Season 1

The researching wizardly figure Francois G.J. XIII sends another B.A.S.E. party into a haunted woodland to retrieve magically infused mushrooms for his own… purposes. Roxanne’s Deerbutt meets a fungus-based ending, tragically. Also on this day, an old group of friends and acquaintances recounts tales of the past, preparing for adventures yet to be had.   Furthermore, a party determined the fate of the gnomish artificer Sentrid Vixx after puzzling through his labs full of dangerous eccentricities and strange cuisine. Identifying the dangers of the lab they reported on the remaining risks to BASE, a problem that will need to be resolved at a later date.

A Hunter that is familiar with the woods around Driftriver noticed a new hole in the ground that led to an underground cave. He reported it to B.A.S.E and a party was dispatched to ensure that nothing was living in it that could threaten the community. The party arrived to find that a small cult of lizardfolk was guarding a nest with 3 Black Dragon Wyrmlings in it. The party dispatched all of the monsters and then decided to set a trap for the mother. With the mother not returning within the hour the party decided to head back to B.A.S.E and report in.

A party went and investigated a ‘haunted’ hotel, and found that it was actually haunted. Fighting hard to clean out the hotel, they vanquish the creatures within and report back to B.A.S.E.

A totally not suspicious knight calling himself Gottfried von Tonselhoff decides to test what the people at B.A.S.E. are made of and leads them towards a temple of Tiamat overrun by undead. Upon returning from this mission, the party warns B.A.S.E. to keep an eye on this one.

A party went to investigate a darkened cove, and upon encountering the cave denizens they yelled very loudly at the cave and invited the people inside to drink. Turns out announcing yourself at a volume heard within 300 feet results in BAD THINGS. MISSION FAILED. The party escaped with their lives, just barely, to report back to B.A.S.E. their failures.

A party was sent to check out a temple to the North of Driftriver. Upon arriving the party found that the temple was infested with any manner of traps, fiends, and drakes. The party bravely fought until they nearly fell and decided to leave, bringing back a single chest worth of treasure and a key that was found that seemed to unlock doors in the temple. (Continued from above, Alturiak 19) A party was sent back to the temple to try and continue through clearing the fiendish entities that have taken residence in the temple. The party fought its way through as much of the dungeon as they could before deciding to head back.

(Continued from above, Alturiak 20) A party is sent back to attempt to clear out the temple and find the rest of the hostages. Unfortunately, the group ran into a den of manticore that was guarding a treasure box with an idol in it. The group managed to make it out unscathed with nothing but a few scrapes and had to return to B.A.S.E. Also on this day: A Party is assembled by Roxanne, they meet in a conference room at B.A.S.E., acquaint themselves with anyone new to their little group, and strike out, taking the new ferry person's slow ferry, and arriving at Francois’ workshop. They hear out the mission, to acquire lumber, of various magic types, from a location far to the northwest, with transport arranged for them. Not wanting to hear how the transportation works, Clarker runs and touches a random rock, and teleports himself to a mountaintop somewhere, where there isn’t enough air. He ponders this and then Conch-ports himself back to Driftriver, then flies back to the party and rejoins them in the lab seven minutes later. With the troupe reunited, they head to the correct teleport rock, and arrive at the prescribed forest, in a clearing just south of the mutated woods. Venturing in after an imp insults a bunch of trees, the party arrives in a gulch, and inspects some lightning-blasted trees, as a storm gathers overhead. After some shenanigans, the party fights some lightning trees, before killing one and driving the other off. Venturing further, the party finds a bloody tree clearing and kills the tree, it’s blood-bies, and drags it’s trunk back to the clearing. Dragging that tree back, though less a Deerbutt and a Devil Devito, the party regains Devil Devito and rests, before striking out to hit up the last pathway unexplored where they talk to a tree, but Clarker mysteriously starts getting strangled by some vines, and a fight breaks out. During the course of the battle, Israfil is tragically impaled on multiple roots and killed by the Quickwood tree, but quickly revivified by Misha, with the party rallying to defeat the wicked tree and chop it down, dragging it away before the assassin vines can catch up to strangle them even more. Departing, they bring the logs to Mr. Jepord, and complete the quest successfully.   Further on this day:   (Continued from Alturiak 17th entry) Finally, figuring out their destination, the party finishes camping, wakes up, eats Archdruid Breakfast ™? , and then Theodore meets a Genie, summons the Gruand, gifts it to Piper (Sort of), and they teleport to Korred poop. After teleporting, they become clouds, fly for the rest of the day, then land in the desert, start digging a hole for a new camp, before a massive 60 x 60 x 80 rock-creature drops from the sky by the party, throwing sand in their faces and fighting them till it’s demise. After this, they sleep in Moradin’s house (A temple of the gods erected by Moyra.)

