Fresh out of the Feywild, the Inconvenience Removal Agency (and friends) hike their way back towards Zeantis to deliver the Green Bilurium they harvested from the Titan Badjir to Archmage Khelem - who tasked the group in the first place with this quest in order to open the Memorandum of Abraxas.
The hikers have little problems traversing the cold and harsh landscape, the snow-covered canyons and frozen riverbeds, thanks to their accumulated skillset. At the end of the first day, a small natural sanctuary at the lake Ryv Galar provides a short escape from the winter. The green and decently temperate oasis surrounding an enormous withered statue of Badjir is filled with beautiful flora and fauna. But as Sylvie feels dragons in the vicinity, the group decides to leave the place behind in favour of travel progress.
Days pass as the Taesi Forest vanishes in the west and the Schlangendarm gets closer. When the group decides to take a peek into the lighthouse peeking through the everlasting storm south of the mountain pass, they meet the locals of the otherwise forsaken structure: A giant talking crab that fails its best attempts to be a good host, and its master, the (new) Lord of the Storm - who Jeff and Florian recognize as their former travel companion, a chaotic black tiefling named Zesolis.
Conversations quickly reveal that Zesolis did - once again - lose his memory of anything before becoming the (new) Lord of the Storm after accidently causing the death of the (old) Lord of the Storm. Somehow, the talking crab persuaded Zesolis to engage in a pact with the storm titan Lorn that includes cutting out his own heart to place it into the crown of the lighthouse - as there must always be a Lord of the Storm. In his attempt to provide a comfortable sleeping chamber for his guests, Zesolis accidently destroys the only window keeping the storm outside. But in the end, the tired travelers find a nights rest near the beating heart in the tower that creates the ethereal green light of the lighthouse. The group also discovers, that Zesolis lost the groups Wyvernkey that they were keeping - a legendary artifact that can open a door to the Room of Many Doors of Amon.
At dawn, the guests leave the tower without waking the Lord of the Storms, yet leaving him a message and some rations as they proceed on their journey to Zeantis. Knowing that they already missed the first return of the Iron Army, the travel is not rushed. Upon arrival in the lonely city on the Lamberg, it is noticeable that refugees are starting to leave while traveling merchants pick up their profession once more.
After a quick magic message to Khelem, announcing their arrival, the group stops back at home to catch up with what they missed since their departure. They are informed that "some people from the Candlekeep" visited days ago to see the corpse of Ken that still lies preserved in the cellar of the old guildhall. The housekeeper declined their visit, as she did also for the woman named Mary Fay that came a few days later to do the same. Flo discovers that the body of Ken was actually stolen and replaced by a decoy, without any of the staff noticing. They guess it must have been the people from the candlekeep, so they put Bruri Ironbeard on the case, who also reports about his findings on tracking the smuggler tunnels under the groups home (=> they have been sealed), and the whereabouts of the Mediator (=> some connection to the wandering casino).
A visit to the Halls of Arcane puts the group into a waiting room. Archmage Khelem's assistant tells them to wait, as the archmage is not available. Some discussions break out that get accelerated when General Pren Reilgar arrives as well. He fails to persuade the assistant, so the visitors just force their way into the private laboratory of Khelem. Only to find the unmoving mage staring at the Memorandum. When he eventually snaps out of it, he explains to have investigated the inner enchantments of the artefact. He takes the Bilurium and starts to work, while the others talk to Reilgar.
The general updates the group on the news: The iron army return was uneventful, some units were missing but no sight of Abraxas or any curious commoners. Amón however was revealed to still be missing. He participates in the Elder Council where he and the other elder dragons discuss important matters. Drem and Reilgar are very concerned about this. Other than that, the crusade of the Ravenmother lead to a success as the Crowfather could be banished (or destroyed?) again and while most followers of the religion start to rebuild the northern temple, only few returned to Zeantis.
When the group reports their journey to the feywild, the corruption they fought (and brought evidence of), the possible rebirth of Badjir, and the encounter at the lighthouse, Drem reveals to have stolen the wyvernkey from Zesolis as his previous assignment from Amon before eventually joining the IRA weeks ago. He returned it back to the Lorekeeper. With no way to reach Amon, the group decides to visit Archivist Liman. Before that they task General Reilgar to ask around the candlekeep and introduce the potential thieves of Ken to them.
On their way to the grand library, Jeff turns the strange one sided coin in his hand - the one he found in the hideout of Abraxas. Looking around for any secret entrances in side alleys actually results in the appearance of such a gate. A golden arched doorway. A glamorous tiefling woman invites the wanderers inside. The invitation is followed, and as the door behind them vanishes in a sucking sound, the group stands in a grand casino full of happy and excited looking patrons, playing gamling games on countless tables. But the wondrous environment cannot deceive everyone. Gawrth and Happy feel something wrong while Jeff straight up sees behind the many layers of illusion with the help of his third eye chakra. The casino is filled with winged fiends, devils disguising as personnel and guards. The joy and excitement fades behind the illusion, leaving exhausted and desperate faces.
