A majority of the dwarves of Kag Bhurim would leave their isolated city of Dul Kag to seek out a fresh start in the growing city of New Derth .
This timeline details the major events in the story of the Crystal Shadows .
A majority of the dwarves of Kag Bhurim would leave their isolated city of Dul Kag to seek out a fresh start in the growing city of New Derth .
A new band of heroes find themselves slowly gathered with wilderness of the Storm Broken Lands Easter forests and mountain ridges. Called down into a cave above the Runol Pass, Chuptah and Astrid are joined in the shadows by Crush and Fozz. Their journey takes them through a gate into a pastel, muffled plane and into a temple containing the Shade Crystal, a broken and scattered Lesser Idol seeking to make itself whole again. The party agree to help for a myriad of reasons from altruism through future reciprocity.
The newfound companions of the Shade Crystal seek to complete Chupta's pickup and delivery task. Seeking out a Mountain Man hermit near the Runol Pass, the party found his home burned to the ground a smoldering. The hermit Batsu Tau's existence has been one of sales and diplomacy with the local gobolinoids and Giant kin. Yesterday, an ettin led the ogre clan to the house collected the supplies, and then burned all the ogres alive within it while a groggily watching Batsu did nothing.
The party tracked down the ettin, found it ruling a goblin tribe, and then liberated the goblins to discover the ettin to itself be using a newly empowered Temperance Shard to access magic and greater intelligence. The ettin was slain and the party gained both the Temperance Shard and Chuptah required tincture.
The servants of the Shade Crystal travel from mountian to wood to hill-lands. They encounter a lost wilderness shrine to Sylvanus, have communion with the Shade Crystal, aid a dwarven family with an ankheg infestation, and are guided to Cuport to finish up their travels on the easter section of the Storm Broken Lands.
The servants of the Shade Crystal sail across Nystor's Path. On the way, the dwarven fishermen giving passage requested that Crush keep an eye out under the water for any sunken vessels that might have any lost goods. The Tortle along with Chupta's School of Familiars managed to locate lost copper shipments but nothing else major. The party split the find with the fishermen. The next day they made dock in Langdale placing the crew onto the Colonial Highway and the Cobblestone Serpent.
The servants of the Shade Crystal make the most of their fast and fervent travel through the Cobblestone Serpant upon Rachit and the conjured carpet. They held a minor Carnival in Pendle, showed up some lazy guards in Grimsby, and drove off a pack of gnolls attempting to establish new territory upon the banks of Loch Amlow.
After spending the last leg of their travel performing at a circus and breaking up a hunting band of gnolls, the Shade Crystal Gang marks the final length of their savannah journey to Bactran avoiding rhinoceros middens and hunting antelope together.
The servants of the Shade Crystal arrive in Bactran, Chupta delivers his parcel, and the party begins negotiations with a middle-man to the owner of the next Temperance Shard. The party agree to a perform a heist, but before they can get there they end of mugging a wagon. Even Ordained crime can get sidetracked with criminal activity.
The servants of the Shade Crystal hold their casino heist and steal the Karma's Embrace. Only once flying away with city alarms going off behind them did further knots in their plan come to light. The relations between their Temperance Shard contact, the owner, and the human to be humbled in this plot are much more closely tied together than anyone realized. In the end, the party finds itself with egg on its face and following through with a contract they would rather disavow to hold a second heist against their employer. In the end though, Chupta guides the party to following through on their word, acting in as good of faith as possible even if their employer doesn't.
Maha Sardar of the Saquris Cross, Bactran, was poisoned within the Spor Solanu bathouse and gymnasium. The murder was aided by chaos elsewhere in the his district as a public health distubrance was performed at the Lady's Charity Casino drawing away guards and specialists to aid in that investigation.
The servants of the Shade Crystal take a 24 hour air ship ride down to the Pyrewood Mounds, explore for three days, before returning to Bactran. Their quest for the crown of lost kingdom of Adossag was successful and moreso. The party discovered a completely unknown Second Society of Adossag, Orchard Elves that had attempted to recultivate and heal the place before they too fell to it. The party discover the ghostly prince, fend off and eventually defeat the dullahan of haunting the realm, and find not one but two interlinked crowns: the adamantine crown of the kingdom they sought for Altomari and the second crown of the New Society made of Temperence Shards formed into a wondrous item. Through the course of the adventurer, multiple party members found themselves slowly corrupted by the Pyrewood Mounds, afflicting them in strange ways.
Myska's Menargerie took half of year within Bactran to get off their feet and live life. Downtime was spent aiding in the crafting of new armor for Astrid, business endeavors, research, and getting Chupta's mother set up within the exquisite hospital the Jatri'nın Hastanesi. During this time, Crush decided that he was willing to merge his Crown of Thoughts into the Shade Crystal as well.
