Trail of Destruction/White Plume Mountain - PCs

Introduction

This adventure begins back in Beregost, at the time that our heroes have returned to Moxie's Mixes for some rest and relaxation. Unfortunately, all is not well, as the irascible Tasmanian devil, Princess, has seemingly gotten into some potions or other consumable that has left her rather ill. She's on death's door, in fact, and Moxie is beside himself with worry. He has summoned Subean, who is working feverishly on an antidote or other cure, but is only barely managing to keep the beloved, but deranged, creature alive. Upon Creed's return, his compassion for the bedraggled beast draws the attention of his patron, Titania. Titania conferences in Creed and Subean and offers an ... unusual solution. Mostly with her help, but also with contributions from Subean, Creed, and fellow tiefling Sylvira Savikas at Candlekeep, they can merge Princess into Gizmo, creating a Princess Gizmo where the Tasmanian devil is a new form Gizmo can assume. Only in this form does Princess' "personality" emerge. Furthermore, in this new form Princess Gizmo has +1 to attack and damage due to her savage ferocity.

While at Candlekeep, the party is summoned yet again to assist the Great Reader Fheminor Scrivenbark (lightfoot halfling master sage, cultures of Toril). Following our heroes' successful deployment to Yeonido to resolve the issue with an implacable gwishin, the Magistrate Kun Ahn-Jun has once again reached out for assistance. This request, however, is of an even more fantastical nature. Two days ago, a fifty-foot tall amethyst appeared floating above the city. It slowly descended on the plain to the south of the city, a few hundred yards from the outer wall. Two strangely dressed individuals emerged through the walls at the base of this apparent vessel, then proceeded to head toward the city gate. Most of the farmers in the area had fled in terror by this point, either racing toward the city or to their homes amidst the farmland outside the wall. If any had remained to witness it, they would have seen the two travellers regard each other with puzzled expressions. They then shrugged silently and continued to march to the city. Upon reaching the gate, the unusual pair was greeted by several armed guards that didn't seem to know what to do with these lightly armed and, upon closer inspection, vaguely familiar individuals. Shortly after the reports of the jewel had spread, a messenger from the Queen arrived at the gate house with instructions to escort the newly arrived guests directly to the Seat of Dragons. They haven't been seen in the city since and the jewel remains, floating roughly 600 feet above the ground.

Take Me Back to Yeonido

The party arrives with Fheminor and finds the Concord Jewel floating above the city. They are similarly escorted to the Seat of Dragons to discover what the members of Yeonido's government have learned about this anomalous interloper. The obligatory scratchings of the gorgeous rugs covering the expansive halls of the main government building by Boxes are readily forgiven. Our heroes then find themselves in audience with the kind Magistrate Kun Ahn-Jun and the benevolent Queen Jin-Mi, along with tea shop owner Bin Chin-Hae, and uncle and advisor to the queen, Young-Gi. They recognize all of these people from their previous excursion to Yeonido, but two new figures are present, presumably the strange travellers described in Fheminor's report. Before discussing their identities and role, the Queen offers some insights into what they have learned of Yeonido's past, both leading up to and since the arrival of the crystal ship. All the while, Princess Gizmo lovingly mauls Creed's arm, to the puzzlement of those gathered there.

The city largely seems bewildered as to what is going on, but Yeonido has always been a "disconnected" city, its location shifting from place to place, sometimes randomly and sometimes when the world on which it is located is under tremendous threat. In its previous iteration, Yeonido had been on a world that essentially annihilated itself through reckless consumption and unchecked magical research. Prior to that world's collapse, the city was torn away in its entirety and pulled into the Astral Plane, where it travelled, suspended in time, until it got pulled into the magical eddies of the Second Sundering into Realmspace. The bizarre, world-bending, arcane power of that event merged Yeonido and Toril in a nearly seamless manner, even down to altering the memories of the residents of this city. However, over the past five years, older residents of Yeonido began to awaken to the nature of their new existence. After raising concerns to the magistrates, investigations of the city's endless records uncovered some pieces of the truth. The government, not wanting to alarm the city en masse, related the facts of the situation to these "conscious" residents and gained their assistance in maintaining the strange veil that provides their current, pleasant existence.

— Queen Jin-Mi

Unfortunately, their current, pleasant existence has now been upended by the unexpected appearance of the amethyst crystal in the skies above Yeonido. No one in the city, even those aware of the city's most recent relocation, knew if this was a harbinger of doom or bringer of blessings. Fortunately, it has demonstrated no ill intent and further research in the city's massive archives have revealed more of the city's unusual history. Furthermore, one of the two visitors, pilots of the crystal known as clavigers, is the daughter of Bi Chin-Hae, beloved tea shop owner. She and her co-pilot, Seong Do-Won, have spent the last five years venturing forth in the remarkable vessel from a bizarre city built upon a diamond floating in the Deep Ethereal known as the Radiant Citadel. Her name is Bi Su-Min and she shares the following regarding the amethyst crystal ship, known as a Concord Jewel.

Concord Jewels have the interesting property of always being able to return to their associated civilization, eventually, and provided it still exists. It took roughly five years for this beautiful vessel to once again locate Yeonido, but Seong Do-Won, I, and the other Clavigers never ceased in our efforts. We are very excited to reconnect Yeonido with the Radiant Citadel, restore our Speaker, and placate the long distraught Amethyst Tiger, Yeonido's Dawn Incarnate. It will be such a joyful reunion with former residents of Yeonido still living on the Citadel, for whom the last five years had been filled with an increasingly certain fear that their city had been lost forever.

— Bi Su-Min, Claviger of the Amethyst Concord Jewel

Fheminor is able to loosely corroborate her report with tales found in Candlekeep, peddled by a man named Skipjack from centuries past. Skipjack crashed on Faerun sometime after making his way to the Radiant Citadel and wrote a fantastic account of the place, offering it as a sort of travel journal. However, it was laughed off as a fairy tale, even by his contemporaries. Of course, it is now confirmed as fact. Bi Su-Min relates that Yeonido is one of the 27 founding civilizations of the Radiant Citadel, which was settled thousands of years in the past. She is ecstatic to reunite Yeonido with the Citadel after its five-year absence. After discussing with Kun Ahn-Jun, the Queen, Bin Chin-Hae, and Young-Gi, plus the clavigers, they agree to accompany the Magistrate and other members of a city delegation to the Radiant Citadel. Having had to deal with the memory-altering experiences of both the relocation of Yeonido and the haunting of the gwishin, Dae Won-Ha, the government remains wary of the stories told by visitors in massive crystals from space.

Onward and Upward

The party asks some probing questions, makes some Insight checks, and eventually agrees to travel with the delegation from Yeonido to the Radiant Citadel. After inquiring about a spyglass, Bunk is gifted a strange device, looking like a book, but functioning like some sort of binoculars, the Elder Cartographer's Glossography. After making preparations, the group boards the amethyst vessel, settles in, and enjoys a marvelous ride through the atmosphere above Faerun and into the Ethereal plane. In a short while, for the crystal must have travelled at incredible speeds, the party arrives at the Radiant Citadel. It is a marvelous structure, with layers of a densely built city atop discs of stone arranged around an absolutely enormous diamond. The first stop is the Passage of Respite, where a number of other Concord Jewels are docking and undocking, engaged in commercial transport. All manner of cargo and people come and go. Our delegation from Yeonido and their crystal ship soon reach the front of the queue and the passengers disembark. They're immediately greeted by a group of guards, whose job it is to catalogue the visitors and goods passing into and out of the city, along with an entry fee. The government of Yeonido has covered the fee for its rugged adventurers, so no worries there.

