Act 1 Summary

Part 1 - Platzburg & Hochenmuth

The party; Sandro , Dirt and Balthazar arrived at the town of Platzburg and met their contact, Renard Kerthzorn who revealed the details for their first assignment. They are to meet with Reese Aachen ; the Commander of the Platzburg The Acastus Consortium and take on a contract which is to investigate strange phenomenon around a ruin. At the Acastus they meet Reese and learn they will be handling the contract alongside another group; The Crestfallen Four. With the details obtained, the group headed out to the town of Brunsweck. Once there, the town was immediately attacked by a horde of living corpses. The two groups struck down the undying entities, and headed into the ruin.
In the ruin the party encountered many more undead creatures, but slashed their way to the central area; all while being taunted by an unseen female voice. At the heart of the ruin they battled acolytes of a condemned god, found evidence of necromancy and a stolen folio belonging to the The Academy of Arcanium . With the task completed the group returned to Platzburg.
The party met back up with Renard who asked if they would be interested in another contract in Hochenmuth , which the party agreed to. The party passed along an account of what they witnessed in the ruin to Reese, and returned the folio to the Academy. The town was celebrating The Lavas Celebration which they group indulged in. After following up with a few personal tasks in town, the party then headed up and out to Hochenmuth.
In Hochenmuth the party linked up with Renard, who was now accompanied by an unnamed cloaked woman. The two explained the details of the next contact: the party was to track down some bandits and retrieve a box which contained a stolen object. Later on, the party headed into the forest, tracked down the bandits and the stolen object, which turned out to be a sword called "La Belle du Covertte"; which they returned to Renard. He left for Perfume Bay and told the party to follow in a few days.
While staying in town, the group was approached by the Burgomaster; Grendal Ullirache. Trade Caravans, important to the prosperity of the town, had been attacked in the previous days. He contracted the party to find out who was behind the attacks and why. The party investigated many aspects in and around the town, uncovering there were attacks by humans, and animals in the area, and they seemed to be unrelated. After catching a young boy thief, the party learned about a druidic cloister nearby. They unsuccessfully followed up some leads in the forest, but eventually, followed leads that led them to a rogue druid using mind altering poisons to turn the wildlife mad. This was the cause of many attacks in the Juregen Wood. But, not the attacks on the trade convoys through the woods.
With help from the Burgomaster, the party focused on three people in town. Pressing them unraveled the conspiracy. With the problem solved, the party headed out to Perfume Bay.

Part 2 - Perfume Bay

In Perfume Bay the party met Renard once again, who introduced them to Tredyn Delthyron; Head of the Houseguard of the Doge. He suggested they meet at a specific warehouse to obtain another contract from their benefactor. After a day of following up on personal affairs the party headed to warehouse 237.
In the warehouse they meet their benefactor The Doge of Perfume Bay, Diero Marivald . For the next contract, a The Alessian Empire ruin was recently uncovered. They are to escort his researcher, Penorius Longshaft to the ruin and find out what its purpose is, and mostly importantly, who uncovered it.
Inside the ruins the party discovered the individuals who uncovered the ruin, however they were all corpses. They encountered strange "otherworldly" creatures on their way to the core of the ruin; a large vault. Inside they fought a massive beast, and after felling the terror, found a series of coded books. The vault was empty, but there seemed to be a strange crack in the fabric of reality that sparked with magical energy. On one the corpses they found a note telling where the object taken from the vault was to be sent. And so the party gave chase.
After surviving an ambush outside the ruins, the party headed to a sawmill deeper in the woods where the object was going to get handed off. There they found Zidayne and his crew, which the party struck down. The object was a small black ebony chunk of material, which pulsated magical energy and burned white hot... much in the same way the crack did within the vault. The object in tow, the party headed back to Perfume Bay.
Diero and his researchers were unable to surmise the purpose of the object, nor decipher the books. He asked the group to find his wife, Aerwyen Galandol-Marivald in the town of Mannerheim. After following up on a couple of personal affairs in the city, the party headed out to Einsmort .

