The Vast, Unknown

The party continued their search for the informant in Graypeaks Neighborhood in Calaunt, beginning with Xander slaughtering the room full of gangsters he had found himself in; he would then proceed to light the room, before seeking out his allies. The rest of the party, meanwhile, were investigating a front for the Monster Mob, a Bakery with a meeting happening in the backroom. Sahelia purchased an overpriced diamond for the purposes of raising Vierlara from death, before lockdown was declared in the neighborhood when the fire engulfed the Blushing Ruby. The party separated, seeking shelter in various locales, with FellReign and Boots picking the home in which their quarry, the brothel worker turned informant Lilac! After some discussion, Boots and Fell escaped the home with Lilac, collected Tydora from the Bakery, and linked up with Sahelia and Xander in the Temple of Ilmater across the neighborhood. After a final stand-off with the neighborhood boss, the party escaped Graypeaks. 

The session closed with them visiting the Temple to Selune elsewhere in Calaunt, where with the aid of a priestess there they successfully revived Vierlara.

The party compose themselves and rest after the slaughter of their Vedalken assailants in the High Country. Xander and Boots handle the burning of the corpses, FellReign sorts through the loot, Sahelia prepared the body of Vierlara for transport, and Tydora composed herself after a promise was broken despite her best efforts. After a night's rest, the party set out westward, headed to Calaunt to deal with their other task. Their five days of travel was uneventful.

Once in Calaunt, Boots sought out an old criminal contact who pointed them in the direction of their quarry, who was holed up in the Graypeaks Neighborhood, a predominantly Dwarven neighborhood under the protection of the "Greyskins," a Duergar arm of the Monster Mob. Infiltrating the neighborhood, utilizing various illusions and magicks, they began their reconnaissance, to varying degrees of success. The session ended with the majority of the party tailing after a Duergar patrol, who disappeared into a shop, while Xander alone provoked conflict with a small squad of the Duergar in The Blushing Ruby, a Mob-run brothel. 

Forthcoming

Forthcoming

Forthcoming

Forthcoming

Forthcoming

The party reconvenes the following afternoon after a night of rest to find two party members absent: Bzzt and Rayne. While they await their arrival, or at least word, two new faces arrive: Boots and Sahelia, a pair of silver-tier adventurers from the Hawthorne Guild enlisted by Blackmaw to help track down the Order of the Sibriex. The conversation is tense for a bit, with Tydora especially reacting negatively, but eventfully some peace is achieved once it became apparent that there were common goals amongst the five of them. While this was happening, a few other things happened: First, a letter arrived from Rayne announcing that she was stepping away from the adventures for a while, feeling overwhelmed and needing to focus on her "mission." Second, Bzzt announced via his defender Terry he was also unavailable due to "taxes." Down two party members, with two new arrivals to fill the gap for the time being, the party was presented with a task by the Vedalken Potlet, who arrived not long after. Sir Pabril Palraedinor wished for the party to accompany he and a small group of Knights on an expedition to the high country in an effort to investigate a recent surge in shooting stars in the region. They had four days to kill until they were needed to depart.

The party pursued individual goals in those four days. Tydora followed up with Croak once more, in an effort to build a relationship with the death merchant. When the grung learned of Tydora's upcoming trip to the High Country, he offered her a task: capture a living spell in a place of wild magic and return it to him for payment. Fell visited The Moonflame, Selûne's temple in Raven's Bluff, and prayed for insight to his predicament; he received a brief vision in the form of a memory eating dinner with his wife. Sahelia sought lodgings in the Halls of Mystery, the temple to Mystra, meeting the dwarven cleric [Insert Name] and receiving a tour of the premises. She learned move about the High Country and the city's nobility, specifically the DeVillar family and all the great things they've done in service to Raven's Bluff. Xander tried to bait Igor Skyhawk into a confrontation by posting on the city's job board and spreading rumors via the bartender at the Crescent Moon Inn. Boots, meanwhile, tailed Xander for these days, trying to learn more about him, as she had deemed him the leader of the group.

The session concluded the morning of 15 Mirtul, as the party arrived at Griffin Hall, headquarters of the Knights of the Griffon to find the rest of the expedition group already assembled.