Next, the delegation is instructed to proceed to the Preserve of the Ancestors, which is apparently located in the diamond itself, or the Auroral Diamond as it is formally called. They certainly make up an unusual assortment of characters, even in a place where people from over a dozen civilizations mingle. Boxes gets some strange looks, both for his appearance and for his behaviour, while Cornelius is well-regarded for his distinctive appearance. Vanyel manages to spot fellow owlin in the crowd, but it is only a passing glance as he dutifully keeps an eye on the wandering tabaxi. Speaking of Boxes, he is the first to stray from the group and makes his way into a race track, drawn by the smell of many small animals. Boxes winds up making a wager on one of the races, mimicking the actions of the bettor in front of him, despite having no idea what he is doing. Upon seeing the strange, six-legged, vaguely greyhound-like animals streaking around the race track, chasing a hollyphant that serves as the lure, Boxes decides that these swift creatures would be too difficult to catch and make a meal of. Under Vanyel's observation, he leaves and makes his way back to the main path in the Trade Discal. I believe Vanyel and Boxes then stopped for some kabobs, while Cornelius obtained some "space popcorn" from a vendor based out of a civilization named Tletepec. The vendor is impressed by Cornelius, but incorrectly guesses that he is from Tayyib, one of the civilizations recently returned to the Citadel. The three rejoin the delegation on its procession through the Trade Discal and Celeste hears of the remarkable healing enabled by the House of Convalescence (learned that healing spells require no diamonds as components when cast there). Fheminor feverishly takes notes on all the sights, sounds, and lore encountered along the way, fairly buzzing with excitement.

A Family Reunion

The delegation finally arrives at the Preserve of the Ancestors. Inside they find a baffling, natural expanse, filled with an eclectic collection of wildlife. Vegetation somehow grows directly from the floor and walls of the hollowed-out diamond, while some source of light illuminate the Preserve from a point far above. At some distance, in what seems to be the center of the Preserve, is a circular amphitheater, recessed into the ground and surrounded by a Stonehenge-like arrangement of large crystals, suspended in the air. Looking around, the party starts to notice a variety of entirely different sorts of creatures, ones composed of loose assemblies of gemstones, floating together. While clearly not organic, they behave in a manner identical to the actual animal they resemble. Squirrels, rabbit, birds, even insects are among their number. The delegation moves through this fantastic locale toward the amphitheater, where they find a collection of impressive individuals engaged in mostly casual conversation. These small circles of discussion quiet, one by one, as the presence of the delegation is noticed. From the middle of the amphitheater, an impressively elderly dragonborn woman, profoundly regal, rises from a bench to greet them. Standing next to her is a very large tiger, comprised of hundreds of amethyst crystals. Beaming, she takes a few careful steps forward as the other Speakers arrange themselves to greet the delegation. The elderly woman introduces herself as Jin-Yun, former Queen of Yeonido, and great-great-grandmother to the current beloved monarch, Queen Jin-Mi. Young-Gi is initially stunned, but quickly overjoyed to find that Jin-Yun is still alive and in reasonably good health. Jin-Yun speaks words of elation and welcome at the return of Yeonido to the Radiant Citadel and proudly takes her position as Speaker of Yeonido once again. To make it official, a leonin man, Pyxathor Sunguide, Speaker of Arcavios and apparently the leader of the assembly, issues a proclamation. Vanyel is able to recognize markings on his garb as representing the Order of Lorehold from Strixhaven University.

With the brief official proceedings completed and the natives of Yeonido engaged in discussion with Jin-Yun and a few of the other Speakers, the party is free to interact with whomever they like. Vanyel notices that while Pyxathor is officially the leader of the assembly, it seems that the Speakers collectively defer to an older human female, whose name he overhears to be Sholeh. Boxes is approached by the amethyst tiger and engaged in a halting conversation. The tiger is the Dawn Incarnate of Yeonido and seems very interested in Boxes, although Boxes is wary. They notice that the Incarnates seem to just barely float above the ground.

I'm Sending Out an S.O.S.

Not too long after, another Speaker arrives in a very anxious state, shattering the happiness of the gathering. Yoali Xopa, Speaker of Tletepec, has received disturbing news from his home regarding disastrous earthquakes and volcanoes that have recently started to rock the cities of Tletepec.

Party Checkpoint: 2023-01-15

Adventure Hook?

At Yoali's behest and with his ardent pleas for aid to be sent to Tletepec and to his granddaughter, Ameyali, the Speakers of the various civilizations of the Citadel convene. Pyxathor, speaking for the council, indicates that they will consult with Arayat, the leader of the Shieldbearers, to gather a force to aid Tletepec. The Shieldbearers have many of the bravest heroes of the Citadel amongst their members and are deployed to member civilizations in crisis, typically as rescue or recovery teams. The party gets the impression that Arayat may be a difficult person to deal with at this time. Yoali is thankful for the other Speakers' consideration, but does not appear to be fully comforted by the determined course of action.

Following this, the party engages in various conversations and observations. Bunk is eager to gain knowledge that will increase their survival probability in a geologically active land and speaks to the claviger Seung, who mentions the Library of the Speakers, where the contributed works from the member civilizations of the Citadel have been collected. They will meet later at the Passage of Respite, where Seung provides a reference by which Bunk can gain access. Creed strikes up a conversation with an owlin, Cher Wingback. The charismatic bard is a professor in Silverquill College at Strixhaven University. Elsewhere, the party observes the Amethyst Tiger of Yeonido speaking with an Obsidian Eagle, the Dawn Incarnate of Tletepec.

Further Outcomes, Summarized

• Bunk does research for several hours at the Library of the Speakers and obtains expertise in Survival checks when dealing with volcanoes and earthquakes.
• Celeste visits the House of Convalescence, meets Yasamin Rashani, of the Akharin Sangar civilization, in room 19. She studies with Yasamin for several hours, gaining much knowledge in herbalism. Celeste now has the ability, given five days time and adequate ingredients, to craft an Elixir of Health.
• Cornelius, Vanyel, and Creed (after the latter obtains a bunch of food and is ambushed by Boxes) make their way to Court of Whispers, where they encounter Marek Surlack, a past associate of Moxie's. Marek tells them that they might be called upon to do a service for the Citadel, which could be lucrative. Marek also refers the group to Alexei Szalay's store, Szalay's Mercantile, for good deals on magic items. See below for a list (and please submit updates if incomplete/inaccurate).
• After their various errands and diversions, the party reconvenes at The Inn of the Very Last Home, the preferred lodging destination for adventurers in the Radiant Citadel. The innkeeper is the excellent, yet fiery, Teeka Wayland, who is happy to provide the party with food and some unusual selections from their intergalactic cocktail menu. The festivities are interrupted, however, when Arayat, leader of the Shieldbearers, meets them at the Inn with a small escort. He pleads with them to take the case, so to speak. Arayat is a man under duress, his own company of heroes stretched thin. He is unwilling to allow more of his adventurers to be at risk, but promises to make it worth our party's while if they will venture to Tletepec. The party warily accepts and will depart in the morning. Now it's time to blow off some steam with some drinks!