Part 3 - The Thread Begins to Unravel

Arriving in Einsmort by sea, the party needed to transfer to river boats to head further inland towards Mannerhiem. However, the river was blocked, preventing any travel upstream. The town Burgomaster Donnar asked the party to help remove the cultists that had created the blockage so river travel could resume. The party obliged and after a brief struggle, the cultists walked into the river, seemingly to their deaths, ending their occupation of the river.
While awaiting river travel to resume, the party learned of the Red Lady Wager. Outside of town was a haunted mansion, and the wager was to head into mansion and bring proof they had gone to the basement. As the party moved through the abandoned mansion, they were threatened by hidden voices and found gruesome evidence of a violent end. However, in the basement, the party uncovered a hidden door, opening to a barracks. Inside they found smugglers and evidence the entire haunted mansion was a ruse meant to scare away any potential squatters or curious eyes. The party took down the smugglers and found the group had been moving human cargo. They saved a woman and her daughter, and discovered the operation was run by a man named Klaus, with help from some individuals in town. The party returned to Einsmort, collected the Red Lady Wager (which may have been scheme by the bartender to get someone to unravel the smuggling ring) and passed along the evidence found to Donnar.
While riding the riverboat upriver to Mannerhiem, the party was attacked by a large rivermonster, as well as mudmonsters who may have been the cultists from the day before. After a tough battle, the beast was slain and the group continued their journey.
In Mannerheim the party learned Aerwyen was investigating a ruin and would probably be found there. At the ruin the party finally met Aerwyen and her Alessian researcher Vergenna Longshaft; Penorius's sister. Aerwyen agrees to help the party, but first asks their help in supporting her investigation of the ruin. The party agreed and they headed in.
Inside the ruin the party and Aerwyen are confronted with four puzzles which may have been a part of a religious initiation. The party solved the puzzles and made their way to a large worship space. Inside they found a book which Aerwyen says referenced an Alessian purification god known as Reshilaba as well as another entity named Neohaergur , which she had never heard before. While in the ruin, Vergenna discovered the books were about an Alessian hero named Clovista Septimus. So with the task completed, Aerwyen invited the group to stay at her manor nearby.
As the group was resting, the manor was attacked by a group of merc's lead by a man named Brazdor who said they had come for artifacts. Wyen and the party fought off the assault, slaying Brazdor but before so, learned he was hired by a "young looking man with black eyes". Hearing a large battle happening nearby, Wyen had the party join her in a pocket domain. There she presented the party with a 2nd black ebony object, as well as some theories about what they are. She gave the 2nd piece to the party and asked them to journey to Dressencroft Keep and seek the support of Pelmenous Fortune .
While on the road to the keep, the party was sidetracked in the town of Mournmill. Apparently the town had recently become haunted by a dangerous and terrifying creature. During the parties investigation they rediscovered a suspicious murder-suicide from 30 years early. After following up on leads they learned the creature was the spirit of the murdered woman who's desire for revenge prevented her ascending from this plane. The party found the man responsible, Count Paenir and dragged him in front of the Moonbanshee, who struck the Count down dead. With her vengeance quashed, her spirit was able to leave.
The group finally met up with Pelmenous at the Keep. He explained himself, Aerwyen, Diero, Renard, Tredyn, and the mysterious woman, Norah were all working together to investigate all the the strange and seemingly unconnected oddities happening across Primrose; especially the activity around Alessian Ruins, the theft of many artifacts, and the rumors of necromancy. They believed the events were connected, and hoped to discover how, and who was orchestrating the scheme. In fact, the party had been handpicked to work together and be slowly brought into the fold. Pel needed some time to collect info and call in favors, so he asked the party to head to Vexlorn and await his return.