Elephant, Camel, Horses all bought in the first while the party determines that they must travel some distance, discovering Driftriver’s Camel emporium and elephant emporium, as well as a very not so well off stable. After much shopping, the party departs, spending time on the road. Jacqui pranks her former associate Zug Zugger with band posters in Ordulin, which will cause him potentially trouble there in the future. Still, they arrive in Cormyr, venture to their mission location, and through artful mastery of disguises, paint, and elephant decorating, the party lures a couple of trolls out of the swamps to attack them, dispatching one handily and the other captured with ease, delivering the unconscious troll to their employer and collecting their reward. Traveling back, they find the unhappy people upset at the no-show of the famous bard. They eventually report back and are informed of their partial failure. However, Sally-Ann and her children, John, Frank, and Lindy, are reunited with Sally-Ann’s husband George, uniting their family once more and getting George’s Horses back on track as a small stable in the southern part of Driftriver. Further on this day, With Veilios gathering a party in B.A.S.E. Conference room 34 F, he discusses with the group the task at hand, before noticing an ad on the wall with the map, for Tarooq’s Boat Emporium. The party assembles up and goes to check out this emporium, and discovers a great salesman who offers to set them up with transportation. They accept, before going to ask around town about Shadowdale. Discovering a block in town that they couldn’t enter, Eddie and Veillios talk to the Banites for a minute before wandering off and getting some general information on Shadowdale. Heading out to make the trip, the party makes their way up river with the various Arooq’s in the large family rowing them there. They arrive and question a guard, get directions, and find a farm of the guy that supposedly asked for their help. The party discovers that the guy has cursed minotaur sons, and they’re not the beast, but his cows keep going missing, and his neighbor might know more about it. So the party heads to the neighboring farm, and start to investigate… finding that nobody is answering them. Everybody… is a statue. As a huge beast bursts out of the woods in the middle of the party to attack. Eddie and others are struck by a noxious breath in the first moments of the fight, with Eddie failing his save and starting to turn to stone. In a frantic round of fighting, Eddie succumbs to the petrification, before the party fights on, flanking and nipping at the bull creature on all sides. Veillios lures the creature onto the bridge, where it charges him and shatters Eddie’s statue in the process. Horrified by this, the party engages in a nearly minute long fight back and forth with the rampaging bull, taking advantage of its beast-like intellect to lure it back and forth through pain, and keeping it’s attention off of downed companions to heal them before they can expire. Finally victorious over the creature as three of the party lie unconscious, one other as a statue, the bull advancing on Sami as Xixan manages to get the perfect pair of shots off, sending serpents into the rear of the bull to then blast through and out the front of the creature, causing it to collapse, mere paces from the weakened Sami. As the party hastily heals those that are fallen, and grab the pieces of Eddie, they return to Driftriver, with Sami putting Eddie back together… rather poorly on the trip back, but they get back to B.A.S.E and call for help. A cleric of Illmater arrives, Quinton Arnjaunor, with disciple Simone, where they offer to help heal Eddie, and manage such over a painful surgery into his chest lasting six long, bloody agonizing minutes, but eventually bringing him back around to being fully whole. The party celebrated their proper reunion before dispersing to different places to reflect on what happened, with someone taking the remaining rental payment to Tarooq so that he doesn’t have to hunt them down.

Following the request of one of their higher B.A.S.E recruits, the party came upon a strange farm with an even stranger owner. Monsters were slain, ghosts were....also slain? Salad was made and the Thaumaturgy police are still somehow evaded.

Upon receiving their mission from B.A.S.E, a party spoke with some of their contacts to get some information on the smuggling ring operating out of the docks. They got a lead to a bar on the north side of Lahaina. The group went and had a "Friendly" chat with the barkeep and his buddies and found out that the gang was operating out of the south side of the district. The group went and found the base of operations, infiltrated stealthily, and were only caught when the super stealthy mech suit member of the party was heard coming down a hall. A battle ensued and lives were nearly lost but the small S.W.A.T force was able to apprehend the leader of the gang with the help of an unlikely ally and the Thaumaturgy Police. Also on this day in Driftriver, asked by B.A.S.E. to investigate the Black Hand neighborhood, a party assembles and starts looking for information on Bane and Banites. Some go to the library, others go to warn the Church of Mystra in disguise. Yet others just ask around town at some merchants. Ragnar son of Ragnar requires delivery of 150 rabbit fur pillows to High Inquisitor of Bane and Eddie agrees to acquire help. The rest of the party discovered fun facts about Bane, like how evil he is, what they do to conquer places, like wide scale war, etc. Gathering back together, a plan is formed, where the Gob is going to make a bomb. Spending the night gathering materials, building bombs and getting it ready, The Gob brings his bomb-wagon around, with a bear fur cover over the bombs, they load the pillows, and set off, going on their delivery with many second thoughts echoing around in the group, but the delivery is completed. With elephant pets, and charming High Inquisitor Guust Vorvelds met, payment accepted, and finally with the group on their way out. All except for The Gob, who hides near the main hall, goes invisible, takes cover, and detonates his bomb. With a massive rippling explosion, the Gob is blown backwards down the street, barely alive, as he witnesses a dozen incinerated corpses and at least six fallen structures as he manages to go back invisible and runs the heck away. As the town of Driftriver is rocked by this explosion, with the words “Hail Mystra” heard before the explosion… Do any survivors remain in the devastation? What will come from this?

A party assembles to investigate the bombing that most recently occurred in Northbank, two days prior. Meeting political elite, leaders of faiths, dwarves that sell pastries, a kobold looting the destroyed section of the town, and even a famous musician (Zug Zugger). Even encountering some homeless, jobless copper-badge B.A.S.E. agents outside the HQ. Unable to find the culprit of the bombing so far, they part ways for the moment, to come back soon. That soon was later the next day, where political pressure was put upon the party by Clifford. That pressure being to find the perps, whatever it takes. Misleading clues lead the team towards a mysterious “Mr. Bigglesworth”, and a few other B.A.S.E. agents that haven’t been seen in town for weeks. Given a token to supposedly help track the missing agents that may have committed the bombing, the investigators set out. Acquiring a rental airship and streaking across the lands towards a destination, they set themselves down behind a dune and prepare themselves to confront their fellow agents about the bombing.

A group went to an ocean cave about a day’s journey from Driftriver in search of a mystical flower for Odur Trorven's research. The group decided to camp near the road about half way through their journey and dealt with a group of thieves that attempted to rob them. The second day of their journey they made it to the cave and convinced the indigenous crab folk that they were no harm however the Trolls that lived in the cave were not so easy. The party killed the trolls setting their corpses ablaze and dealt with a couple of other minor annoyances retrieved their specimen and made it back to Driftriver the next day.

A group was asked to investigate the stolen Pie recipe. The search led them from old lady Betty's shop to an abandoned quarry that was not so abandoned. The group found a group of cultists and fiends throwing a massive party inside the cave, and at the deepest point, they found Betty's sister and her family. The group ended up combating the family in their underground pie kitchen and stealing the recipe back, all the while questioning if they were actually the ones in the right. With a group of corpses and one unconscious subterranean baker in hand, the group made their way back to Driftriver. Additionally on this day, coming to the conclusion that Sebastian is not the brightest bulb in B.A.S.E's collection, our heroes face his task with skill and intelligence. Ghosts were fought, a Ghost Hunter's pride was shattered and redeemed [ also he lived to see his life in 30 years ], graves were fixed and decorated, dragons were found, a sea-born Paladin discovered which direction was up, a cleric discovered there is still so much path for him yet left to grow, and if she's pregnant...where's the baby?