The session opens a short time later, focusing in on Tydora who was absent from the party's escapades at the coliseum, in the middle of a game of liar's dice in the Crescent Moon Inn with the suave halfling Flyn. A brief montage ensues focused on the game between the two, with a few guests arriving throughout: the young newsboy the party accosted their very first day in Raven's Bluff, a Halfling woman whom Tydora had seen at the Boar's Head Inn, and even a copy of Tydora herself. Flyn ultimately won the game, but was pleased with the results of his conversation with Tydora, and told her to stop by the Crescent Moon Inn anytime. Tydora left shortly afterwards to see what her friends were up to at the Lazy River, thinking only a few hours had past; it is only much later that Tydora realizes she entire days had passed unnoticed.

Tydora finds the rest of the party at the Lazy River at last call, finishing up their celebration of the nights success. While conversing with one another, two visitors arrive: the Watchmen Curious Wonder and his partner Anyas. After some tense conversation regarding again the party's acquisition of the Lazy River and the disappearance of the prior owners, Curious got to the point: He needed the party's help in hunting down a killer, and he had no qualms against coercing the party into it by leveraging their own crimes in the process. The target was Amefogo, a hardened assassin hiding somewhere in Shadystreets with connections to the Mark of the Wolf, an infamous organization in the business of contract killing. Curious thought the party's newfound status in the neighborhood, and their place outside the traditional structure of the law, would yield better results in this hunt. Curious urged haste, stressing a need to accomplish this task before sunrise.

Forced on the hunt, the party split in two groups to cover more ground. Xander and Rayne pursued a lead produced by Momak to "pay the toll" under the Dragon bridge. Arriving at the landmark, they head beneath and find a blind troll who relied on a strong sense of smell named Chud who offered information in exchange for a toll. After some back and forth, both with word and with coin, the troll told the pair to track down The Black Widow, a prostitute of some renown in the neighborhood whom Chud at smelled in the presence of Amefogo here recently. From there, the pair tracked down The Black Widow's whereabouts to an alley in the northern stretch of the neighorhood. There they met Vierlara, a young Half-Drow woman in a deplorable, cursed situation. The two showed Vierlara kindness, offering her both gold and sanctuary at the Lazy River to rise out this unfortunate situation she was in, to which she was grateful, offering up an approximate location where Amefogo was hiding out. They headed there next, sending an origami courier back to the Lazy River so Momak could contact the other half of the party.

Meanwhile, Bzzt, FellReign, and Tydora headed elsewhere in the city aboard a tandem robotic centaur Terry to follow up with Mister Madam, a contact of FellReign's given to him by Blackmaw. Madam met them at the front door, carrying on the conversation there while preventing entry into his home. Tydora offered up a substantial amount of gold in exchange for information on the Mark of the Wolf, Amefogo himself, and a way to track him down. One hot lead Madam offered was to track down "Croak," a dealer of poisons and other illicit wares along the banks of the Fire River; Tydora also noticed the fine clothing of multiple women in the floor of Madam's apartment, suggesting the status of the information broker's house guests that night. From there, the party return to the Lazy River, thus acquiring notice from Momak of Amefogo's location; Bzzt and FellReign went straight there, while Tydora detoured slightly to find Croak. Once at the location Madam marked for them, Tydora found a small green Grung operating a pop-up stand along the riverside, a tiny boat moored close by. Through the clever use of a Potion of Comprehension and Thieves' Cant, the two are able to converse, with Tydora purchasing a few items of interest from the dealer. From there, Tydora rejoined the rest of the party.

Moving into the neighborhood, the party begin an effort to track Amefogo down. While Xander accosted a pair of rough looking individuals guarding the front door to a house, Tydora noticed movement in a different one, spotting Amefogo trying to launch an ambush. Combat ensued, with the party able to quickly overwhelm and paralyze the assassin before he could successfully strike anyone down. Xander, meanwhile, dealt with the thugs, sparing one. Tydora ultimately dealt the killing blow to the elven assassin.

The session concluded with the party, minus Rayne, taking Amefogo's body to the closest Watch station to collect his bounty, while Rayne returned home, conflicted with the events of recent weeks . . . 

The party continue to plant roots in the city, exploring their own interests while also preparing their next venture as a group: competing in an upcoming gladiatorial competition. Tydora is notably absent from this block of time, appearing only once a day before the games not acting as her usual self, but it is not uncommon for individual party members to disappear here and there. Bzzt continues to establish his new business, Rayne her noble connections, Fell his research into the Abyss and its denizens, and Xander his establishment of a philanthropic presence in the city of Raven's Bluff.