Part 4 - Vexlorn

After a bit of shopping the party headed to the Vexlorn Acastus and met the Commander, Savoy Reinkirk who offered them three contracts to take on while they were in town. The three decided on investigating a potential Abyssal threat lurking in the seaside town of Yornletz . On the recommendation of Pel the group swung by Fortunes Warmth and meet Vellorna Collerne , who filled them in on some key details regarding each of the parties personal endeavors. That night, with invitations in hand, they attended a opera and meet Norah , the mysterious woman that had been at a few of their meetings. She revealed her "family members” were agents of chaos and strife, and might be connected to all the dangerous phenomena happening in Primrose.
Before the group could start the journey to Yornletz, they were approached by a elven man asking them swing by the Elvenium diplomatic headquarters on Tor Eylor , which intrigued the party and they agreed. In Tor Eylor they met the Chief Diplomat, Cirieon Vendi . He asked the group to discreetly recover anything related to an entity known as Eresh ; the ultimate antagonist of all elves. Balthazar, knowing the troubling existence of Eresh all too well agreed and the group headed out to Port Brunhild to meet their contact Lydia Pureheart .
From Lydia the group learned she was a member of the Serene Seraphs and she had tried to make headway in Yornletz, but her angelic aura made it incredibly difficult. She asked the party to investigate in her stead, and uncover the threat. In Yornletz the party was immediately hassled by goons, which did not deter the group and they soon pieced together many towns folks were missing and the remaining ones suspected the mayor was behind it. Therefore, the group followed the mayor in the woods, however, the mayor surprised the group and confronted them with a strange monster with a thirst for blood. A fight ensued where the group took down the monster, and the mayor fled back into the woods. But, Lydia apprehended the mayor and the party learned from him the abyssal presence was a succubus named Vezzaria, and she and her followers were held up in an abandoned fort in the woods. Lydia and the party strategized, and then launched the assault.
In the fort the party battled cultists, minor demons and Vezzaria's sycophants. In the basement they encountered a creature of Eresh who had a hunger for Balthazar. The group collected the evidence left behind and went on to also find a couple of missing villagers locked up. After freeing them, the party rushed upstairs to confront Vezzaria. However, she was not interested in dirtying her hands, and left her pawn, a Fallen Knight named Timmy to do her dirty work. The party was able to subdue Timmy, as Lydia destroyed the abyssal portal ending the threat to Yornletz. The party journeyed back to Vexlorn and on the way stopped by Tor Eylor to deliver the evidence of Eresh to Cirieon.
Back in Vexlorn the party grabbed their 2nd contract; which was to help a man named Purefoy Rygarth hunt a feral beast. Before heading out the party met Isabeau Forrester, Dirt failed at gaining access to the Shar, Goddess of Darkness and Loss sanctum, and Balthazar uncovered a unsettling bit of info. Eventually they met up with Purefoy and learned they would be hunting a Werewolf in the Gralheim Wood.
While on the hunt, the party and Purefoy were accosted by bandits who stated there was no evidence of werewolves or feral beasts. As the party drew in closer to their target, they meet Rogier, their target. He explained he was not feral, and just wanted his freedom. He asked the party to help him kill Purefoy so he would be free. Unsure of their next course of action, the party headed into the cave. Inside Purefoy and Rogier confronted one-another. The party tried to broker peace, but a blinding flash ended the attempt. Purefoy's hidden allies had apprehended Rogier; so the party decided to free him, taking down the now Werewolf form Purefoy and making his allies flee. They let Rogier go, and hauled Purefoy back to Vexlorn.
The events of the contract perplexed Savoy, but he eventually relented and passed along their last contract. They would escort Karsen Lyonell in the Gralheim Wood and support his pursuit of the The Pale Lady. They headed out the next day.
While making their way through the wood following the beckon of the Pale Lady, they eventually entered a darkness, which at the heart lay a hostile shadow creature. After a long struggle, the party was able to strike down the creature. This opened a hidden path into the Moonlight Grove, which the Pale Lady gestured them into. Inside, the Pale Lady asked if the party was worthy, and challenged them to prove so. The party sparred with the Great Moon Wolf, Aerweth. After proving themself worthy, the Pale Lady invited them into the central mausoleum, where they meet the spirit of Clovista Septimus . She offered them her boons, and warned them of a threat to his plane; the entity known as Neohaergur . The party then headed back to Vexlorn.