A party found that they were a tad bit suspicious of the woman who was there to represent those who hired them. While the woman, Lissana, didn't give them the organization's name, a woman named Gillie did. They were working with 'They Eye of Tyr' to neutralize a man named Baron Befal under charges of slave trade and illegal captivity of exotic animals. Tension grew in the group the first night as that led to an all out fight between two members. It had to be cast aside as the group was attacked by a group of Hyenas, but was picked back up until one ran and hid their face. Eventually meeting back up with the party under a different guise, the party finally gained entrance to the Vila using the noble status of Essex. While they were able to find the wife and children and get them out safe, there was still a long hard fight that ensued, with 3 fewer members as well. The fight was won and the baron killed. The body is currently in the Bantry, waiting to be questioned.

The Party found a boat. It was a very big boat and after fully surmising it was a mysterious boat, they headed on board. Each of them fell asleep quickly. When they awoke, they found themselves assigned a color and a partner with the same color. Puzzles, a combat, a ton of flirting, and a bit of heartbreak ensued before they were finally let off this...strange boat. Payment waiting for them at BASE HQ.

(Continued from Alturiak 23’s second entry) After a strange gathering of forces, Eddie leads the party to Tarooq’s Boat Emporium, secures transport, and the party nearly loses a member not even halfway there! Still, after some interesting gossip mongering, stealing booze from a bar, and then eventually getting underway, the party rescues a ‘maiden’ in distress and fights into a small forest-based ruin near Shadowdale! They back out, however, thinking of the safety of the woman, who… mysteriously disappeared on them!

A party was briefed by Lisanna, the Eye of Tyr representative. They had to find a man named Arlen. Investigation and many questions and some flirting ended in a chase with a young elven girl named Meraliss. The party found she and Arlen had been traveling together as he attempted to run from his past. After a short battle, Arlen turned himself in, seeing no way to win the fight and the safety of Meraliss. Arlen was taken by the Eye of Tyr while Meraliss was brought to Driftriver. Further on this day, a party started in a town, finding they were in a so called godless world the was wrought with a plague. Following rumors, they found a town with undead tilling the fields and working the docks. An odd sight for them. As it came to night, they settled down in the town to sleep.   (Continued from Ches 25) As darkness older than the gods themselves looms beneath the ocean's depths, new friends are found and questions are asked. Just who are these hunters with the dragon scales, and why was the prince a fish?

A brave group of people was sent by B.A.S.E. to investigate the black spots in the forest to the west. The forest between Driftriver and the Thunderpeaks seems to be full of hungry bestial spirits, trying to steal the lifeforce of prey, scaring away lots of animals. The giraffe was almost wavering in her vegetarianism, and Koskos wants to hunt the remaining spirits down. But for now, the B.A.S.E. agents fell back to HQ.

A party went to the mine to request the unusual material Rajit requested. The materials were radioactive, and she didn't reveal that fact to anyone. With the uranium in her possession, she can now produce the yellow/gold stained glass she needs to work on the Triadral's windows. Totally worth the risk in the end, since after all, nobody died.

(Continued from Ches 29) A thrilling new elven companion, Lionel Lionheart accompanies on a boat ride to Shadowdale, where the B.A.S.E. agents encounter harpies, loud dogs, very spooky spiders, then guardian-creatures…all before managing to find a rest, which is almost immediately followed by traps in a corridor ahead. Then they find a momma spider with even more bugs. Finally, they manage to find an angry gnome at the back of his workshop with a pet beholder-thing. After a white-knuckled adventure, five out of seven in the party made it back intact, with two needing some minor putting back together again, IE: Back to life, as Myrrh was rather dusty, but thankfully left a finger in a spider that the party retrieved… and a crispy Thurman was brought back too. Several tomes of research and notes were recovered, including a particularly locked, black leather bound tome that was in the chest that Jacqui smashed apart in the haste to leave the lab before the gnome could possibly return. What does it all mean? Questions are left hanging as the agents return to HQ.

(Continued from Tarsakh 9) A party is gathered to investigate the gnomish wizard’s tomes, leading them to find a location of what appears to be a secret lab in the mountains? Picking up a not-so-friendly Zhentarim-aligned B.A.S.E. agent that insists on accompanying them, the party soon encounters a giant with sloth pets that dismember said Zhent, Lord Farsoth. Death Wraiths seem to guard the perimeter of the fort the agents discover, which seems to contain guards… guards that were actually a series of very muscular kobolds (Swolebolds?) with some of their more normal kin. After a series of poor decisions and consequences, the party retreats from the kobold filled fortress, leaving Lord Farsoth to make his way back on his own… though alive after Alessandra did opt to revivify the Zhent agent, evil or not, after he’d fallen to the sloths.

(Continued from Tarsakh 14) Another party of B.A.S.E. agents assemble to assail the mountain fortress of Lord Kluvonat. Rushing in, the party slays the many zombie-kobold bodies left as terrifying punishment and examples in the snow surrounding the fort, and enter within. Fighting off the remaining Swolebolds, fighting through a series of zombies within, managing to beat off a feral vampire and what appears to be a skeletal warlock second-in-command of the gnome. After all of this, they enter the basement of the fortress, working their way through several doors, fighting off many experimental oozes, including one that sapped away light. Closing themselves into a small room, yet with their presence seemingly known to Lord Kluvonat, the party attempts to settle to ritually cast some spells, but in their delay, oozes come in under the door, squeezing within to try devouring them. Meanwhile, Lord Kluvonat sets a trap outside the door opposite of where the oozes entered, and when the party finishes their fight and their regrouping, they open the door out into the corridor just to be met with a flash of green light as a symbol of Death activated upon them, prompting them to quickly use a conch to return to Driftriver and safety.

