anders let a few monstrously large spiders slip past them and into Tassarion Agis's tent! Managing to wake from his nightly stasis with alacrity, the Elf was able to avoid being wrapped up and consumed in the spider's lair, alerting his party so they could quickly dispatch the creatures.
The next morning, the party was able to locate the ruins. They were dilapidated and overgrown with nature, giving off an ancient barrow or abandoned keep feel. The party underwent quite a few battles with disppraportionately sized vermin: rats, centipedes, scorpions, and their ilk. After fighting past the enormous wildlife, they came to a room that had caved in, leaving it bare to the canopy and outside flora.
Riverboat to Philos
After exiting the ruins, the party returned to Davron Jessup to report of their success and the previous party's unfortunate demise. While sad to hear of their deaths, Davron offers his stables up for the party to rest for the night, knowing they have had a rough few days. At dawn the next day they return to the Old Stables inn in Arvar, where Tassarion inquires about the sword and symbol the party located in the ruins. The local blacksmith is able to confirm that the blade is indeed of Altrian Military make and points them in the direction of a prestigious blacksmith downriver on the coast of Altria, in the port city of Philos.After resupplying at the local apothecary, the party is able to find a boat that will transport them to Philos if they provide protection while they are aboard. The trip is normally peaceful, but two days into the journey the boat is abruptly shaken, knocking Hiaya and Tassarion into the water! Quick on her feet, Nephali dives in after them in an attempt to minimize any injuries. To her surprise, she is stared down by two frog-like entities and an enormous catfish! After a treacherous battle that nearly drown Tassarion and Jack, who had jumped into the water to assist his allies, the silent spellsword Errakir identified the frog-like creatures as nixies. Jack and Errakir confirm that this is atypical behavior for nixies and that the fey's recent behavior is more than just coincidence.
When the party finally reaches the city of Philos they quickly set out to explore the town and stretch their sea-legs. Most of the party sets out for the various sights, but Errakir and Tassarion head straight to the blacksmith: Sosandro. Among other things, the duo inquires about the military blade and its strange etchings. Sosandro is a busy man and, for a small fee, is willing to carve out some time to disassemble the sword and look for its issuance number. Seeing Sosandro is a professional, the two agree and leave the blade with smith until morning. Later in the evening the party converged on the Wizard's Alehouse. What they were told was an inn, however, turns out to be more of a tavern that simply moonlights as an inn. On every table there was buxom barmaids in unrealistically revealing wizard's robes. The party made the most of their lodgings before nodding off for the night, save for Errakir who preferred sleeping somewhere quieter: the ally across the way.
Not long after hitting the hay, Douglass, Tassarion, and Errakir noticed that they were being watched by shady figures upon the rooftops. A chase ensued, Errakir on the streets and the Isliari natives on the rooftops. They tracked the spies to the market ward where Douglass confronted them immediately, causing a brawl that left Tassarion unconscious and bleeding. Though two got away, one of which was a spellcaster, the trio managed to round up three prisoners. Douglass interrogated them, yielding very little information: save for a metal placard marked with three crowns, carefully x'd out. When the constables were near, Douglass knocked one of the prisoners unconscious while Errakir slit the other's throat. Unfortunately the third prisoner escaped in the last moments. The next morning the party briefed each other on the night before and decided it was best they skip town immediately. Tassarion picked up the blade from Sosandro and was able to obtain the blade's identification number. Sosandro told him that the Grand Library in Godhome would hold all the identification numbers for every blade issued by the military, giving the party a clear direction to head in while they fled town and their apparent pursuers.
The Road to Godhome
The party decided their best option was to leave town by sea, charting a ship to the south, effectively shortening their journey to Godhome. Offering their protection in exchange for a discounted rate, they boarded the Jolly Peryton, a merchant vessel owned by one Captain Jeremy Taigan Kruk. They sailed aboard his ship for six days peacefully, until they were attacked by Kua-Toa, nefarious deep sea fish-folk. With a little effort, the party was able to fend them off. Jack Goodfellow took quite a beating, but was able to heal up before they departed the boat two days later.Disembarking the ship, the party found themselves in a small outpost created for the specific purpose of harboring ships during severe storms and storing non-perishable goods for the passing merchant vessels to pick up and ship. They spent the night behind the fort's safe walls and, the next morning, Nephali Anders announced that she would continue south with the Jolly Peryton, in hopes to join a voyage to Isliari. Saying their sad goodbyes, the party left the fort and set a good pace, falling into a routine of traveling for long periods before setting up camp, joining up with the occasional caravan that happened to be going along the same direction as they were.