Come the day of the gladiatorial contest, the party split and head to accomplish their respective tasks. Rayne and Bzzt head to the VIP lounge of the coliseum in the company of High Morninglord Shismel Thoden, whom Rayne had been in contact with over her recent Aasimar evolution. Already present at the lounge were the following individuals: the Vedalken Imuloc in conversation with Regent of City Works Landeth Rev; the Red Wizard Nazirra and Calagard Al Glowfire in hushed conversation; Calagard Dunkon Neste, sitting alone; and Sir Pabril Palraedinor, nobleman and Knight of the Dove. Lady Thoden introduced Rayne to the knight, and together they watched the proceedings of melees. 

Xander, FellReign and Terry, meanwhile, headed to the holding area beneath the colosseum to compete in the "Champion's Challenge." They're paired with Heismol, a Knight of the Golden Rooster, and Macho, an electric Dragonborn with a gravelly voice. The champion proved to be Archdruid Talvar, head of the Circle of the Sheaf whom the party met at Fabien Flermeer's dinner party a few weeks prior. Talvar answered the crowd's "Frog, Frog, Frog" chant by shape changing into a Froghemoth, launching into the fight. It was largely a one-sided conflict in favor of the party, who expertly shut down the creature's more dangerous abilities with the use of lightning damage and the slow spell. Terry's use of the embedded Pyroconverger also elicited a strong response, especially from Sir Pabril in the VIP longue. Rayne and Bzzt had an opportunity to talk up the value of such technology, securing a chance to further showcase the Vedalken's wares to the Knight later on.

The session closed in celebration down in the pits, with Rayne joining in after making a public debut as Aasimar by flying through the coliseum.

The session opened with the party concluding the investigation within the old dwarven watch post in the Glorming Pass, after having slain the orcs and their Neogi masters. FellReign focused on inventorying the caravan inventory, along with finding a few extra items of the magical variety that did not need to be returned to the Wizard’s Guild. Xander and Tydora find a secret door with a prison cell behind it housing the caravanners and the corpse of the dead wizard. Bzzt inspected the living space of the orcs and the old dwarven architecture, including a pair of statues depicting Moradin, head of the Dwarven pantheon. Rayne, meanwhile, composed herself outside, while Boti stood in silent vigil over her, understanding the struggle the noblewoman was feeling inside. After the thorough investigations were concluded, the party began to return to Raven’s Bluff. Boti parted ways, taking the corpses of the two Neogi with her as her trophies, fulfilling the bargain with the party.

The party arrived in Raven’s Bluff on 29 Tarsakh, two days before the grand reopening of The Lazy River. While the rest of the party went about preparing for this event, along with resting and recharging, FellReign returned to the Wizard’s Guild to report his success to Vondus. He was led to a subterranean portion of the guild hall where Vondus was bearing witness to the judgment of the goblin mage Wormwill, whom FellReign had reported to his dwarven mentor weeks prior as part of the Monster Mob smuggling ring. Fell watched the tail end of the trial, where several of the deans of the guild, the Vedalken wizard Nalle (who was present as a representative of FellReign), and Archmage Micah Starfire sentenced Wormwill to “Silence” and “Groveling” Zohlu, the Yuan Ti Illusionist who did not care for FellReign, had the honor of taking Wormwill’s tongue and hands, the tools of a mage’s better spells. Other witnesses in attendance to the trial besides Fell and Vondus were the Vedalken Imuloc, and a Red Wizard named Nazirra, who seemed friendly with Fell’s employers. Afterwards, Fell was paid for the completion of the job with gold, a handful of spell scrolls, and promotion to Circle Initiate within the guild.

Two days later, on the evening of 1 Mirtul, 1496, the party reconvene for the grand reopening of The Lazy River. Besides the party, the Vedalken troublemaker Arull is invited as an honored guest, having played a role in the assault on the Lazy River when it was still under control of the Monster Mob. The first night is a success, drawing a steady crowd of locals along with a few interesting cast of characters: Curious Wonder and Anyas, the same Watchmen Bzzt encountered on his first day as the new owner of the Lazy River; Marron and few other local thugs, suggesting that this bar would need time to shake its old reputation; Bradley, a loyal regular who pays special attention; and Hadam Quelmeter, a bold noble from an ostracized house with wild friends in attendance. The party interact with these guests and one another in exciting ways throughout the night.