Kozun brought his hobgoblin horde to Driftriver in an attempt to gain a foothold. BASE called all available operatives to help and assigned sections of the district to each group. Our brave adventurers faced down with Kozun, but not before dealing with looters, saving a young child who got separated from her parents, clearing the municipal building of hobgoblins, and defusing cart bombs (with their faces) (the Driftriver Cart Bomb is a new drink in Chinook). Kozun was slain, but more information could not be gathered as somebody set the captain's tent on fire.

A group went to B.A.S.E responding to an urgent summons. They arrived and found that there had been a request put in for a group of adventurers to go and investigate some strange occurrences happening in Northbank. After investigating for a while with a little empathic help from Detect Thoughts they found that a sewer worker has gone missing and is presumed dead. Heading down to investigate the sewers some of the party found that there were a large group of Duergar 'guarding' the area of the sewer entrance. After a fairly easy combat, one of the adventurers decided to try and read the thoughts of a cultist that had been knocked out during the fight. The delve proved more dangerous than fruitful. The party continued on leaving one to head back to B.A.S.E early and found that the rest of the tunnel was 'guarded' as well. Pushing past the rest of the Duergar the party was able to find what looked like an entrance to some sort of lair with a depiction of a large squid on the door. At this point, the party decided to return to B.A.S.E and regroup before returning to delve deeper. A party went back to the point in the sewers of Northbank after interrogating 3 of the Duergar. The party found out that there may be an infestation of Mind Flayers in the sewers. They pushed their way as far as they could into the lair of what they thought was this Mind Flayer until they ran almost completely out of resources and decided to return to B.A.S.E for a regroup. What will come of leaving halfway through? It’ll be hard to say.   Additionally on this day, Thankfully BASE recovered some small amount of information from Kozun's attack. The fragments of letters lead the party to believe that Tegal's Mark might also be under attack to the south. And off we went on an adventure. A boat ride. 6 foot tall wolves poked heads out of the woods. Hobgoblins, Hags, Wyverns, more hags, 4 guys named John?, more hobgoblins, giants. Mirai got themself lost following John through the night. But luckily they were found. And eventually, we made it to Tegal's Mark.

(Continued from Tarsakh 15) Francois Garand Jepord XIII presents one of the opened, translated tomes from Lord Kluvonat to a new group of B.A.S.E. agents. Assigning them to look into a series of locations marked on a journaled map, out in the Dalelands. Discovering an interesting, warded cache of creatures, the party managed to vanquish them with impunity, leaving only two more locations on the marked map for later dealing with. Returning to HQ, they reported their success so far.

A mission took the party into the southern farmlands to deal with a desecrated church of Ilmater on behalf of Brother Bergram Flint of Hyssop Home. They also cleared an enormous swathe of wild undead that had been running loose since the vampire masters had been killed.

(Continued from Tarsakh 24) A final strike team is assembled at B.A.S.E. HQ. Being transported to the mountainside fort by Francois Garand Jepord XIII, the party alerts sentries at the perimeter of the fort, slaying them with impunity, before evading the shades at the walls. Inserting themselves through into the second floor, the party fights through a small number of threats, eventually discovering the main laboratory chamber, where after a battle with what appeared to be Lord Kluvonat and his lieutenant, as well as a number of undead guardians, it was revealed that Lord Kluvonat had the time to prepare a simulacrum of himself to fight the party, leaving that behind before escaping into the greater world. For now. A note is discovered in his wake, amongst the cleaned-out laboratory. It simply read, “Fuck you”. Unamused, the B.A.S.E. agents return to HQ and report of the gnome’s escape, closing the door on that case for the foreseeable future. Also on this day, a party met Jontum Squashtoes, the cook at Hyssop Home, having overheard his plight of wanting to feed the children of the orphanage new things; and then watched him put up an advertisement. They answered rapidly, all lining up to help the halfling before getting a brief look at Hyssop Home and speaking to children about what they might like to eat. After gathering some information on that, the party strikes out to the south and explores the woods, discovering ants, crabs, flying lizards, snakes, and rat-things. Defeating all of them and bringing their beastly bodies back for preparation to be feasted upon in the home.   Finally, it was discovered that a house in Chinook has been overgrown by Myconid fungus and infested by their defenders. The most dangerous were removed but the myconids remain. It has been reported to B.A.S.E. that the myconid needs a new home as the fungus would be causing problems in the city. Perhaps an adventure into the underdark to liberate their home, or maybe into the wilderness nearby to find a new home is required, but for now, the agents return to HQ to report their success.