Magic Items

• Creed: Rod of the Pact Keeper +1
• Cornelius: All-Purpose Tool +2 (traded plans for unknown machine)
• Vanyel: Bracers of Archery, Nature's Mantle
• Celeste: Gauntlets of Ogre Power
• Boxes: Periapt of Wound Closure, Javelin of Lightning
• Bunk: Gloves of Thievery, Dagger +1

Drinks

• Creed: Griffin Nest, shot of dwarven brandy w/a raw egg; made a CON save to prevent a fit of vomiting
• Cornelius: Meaty Mead, thick enough to hold up a spoon; +2 STR/CHA saves for 2 hours, let's see how you feel in the morning (half-speed until short rest)
• Vanyel: Jelly Drink, basically a jello shot inside of a minty liquid; sour and sweet tastes are swapped for 30 minutes
• Celeste: Shirley Temple of Elemental Evil, chaotic mix of base elements, w/an evil taint; sees evil elementals for next 15 minutes, plus ???
• Boxes: Zozo Juice, fiery red drink w/orange bubbles; failed (?) a CON save, fire resistance for 12 hours, poison resistance for 2 days
• Bunk: ripping beers from the Alchemy Jug, living it up with Teeka Wayland

Party Checkpoint: 2023-01-29

The Final Prelude

After a rough night with some unexpected consequences, Bunk is the first to wake in the morning, following his usual routine. Up one hour early, five gallons of water, and offer some prayers to whatever deity will listen that the demonic hangover will be exorcised. Somehow, Teeka has managed to appear at that early hour, as bright and cheerful as a sunny day. She prepares a delicious breakfast of Otyck's spiced potatoes and assorted hearty delights. Boxes is also an early riser and makes his way outside of the inn to relieve himself on a nearby tree. Unfortunately (or not), his timing is terrible (or not) and Arayat, with his usual retinue, is passing by on the way to the inn. This chance encounter precipitates yet another migraine for the beleaguered leader of the Shieldbearers, and he is in a foul mood upon entering the inn. Arayat's disposition only darkens when he finds Bunk looking much the worse for wear, along with the rest of the party, save for Boxes. Vanyel, still not fully up to speed, attempts to use his newly acquired mantle to hide from the surly warrior, but fails, while Creed can't even manage to make it down the stairs without falling. Sensing Arayat's cranial pain, Celeste graciously offers some mushroom tea as treatment. The pièce de résistance, however, is provided by Boxes via the delivery of a freshly killed pigeon as a gift to Arayat.

While the rest of the party worked diligently on recovery for their mission, Boxes honed his hunting skills against the native fauna. Two squirrels and two pigeons caught the feline's attention and he was able to swipe a pigeon before the squirrels scurried off. Not yet satisfied with his performance, Boxes lunged after a squirrel, then chased it up a tree. While he came very close to successfully offing the critter, the squirrel was able to evade Boxes' deadly grasp by ducking into a hole it had previously burrowed through a nearby house's eave. Boxes' rooftop adventure raised the ire of the homeowner, who gave a hoot and a holler before Boxes returned to the inn with the pigeon. Once the precious gift was given to Arayat, he shockingly snatched it off the bar and stormed out, with a stern reminder that the party should arrive at the Passage of Respite to depart at the appointed time.

After all that, the party managed to get their act together, even finding some time to pick up a few magic items before making their way to the Passage. There, they meet two clavigers of Tletepec, Yul Temich, a dwarven woman, and Sinti Coyac, a tiefling man. That unremarkable pair pilot an intimidating, but comfortable, obsidian Concord Jewel. After some brief formalities, the party boards and departs for their next destination, Tletepec, a land besieged by quakes and fire.

On the Trail of Destruction

The Concord Jewel is forced to land, as expected, a bit outside the city of Etizalan due to the harsh geography of the area. After disembarking, the Concord Jewel returns to the sky and the party makes their way up the road to Etizalan. It doesn't take long for our intrepid heroes to meet their first harrowing encounter, as a toppled over cart and its three holy passengers are under assault from what appear to be two salamanders and two fire snakes! Fortunately, the party's incredible offensive prowess dominates the field, although an errant blast by Cornelius' Eldritch Cannon nearly does one of the clergy in. They learn that the leader of the trio is Ameyali, the granddaughter of Speaker Yoali from the Citadel and one of the primary representatives of Etizalan. She is appreciative, offering to heal any wounds the party incurred along with valuable information regarding the dangers awaiting the party in Tletepec.

• The region around Etizalan is suffering a spate of earthquakes and incursions from fiery monsters.
• Three days ago, Ameyali sent four of the town’s best warriors to seek insight from the Watchers of the Ashes. They dwell at the Twin Gods Observatory, a site of volcanic study that normally warns Etizalan of impending earthquakes and eruptions. The warriors have not returned.
• Ameyali and her fellow travelers intended to look for the warriors and then take offerings to the Gate of Illumination, a shrine to the gods, in hopes of placating them and quelling the earthquakes.
• The group has traveled only a couple of miles from Etizalan, and the journey has already proven more dangerous than expected. For their safety, her group must abandon its mission.

Once the characters and Ameyali reach Etizalan, she thanks them again and asks if they’ll do her another favor. She’s still concerned about her town’s warriors. She asks the characters to go to the Twin Gods Observatory and find out what happened to them. In return, she offers to pay the characters 400 gp each, and they will have earned the gratitude of her people.

— Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, Trail of Destruction, Ameyali's Request

Following the rescue of Ameyali, the our valiant heroes make their way back to Etizalan. There, they find a welcoming populace in the small town and lodging in the Jolly Cotinga, an inn run by Tzalanti Pale, a dwarven woman. At Ameyali's suggestion, the party makes their way into town to gather information and to buy some chocolate (95% cacao for Celeste, but none for Vanyel). In addition to hearing more tales of salamanders and fire snakes, and lamentations of the frequency of the earthquakes, the party learns of the prophecy of the Ashrise, by which Tletepec is ultimately destroyed. The Watchers of the Ashes are monitoring the signs, but they are fearful and confused. Bunk and Creed hear debates regarding whether the Ashrise is caused by the fire giant Xocopol raising an army of his kin or if he is simply a misunderstood loner. They also hear about the Gate of Illumination, a temple built into one of the most impressive of Tletepec's volcanoes, the Jademount. Offerings sent there to placate the vulcan spirits have either failed to arrive or are being disregarded. Finally, more of the dangers plaguing travel in Tletepec are described.

To the Twin Gods Observatory

After a restful night, Ameyali gifts the party with a map of the region and instructions on how to reach the Observatory. Their first waypoint is the city of Xoxotla, the largest in Tletepec and its erstwhile capital. The trail winds roughly 17 miles alongside a river flowing out of Atialli Lake before branching off to Xoxotla and requires roughly a day's travel. Our heroes make good time, avoiding the dangers of the landscape until a fissure opens along the river and the party is assaulted by three salamanders and three fire snakes! This assault proves to be quite a bit more challenging than the first, with Celeste and Boxes among those wrapped up in the fiery tails of the salamanders. Vanyel's aerial assault, Celeste's icy breath, and several rays of frost from Bunk help to turn the tide, while Cornelius' Eldritch Cannon twice more misfires, once striking Celeste! Eventually, the party is triumphant, though several have taken serious damage.