After acquiring Altomari's collection of Temperance Shards, the combination of shards doubled the quantity of Self brought back to the Shade Crystal. At the merging, Fozz's scrutinization of the shards causedpanic, hand grabbing harshly, whiteknuckled onto the chair next to him. With the growth of power, his discerning awareness once more picked up the faint ringing of chains similar to what he had witnessed in the liminal space of preserved death. With the merging, the Shade Crystal's strength grew. While still not to a level that would allow free conversation, the party would now be able to call upon it's wisdom in discreet moments outside of the mergers. With the collection of Temperence Shards also came a gathering of memories. It seems that with each new addition to the collection, not only are new powers unlocked, but new memories as well, memories that had been lost with each Temperance Shard sent away. The entity's name was at some point Myskothema though it knows not when nor how exactly it had acquired the amount of power that it had. It is sure that it had to be taken from another for it cannot fathom something giving away such a vast amount of power willingly. For now, the party has agreed to call it Myska and have claimed the terms of Myska's Menagerie and Myska's Miscreants for themselves.
Myska's Menagerie start the new year with a new lead to tracking down the Temperance Shards. Leaning on both Crush's research and Myska's renewed memories with more shards added to the Shade Crystal, the party is headed to the Ulgoine Valley. Chupta joins Temren Kut on alternating shifts flying the airship to speed their journey along. Their flight does catch something's attention though...
The following day led Myska's Menagerie out from the mountains and over the Ulgos Jungle. The journey over the rich green forests was simple, with continued training among your party members. Crush spent a day flying down among the jungle to witness large insects, carnivorous plants, and the territorial bouts of monstrous, metallic bulls causing the forest area to crumble to dust. Chupta expanded his powers by welcoming his companions into his luxurious ring for the first time. Crossing the jungle border by the second afternoon, the party began to see villages scattered in the distance.
Getting to what would have been the hospitable lands of the central Ulgoine Valley, Myska's Menagerie finds that it still is home to an entire civilization, just not the kind of folk their were expecting. A village of goblins is attacked by a mixed band of two stone and two hill giants. The party is split on who to aid. In the end, they find the next clue to Temperance Shard activity in the Valley.
Myska's Menagerie discover a double conspiracy of gigantic proportions. A troup of giants have taken over the Citadel of the Fated Order and seem to be planning to rule the entire Ulgoine Valley. Despite that, the path forward isn't straight forward. A childhood friend of Chupta's is found within the fortress, the leader's goals aren't what he says, and the Menagerie are put between a Rock and a Heart place.
Myska's Menagerie are forced to choose between immediate access to the longer term goal and and long term purpose. They could return to Jibrom's fortress to acuire the multiple Temperance Shards there before the giant have much time to prepare. Alternatively, they could head down into the valley to aid a community of outcasts and protect their peaceful way of life.
Myska's Menagerie delve through a mountain to catch Jibrom by surprise in is laboratory. The Menagerie put an end to the maestro and his puppeteered warlord. More than just Temperance Shards are found in the laboratory: dozens of mysterious components, brews, and reagents whose power comes from a subtle science beyond the sight off man; potions, scrolls, and a codex.
Myska's Menagerie savor their victory, return to their foundation in the Ulgoine Valley to rebuild in the aftermath, and seek out answers from an old people.
Crush is visited in his dreams by the voice of Chris once again. Crush attempted to connect with his brother but lost him to the influence of this unknown Scizzord pulling him away. Slowly, the party convened that night to discuss what should be done with this information. Only after a handful of possibilities were discussed did Chuptah reveal a new twist to the entire situation.
The next few weeks for Myska's Menagerie were marked by travel, training, writing, and reflection. In addition to this downtime, Chupta, Crush, and Fozz have highlights in the entry “Boys are Bac- in Town” while Astrid's downtime earned a revelation in “His Stories” The boy's flight to Bactran and later back to Dul Kag to retrieve Astrid was filled with a similar set of activities: Chupta mastered the art of flying the airship, Crush wrote out a book of his knowledge of the infernal tongue, and Fozz spent the majority of his time in meditation to the point of training his shadow to be quiet when he needed him to. Fozz's mediations were marked by the shadow throwing ball bearings at him, incessantly ringing a bell, and eventually breaking a lantern and stating a small fire. Back in Dul Kag, Astrid's time was spent in a myriad of ways. She located a private investigator through the Drowned Miner's Den to look into her father by name. In the mean time, she spent time getting to know the Hollowed Halls. She attempted to find traces of Temperance Shards but instead got nothing. Commander Drakemace's claims checked out that they had been taken long ago. In the process, though, she managed to find Nemil Grimbrew, a tattoo artist that she would later hire to do a flailshard tattoo on her arm enchanted to aid in combat. The other portions of her time were spent aiding in smithies and forges learning of the third dwarven culture of smithing in the process and rounding out her skills in the trade.