(Continued from Ches 6) Dangerous days in Driftriver! After weeks of their influence, Banite/Zhentarim occupation has reached an all-time high. People are being yanked off the street and checked for ID papers, before being press-ganged into Zhentarim employment. Copper level adventurers have been joining the Zhentarim in droves to acquire equipment of their wildest dreams! Unemployment in Driftriver reaches under 1%! But it’s all a horrible lie. After a public show extolling the virtues of Sir Lumos, Salazar the Sublime entertains the masses; the party witnesses a Banite patrol arresting a man and taking him to Northbank. Mai’ik follows the Banites, to their new home base. He leads the party there where they scope out the arrested man being pressed into service, and the party decides not to attack directly. Instead seeking allies in their fight. Going to Alfonso’s Beer and Cheer, Sebastian bribes Alfonso for Zug and Hulfgar’s location, discovering that they’re where they suspected, probably Hyssop Home. Heading there, Lumos speaks to one of the Sister’s he’d helped save in the disaster of Hyssop Home some months prior and gathers some information on the Clifford Situation, as well as the location of the erstwhile bard and his paladin friend. Finding the pair inside the Jagged Dagger down the street and around the corner, playing a rather… poorly attended set, with Hulfgar terrible on the drums, they grab some food and drinks, talking to the proprietor, Vex, and soon with Zug and Hulfgar about what’s been going on in Driftriver. Meanwhile, Salazar seeks out the temple of Oghma and meets Father Revalor Wysadove, priest of Oghma, and leader of the temple in Driftriver. A personal friend of Clifford, as it’d turn out, as Clifford sought knowledge and aid in the early days of Driftriver, and Father Revalor was there to answer. He remarks to Salazar that Clifford has changed of late, and missed their monthly tea session where they’d keep up with each other, that infact, the message had been delivered by a group of Zhent soldiers. Sharing their concerns, Salazar talks the priest into readying their limited forces to drive the Zhentarim out of Driftriver, and Father Revalor agrees, should the right moment come. Salazar Sending’s the party to meet him near B.A.S.E. HQ. Gathering near HQ, the party shares their information back and forth, about how the Oghmites and the Triad’s followers showed concern but believed that Clifford was more not himself, rather than actually evil. Spending time to formulate a plan, the Mai’ik and Vex go invisible and scout the exterior of the entire structure; finding several doors boarded up, entrances guarded, and much of the structure on lockdown. Opting to rejoin the party, defensive wards are passed out, with the sneaky pair taking some death wards before going to take position to the south of HQ, to start and provide an attention splitting diversion. As they split off, the remaining members of the party, Lumos, Zug, Hulfgar, Salazar, Simalazar, Sebastian and Idhrenion use capes and spells to dimension door directly into Clifford’s office, with Lumos and Hulfgar readying Destructive Waves and Idhrenion readying a wall of fire to drop in front of the doors. Arriving as the distraction goes off, after Vex and Mai’ik drop two bodies and make some noise by the lobby – the explosions of destructive waves and the roar of flames fill Clifford’s office. A body splatters off the wall, with four other Zhents knocked to the floor, two inside the flames of the wall of fire. Everyone, EVERYONE but the party is surprised. What proceeds is sheer madness. The insertion party works in tandem to eliminate the Zhents laying on their backs in the room, with Salazar sealing the doors behind further illusionary doors. Enemies begin to rush the room, with Inquisitor Zooreld bursting through and taking the fire to the face as he goes to try to help his troops directly… entering a room filled with foes, and no friends. Vex and Mai’ik keep dropping bodies in the other sections of B.A.S.E. HQ, Mai’ik dropping enemies in the bar-lounge, while Vex knifes a mage down behind the front desk. Clifford and the B.A.S.E. Secretary-agents begin drawing wands, and the party begins to get swarmed from the Zhentarim guards outside Clifford’s office. Fighting hard, Lumos rushes Clifford and touches his arm in a cleansing way… to no effect. While Salazar backs to a corner, Zug Zugger plays a guitar tune at Clifford to try and dispel him in a desperately ordered attempt from Lumos – it fails, but seconds later, Salazar casts Dispel Magic at 8th level on Clifford – ending the 8th level Dominate Person on his person. He looks… stunned. Vex and Mai’ik fighting furiously in the side hallway of HQ, with Mai’ik lobbing arrows from afar, and Vex fighting backwards down the hall, the B.A.S.E. ladies begin to fight for their organization as green flashes fill the lobby. A quartet of Zhentarim drop into piles of dust. Meanwhile, the office crew is being swarmed, with Sebastian beating down the Inquisitor, his troops around him trying to fight off the party’s invasion. Salazar watches the Inquisitor raise a horn to his lips, attempting to blow the dark, twisted horn – and it sounds, but the effect was counter spelled at 7th – stopping the teleport that the Inquisitor was activating to attempt to extract himself and six of his nearest allies. The Inquisitor’s compatriot rushes to him, casting a spell after the party’s counterspells are exhausted, dimension dooring his commander to safety, abandoning the rest of their fellows to die. And die they do. One after another, being dropped, while in the main hall, the B.A.S.E. ladies finish off the Zhents that didn’t flee them, and Vex begins running in after helping Mai’ik finish off the last few from the lounge and main hall. Office crew loses the wall of fire, and fights out into the hallway, discovering Dozan laid out from Zhentarim attacks after dusting one of their magi. Rushing to her rescue, the team fights the Zhentarim forces back towards the teleportation room, where a thrumming powerful magic had activated in the meantime during the fighting. With a handful of Zhentarim making a run for it, Sebastian and Lumos rush after them on foot, halting one in his tracks, while two dart through the beacon in departure mode – fleeing to who knows where. Zug Zugger aggressively rushes Salazar and dimension doors himself and the powerful mage directly to the backside of the teleportation chamber – in range of the active beacon and under its shield. – Salazar simply draws upon his deepest reserves and with an air-stilling incantation, dispels magic at 9th level, and completely deactivates the enemy’s beacon. With their egress prevented, the remaining two standing Zhentarim troops alive inside B.A.S.E. throw down their arms and are arrested. Clifford repentantly looks at the dozen corpses inside his completely trashed office and mentions that he imagines they’ll… have to talk about this. Meanwhile, Mai’ik discovers several remorseful copper tier adventurers, formerly homeless, having been hired by the Zhents, frantically stripping out of the Zhentarim gear on the front lawn of HQ. Sebastian rushes out and snaps a picture of the silly halfling, elf, dwarf, and human. Capturing the beacon, and clearing the building to ensure no further threats, the party is able to celebrate victory…. Though minutes later an explosion shakes Northbank – the new Zhentarim base cratered in an evidence destroying explosion, with throngs of Zhentarim troops and agents fleeing the city in 2’s, 3’s and 4’s, with two dozen ending up arrested, subdued or otherwise handled, and brought in to Police HQ. Zhentarim Magi-tech captured, their forces driven from Driftriver, and the Driftriver Crime Scene Investigation team standing victorious; perhaps it doesn’t matter who originally bombed Northbank, not when there are larger worldly concerns at hand. Besides. The town is saved, and a new dawn rises with a new month’s beginning over the once more free City-State of Driftriver.   Furthermore, on this day, A mistrise froze over the river. A band of curious BASE agents decided to check out the ice, and after some slip and slides, they found wild saber-tooths and wolves having a standoff. Both of which turned towards the party. As they fought the animals, Zaidu fired a cannon from a ship stranded in the frozen waters, exploding the cannon with an echo loud enough to attract a strange dragon which Fyne grappled and told not to move. A giant snow monster burrowed through the ice while the party finished off the lizard, and tried stomping on the party, but ultimately crumbled, giving way to a small squirrel that cracked all the remaining ice away. None of the party looked back at the explosion from the ship they put on fire. Fy'an, Venei, and Zaidu still hear ringing from time to time from being so close to the explosion of a cannon.