Party Checkpoint: 2023-02-26

Shenanigans in Xoxotla

Following the harrowing combat and without further incident, the party arrives in Xoxotla, the erstwhile capital of Tletepec. While not dissimilar to Etizalan in nature, the scale and state of the upkeep are much improved. The party checks in at the Magnanimous Morn, the premier inn experience catering especially to adventurers traversing the beautiful, and currently quite dangerous, landscapes of Tletepec. The innkeep is Yeyetzi Atzin, a tiefling woman with near iridiscent greenish skin, something close to what Creed's is slowly becoming. She is quite helpful and charms/is charmed by Bunk, who takes a deluxe room and promises to leave a glowing Yelp review. Bunk then departs to find the Trail Keepers, an organization that keeps paths throughout Tletepec safe and clear, and who happen to have the best vantage point in the city. Reaching them, he ascends their tower and, with the aid of the Trail Keepers' guidance and his glossography, is pointed in the direction of the fire giant, Xocopol. After their exchange, Bunk elects to quickly depart, feather falling from top of the tower, cucumber water in hand, unperturbed.

Vanyel and Cornelius also do some exploring in Xoxotla, but more for the purpose of unwinding in their natural environments after the stresses of travel in Tletepec. Vanyel does a bit of soaring above the city in his usual fashion, where he is able to spy landmarks such as White Plume Mountain and Bunk atop the Trail Keepers' tower. Cornelius elects to take a long walk off a short pier directly into the lake, where he expertly collects five fish. Emerging from his expedition soggy, but victorious, the excellent artificer makes a quick stop to purchase some salt to cure his fish and retires to his room at the Magnanimous Morn thereafter.

Creed, Celeste, and ... Boxes all stay at the inn for some food and drink. Boxes starts to rage at the somewhat sassy bartender and lifts him up rather roughly. Creed, Boxes' assigned keeper at the time, is able to craftily deploy Gizmo to disarm Boxes by invisibly sneaking his greatsword away before things get really out of hand. The sturgeon helps to calm Boxes down, although I think the asparagus triggered the rage. Creed enjoyed a spicy fruit salad, I believe. In the meantime, Celeste watches from a booth, amused and relieved to not have to deal with the temperamental tabaxi. She relaxes with mead and a pineapple banana dish, but the calmness is broken by Creed's misty step departure, leaving Celeste in charge. Fortunately, Boxes eventually finds a quiet, comfortable spot to nap (where he stays for quite a while), and Celeste is able to escape cat-sitting duty with a smoke bomb. (My notes are pretty spotty here, is that really what happened?!)

One of Those Pesky Earthquakes

The next morning, our stalwart companions depart Xoxotla and the comforts of the Magnanimous Morn. On the way, our heroes come across a rather exotic person of faith, who calls themself Ollin. Ollin is another tiefling and some manner of priest/performer that has taken it upon themself to spread joy wherever they go. Ollin implores the party to let them join, to which the party reluctantly assents.

Eventually, the party reaches the Twin Gods Observatory, where they encounter three Watchers of the Ashes, apparently loitering outside. The names of these folks are never revealed, since the party doesn't bother to ask, but they were likely put off by the disdainful manner in which these Watchers regarded our heroes. After some sweet talking, the Watchers admit that they are simply exhausted by the countless inquiries they have been receiving from across Tletepec. Dozens of volcanoes have been active and they still don't have any answers. Unfortunately, they know nothing of the warriors from Etizalan, but they refer the stalwart companions to their leader, Tonalli, who watches vigilantly from the top of the Observatory.

Most of the party enters the tower and carefully ascends the open, spiral staircase leading to the top. Boxes, however, puts his feline agility to use and scales the exterior, while Vanyel simply flies. The latter two reach the top first and find the dwarven leader of the Watchers exhausted and distraught, but perhaps closer to unravelling the mystery of the geologic activity. The warriors from Etizalan did, in fact, arrive three days prior and were sent promptly to Jademount, the site of the Gate of Illumination, where the eruptions have been the strongest. Since that time, Tonalli has come to believe that the cause of the eruptions is the mythical tlexolotl, fiery spirits that are said to inhabit each volcano in Tletepec. As they begin to awaken, the activity associated with their respective volcano increases. Even if this theory is correct, Tonalli still has no explanation as to what is causing the tlexolotl to awaken.

As the remainder of the party ascends the stairs, yet another earthquake strikes, causing the tower to shake and start to tumble. Fortunately for Vanyel and Boxes, they are able to quickly descend in the same manner in which they made their respective ascents. Rather than leaving Tonalli completely high and dry, Vanyel casts Longstrider on him before dipping out. The devout dwarf, overtaken by fear, starts dashing down the stairs. He can probably hear the party concocting their various escape routes. Fortunately, at Level 8, they all have some enhanced means of escape. Bunk executes a well-timed Feather Fall to float to the floor, unbothered and with signature cucumber water in hand. Celeste, of course, initiates another incredible display of "monk shit", that gets her down safely in plenty of time. Creed takes a similar approach to that of Bunk, managing to Misty Step at the right time in his fall to appear gracefully on the tower floor. Only Cornelius is under some duress, as he can merely dash down the steps until he attempts to use his Ring of Jumping to expedite the descent. This doesn't go perfectly, however, and he takes a tumble while landing. No major harm done. Ollin bravely rallies the Watchers outside the tower, screaming with tremendous valour throughout the ordeal. Thankfully, and incredibly dramatically, Tonalli emerges from the tower running full tilt, and dives toward the party while the Observatory implodes behind him, like something out of a Michael Bay film.

Onward to the Gate of Illumination

The stalwart companions solemnly make their way back to Xoxotla, Tonalli and Ollin in tow, knowing that they must now make their way to the Gate of Illumination to discover if Tonalli's theory is correct and if Etizalan's warriors ever made it to their destination. After a night to rest and recover in the capital, our heroes once again set out through the dangerous countryside of Tletepec. This time, they bring offerings of their own, including blessed fish from Cornelius, Bunk's brass spray bottle, and a pan flute. As Ollin pleads with the party to allow him to continue to accompany them, Cornelius also packs some earplugs to make time with the talkative priest more tolerable. Roughly half way through the 18 mile journey, they come upon a disturbing site. Yet another wagon carrying offerings, yet another scene of wreckage and theft. Burn marks and broken arrows surround four fallen travellers. Our astute adventurers are able to quickly deduce that salamanders participated in the attack and the tracks they left lead toward the Gate of Illumination.

Just as our heroes depart the grisly scene, a roar is heard from just down the road. Soon, a massive figure fills their view: Xocopol, the fabled fire giant has arrived! He yells at the party to desist and return, claiming that the offerings are only fueling the awakening of the volcanoes. Cornelius is able to placate the giant with some of the fish he's brought along and a kinship shared over their similar skin tone. Xocopol, now convinced of the truth of the party's mission, agrees to accompany them on the way to the Gate and shares further information about the tlexolotl, namely that the one in the Jademount has indeed awakened. The salamanders and fire snakes are servants of the tlexolotl and have been stealing and hoarding offerings, then carrying them to other volcanoes throughout Tletepec.

