Codname: Sleeping Alley, Report the Twenty-Second

General Summary

We met the Alley Sleepers in the cyclic tumbler of danger, having been informed by Kexan Cloudroot that the person his organization, The Worm's Share, saved from ruthless bandits, one Beirdien Cahlor, would one day become Sovereign, and found the Alerki Ascendency.

In Hindsight, Not the Best Idea

After showing the crew the vision that led to this startling revelation, Kexan opened the floor for questions. There were, frankly, a lot, but our heroes found it difficult to best express the mixture of disgust, shock, and concern that this new information generated. Kexan, mindful of the situation, expressed regret, especially due to what Cahlor would eventually become. He offered to show the Sleepers another piece of his battered memories. Hesitantly, they agreed.
This memory featured the familiar players--Svo'Kool saw through the eyes of Kexan, while Hama vu Ivory Bee and Rieta inhabited Similio and Fuckin' Daniel respectively. New to the memory was Aletha of the Flintclaw in the guise of the furious Zyrtec, always itching for a fight--but a new location. According to Cahlor, Brek's Crusaders, occupying Brek's Bridge, posed a legitimate threat to the peace and harmony of The Worm's Share. So, they must be dealt with. Brutal fighting carried the day in this memory, with the Share's warriors leading the charge. Ultimately, they proved victorious, slaughtering the hapless Brek defenders, who attempted to surrender at the end. Cahlor, however, wasn't having any of that and ruthlessly detonated a fireball that destroyed the survivors, including defenseless women and children. When pressed on this callous regard for life, Cahlor defended his actions, stating that now nothing was in the way of their next goal--the growing town of Gladburn.
Kexan then took the crew back out of his memories, stating that it was in that moment that everything began to shift, that Cahlor--a self-described man of vision--began to exert more and more influence over the The Worms' Share (or, as he began to call it, The Worm). Sharing these visions taxed Kexan both emotionally and physically, so some rest was needed before probing deeper. This was fine with our heroes, as they got to spend another night in The Ghostpool before high-tailing it out of this horrible desert. This night, however, proved to have its own complications.

Gnet Arrives

Hama was awakened at midnight with an errie feeling deep in his bones. Familiar, yet strange. Comforting, yet terrifying. Looking into the night sky, he saw not one, but two moons. Gnet has arrived. Hama's first reaction was confusion--how did this huge red moon made of sand, rock, and stardust sneak up on him? That quickly progressed to Hama losing his shit, staying up all night praying, paying homage and thanks and glory to Gnet and assuring that the reclusive moon is now in charge.
It remains unclear as to what, exactly, Gnet's arrival foretells, except for the obvious--everything is going to change.
The first change occurred soon after breaking camp to head back to Kinhall. The usually stiflingly hot climate of The Snakeghost suddenly turned bitter cold for a spell. Hama's Gnet Shard grew both heavy and hot as this change occurred, leaving little doubt as to who or what is to blame for this sudden reversal of routine. Luckily, everyone survived the biting frost without sustaining damage, although Svo'Kool was acting a little too cavalier about the whole thing, leading others to believe that perhaps he was more hurt than he let on.
Thanks to Rieta's superior knowledge of maps and locations, navigating back through the desert was easier than expected, and the crew made it back to the Ruins of Ixxalomi by twilight. There, they encountered an excitable gnome named Ladenni Thunderballoon who offered our heroes some explosive devices named after herself. Rieta and Aletha were very interested and bought the whole bag of these Thunderballons. Nice! Now, it was time for a relaxing night. But Kexan had other plans.

The Crater of Betrayal

In order to fully understand how The Worm's Share became The Worm, the Sleepers would have to, once again, enter Kexan's mind. This time, they faced down a horrible creature from beyond the material plane, made of tentacle and mouth and beak. Cahlor had led them here saying that this creature posed a threat to the peace and harmony of Gladburn--which The Worm's Share was now de facto administrating--but it became clear, as the fight wore on, that Cahlor didn't intend to destroy the monster, but rather trap its power for some unknown end. Further, he likely knew that this aberration was here for quite a while and didn't yet pose a "substantial" threat. Ultimately, Cahlor got what he wanted, but it cost Fuckin' Daniel and Zyrtec their lives. Similio, having been fully disillusioned with what The Worm's Share had become, left immediately for parts unknown. Kexan, perhaps feeling that he was in too deep and could maybe still help temper Cahlor's ambition and help those in his path, stayed. Each of the Sleepers felt what their Share counterparts felt in Kexan's memories, and none had a very restful night.
Our crew set out for Kinhall the next morning. Svo'Kool encountered a trapped ruby on the way, but thanks to the quick thinking of the rest of his team, he escaped harm through the discovery and dispelling of magic traps. Nice! Ruby acquired!
The party reached Kinhall without too much trouble and then it was off to see to some vital business--checking in with Dragonborn Excavations about the Ghostpool, visiting with Lapis of the Kinhall Custodians about the vanquished behir (the proof of which is its giant rotting head that Svo'Kool is hauling around town), and, pressingly, getting Kexan some clothes other than a blanket. All of this was accomplished without too much incident. Well, except that our explorers wanted to return in triumph to Dannelore, proprietress of Desert Goods, and rub their success in her face.
She did not give two shits. Then, it was on to seeThe Returned to maybe get some help going home.

A Feast for the Returning

The Returned, it turns out, were glad to see the Sleepers and decided to throw a feast in their honor. A baller party was had, with Rieta and Svo'Kool holding court with tales of their brave adventures, Hama hanging out with The Returned Astronomy Club, which was really just an inquisitive gnome named Glendesh Tidycup, and Aletha brooding with Kexan about the difficulty of leadership and shared burdens. But, still, a nice soiree.
The next morning featured an audience with Clemporus, who spoke both cryptically about Returning in each of them--especially Kexan--and offered passage on The Fixed Strake, a schooner bound for Nineboons departing that evening.
That meant our crew had a day to kill. Rieta spend this day deep in her Tome (Tome) of Dreams, while Svo'Kool and Hama set out to see where the day would take them. It turns out, that day would take them to a place called The Shackle, where Meephos, an amiable centaur, sold Svo'Kool some balls to practice juggling. So, that's going to be a thing. Hama somehow got his hands on some fermented bluefruit, a delicacy from The Icehost, but here it was called Distillate of Icemeat. Gross.
Aletha, however, spend more time conversating with Kexan, who said he had one more vision to share. This one, just for her.

And that's where we left it

We'll see what Kexan's last vision means for Aletha and the Sleepers during our next session.

Rewards Granted

Level 8!

Character(s) interacted with

• Kexan Cloudroot, erstwhile Wormspeaker, founding member of The Worm's Share, very old
• Similio, wood elf rogue, member of The Worm's Share
• Fuckin' Daniel, stalwart human fighter of The Worm's Share
• Zyrtec, fearless minotaur barbarian of The Worm's Share
• Beirdien Cahlor, former captive of ruthless bandits, now ascendant member of The Worm's Share
• Ladenni Thunderballoon, gnome inventor, fan of cacti
• Dannalore, no-nonsense owner of Desert Goods
• Mauglath Masterbearer Malukakanu, martial master of The Returned
• Clemporus, leader of The Returned
• Glendesh Tidycup, member of The Returned and fascinated by Gnet and Hama
• Meephos, centaur owner of The Shackle and purveyor of interesting objects

Report Date

28 Feb 2021

Primary Location

The Snakeghost

Secondary Location

Kinhall