The Best Show Starring the Worst DnDPlayers

Ziphli lead the adventurers forward after giving some dockworkers directions, and began to point out notable locations to the party. He pointed the party to the inn first, called The Rusty Keel.  Ziphli led the party until he reached the entrance to the West District, and explained that the West District houses most of the "financiers" of the shops on the east. Crom asked if Zipli was going to show them around the West District, and Ziphli told them they were not welcome in the West District yet. The West District is reserved for the populace of Nenaxi with wealth, whereas the East District is for the working class. 

Ziphli left the adventurers at the entrance to the West District with two guards. Olaf held out a hand to shake the guards' hands in an effort to determine their strength. After finishing their interaction with the guards, the adventurers turned back toward the West District. As Olaf turned, he caught a glimpse of a flash of metal and a black cloak dipping into an alley. Olaf called the party's attention to the man, and the party decided to go investigate. As the adventurers entered into the alley the man stood up from behind a barrel. The man introduced himself as Greg after some pressure, and told the party to be careful around Ziphli. Greg was not able to give specifics about what to look out for, but believed Ziphli had to do some shady things to move to that position of power. During the conversation Minerva made her way around Greg, and then grabbed him and lifted him into the air. 

Flint stepped forward and checked the man's pocket and found a few silver and a note. The note told Greg there were six new arrivals, and was signed simply "U". The adventurers began to interrogate Greg into giving up the name of U. Greg was unwilling to tell the party who U was, but did accidentally tell the party U was a woman. Greg was then able to escape from Minerva's grasp, and Crom told Greg he had one question left. Crom asked if Greg steals because he has to, and Greg said he loves stealing. Minerva started to attack the man, but Crom stepped between the two and would not let Minerva attack him. 

After the interaction with Greg the adventurers returned to the Rusty Keel for the night for some food, drink, and rest. After procuring some food and drink, the party sat down for their first moment of downtime since they fell. Olaf held his arm out, elbow on the bar, to indicate to the innkeeper that he wanted to arm wrestle for the glass of wine. The innkeeper was able to beat Olaf in an arm wrestle but Kesgrim, the bus-boy, was not. As they were eating the party began to familiarize themselves with one another, and the crimes they committed to land them in Orvigo.

Chessa went first, explaining that she was cast down for theft from the throne after she ran away from an arranged marriage her father set up for her. Her father sold her hand in marriage to the prince of Cloudcross, and Chessa ran away to avoid being married to him. Chessa explained that she attracted the attention of the prince prior to the marriage. After rebuffing the prince's advances, her hand was sold by her father to the king. 

Minerva asked Crom if he was also cast to Orvigo for arson, and Crom explained that he attempted to burn down a politician's home after seeing his people suffer. The politician had a lavish life while his people suffered, so Crom attempted to burn his house down in an attempt to free the people of the politician's oppression. Flint explained he too targeted crooked politicians, and had been around politicians throughout his life because of his family's connection. Olaf asked Crom if his family was hungry. Crom explained that his family was nomadic, and soon came upon a group of hermits who offered to take in Crom and his siblings. The conversation then turned to Minerva and her relationship with her sister.

Minerva explained that her sister had been wrongfully attacked. Minerva produced a mask from her bag, and told the party that the attackers wore these masks. Minerva began to explore leads into who attacked her sister, and found a shop that was selling masks similar to those the attackers wore. Minerva demanded information from the shop owner, and after the shop owner refused to give up the information, Minerva lost control of her anger and burnt down the shop. 

Stalk then told the group he had a good relationship with his parents, and that his mother was the priestess for his tribe, and his father was the hunter. Stalk said he had taken many things and many lives, but made sure they could always cross into the afterlife. "One must pay when they take a life, and This One always pays." Stalk said. Stalk told the group that he would leave home to run jobs, and on his last the guards arrested him before the job even started. Stalk told everyone he believed someone sold him out to the guards. 