Party Checkpoint: 2023-03-19

Let's Negotiate

Further along the path to the Gate of Illumination, our heroes come across a particularly treacherous piece of terrain, with the earth torn apart by several chasms filled with lava. From those fiery pools emerged a vicious cadre of four fire snake and two salamanders. Oddly enough, they initially seemed hesitant to attack, until finally provoked, at which point a fire elemental emerged as well, seriously threatening the party. However, the stalwart companions, with some serious firepower (no pun intended) from Xocopol, managed to turn the tide. Xocopol went toe to toe with one of the salamanders, while Vanyel in particular rained death from above with precision arrows. Once the fire elemental was vanquished, Ollin initiated an uncharacteristically brave and Ignan negotiation and the mollified monsters surrendered. The remaining salamander accompanied the party to the Gate and aided Ollin in conducting further negotiations with the remaining monsters in the Gate.

The shrine itself is beautiful, if not quite warm, with bright murals, altars, offerings, and all the things you'd expect to find in such a place. A room to the east contains three statues that puzzled our heroes, until they realized that each of the two missing urns should be returned. Once they were found and restored to their proper statues, the magically filled liquid turns out to be the equivalent of three Potions of Fire Resistance! There were some shenanigans, largely driven by Creed, around the lesser fire resistant liquid that appeared as a precursor to the proper potion, but I won't go into that in detail. Elsewhere, Cornelius recovers a tan bag, from which he later draws an Ape. Eventually, the party reaches the magma pool deeper within the shrine and comes face to face with the legendary tlexolotl, Izel. Not a terribly intelligent creature, but our stalwart companions learn that he was the first to awaken due to a massive disturbance under White Plume Mountain, the largest and one of the most sacred volcanoes in the region. Izel has gathered the salamanders and fire snakes from the Plane of Fire to help contact and awaken the other tlexolotl in the area, thus causing the increasing geological havoc in Tletepec. Unfortunately, Izel is not aware of the violent methods being employed by the salamanders, nor does he understand humanoids and mortality in general. He only knows that he and his extended tlexolotl family are in peril due to the situation in White Plume Mountain. The party, through Ollin as an interpreter, manage to coax a "ceasefire" of sorts out of Izel so that our heroes can deal with whatever madness has occurred. In addition, he agrees to release the four warriors from Etizalan that are chained in the room. They are unharmed, but weak from neglect. Izel was interested in them for a time, but seemed to have treated them with no specific ill intent.

Getting to the Bottom of Things in White Plume Mountain

Departing from the Gate with the rescued warriors in tow, the stalwart companions head off to White Plume Mountain after a quick stop in Tietlan to restock and recharge! They are accompanied by Ollina and their new salamander friend, Xind, to prevent further harrassment, but they both stay behind once the party enters the mountain. Our heroes quickly find that the interior of the mountain has been carved into a dungeon, although they know not why or by whom. The floors are covered by slippery mud, submerged under about a foot of water, which makes for slow going. There is algae and fungus floating in the water and covering the walls. While harmless, it lends to the feeling of squalor emanating from the early sections of the dungeon.

The first challenge the party faces comes from a gynosphinx, but the riddle presented by the scraggly beast proves no match for the incredible collective intellect of our heroes. Next, they manage to detect and navigate a large pit, hidden by the water. More bizarre is their next challenge, a corridor flanked by copper plates that manage to heat metal to incredible temperatures. A Bag of Holding comes in handy for negotiating this trap, but the party is ambushed by eight ghouls after making their way through. They escape up the stairs momentarily, but find themselves facing down a slippery situation, quite literally. Using some excellently placed ropes courtesy of Vanyel's flight, they almost make it across the frictionless floor and rusty razor metal pits without incident, but eventually everyone crosses safely and avoids contracting super-tetanus. The pursuing ghouls comically fall into the pits.

Party Checkpoint: 2023-04-16

Joe Exotic's Nature Preserve ... of Horrors!

After making their way out of the room with ye olde frictionless floor, our heroes head west, then quickly reach a tee and elect to head south. After opening the door they reach at the end of the hallway, they find themselves in a bizarre and dangerous terraced aquarium. From the level they've entered, they can see four additional levels, each ten feet high, descending in shrinking rectangles below them. More interestingly, they alternate between dry land and aquariums. The first level below contains no less than six giant crayfish, while the one below that has six giant scorpions. The next aquarium level below that likely contains some yet unknown creatures, while the ground floor most terrifyingly houses three manticores. The stalwart companions are immediately noticed by the crayfish, who seem to be looking for food. Creed is happy enough to oblige, but the ensuing thrashing about by the large crustaceans draws the attention of the manticores below. For some reason, they don't fly up, but they do begin to recklessly (and often aimlessly) hurl their tail spikes at the party. Celeste erects some earthen fortifications to protect our heroes, then proceeds to taunt the manticores mercilessly while dodging as only a mad monk can. Bunk, Creed, and Cornelius do their best to inflict some damage on the manticores while not taking too much damage from the tail spikes. Unfortunately for the crayfish, they get caught in the crossfire, which enrages them (insofar as the dumbest creatures alive can feel emotions) and drives a few to join in the attack. One of Celeste's barriers is destroyed, but that proves to be a perfect camouflage for Bunk, who was relentlessly hiding as a roguish counterpoint to Celeste's dodging.

In the meantime, Vanyel and Gizmo turn invisible and take the aerial approach to reach a door that the party spies at the southern edge of the lowest level. They manage to evade the manticores and get in through the door before drawing the evil beasts' attention. Making their way down a short hallway, they enter a small room, lavishly decorated and containing an unusually tall hookah and one pudgy halfling warrior. The unseeable pair navigate the room stealthily and eventually wind up meeting at the divan, under which they find a number of intriguing items. The stash includes a whole lot of coins, some fabulous jewelry, a Potion of Greater Healing, a Scroll of Protection from Fiends, and some lovely armor. Of greater import, however, is the discovery of a sword of unusual construction. Whatever material the blade is made of seems to shine like a starry night sky, while the scabbard glitters with meticulously cut pieces of volcanic obsidian. Vanyel and Gizmo collect what they can and attempt to sneak out of the room, but the sword seems to have a mind of its own and manages to terrify its holder (Gizmo, I think?) enough that it is dropped close to the door. This catches the attention of the halfing, who had been puffing away on the hookah, but now abruptly transforms into a rather dire giant. The grim fellow, apparently enraged, snatches up the sword and charges out through the door on the heels of our heroes. Unable to catch the brazen thieves, the giant unleashes a Cone of Cold upon the terraced aquarium, causing immense damage to the creatures and structures within. Two of the manticores are killed, while the glass containing the lower of the aquarium levels is destroyed, causing a flood of the lowest level. From their vantage point, the party can see a shimmering field cover the doorway in which stands the glowering giant. The water crashes against it, but to no effect. The door is slammed behind this force field as it disappears beneath the water. Ominously, the party can observe four strange creatures thrashing about in the water.

With these dramatic events having unfurled, and Vanyel and Gizmo safely rejoining the party, they collectively retreat to the northern end of the passage. In the room there, a rushing current is found ... suspended in midair, floating two feet about the ground. This rapidly flowing stream is about three feet deep and six feet wide, and passes in a westerly flow from a hole in the northeast corner in the room. There are six kayaks as well, each able to carry two paddlers. However, there are no paddles in the room. Perplexed, exhausted, and in need of a rest, the stalwart companions elect to hunker down for a time. Making the best of a bad situation, a giant crayfish is dragged in from the aquarium and prepared with mayonnaise from the Alchemy Jug (or something like that).