Along with this, a few other important guests arrive: The bald, nondescript human who had marked Xander weeks prior on behalf of the assassin paid the warrior a visit in the sewer levels. The man informed Xander of the origin of the contract on his head: Igor Skyhawk, the young noble whom Xander humiliated at Fabien Flermeer’s party at Turnstone Hall. The man also told Xander that if he ever wanted to start making money, come find him again. Meanwhile, Bzzt parlayed with Cog, a goblin gangster in town on behalf of the Monster Mob elements from Calaunt, Raven’s Bluff seedier sister city in the nation of Vesperin. Cog informed Bzzt that as long as he never expanded out of Raven’s Bluff, the Mob felt no need to pursue any further conflict with the “Clanker.” The conversation ended without firm affirmation that Bzzt would abide by the restrictions, and Cog left without incident.

The final guests arrived as the Lazy Rivers began to wrap up a very successful opening night. Obir and Lillitt, the militant members of the East Nivix Trading Company, arrived with a delivery in a heavy-ladened crate, along with a message: Shieldmeet was only two months away, and it was time for the company to start advertising. Inside the crate was one Mizzium Mortar and one Pyroconverger, the party’s first taste of Mizzium. The session closed on this scene. 

At the same time the bulettes launch their attack on the party, a new figure also arrives: the Orcish warrior Boti, of the Black Crone tribes, who had been in turn hunting the Bulettes herself. Instead of risking injury in a prolonged conflict, Rayne expertly banished the creatures, while the rest of the party talked (and beat) down the enraged orc. Boti would leave the area, and the party would continue forward as well, not waiting for the land sharks to return to the plane of existence.

Tydora proceeded to scout forward via the air after this, finding the site of an attacked caravan after a while longer, but she could not find distinctive tracks. Meanwhile, the rest of the party waited her return in a cluster. At one point, Xander and Bzzt notice that they’re being stalked again, spotting the same orc hiding in a cluster of boulders behind them. They confront Boti, who reveals herself and then proceeds to stride into camp to speak to the “chiefess” Rayne, ignoring the male grunts in her employ. Boti is still there when Tydora returns with news of the missing caravan, and reveals she knows the attack, which had been initiated by orcs under the control of the “mind slavers.” Offering to guide the party in exchange for trophies to replaced the lost bulettes, the party heads higher up the mountains.

Ultimately, they arrive at an old dwarven watch post that had been commandeered by the enslaved orcs. Deceiving the orcs, Boti dragged Rayne forward as a prisoner, with a recently modified Terry doing the same with Bzzt. The charade breaks down shortly afterward, and combat ensues. In an effort to negate the sight abilities that Boti had warned of, Bzzt very wisely unleashed an ever smoking bottle in the confined quarters of the watch post, turning the fight into a blind slaughter. The “mind slavers,” a pair of neogi and a Neogi master, did their best to thwart the conflict, but they too were overcome. In one tense moment, the Neogi Master successfully drags FellReign out of the fog (Tydora was out of the cloud as well and witnessed this), but Fell’s Yuan Ti magical resistance saved his mind from being ensnared by the Neogi, so the Neogi was forced to dimension door away without a new slave. The rest of the orcs and neogi are slain, save for a single orog who left after being spared.

The session closed as silence fell on the watch post and the fog began to clear.

The sessions with Rayne at home, two days after the assault on the Three Rivers, transformed. While escorting Helen home, she had collapsed, as a metamorphosis from human to Aasimar occurred. Her servant, Cozah, tried her best to console her noblewoman, but suggested that it was better if she spoke with her waiting guest downstairs instead: Reverend Judge Antony Skyhawk, head of the Church of Torm. Heading down, she found Antony being entertained by Keycyne, Rayne’s elvish advisor assigned by the Church of Lathander. Conversation ensued, with Antony encouraging Rayne about her changes and warned her about the negative effects the rest of the party could have on her reputation. And, as if on cue, this the moment the party arrived to check on Rayne, whom they had not seen since the assault, before proceeding to behave embarrassingly in front of the Judge (who pretended that he had not seen them less than 12 hours before). Antony left, and the party proceeded to catch Rayne up to speed with everyone that had occurred while she was absent.