Shane, the big masked receptionist explains how it works around here: You lock ALL your personal belongings into a secure deposit box, including armor, weapons and rings. You are provided with replacement clothes that every dear patron is provided with. ("Everyone is equal here. No matter if you are rich or poor outside of this casino.")
- A door to exit the premises appears for 30 minutes every 24 hours for each guest
- Every player will receive a personal one sided coin with 100 credits on it. The credits are not capped in plus or minus amount.
- The personal belongings of every guest can be exchanged again upon leaving the casino by returning the coin
- Leaving the casino with the coin resets its value to 0, regardless of any positive or negative amount left
- Credits are the only valid currency in the casino and can be exchanged for participation in games, for food, drinks and services
- The coin is enchanted in a way that it cannot be stolen, only passed on willingly
- Any aggressive or troublesome activity as well as cheating or exploiting games or other patrons will be punished severly
- Upon leaving the casino, all memories of the time inside the premises will be "abstracted"
- The Wheel of Destiny (a special turning wheel in the center of the casino) can be spun for 100gp. Each spin will result in a unique price, like a treasure chest filled with gold coins, rare enchanted items and - the grand price - a wish from the genie of luck
Gawrth, Drem and Jeff quickly enter a game - but lose. Flo in the meanwhile checks out other games and ends up receiving a personal prophecy from the Oracle of the Astral Sea: "Lay not your head in the barn animal's bed, for the headsman soon calls..".
As Jeff finds out that the owner of the casino - The Lord of Destiny - is a collector of rare objects, and only causing trouble or making debts may grant an audience with him, Gawrth discovers in a casual talk with an employee that he is not here the first time...
After the first rounds of gambling do not yield much winnings, the group quickly finds out that leaving the casino without debt means not falling below the initial 100 credits. This turns out to be a real problem now that most of the gamblers are already below that number. The group rewards themselves with each turning the Wheel of Destiny, a free chance for every new patron to win something. While some are not satisfied with their pull, getting rid of the price by gambling it against credits with other patrons, some of the group end up being very lucky.
Drem wins the custody over a - now 84 years old - child custody, Gawrth acquires legal documents that make him the owner of a small house near lake Zeantis in the south of the empire, Happy wins a chest filled with 666 gold coins - and Flo even wins the grand price: a wish from the genie of luck. Later, Jeff also wins a quill that can write in any language.
While some of the group find out that winning back their credits is harder than anticipated due to the devilish rules of this demi-plane, Flo is escorted to the genie that shall fulfil his wish: A bag that has always everything Flo needs, without him putting it in there. The wish is granted by a not so fantastical looking genie that seems to be gambling alone in an isolated room.
Over the remainder of the 24-hours stay in the premises, Jeff challenges the Lord of Destiny to a gamble, which teleports him away to his office where Jeff is able to obtain ownership of the Chakra stone that the Lord of Destiny is holding - but for a price. Jeff signs a contract with the powerful devil that owns the casino, to track down and either kidnap or kill a pirate named Cabuga, a female orc that resides on the ship "Chainbreaker".
Meanwhile, Drem steals an artefact from a staff member that allows the rest of the group to magically travel into hidden places of the casino that is otherwise shielded against the usage of magic. They teleport to the room where pets are being held, including Sylvie, Drems drake companion. Drems deep connection to Sylvie can circumvent the magic restrictions of the casino, freeing her but starting a fire in the cage that contained her. The fire is put out quickly but when the sound of a teleportation behind the group startles them, they lose no second and teleport away to changing rooms.
Jeff, being done negotiating with the Lord of Destiny is teleported to the place his friends are in, which happens to be the pet chamber. When he appears, his companions teleport away startled, leaving him alone in the dark room with screaming animals.
Eventually, the group reunites and exchanges information. The stolen item had to be returned to the staff while everyone suffered a small punishment of 10 credits and a verbal warning. The last hours are spent on more gambling in the hopes of getting everyone above 100 credits, which takes up the rest of the remaining time. Just as the door to the outside opens, Gawrth is able to win a 1:1 challenge against another patron, elevating even the last member of the group up to a positive score.
The group collects their belongings and winnings and leaves the casino without any further problems. But as the memory of the stay in the Wheel of Destiny starts to blur, the contract with the devil remains. Taking a well earned rest and diner back in the HQ, Happy notices that two horns slowly start to form on Jeffs forehead, signalling the beginning of the 30 days he has to fulfil his contract.
In the morning, the group finds out that the quickest route to the Cadacho Channel where the pirate ship might reside is through Port Ysabel on the north-eastern coast of the continent, where a public teleportation circle exists. The Crew of the Floating Seamen is notified and promises to be there in roughly 5 days.
But before the head hunters leave the city, they converse once more with Archmage Khelem who tells them that the Memorandum is ready to be visited. However, this procedure could take a moment, as there is some time-warping enchantment on it, so the group decides to postpone this mission until Jeff's contract is out of the way.