Party Checkpoint: 2023-05-07

Aquarium of Danger, Round 2

After spending a peaceful night (?) in the room with the floating stream, the party debates their next move and settles on tying up the loose ends in the aquarium and beyond. Upon entering the aquarium room once again, they find that the water that had flooded the lower level has drained out overnight. The party puzzles over how to deal with the now beached sea lions (not the fun Pier 39 kind) populating the lowest level, along with the wing-clipped manticore. Celeste quickly settles on continuing to taunt the giant crayfish, but takes it another step and uses her Water Whip to attempt to grapple one. She ends up in the water, battling mightily with one of the creatures. Eventually, her incredible will (and "monk shit") overpowers the creature and Celeste is able to pitch it over the aquarium glass and into the scorpion's area. The other crayfish manage to snag Cornelius and Creed in the ensuing fracas. Celeste continues to dump the poor lobster-kin into direct conflict with the giant scorpions, but things remain cordial between the distant invertebrate relatives for a time. Creed manages to unleash the Arms of Hadar and escape, while Cornelius is fairly comfortable in his submerged state. I think he used a Thunderwave to free himself from a grapple? Bunk also telekinetically frees allies and stirs the pot with the crayfish and scorpions. At one point, Celeste is able to snag the manticore's tail spike and Vanyel finishes it off with a vicious shot from Yfandes. Vanyel, Bunk, and Creed pepper the combatants with arrows, shorter arrows, Rays of Frost, and Eldritch Blasts. Creed, Gizmo, and Bunk begin to seed the new scorpion-crayfish tenement with strategically placed rations in an attempt to incite some inter-species violence. Sure enough, the plan works, setting off a slowly spiraling cycle of violence that ultimately results in the deaths of all of the beasts. Cornelius helps things along with a Shatter spell after seeing the scorpions attempting to smash the glass. This unleashes the rest of the water and carries all the survivors into a battle royale that now includes the sea lions.

Our heroes patiently wait things out and are rewarded with a lot of dead beasts and a once again drained lower level. Their path toward the strange giant with the sentient sword is reopened, as is the path to another giant crayfish dinner. In addition, a safe is discovered in the northern wall of the lower level. Bunk recognizes the make and model of the safe and is able to both disarm the sonic trap (joke's on you, trap, all the glass has already been destroyed!) and to open the safe. Within it, the party recovers a serious stash of silver coins and a finely wrought piece of jewelry. Their mission objective once again in sight, the party turns to the southern passage to confront the room's unhappy resident.

Dance Fighting in the Dark and a New Companion

Before barging in to confront the final menace in this portion of the dungeon, our heroes hatch a plan. Creed, now armed with fancy 5th level spells, proposes using Polymorph to change the giant into something significantly less menacing, which seems like a great idea. Unfortunately, as the door is kicked down and Creed unleashes the spell, a magical Darkness falls over the party and the spell completely fizzles, as the giant turns out to be a shapechanger and, therefore, immune to its effects. Finding themselves at a significant disadvantage (literally), the stalwart companions are then faced with another Cone of Cold that rips through their ranks. Celeste attempts to move into visible melee range and lands some blows, but is unable to stun the monster or break its concentration. Cornelius sends his eldritch cannon marching straight toward the creature, where it detonates. This causes more harm to the party than to the giant, much to our heroes' chagrin. The giant tears through the party with its massive glaive, but Vanyel and Creed manage to maneuver out of the darkness and land some clean shots. Cornelius manages to atone somewhat with Tasha's Caustic Brew, but the final strike is delivered by Creed with his trusty Blight spell. Once felled, the party is able to recover all of the treasure left behind previously.

As they soon learn to regret, one singular item, the sentient sword, turns out to be quite the chatty instrument. Blackrazor is only interested in one thing, and that is the reaping of souls. Every member of the party that lays a hand on the dark blade is constantly pestered with promises of immeasurable power in exchange for souls that will help to bring about the Ashrise. The sword indicates that it was forged by Nextepehua, the god of ashes and overseer of the underworld, as a harbinger of the Ashrise. It also makes an oblique and somewhat ominous mention of its "friends", presumably also residing in this dungeon. Fortunately for Tletepec, Blackrazor has yet to convince any of the party members to attune to it, and it has been stuffed in a Bag of Holding. It seems unlikely that Blackrazor will give up trying, but we can all be thankful that Boxes is not with us at present, else who knows what chaos might ensue. Having secured the valuable contents of the room, save for the giant hookah, the party returns once again to the floating stream to feast on giant crayfish.

Party Checkpoint: 2023-05-21

Up the River with a Crayfish Paddle

The next chapter in this spelunking expedition of doom takes our party on a fishing expedition on the aforementioned floating stream that passes through their bivouac site. After spending another restful night following the epic conclusion of their age of aquarium, our heroes wake and shake off the crayfish hangover while pondering how to approach the river. Their time to contemplate options is cut short by an increasingly urgent pounding on the door to the room. There is no response from whatever is attempting to breach their modest fortification, so the party hustles to board the only vessels available to them. Some excellent displays of skill sort most of our heroes out, getting into the kayaks before being blasted out of the room in the rushing current. Celeste even has the gall/skill to barefoot waterski along behind Creed. Unfortunately, it quickly becomes apparent that this is no Billy Joel-style river of dreams, as Bunk and Creed are snared in nets wielded by pairs of knights lying in wait in the next room. A mighty champion oversees these eight warriors, who are eager to dish out some pain on our stalwart companions. Bunk uses his telekinetic powers to shove one of the knights into the river, who promptly exits, stage right. Unfortunate, these foes are relentless and uncharacteristically effective with their greatswords and teamwork. When it comes to the heavy crossbows, however, they are mercifully inept. In any case, Bunk and Creed escape the nets quickly, the battle is joined, and ... an invisible stalker blasts into the room, pinning Cornelius and Celeste with its windy slams, Chicago Cubs style. A true battle of attrition ensues, with Creed knocked unconscious and nearly every party member down to 15 HP or less. There are several top notch examples of Mega Man 3 slides under the river. Bunk is able to both soak up some damage and devastate Sir Bluto, the champion, with his rapier and roguish precision. The stalker eventually falls, but the real hero was probably Gizmo. After the washed away knight returns and is set to take out Vanyel, our favourite imp lands a killing blow from behind. The final knight is wisely preserved for questioning. The party scavenges a pair of magical boots and a key from Sir Bluto, which is found to open a door in the southwest corner of the room. A passageway leading back to the hallway connecting the aquarium and their boathouse sanctuary. Another dangerous room survived, excelsior!

Party Checkpoint: 2023-06-11

A Brief Correction and Prelude

After a rest in the kayak room, the lone survivor of the epic fracas, known only as K1, was lightly interrogated by the party. The man primarily revealed two things, that he is a redneck of sorts, and that Sir Bluto was responsible for a massacre. After a spell in prison, Sir Bluto, along with his knights, were inexplicably, magically whisked from their cells and deposited in this dungeon. Armed with this knowledge, there remains some debate as to this knight was left alone to flee the dungeon, or was killed by the party. The party stripped the armor and weapons from the knights, along with Sir Bluto's more valuable possessions. These were packed carefully away in the party's Folding Boat for the time being. And now, back to the show ...