Flint then told his story. He and Olaf had heard of a caravan smuggling things into their town, and the items they were targeting were unable to be reported. They robbed the wrong target, and robbed a very powerful man. The caravan was headed to Flint's parent's place of business. Flint and Olaf were seen leaving the caravan, and Flint's parents gave them up. Flint then gestured to a lamp on his hip, and said there is a genie that lives within. As Flint began to rub the lamp, Minerva grew uncomfortable and asked Flint to not rub the lamp, as her father was a genie, and she has been on the hunt for him as she believes he had something to do with her sister's murder. Flint told Minerva the being inside is not an actual genie, but a demon. Flint said the being was a "shit demon", which is why he called it a genie. 

Olaf asked Minerva if she had ever seen her father, but Minerva had not. She told Olaf the story of her mother and father meeting, and how her father felt her mother had trapped him by becoming pregnant. Minerva recounted the day of the attack, and told the party that six people in these black masks had attacked Minerva and her sister. Olaf offered to help Minerva hunt the men in the masks. 

Flint then explained that he's unable to get rid of the lamp, and Stalk took the lamp and threw it. The lamp then immediately reappeared onto Flint's hip. Flint said the lamp also gave him access to magic, so long as he does what the lamp asks. Flint said he would introduce everyone to the demon when they retired to their room for the night. Flint told the group the demon's name was Xog’althar, and the demon sometimes speaks to Flint. Crom asked Flint if he steals for wealth or to eat, and Flint responded he steals from those who deserve it in order to live. 

The conversation then turned to how to make money, and Olaf suggested asking Lufid for work. Minerva looked around the Rusty Keel for any well-dressed, aristocrat looking people. After seeing one, she informed the party. It was decided that Flint would introduce the party to him, and Flint walked up to him. The party noticed the man was an elf, and he introduced himself as Pharom Ilixina to Flint. Flint asked if Pharom was the owner, and Pharom stated he was and complimented Flint on his observant eye. Flint asked if Pharom lives on the west, and Pharom confirmed his suspicion. Pharom explained how to gain entry to the West, through owning property. Flint asked where to go to buy property, and Pharom told him to seek Nordid Blackpike at the southeastern guard tower. Flint offered his services to Pharom, and Pharom produced a letter stating it was intended for an associate near the southeastern guard tower. Pharom told Flint the letter was intended for his associate Urgeva at the Nenaxi Divers. Pharom explained the Nenaxi Divers were a guild, and the reward for delivering the letter is one gold. 

Flint returned to the party and told them what he had found out, and that the letter was intended for Urgeva. Flint also told the group what he learned about gaining entry to the West District, and Olaf asked if anyone in the party was adept with official documents such as deeds. Olaf asked if Chessa was willing to forge a deed, and if Flint could learn from Pharom what the deeds look like. Minerva said she had a plan, and approached one of the people sitting at the bar. Minerva asked the man his name, and he said his name was "Hullo". Minerva asked the man how he came to live on the west, and the man said his landlord owns his home. After Minerva returned and said her plan did not work, Flint approached Pharom once more. Flint asked Pharom if he could show the document that proves he owns property. Pharom resisted at first, but was able to convince Pharom to produce the document. Pharom showed Flint a small card with a rough sketch of Pharom, and indicated what property he owned with a red "N" stamp. 

Flint then returned to the group and told them what he saw, and the party decided to retire to their room for the night. They entered into the large room with eight beds positioned along the walls, with shades between each bed that could be drawn for privacy. After the group settled in, Flint began to rub the lamp. Xog’althar's avatar then left the lamp and the party saw his form for the first time. Xog’althar asked what Flint wanted, and Flint told him he only wished to introduce him to Flint's new friends. Xog’althar took a special interest in Minerva. Minerva asked if the demon knew any genies, and Xog’althar said he did not. Minerva asked how to find a genie, and Xog’althar told her she could summon one. Olaf asked Chessa if she knew how to summon a genie, but she was not familiar with the ritual to summon a genie. 

Crom then stood and held aloft his glass and gave the party a toast. After his toast the party finished their drinks, and retired for the night.