Fozz, Chupta, and Crush's time in Bactran reveals much. The connection of Scizzord to the Temperance Shards and Altomari is opened up and more arrows are pointed towards the Timberbank. Chupta's mother is given extra magical attention from the party and is the best she has ever been in years. A quick stop at Shook's Nook gathers the party more toys and leverage.
After Myska's Menagerie regrouped in Dul Kag and caught each other up on the happenstances of their weeks, they prepared for their voyage northward. Astrid just had one last appointment. She met up with the PI Mods to hear what the investigator had to say. Apparently, Torbjörn Sjöberg had been a lead in mining expeditions a handful of decades back. Low stuff, near the cusp of the underdark, During a collapse, he saved 17 people but didn't make it out himself. At least not immediately. Rather, a year and a half later he found his way back up and out, carrying on him his entire pieced together means of survival, everything from shelter to jarred oozes and caged critters for defense of the wilds below. He attempted to get back to life but the celebrity didn't suit him, the questions and prying eyes trying to figure out what his life had been first got him to shift from the mines to the smithies. Then they got him to pack up all his belongings into a mulehut and leave Dul Kag all together to find someplace else to live that didn't know him. Her answers gotten, Astrid was ready to join the journey northward.
Myska's Menagerie travel from Dul Kag to Lybonpost by airship. The travel was overall easy in terms of imminent threats. The difficulty came in temperature. Each journey the party took grew colder and colder as both the year delved deep into winter and they now were headed for the timberbank itself. As the airship flew over the junction of the Icebirth and Nystor's path, Crush separated from his friends. He would meet them at Lybonpost but there was someplace he needed to go first. Taking to the winds to carry him outward, he galed away.
Crush flies back home to find that his home isn't what it's supposed to be. He finds his father tortured as a dark message from Scizzord. If visiting Bactran brought answers about Scizzord, Crush visiting home brought a new booklet of questions.
Myska's Menagerie arrive at Lybonpost to trade and prepare for their next adventure in these tundra lands. Mundane and magical gear is acquired as Crush rejoins the party. When the plan seems vaguest, a new lead guides their way.
Myska's Menagerie unearth a herald of an elder evil and the ringing of chains in Fozz's head spell doom.
The stress and mourning with Myska's Menagerie lead to further fractures and a returning to Bactran.
Myska's Menagerie bring their stresses to Orwin Oreson, meet a new companion, and seek out a contact that may know where Scizzord is.
(Rajdeep Maichu, Maximilian Farwood, Orwin Oreson/Sicuro Altomari, Crush Tengral, and Scissord. If you were wondering.)
Myska's Menagerie learn more of their quarry and witness the first major fracturing of Altomari's confidence.
Myska's Menagerie return to the Timberbank to bring Mr. Tengral to greater aid to find the horror enhanced.
Myska's Menagerie delve into Mount Fohkala. The god of the volcano makes its presence known and a cluster of Temperence Shards are put on the line. Myska's light shines upon the fate of the Menagerie.
As the Menagerie continue their voyage onward, they Scry upon Scizzord. They witness the tortle following in their footsteps and the ramifications of that.
Myska's Menagerie do some research at the Hall of Memory, get some jobs to do on the road, speak with the press, and meet Astrid's father.
Myska's Menagerie make their flight from New Derth to Fowler's Mill and run afowl of roadkill along the way.
Myska's Menagerie find their way through an antagonistic conversation with someone whose idealogy is... right... if too radical... wait, what? No. They're supposed to be the bad guys.
Myska's Menagerie begin to establish relationships in Billowbluff to work towards their deeper goals. Some of the relationships are stellar... others aren't.
Myska's Menagerie travel out into the mesa wilderness to attempt to locate another faction that may be in the area.
Myska's Menagerie can't catch a break. After their rocky start in Billowbluff, a pair of kidnappings and a hostage letter point to the party being the reason for the trouble as they came to town.
Myska's Menagerie negotiate for the release of the Billowbluff hostages while navigating thicker threads.
Myska's Menagerie's tightrope walk balancing the line between factions is ripped out from under them as decisive action is forced.
Myska's Menagerie are freed to finish the task that physically brought them to Heartsieve in the first place as well as make their preparations to finish their deeper goal here as well.
Myska's Menagerie plunge into the caves beneath the Shrieking Flats to find a Temperance Shard cluster long ago placed their to vitalize the wilds.