Look What Dragged the Cat In

After some time spent in the wilderness, Boxes miraculously made his way to the entrance of White Plume Mountain, having tracked Vanyel's scent, as he is wont to do. Unfortunately, his passage into the depths of the mountain was immediately stymied by the presence of the old gynosphinx. Rather than attempting to answer the creature's riddle, Boxes became confused and angry (some might say enraged), and proceeded to attack. The gynosphinx put up with his insanity for a period of time, but another pesky invisible stalker appeared and took over the battle, with the puzzling gatekeeper retreating behind its barrier. The gynosphinx allowed that it might provide passage if Boxes' friends showed up to vouch for him, but unfortunately, that did not occur quickly enough. Our giant cat-man-baby dealt out enough damage to fell his invisible adversary, but nearly succumbed to his many injuries in the process. Oh, and the gynosphinx banished (twice) and de-aged the tabaxi, just for fun. Eventually, the party returned and was reunited. With a great opportunity presented and some interest from stalwart companions, the gynosphinx provides a lesson on the lore of Tletepec and the nature of what White Plume Mountain currently is, along with descriptions of the three stolen artifacts that provide the mountain's power.

A Lesson in Tletepec's History

As revealed by the gynosphinx to our heroes, this is a brief accounting of why White Plume Mountain is no longer a volcano and has become a dangerous dungeon.

While all in Tletepec know the tale of the Twin Gods and the Ashrise, few aside from the fire giants roaming the mountains give much thought to what came before the Twin Gods arrived. Do the good people of Tletepec believe that no harm was done when the Twin Gods' sacrifice transformed the land? That whatever came before simply acquiesced to the charisma of the Twin Gods? No, they are taught nothing of it, although the Watchers of the Ashes know the truth. Why do you think they are so fearful of the Ashrise? It is not the fading of mortal memories that will bring about the end of this land, but the return of those who were wronged so very long ago, finally taking vengeance upon the interlopers that took their lives.

Tletepec was never as barren as the legends say. Inhospitable, yes, but there was a rich culture thriving in this place. Fire giants and a reclusive society of elves worshipped the Old Gods and lived fruitful lives, despite the hardships they faced. The Old Gods were numerous and grand, a full pantheon too numerous to recount. In the here and now, there are but a few you need to know. The first and greatest of those is Quetzalcoatl, the god of light, life, and wisdom. It was he who was moved by the pleading of the Twin Gods and he who provided the opening for the volcano spirits to reshape the land, which stripped the Old Gods of their dominion. The next of the Old Gods was Tezcatlipoca, the constant foil to Quetzalcoatl, the creator and lord of darkness and battle. Enraged by Quetzalcoatl's incompetent betrayal of the pantheon, it was Tezcatlipoca who cultivated the Ashrise. It was Tezcatlipoca who recruited Nextepehua, the god of the ashes, to commence the harvesting of the souls necessary for this cataclysm. Nextepehua convinced Xipe-Tohec the smith to forge Blackrazor to aid him in this task, but the fell blade was recently stolen by Tezcatlipoca and brought to White Plume Mountain, as you have discovered.

In order to corrupt the mountain and start the Ashrise, Tezcatlipoca needed three foci of incredible arcane power. After the theft of Blackrazor, he set his sights on Wave, a trident created by the sea goddess Chalchiuhtlicue. She made this beautiful weapon and tool as a gift to help protect the elves as they were driven to the sea by the peoples of the Twin Gods. With its powers, they were able to transform themselves and adapt to a life in the ocean beyond the Obsidian Gulf. Their existence is virtually legend now, although the Shapers of Obsidian in Itzimico likely know something of them. I can only hope that without Wave, they still remain safe. Finally, there is Whelm, a warhammer of unmatched might, forged by the dwarven immigrants to appease the fire giants, whose land and mountains they would soon occupy. With this token of good faith gone, no longer reminding them of the peace they have held with at least one of the Twin Gods' races, it is questionable if the fire giants will still see any value in tolerating the "civilizations" that have displaced them for so many years.

— A bemused and bedraggled gynosphinx, gatekeeper of White Plume Mountain

Wet Cats In a Vegetative State

Back together again and having cleared the western portion of the mountain dungeon, our heroes elect to head directly north this time. They quickly come across a small circular room jutting out from the eastern side of the corridor. Cornelius "gets to the bottom of it" and finds a large wheel affixed to a valve. He attempts to turn it, but to no avail. Celeste is able to muster the requisite strength and, after giving it a few rotations, the party is able to hear what seems to be the sound of draining water. They are delighted to find that the water level on the floors is ever so slowly receding.

Moving on from that delightful find, our heroes find themselves in a water-covered room. Steps rise out of the water on the northern edge. After discovering that the central part of the room is deeper that it appears, they work their way around the edge for a few moments before they are accosted by two strange all-natural, organic, plant-based creatures, which turn out to be kelpies. Boxes is charmed by one and nearly drowns in his besotted attempt to reach it, but his companions are able to defeat the two while avoiding their vegetarian wiles. After their victory, Cornelius discovers a small cache of treasure in the kelpies' chamber, consisting of 600 gp, a lovely piece of jewelry, and a suit of chain mail armour, unrusted despite its soggy environs.

Spinning

Bunk! Oil! Fire! A hidden archer! Calamity ensues! After another triumph in this diabolical dungeon, our stalwart companions elected to take an eastern passage. Shortly down this typical corridor, however, they come across a most atypical sight: a spinning, metal cylinder, painted in a hypnotic pattern (no, not that Hypnotic Pattern), and coated with an extremely slick oil. Given the circumstances, Bunk elects to attempt to bypass the challenge of it by using his newly acquired [https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/4590-boots-of-striding-and-springing]Boots of Striding and Springing to hurl his body most of the way through the tunnel. Unfortunately, most does not equal all and he came in for an oily landing, sliding out of the end and popping up directly in front of an arrow slit. An odd place for such a thing, right? Of course, a flaming arrow immediately launches from the slit, followed by some muffled voices and a cover slamming shut over the slit. As it turns out, the very slick oil is also very flammable and ignites as the arrow hurtles past Bunk and into the cylinder. The rest of our heroes ponder their options while we pause for a lengthy commercial interruption.

Party Checkpoint: 2023-06-25

The Bad News Is That You've Got Crabs, The Good News Is That The Crab Has Treasure!

Man, what didn't happen? A French guard, a werewolf, an exploding spell book, two stinking clouds, a huge monster crab, plenty of gripple grapple (Creed and Boxes?), back to back nat 1's (Corny Fire Bolt and Vanyel arrow?), scalding water, dragging the chest?!?, nuclear Boxes finisher, a sentient trident (a nice one!), Creed the convert, and even a "carefully evaded by Vanyel on reconnaissance" green slime at the end there.

Party Checkpoint: 2023-07-23

Eastward Expansion

Our heroes' gentle repose in the spinning cylinder room was interrupted by a pair of bumbling ogres, apparently patrolling the dungeon. Their guttural "conversation" seemed to indicate some reluctance (i.e., laziness) on the part of one, but ultimately resulted in a decision to enter the corridor in which our heroes had holed up. Fortunately, Bunk was alert to the situation and the dithering of the lumbering beasts allowed for plenty of time to rally the troops, although nothing could awaken Boxes from his slumber. After dealing with that annoyance, the party rallied a short time later to return to the original branching of the paths.