Roughly three weeks into the journey towards Godhome, the party encountered a band of Rovers and a pack of Gnolls hastily making their way towards the north. Errakir found this especially odd, as Rovers generally do not find themselves much further north than the Altrian border and Tassarion Agis, being a military man himself, concurred that this was indeed abnormal.
It was not until the unusual group made it closer that they party recognized they were being chased by a group of avian monsters. Indeed; by the time the party made it to the caravan, two Harpies had escaped, along with a Fury who had kidnapped the caravan leader's brother: Garrick. Though he tried his best, Gnash, the caravan leader, was unable to keep pace with the adventurers due to an old battle wound. They promised they would do their best to return his brother and ventured forth into a small wooded area that they had tracked the Fury to.
Once inside the forest, the harpies' beautiful song ensnared Douglass and Tassarion. Hiaya Yuurekka knocked the charmed Tassarion unconscious in a single blow, right before she managed to obliterate one of the harpies that Errakir had just de-winged. Even a charmed Douglass thought it was better to take her "advice" and just stay put for a while. The second harpy knew it had been beat and directed the party towards the Fury in exchange for its life.
The party finally entered a clearing within the wood, finding a sobbing man, stripped of his clothing. He leaned upon a large rock and, as the party approached it, the Fury descended upon them from above. The beast fought hard, but it was no match for the combined might of the heroes and they slaughtered it where it stood. When they approached Garrick after the battle, they discovered that the rock he was leaning against was actually an enormous egg... a harpy egg. Despite the horrific events that had occurred, the party delivered Garrick to his brother along with his half-beast child. Rovers are resilient, and the party had simply provided another misfit to call family in the eyes of the caravan leader. Errakir elected to stay behind with the Rovers as protection, though ultimately he knew that where Rovers travel, good trade a coin tend to flow. A job well done, the party continued on their way towards Godhome, less one member and only a few days behind schedule.
Elleah Burns, the Arrival at Godhome
Not long into their journey the party discovered that their halfway point, the city of Elleah, is burning. They heard the screams of the town's denizens and then, all at once, the screams dissipated entirely. Fearing the worst, the party rushed to the city to search for survivors. Tassarion scouted ahead, but was unable to find any living soul.Their search of the city led them to the town square, where they came upon a strange, masked man bestowing cursed powers upon a familiar face: the wizard who had escaped Tassarion, Douglass, and Errakir back in Philos. Just as the party was about to strike, an ear-splitting crack rang out as a canonball ricocheted off a previously invisible magic barrier surrounding the two figures. Tassarion was able to make out a small form carrying a portable canon with her. This started a string of events that led to the disappearance of the Masked Man and the unholy raising of the entire town's populace as undead. The party was eventually able to put down the wizard and break his hold on the town's residents.
After the battle, the party introduced themselves to the newcomer who happened to be one Roza Underspeaker. Having many, many tales to tell, she accompanied the party the remainder of their uneventful journey to the capital city of Godhome. Once inside the city, Roza took her leave to deliver the canon to the Knights of Godhome. Accompanied by Jack, she walked directly through the guards and into the central sanctum of the Knight's leader: Barnabas Flanders. A brief interaction left Jack starstruck as he returned to the party sans Roza.
The rest of the day was spent mulling about the library while Tassarion got the information about the sword they have been carrying. Or rather, they would have spent the day mulling about had Hiaya not challenged Douglass to jump to the top shelf of a bookshelf, essentially destroying it. Forced to wait outside for Tassarion to complete his business, the party eventually learned that the sword was made in southern Godhome for a man named Soren Magara, a scout captain for the Altrian Military, but not before a mysterious figure slipped a coin with strange markings and an address on it.
Later that night, while the party slept at the Dilly's Dally, Tassarion snuck out to the address on the coin and met a mysterious man who provided him information regarding his inquiries at seemingly no cost. He also warned that a powerful fey is attempting to pit Mab and Altria against each other. His only request was that Tassarion assassinate a rebellion leader, Damon Jataris, in a town just south of Godhome named Tarassis. Tassarion filled his party in on this information, leaving his source out of the conversation at the man's request.