Ghuun sought out revenge for the myconids he found in the mushroomified house. gathering a party to go seek the flashing teeth and sharp claws that chased them out of their home in the underdark. after questioning the myconids for directions to the old home they set off. passing an intersection with a webbed wall, a long pathway with the sound of water echoing from all around. it got so intense the ground even shook, but no sign of it. some slithering trackers arrived to get revenge on Ebb from a previous Hag encounter (unsuccessfully) a narrow stone bridge stretched into this massive chasm and bridged side to side. Stirges swept in an got a snack off of Bezu and flew away. A beautiful geode broke its way into the tunnel glowing with crystalline gems. The flashing teeth and claws had turned the tunnels around the myconid home into swiss cheese. It turned out the things in there were Kruthiks looking for their own new home. They had turned the mushrooms into bedding nd made a nursery. After taking down the Hive lord and chasing down all the runners they smashed the eggs but discovered some had been escaped with.

Nial the Archeologist, possessed of bright orange hair and an overly large nose had recently discovered the location of an ancient tomb belonging to the Qiaytiyarhi. Believing that the tomb will hold a stone of vast importance to understanding the civilization he tasked B.A.S.E. agents with teleporting to the entrance and retrieving the stone whatsit. A door with a face on it guarded the entry. Above his head was the word DONKEY. Eventually, Roxanne caused him to repeat DONKEY back to her. And the doors swung open. First up, a pit trap, with a razor wire hidden in a rope. At the bottom Acid? Next up, a bear trap. But a really big one that snapped shut around Barnabus, and released a bear upon his head. Thirdly we had a room of clay guardians that attempted to kidnap Roxanne, and Barnabus and Jacquie charged to the rescue. Fighting in the doorway the party defeated the guardians. This room had three door options for continuing. Behind door number 2 was a depression with water, and water weirds. and an inverted pit of nasty spikes for Jacquie. Venei froze a weird solid inside a block of ice. Door Number 3 now, a stone statue of a blacksmith and an anvil. Roxanne simply reduced the doorway out of the way. Continuing on a rather large room, devoid of anything but a trapdoor. That seems scary, let's check door number 1. Oh, large spike in the ceiling. and a hole in the floor. turns out the hole had a false bottom. And the door on the far side of this room was painted on. Great. Spikes are coming down. Let’s leave. Back to the trapdoor. Oh, there's water down there. Let's go down, but just the small members. Oh, look, scythe traps. But they're not moving. Running through many inactive scythes, a large golden statue of a donkey is discovered. The smallfolk bust the statue open with a crowbar. Inside was the stone tablet, a Rosetta stone! Huzzah!. Roxanne dimension doored with Venei back to the party. Escaping the tomb, saying goodbye to the door, and returning to Driftriver, the tablet was delivered to Nial.

A neighborhood in Eweford hasn't been heard from in days. The party was sent out to investigate. A magnificent cart is seen in the middle of a little park. A small boy is crying nearby and tells them that the village went in and never came out. Fy'an ripped the doors off to prevent them from being trapped. The wardrobe had a portal. Going into the portal they found their way into Tasha's Madhouse. Inside they found faceless people asking to let them lead the party around. They didn't faceless ones dead. Then a man extracting a soul. He dead. No question. Then a mirror maze showing reflections of the party having made alternate formative decisions. Let's get out of here. Then a man on a throne who looks like an amalgamation of them all. He's dead too. Then a feeding room with people being fattened for slaughter then brought away into the kitchen. Full of humanoid animals? Oh, look they’re dead too. On to the bottom of a pitkinda full of discarded pots and pans and dishes. How do we get up to the platform? A way was found. And the fight ensued. the climbing rope got thrown free. Thunderstep was applied liberally. And a bag of flour as the Coup de Grace. But it turns out you cannot escape while the demon is alive. So the demon gets slain and the party returns to HQ.

The party left the city via a boat rented from Tarooq's boat emporium. The Arooq clan lead them downriver roughly a day to the site of the tributary entering the river. The area was exceptionally vital with life overflowing and wildlife growing to 2-10 times its normal size. Yeppi chose to drink from the river and was increased to double his size. Deciding to follow the tributary north they came across an old abandoned fortress left over from previous Daleslands wars. Ambushed by giant chameleons, Yeppi was almost chewed to death but the party defended themselves and then headed inside. Opening a kitchen door they found a giant crab cooking a stew in a pot and then immediately closed the door and ran away. They continued to pass through the fort and eventually came to find a family of odd giant beasts eating dinner with an Ettin Druid. The Ettin and Arlan came to terms with leaving the land, and Arlan convinced the family to come with him to Dritriver to form a grove.

The party, after being summoned to B.A.S.E, met with the eccentric sea captain. He explained that his brother had been missing for eight years and he had finally discovered a clue. The group escorted him to an island where they found a group of seafolk living in the surrounding oceans. After fending off the first group of attackers the group talked with one enemy they had captured and he told them that the sea captain's brother was going to be used as a sacrifice and that he had been being held prisoner all these years. The group descended into the ocean depths but upon reaching the altar where the seafolk were performing their ritual the group entered a fierce combat. Fighting off the sharks and the seafolk soldiers proved to be a bit much for the party and the ritual completed on the sea captain's brother transferring his soul into the ancient giant construct. The giant machine quickly dispatched the remaining enemies and a touching reunion was had. Also on this day, a party was dispatched to investigate a certain new cult that was wandering sections of the Dalelands near a village called Knife’s Edge. ‘Borrowing’ the SS Tiny Dragon to go upriver, the party works to locate this cult. Discovering that this was some kind of cult of ‘Timmy’, led by a talking bard-donkey, Champ, and discovering that the goings on of the cult of ‘Timmy’ are intentionally good, but unintentionally bad, the party delves into the realm beyond dreams to discover answers but finds only madness instead. Randy returns from the beyond, so to speak, with a strange compulsion and almost immediately, some tentacled aberrant creatures attack. Defending Knife’s Edge, the party manage to subdue Randy VIA holy waterboarding and return him to Driftriver, bringing the SS Tiny Dragon back some days later with the remainder of the party that didn’t conch back as some did.