Having cleared the western and northern routes, our heroes now headed east. Once again evading the green slime, they faced a decision on whether to head north or south. First, the stalwart companions went north and managed to solve an atypically mathematical flesh golem riddle, ending up with a new recruit/adoptee (Frankie) in the process. Shortly after that, they hit a decidedly unidirectional turnstile. What lay beyond this device was explored via Gizmo, but the party thought better of it, and reversed course to head south.

In this room, the to globe room. Boxes got trapped, Vanyel etherealed in, managed to fight off everything, though each lost STR (4 and 1) to a Shadow. Outside, our stalwart companions were completely flummoxed by the door, which resisted every attempt to open it, magical or otherwise. Bunk, in his attempts to blast through, caught Frankie's eye with his Shocking Grasp. Celeste had picked up one of the keys before departing the room, but fortunately it was not THE KEY. The outsiders slowly picked, punched, froze, and burned their way through the wall. Vanyel picked up the "talking magic ring", along w/the valuable jewelry, gems, scrolls, and potion. Boxes' ears dodged Vanyel's arrows on three occasions, including on the Air Elemental's kill shot. Heading back north, they suck it up and head through the turnstile. In boiling mud cave, monks, cats, and owls have no trouble, although Boxes had to Rage to ensure success, while Creed's Giant Eagle Polymorph was able to carry Frankie across most of the way, they got hit by a geyser, broke the spell, dropped Frankie. Bunk saved the day w/Feather Fall, Creed Misty Step'd, and Celeste threw Frankie a lifeline. Bunk cracked the geyser code, and Corny Fly'd them both across.

Party Checkpoint: 2023-08-13

Cast of Characters

Yeonido

Name	Pronunciation	Description	Gender	Relationships	Notes
Magistrate Kun Ahn-Jun	kun ahn-june	NG, human noble	non-binary	friend of Fheminor Scrivenbark	Has a Ring of Mind Shielding, prevents effects of the fog, invisible
Bi Chin-Hae	bee chin-hay	N, human noble	male	n/a	Tea Shop in Phoenix District
Young-Gi	yung-gee	Royal Advisor, N dragonborn noble	male	brother of Young-Soo	retired, lives in the Estate Gardens
Jin-Mi	jeen-mee	Queen, dragonborn	female	niece of Young-Gi	Seat of Dragons, daughter of Young-Soo

Radiant Citadel

Name	Pronunciation	Description	Gender	Relationships	Notes
Bi Su-Min	bee soo-meen	Claviger of Yeonido, human	female	daughter of Bi Chin-Hae	has spent the most time on the Concord Jewel, searching for her family
Seong Do-Won	song doh-wahn	Claviger of Yeonido, dragonborn	male	n/a	thoughtful, not quite timid, very helpful
Arayat	ah-ray-at	leader of the Shieldbearers, N human assassin	male	n/a	happy to place the Agents in danger, rather than his own
Alexei Szalay		owner of Szalay's Mercantile, N human merchant	male	n/a	willing to make a deal, has an extensive inventory
Teeka Wayland		owner of the Inn of the Very Last Home, NG human innkeeper	female	n/a	basically Tika Waylan, but chill
Marek Surlack		Harper agent, CG human bard	male	knows Moxie, speaks to Bunk	interested in the party's mission
Queen Jin-Yun	jeen-yune	Speaker of Yeonido, dragonborn	female	great-great-grandmother of Jin-Mi	an ancient woman, quiet, profound, regal, well-respected
Yoali Xopa	yo-AH-lee SHAW-pah	Speaker of Tletepec, human	male		a powerfully built man, despite his age, serious, concerned for his people
Cher Wingback	shair wing-back	visitor to the Radiant Citadel, CG owlin bard	female	n/a	professor in Silverquill
Pyxathor Sunguide	pix-ah-thor sun-gide	Speaker of Arcavios, LG leonin wizard	male	n/a	Order of Lorehold

Tletepec

Name	Pronunciation	Description	Gender	Relationships	Notes
Ameyali	ah-meh-YAL-ee	a leader of Etizalan, NG, human priest	female	grandaughter of Yoali Xopa	attacked on road outside of Etizalan
Tzalanti Pale		owner of the Jolly Cotinga in Etizalan, CG dwarf innkeeper	female	n/a	serves a great dinner
Ollin	OHL-een	dancer, CG tiefling priest	non-binary	meets party on road leaving Xoxotla	heading to Twin Gods Observatory
Yeyetzi Atzin		owner of the Magnanimous Morn in Xoxotla, NG tiefling innkeeper	female	n/a	adores adventurers
Tonalli	taw-NAH-lee	leader of Watchers of the Ashes, LN, dwarf priest	male	adored by the Watchers	located at Twin Gods Observatory
Xocopol	shaw-KAW-pole	N, fire giant	male	wary of adventurers, knows of tlexolotls	on road to Gate of Illumination
Izel	EA-sehl	N, tlexolotl	n/a	wishes to awaken other tlexolotls, unaware/uncaring of danger that poses to Tletepec	at Gates of Illumination, resides in Jademount

Trail of Destruction was written by Alastor Guzman. White Plume Mountain was originally written by Lawrence Schick and published in 1979. These are adventures for 8th-Level characters.

Plot type

Adventure

Parent Plot

Candlekeep Mysteries - PCs

References

• Map of Candlekeep
• Map of the Radiant Citadel
• Approaching the Radiant Citadel
• Yeonido Dawn Incarnate - Amethyst Tiger
• Tletepec Dawn Incarnate - Obsidian Eagle
• Map of Tletepec
• Arcavios (MtG Wiki)

Treasure

• Princess Gizmo, a vigourous Tasmanian devil, +1 ATK/DMG (Creed)
• Elder Cartographer's Glossography (Bunk)
• Bunk obtains expertise in Survival checks when dealing with volcanoes and earthquakes
• Celeste, given five days time and adequate ingredients, can craft an Elixir of Health
• Magic Items purchased at Szalay's Mercantile (see list in synopsis)
• 400 gp each upon successful resolution of the volcanic threat
• 3x Potion of Fire Resistance
• Tan Bag of Tricks (Cornelius)
• Potion of Greater Healing (used by Creed)
• Scroll of Protection from Fiends (Creed)
• 6000 sp, 1000 ep, 200 pp, 5x pcs of jewelry worth 14000 gp, from aquarium safe and the divan
• Ring of Protection and Ring of Spell Storing w/two Mirror Image spells (recovered from the oni)
• Armor of Vulnerability (Slashing) (recovered from the oni)
• Blackrazor
• Party advanced to level 9
• Boots of Striding and Springing recovered from Sir Bluto (Bunk)
• 600 gp, 1x pc of jewelry worth 2000 gp, and magical chain mail recovered from the kelpies
• Wave
• 1000 gp, 20x gems (2x 1000 gp, 1x 5,000 gp, 17x worth total 3935 gp), Goggles of Night, and a magical stone recovered from the Guardian of the Treasure (huge freakin' crab)
• 400 ep, 300 gp, 7x gems worth 1300 gp recovered from Burket and Snarla
• Flesh Golem #9, renamed Frankie
• 2x spell scrolls and a potion, along with a super powerful talking ring recovered from the glass globes (Vanyel)