Tarassis and the Berkshire Estate
After briefing the party about Damon Jataris, they began to gather supplies and abruptly headed to Tarassis. In roughly three days, the party was sitting in a tavern full of locals and soldiers in the center of their destination. Using his keen social skills, Jack was able to asertain that one of the soldiers knew about Damon Jataris. As the soldier tried to leave without spilling the details, Hiaya, using her keen intimidation skills, picked the man up and slammed him into the wall. He quickly spilled the details, but was poisoned byAfter much scouting of the estate's premises, the party ventured inside and waded through the variety of traps that had been laid out in home. While most traps were avoided, a magical rug trap, which transformed a skinned tiger into an animated facsimile of the real thing sprung to life and attacked Tassarion, but with the help of his allies, he managed to escape. After navigating the spiral stairs to the top floor, a false panel with a chute was discovered, which the party swiftly descended into.
Once in the base, the party found a stockpile of loot and weapons that they sorted through before being attacked by members of the anti-Altrian group.
Return to Godhome
The party, wrapping up its journey in Tarassis, returned to Godhome with no trouble. Arriving late in the night, they headed back to their last destination: the Dilly's Dally. The crowd had changed while they were gone, soldiers being replaced by what appeared to be a wandering band of monks. Flexing his friendly nature, Douglass introduced himself to the group. He and Hiaya Yuurekka were quickly star struck as one of Kondai's legends, Hung Bao was among them. He explained that he went missing to escape his fame and found himself caught up in the world of brewing.
After his brief introduction, he asked the rowdy adventurers to accompany him on a night of drunken revelry, to which they immediately agree. Competitions, revelry, and dancing ensued, sweeping a whole district of Godhome up in the shenanigans. During this time, the distraction allowed Tassarion Agis to slip out unnoticed and meet up with his secret contact, revealed to be Alexander Tombs. Alexander, an honored and decorated veteran of the Altrian Military, introduced Tassarion to the Augur: one Alwyn Dramriel. They offered Tassarion a place among their organization, the Tenets of the Augur. He accepted and sealed the deal with the brand of the tenets.
The next morning, the party awoke to the sound of Roza Underspeaker happily prancing into the main room of the tavern. She delivered them a message from Luke Flanders who said he must speak to them at once in the Ivory Citadel. Quickly brushing off the dust and disorderlyness of the night before, the party rushed after Roza and to be introduced to the son of Altria's greatest hero. At the brisk pace only an excited Pukiri can maintain, Roza sped off to the center of Godhome, party in tow.
Upon arriving, the party was taken to one of the grand halls of the cathedral. Inside, Luke waited to greet them. He explained that due to the recent attack and other events around Altria he was incredibly short-handed and required aid. He signed them generous waivers worth 10,000 gold pieces and a letter addressed to the Mab, Queen of Air and Darkness. Before he was able to hand off the letter, Luke was captured by the Masked Man, who was not keen on Luke disrupting his plans to create unrest between the Unseelie Court and Altria. After teleporting away from the party, the masked man leaves a parting gift: fallen fey with the ability absorb the existence of mortals. After a particularly grueling battle, Jack comforted Roza at the lost of her dear friend and swears he will bring Luke back.
Which Wood? The Witchwood.
Well equipped and prepared for battle, the party began their three week journey south to the Witchwood. Their journey was mostly uneventful, save for their stumbling accross an Unseelie village. All seemed well at first, but assassins were sent in the night to take out the party. Luckily Tassarion is ever vigilant and caught the intruders on the other side of the door. The battle was hard fought and in the end the party was victorious, not without sacrifices, however. Hiaya suffered a vicious blow at the hands of a particularly audacious faerie, who landed a glancing blow on her spine, paralyzing the Konshi warrior from the waist down.
The party unknowingly carried their wounded party member the remainder of the way to the Unseelie Court, crossing its ivory arches after solving the riddle of two obnoxious pixies. They were granted audience with the Queen, who showed her distaste for Jack's allegiances but was ultimately willing to hear the party out, be it for amusement or for devious means unknown. The party informed her that a member of her own court, the now revealed Lord of Blackwillow was plotting a war between the Unseelie and Altria. Seeing this as an affront to her rule, she ordered him killed but, through means unknown, he escaped. She tasked the party to bring her his head, restoring Hiaya with the Mark of Hoarfrost. Now restored, Hiaya seeks vengeance and the party heads deeper into the Witchwood in search of the Lord's son, hoping to find new information about their destination before journeying into Blackwillow.
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments