Age of Worms

Ragnolin Dourstone asks Balabar Smenk to run secret shipments of food and supplies to the branch of the Ebon Triad living in the Black Cathedral in Dourstone Mine in Diamond Lake. Smenk agrees, but only on condition of seeing the Black Cathedral and meeting the Faceless One. Dourstone uses what Smenk sees during this visit to coerce him.

The party descended the chasm left by the fallen elevator, and explored a separate wing of the tomb. They fought a water elemental in a flooded shower, and found the missing Red lantern. They returned to the main chamber and decided to rest before exploring the other elevator.

The party ventured to the cairn's inner chambers, but came up against a door none could open. They met the ghost of a child who had died in the cairn, a runway named Alastor Lands. Alastor promised to open the last door for them if they coudl lay his bones to rest beside his family's.   But when they got to the Lands' old farmstead, they found his family dug up! Some digging revealed that Balabar Smenk's goons had dug up the skeletons and given them to a personal friend of Smenk's, a necromancer who had moved into the old observatory.

The party faced off against the Faceless One, but were subdued. The cult confiscated their magic items, and stowed them in some cells. There, they met Nelelue, an elf who claimed she could help them escape, if they all worked together.   Meanwhile, Nemara, who had been absorbed into the Spellbook of Hero-Storing, found herself alone in a storage closet elsewhere in the compound.

The party rejoined Allustan the wizard and shared what they learned. They were able to confirm that the group they were dealing with was the Ebon Triad, and that their goal was to unite Vecna, Hextor, and Erythnul into an overgod. To facilitate this, they needed to bring about the Age of Worms.   This did not account for the mentioning of "Kyuss" that Nemara had heard. Lastly, they discovered that the garrison was compromised, and decided to summon reinforcements from Blackwall Keep, instead.

The party ventured into the mistmarsh to rescue the hostage soldiers. After two days of travel through the swamp, they arrived at the lizardfolk lair.

Sigvurd, Nemara, and Lins return to Diamond Lake to find the Ebon Triad has left. Vin rendezvouses with the party, and urging them to come back to the Free City with her. She tells them her uncle, Carlos Jabbar, has discovered the Ebon Triad operating in one of his warehouses.

In the evening, the party gathers at the warehouse and ventures inside. They find the place full of doppelgängers, and rescue a captive noblewoman, sheltering her in an office.

The party brings the real Vin, who had been captive all this time, back to the surface. They chase a fleeing doppelgänger into the street and get arrested, but report the goings-on to the Night Watchmen, who start investigating.

The party with the one real guard delve further, and find Vin's cousin held hostage by the doppelboss. After the battle, they escort Emiliana Jabbar to the surface with Kirin the guard.

The party regrouped and pressed on, facing off against the drow thralls who guarded these caverns. They battled the drows' high priestess and warriors, and found a set of prison cells.

The party retrieved their magic items from the Naga's hoard, but Zeke pointed out that his contract wasn't over since the Naga still lived. He was also interested in helping the party take on the Ebon Triad, so they invited him to join them on their quest.   The next day, the party was summoned by Eligos the Sage, who revealed the scrolls Raknian had bought contained a ritual for summoning a monstrous undead. He further explained that the Kyuss Nemara heard of was an elder evil whose return was said to signal the start of the Age of Worms.   Raknian would be occupied with the Champion's Games for the next week, so the party joined the games to get close to him. They hired Ekaym Smallcask, a friend of a friend of Eligos', as their manager.

The party had breakfast with their fellow gladiators in their lodgings under the arena, then engaged in their first battle! They faced off against three other teams in a battle royale, and emerged victorious.

Ekaym visited the party, and revealed that he really hired them to find out what happened to his sister Lahaka, who was last seen in Raknian's company one year ago.   That night, the party returned in full force to the secret chamber discovered under Raknian's palace. They fought a monster in a five-foot urn, but were discovered by a tiefling, who attacked them.

The party rested, then experimented with destroying the scrolls which emitted a strange green light toward the grotesquely carved doors. Neither spell nor sword nor angry muttering seemed to affect them. The scrolls seemed to be generating a form of magical field over the doors that radiated strong necromantic energy, with the scrolls themselves protected by powerful abjuration.   They pressed on and fought several Spawns of Kyuss - worm-riddled undead that tried to infest them. They explored rooms with coffins, pits, and old water pumps, but found no more clues to the riddle of the doors...

In the morning, the party called for Ekaym to deliver his sister's body. Unfortunately, it had been infected with zombies from the captive Kyuss Spawn. After clearing up this messy and traumatizing reunion, the party hastened off against their next opponents: Pitch Blade. A reclusive team of dwarves, more deadly in their intentions than any gladiators they had yet faced.

The party is torn apart, as some flee, some are restrained, and some surrender voluntarily in the wake of their chaotic infiltration.

The gang returned to Diamond Lake, which is reeling from the black dragon's devastation. It didn't take much convincing to go after the beast when they found out it had flown in pursuit of Allustan. They faced off against the creature where it waited outside the Whispering Cairn, fighting it to retreat. Upon entering, a new tunnel had been excavated...

Kaida the Psuedodragon is kidnapped by a mysterious spider-like being called the Flycatcher, and Sigvurd and Lins strike a fell bargain to get him back. But upon receiving a better offer from the charismatic Moreto, they decided to double-cross Kaida's capture. But they didn't account for how the Flycatcher would react once he realized their betrayal...

The rest of the party emerges from the spellbook in the nick of time. They flee into the fog of the Shadow Plane and meet a group of Shadar-Kai who offer both rest and a way home, but for a heavy price...

The party hunts down the Tear and discovers it is the fractured soul of Angel, the rest of which likely lies in the Hag's clutches. Cleansed by its celestic aura, the party rallies the Shadar-Kai and descends up on Granny Voidsmirk's home...

The party did a little tomb-raiding, then climbed down into the pit. Their climb quickly became a fall, and then a falling battle as they were ambushed by powerful wind warriors!