An anonymous note from the mysterious -V- arrived at B.A.S.E. H.Q. alerting people to the presence of a terrorist cell in Driftriver. In a Lahaina docks storage locker, boxes of files were found, detailing shipping manifests, and a business card for The Silken Flute. Using this information the party headed off to the warehouse to find out what's up with the caterpillar cocoons. But not until defusing the grumpy old man who owns the storage units and took offense to them breaking his doors off. At the warehouse, they spoke to a drow through the door and attempted to perform a routine inspection. They were having nothing of this and slammed the door in their faces. Initiating some stealthiness, the windows were peered through, and shadowy figures were seen. On the back wall, a window was just clear enough to see through and they saw a captive? turtle? slow? So Saphi went through the window and found out what's up. But teleporting in is rather surprising and the man screamed, Mirai broke the window and sprang into action. Combat ensued with sneaky drow, Val got knocked out. Misho ran a lot. Really, a lot. After the battle turned in favor of the party some attempted escape but were cut down on the way. While planning to keep one alive it turned out he had an intellect devourer in his head. Which popped out when the H.P. was low enough the brain came out and devoured the intellect of Mirai. Questioning the captive they discovered a bomb plot with a spell involved, a ritual sapping the captives lifeforce, a kidnapped wife, and other nefariousness. Further on this day, There is poison discovered in the water. What starts off as an interesting chase following Sir Frederick the Flumpy leads a party to an interesting discovery of terrors that may be lurking beneath Driftriver.

Called to B.A.S.E. HQ by emergency summons, the party is briefed in a somewhat discouraging way by Clifford, as he recounts how a rent in the Archway is spewing monsters out into the streets of the city, and the TPD is nearly overwhelmed. Told that they have at least an hour or so to prepare, the party decides to take Alessandra’s direction and go to the Soulforge to prepare for the fight ahead. Taking heart in Alessandra’s words, the party is inspired before taking part in a magically reinforced meal to inspire them as heroes. Rolling up to the Archway on a cart pulled by Fresco, the party spills out to report to the Chief of the TPD, Jeremy Haverford. The nobleman directs the party towards the problem area just as underdark horrors burst forth. The party orders the TPD officers to control the crowds of people in the marketplace south of the violence, to mixed results. Fy’an, Zith, and Venei fight hard to stem the tide at the main opening, with Myrrh, Jacqui, and Alessandra taking the flanks and supporting roles in the ongoing fighting. Several spells are flung out of the cave, Myrrh’s wall of fire being dispelled by a nefarious drow magi that was lurking greater invisibly during the bulk of the fighting. As the party fights on through wave after wave of oncoming monsters, a second tunnel blasts open as an Umber Hulk leads a squad of Bugbears onwards towards MORE innocent people. Fast acting from Jacqui, Myrrh and Alessandra prevent disaster, and while they are distracted, the magi begin blasting Fy’an and Zith in earnest, nearly disintegrating Zith before Fy’an sacrifices a burst of magical runic energy to save his life. The party all begin to reconverge to fight against the drow, illithid, and Fomorians that were the bruisers at the back of the army. Working in tandem to surround, restrain and capture the illithid and Drow mage, both of which were retreating; Fy’an executes the illithid with a dead bugbear, while Myrrh, Alessandra and Zith manage to flour-shackle-paralyze the drow in hilarious form, taking him prisoner. As the majority of the party fought to secure the cavern, Jacqui rode back towards the TPD and the riot that was taking down officers one by one; riding to the aid of the Chief of Police, using a Major Image and patriotism to great effect, managing to sway a massive crowd of rioting citizens into patriotic cheerfulness/compliance. As the TPD officers charge forth to relieve the brave B.A.S.E. agents, Chief Haverford negotiates with the party to march out side by side with the prisoner, and to take said prisoner to the TPD HQ for securing in their Dimensional Shackle’d cells. As the evening comes to a close, Fy’an goes to get his Fomorian Mutations looked at, and after a night’s sleep, manages to revert to being more himself. After reporting to B.A.S.E. Clifford ensured that the noble agents were well paid for their efforts in securing the breach; for now. Furthermore on this day, On a routine training outing, the earth began to split and the armies of the underdark began to pour out into the streets of the arch. A piece of machinery that was supposed to be the training dummy for the adventurers was stolen. Orcs invade The Arch. Lumos leaves the party to fend off the orcs while he goes to make sure the citizens of the area get evacuated. The party fought hard but the orcs knew dark magics that allowed them to manipulate shadows. With this power, they managed to take one member of the party.

As the crashing waves settle against the stony base of Highcliff, an adventuring party from B.A.S.E. manages to sail out on a ship, making contact with the merfolk of Halimar, establishing B.A.S.E. as a point of contact, and rescuing dozens from peril of the crumbling remains of parts of their city. This effort is met with high praise, and none so high as that of Commander Mitek of the Halimar Royal Guard. Saved from one crumbling structure, he eventually recovers after a few days' time, unable to find his companions that had been escorting one "Lady Driffany" in the part of the city that had seen cataclysm wrought upon it. Contracting B.A.S.E. Agents to find and recover his companions, the Agents themselves met with mortal peril as one of their number was struck down in the course of combatting forces from the Underdark, Drow Soldiers that showed no mercy, forcing the party to retreat for aid, to bring their fallen companion back. Unfortunately, this time spent going to recover their fallen led to the Drow forces discovering the incursion, the many of their dead, and the means of entry used, and securing such against further (easy) incursion.... and executing the trio of Royal Retainers that had been prisoners. With the tensions now rising between B.A.S.E. and the Halimar Merfolk, Commander Mitek scorns those that wear the badge, for their failure, as he wears the dented, damaged Royal Guard brooches of his fallen companions... the only thing that'd been discovered of them, on one of the sandy banks of the Ashaba, days later. Additionally, on this day, Zug Zugger gathers all he can find for a mysterious mission. It’s actually just to go take care of a bunch of his clan that found him again. Oh, and apparently they worship Orcus and other Orc Gods now. With many shenanigans involving purchases of horses, travel overland, fighting in a swamp, hero zombies that wouldn’t die, a constant ‘waaagh’ of orcish fury, all ending with a pair of odd orcish skeletons that guarded an orcish crypt that contained some kind of odd communication device that blasted people’s minds and asked them to serve it. As it turns out, Icarus tolerates no crap from the mysterious voices in orbs and just breaks everything before falling unconscious on top of it all. The party reports back that they quelled Zug Zug orcs and broke the device…. But questions remain that may one day get answers.