Over the next few days, the party prepared to leave the city, pursing the job FellReign had been assigned by his wizard mentor Vondus to track down a missing caravan in the Glorming Pass east of the city. Once ready, they departed, traveling parallel to the Fire River towards the small town Dragon Falls. Along the way, the rescue a Dwarf minstrel trapped beneath a fallen tree, receiving a reward from the grateful bard in the first place; they also learned a brief history of the region that night, how the land was originally owned by Orcs before giving way to the Dwarvish Kingdom of Sarbreen and then later settled by humans after the Dwarven kingdom collapsed.

Heading south from Dragon Falls, the party makes their way through mountainous terrain of the Glorming Pass. After several hours, the party notice something odd moments before a pair of bulettes burst from the earth on the hunt for them! The session closes as they prepare to defend themselves

The party continued with the cleanup of their new bar, the Three Rivers (which they choose to rename the Lazy River), disposing of the corpses deeper in the sewers and cleaning up the blood. Momak is paid to take a vacation for a bit, but is retained as the head bartender for when the Lazy River is ready to be reopened. Word is sent to the Reverend Judge Antony Skyhawk, head of the Church of Torm, to bring him up to speed with these new developments; a meeting is later set with the nobleman for the next evening. In the early hours, Bzzt is also questioned by a pair of Watchmen, the Tabaxi Harbor Patrolman Curious Wonder and his partner from the Canine Corps, the halfling Anyas. Bzzt is not charged with any crimes, but it is established that the Watch would be paying close attention to them moving forward.

The party split up the next day to pursue individual goals. One scene in particular of interest is Xander’s shopping trip to the Market District, where at one point a figure bumps into him, slipping a coin with three Raven’s heads in his pocket in the process. Xander catches a glimpse of the bald human male, but is unable to pursue him; he proceeds to keep the coin.

The party (minus Rayne, who is noticeably absent this day), go to the House of Loyalty in the Holyhouses neighborhood, the temple devoted to Torm. The party meets with Antony Skyhawk, who in the midst of the conversation reveals that they he possessed detailed intel on the entire party collected by an organization known as the Silent Network. In regard to the Three River’s situation, Antony produced an adventuring license for the party to sign that was backdated to the beginning of the month, legalizing their most recent antics. The party leave confident that, for now, the party are spared from consequences of the violence, although now they find themselves in the back pocket of a particularly zealous nobleman and champion of Torm.

Leaving the temple by its back entrance, Xander is immediately attacked by an assassin! Only the timely intervention of FellReign’s temporal magics spared the warrior from grave injury. The assassin is captured before he can escape, and reveals that Xander had a contract on his head. At the threat of death, the assassin reveals that Xander had been tracked magically via the coin slipped in his pocket earlier in the day, and they he should go to the Nimber’s Skewer Shop in Mortonbrace and order the Lamb Kebab if he wanted more information.

The session ends as the party returns home for a night’s rest

The party returns as quickly as possible to Raven’s Bluff, heading quickly to the Shadystreets neighborhood where the Three Rivers, the Monster’s Mob hangout, was located. Along the way, word was sent to Arull, the Vedalken artificer, to meet them there to assist in the assault of the Three Rivers (the Vedalken would arrive still in his pajamas). Opting to take a stealthy approach, the party took the sewers, finding their way through the underground to a locked gate that they could use to break into one of the lower levels of the bar. Striking unawares, the party launches an attack on the assembled gangsters, turning the tables! Combat ensues on multiple floors of the Three Rivers simultaneously, Arull topside and the party in the sewers.

After defeating the lesser gangsters, the party continues down, heading to a small dungeon level where they found Helen held hostage by the goblin gangster, Kabs! After a heated discussion in which Bzzt was unwilling to negotiate, Kab’s bodyguards launched their attack from the shadows in the cramped quarters. Timely counterspells from Rayne turned the tide quickly, and the combined efforts of Xander and Arull prevented the flying Kabs from escaping when it was obvious that failure was imminent. The bodyguards are slain and Kabs is taken captive (losing his ears in the process), and silence falls on the Three Rivers. While Rayne departs with Helen to reunite her with her son, the party begins to investigate the establishment, finding two things of particular interest: (1) Bzzt found the deed to the bar, which he then forced the Goliath owner Momak to sign over to him and (2) FellReign found crates of potions and other magical items with the Wizard’s Guild symbol on it, determining that their was some sort of smuggling operation afoot. He also learned the contact name Wormwill via a ledger found with the contraband.

The session ends in the midst of this post-fight cleanup.