(Continued from the latter entry on Kythorn 10) Returning to the swamp the party returned to finish what they started. Pushing on through the mucky, murky swamp they found the remnants of where the orcs attempted to stand against the undead, unsuccessfully. The battlefield was strewn with bodies. Jetto did his best to scout ahead. But eventually, the sentries were dense enough a small fight broke out. Alerting the Lich-to-be to their presence. In the battle, Ion came to the edge of death. Defeating him and then moving to the device being charged by the souls of some captured innocents. Bix dispelled the soul catching magic, and saved a few. Jetto climbed down and freed those that barely survived. Additionally, on this day, a party was brought in as a diplomatic group to leverage their relationships to current events and further the political interests of Driftriver. The negotiations began somewhat awkwardly but the conversation soon solidified around a few central concepts: Land Jurisdiction: The city of Driftriver would not budge on maintaining land and legal rulership over the territory.   Waterway Passage and Jurisdiction: The people of Halimar demand that Driftriver does not permit boats to pass above the remains of Halimar. B.A.S.E. will clear the Sahuagin from the river and will provide security for the Merfolk of Halimar. Negotiations have set the stage for the next steps in approaching the circumstances surrounding the subterranean dangers, and peace would be assured between the people from Halimar, now, New Halimar, and those of Driftriver.

Informed of the promises made from members of B.A.S.E., a party is dispatched to Lake Sember to go ahead and take care of a singular sea serpent, so they thought. Meeting a Marid on the shore, the party offers too much information and gets asked to become slaves. Declining, the party defeats the marid and his slaves and then heads into the lake. Making their way to Hyaline, the group manages to get oriented and start tracking down their quarry. Managing to find a recent hunt, they hide… and commune with nature while watching sharks and sahuagin feeding on the big catfish. Watching the sharks and sahuagin leave; the party trails their rough course back to an underwater cove; where they engage a serpent… then it’s mate… and their hag mother friend in mortal combat. Eventually succeeding with their efforts, at the cost of a single life; the party manages to haul their fallen back, dealing with the serpent eggs, and departing to Driftriver. They also give all the treasure discovered over to Hyaline, instead of Driftriver. Clifford is /pissed/ at them but still pays them for work well done.

Gathering at B.A.S.E., a party meets each other, decides to borrow a boat if the expenses of operation are covered; and they are by B.A.S.E. Finding that neat, they proceed to requisition aid with the SS Spearhead. Meeting some pretty horrifying characters on the Spearhead, the party does safely arrive, even if the elves have to bunk with a donkey. They walk down from the ship and proceed to... Zap, Boom, Bang, Sahuagin die left and right as the party ignores literally every potential plot hook in favor of literal straight up murder. No quarter is given. Some not-humanoid-creature escapes their corporate-sponsored massacres of sahuagin bandits and such, and there appeared to have been some drow too, who also met their demise at the hands of the party. Reporting back, they’re lauded as heroes, because they did their jobs and they did it well.

Alarm sounds from badges. Wild gathering of agents. Absurd Orc Teleporting. And a fight beneath the waves. Unprepared agents circle back to fix their supplies, but find that their delay has resulted in their enemies getting ahead! Surging forwards towards some humanoid targets using some ranger abilities, the party arrives at a staging ground where their aquatic elven foes are loading wagons and preparing to flee with captive merfolk that were kidnapped from New Halimar. In spite of the fighting, it settles when the elven leader appears and threatens a hostage, but negotiations get started with Eddie and Zith eventually talking down the fighting. Eddie throws a bunch of money to buy the hostages back and settle matters before they could get heated again. With that, Darshee withdraws her forces and allows the party to leave.

A group of adventurers joined the front lines in the caverns beneath Highcliff and fought off an assortment of foes. Not a single creature was able to breach their defenses, nor escape the battlefield as all enemies were dispatched, many after being spin-cycled in a whirlpool for eternity as the party attempted to give them a taste of their own medicine by introducing the Sahuagin to the pleasures of being caught in a whirlpool.

In the epic finale of the incursion from the Underdark, Lumos was holding a strategy meeting at the Soul Forge with some of the other known high-tier adventurers of B.A.S.E. During the meeting the ground began to quake and sirens across the city sound out with a warning of invasion. Lumos looks to his comrades for assistance in this terrible time of need. The group consisting of Lady Rowan Marsh-Morrian of the Lilac Estate, Hulfgar Nearwood of Hyssop Home, Mathias of the Pallid Scriptorium, Azrael of the Soul Forge, and Idhrenion of the Shadowdawn Monastery, rush into the fray immediately encountering a number of horrors. Pushing through the waves of enemies the group was able to make their way to the boss, the dreaded Doomholder. The group put up a valiant fight fending off all of the supporting enemies of the giant Beholder; however, near the end of the arduous battle, Azrael fell to the Doomholder's Disintegration Ray. Angered by the loss of their friend the rest of the group quickly dispatched the Doomholder thereafter leaving nothing but its DROPS-Enhanced equipment behind. Rowan gathered all of the ashes that she could and turned them over to Lumos to take back to the Soul Forge. In the hopes of restoring the valiant agent back to life. Reporting their success to B.A.S.E., the town closes up the breaches from below, and things begin to settle into a new normal, as yet another new month dawns on the town of Driftriver.