Olaf woke up first, and went over to Flint and shook him awake. After waking everyone else up, they proceeded downstairs to get breakfast. As they were eating, Lufid told the party that Kesgrim was upstairs resting as he had a rough night the night before. Lufid said Kesgrim was beaten up by the little girl next door, so Olaf went up to check on him. Kesgrim looked hurt, his bed was soaked in blood, he was covered in bruises, and his shirt was ripped and stained. Kesgrim told Olaf the little girl, Nina, had come into the tavern and started throwing food and plates around. Kesgrim had to kick her out of the tavern, and she began to beat him up after being kicked out. 

After Olaf returned Flint read the note he got from Pharom for the party. Pharom told Urgeva he had no more men to spare, and she should either suspend service or make due with what she has. The party exited the Rusty Keel, and saw a funeral service on the Docks. Everyone was dressed in nice, black clothes. Flint stepped back into an alley and disguised himself as one of the mourners, then began to blend in with the crowd. Olaf offered Chessa a hand, and threw her up onto his shoulders so she could see better. From the higher vantage point, Chessa was able to see the figure of a body below the sheet. Flint turned to one of the mourners and apologized for their loss, and learned the dead man's name was Melvin. The man said they believed alcohol may have contributed to Melvin's death. 

The man closest to the body addressed the crowd and thanked them all for coming, and said they would be holding a wake later at The Rusty Keel. After giving his speech he lit the black sheet on fire, and the body was lowered to just above the surface of the water. Crom also approached a mourner and asked to see the card. Melvin had brown hair, a pencil moustache and a pompadour. Flint suggested the party make their way to Nenaxi Divers in search of Urgeva.

As the group entered into Nenaxi Divers they heard beautiful singing, and were soon greeted by a Gnome woman with hair as long as her body. Minerva asked Urgeva if she had any guild members that would keep their face hidden or their identity confidential. Urgeva told the party her guild is mostly employed to retrieve items that have been dropped in Lake Giihl from the docks. Olaf looked around the room and tried to find anything valuable that may have been retrieved from the lake. Olaf picked up a locket and opened it, and inside found a drawing of a human man and an elf woman. Minerva asked Urgeva how long she had been in Nenaxi. Urgeva told them she came from Fyvof where she built a reputation as a diver, and then came to Nenaxi six years ago. Urgeva told Flint that her grandparents had a disagreement with a neighbor and burnt their house down with them inside, which is what caused their arrival to Orvigo. 

Olaf gestured to the water, and Urgeva asked if he would like to exploring. Urgeva warned that she likes to give a briefing to any prospective divers to inform them of the dangers in Lake Giihl. After Urgeva warned them about something called The Rainbow Serpent, and told the party about three of her crew members that had been taken. Urgeva explained that she uses a waterbreathing spell to facilitate diving, and offered to teach the spell to Chessa if the party was willing to help her explore. Flint returned to The Rusty Keel and brought Kesgrim back to operate the winch when they were ready to ascend. After making some final preparations, the party lowered themselves into Lake Giihl and began exploring.

As the group was diving, they saw a very large turtle a fair distance away. Olaf and Crom asked if the party should attack it, and Urgeva shook her head violently and motioned for everyone to run away. Chessa was able to identify the turtle as a dragon turtle, and knew immediately the party should absolutely not fight it. The group continued to follow the piece of land, and ahead of them saw a shipwreck named "The Gilded Lady". Inside the party gathered five gold and twenty silver, and as they were collecting the coin a snake began to slither its way out from behind a chest. The party made quick work of the snake, and it was soon sinking to the ship floor dead. Olaf wrapped the snake around his neck like a scarf as the rest of the party began looking through the chests and crates. The party retrieved some relief statues, some spell scrolls, and a red potion. 

After collecting their loot, Urgeva gestured everyone forward and motioned toward a hole in the gorund here. Flint sent a jellyfish shaped dancing light down the hole and saw the face of a crocodile, and as the creature turned to swim deeper into the hole saw the back end of a beaver. Olaf placed the snake into the hole and squeezed blood from it, noting that the creature did not turn back around. Olaf lead the party into the hole, and at the end found a cavern. Ahead of them in the cavern they saw a passage leading deeper into this cavern with a blood stain trailing along the passage. Stalk looked to floor and saw bloody footprints, and pointed them out to the party. The footprints had long, thin toes, and was webbed close to the pad. Stalk also pointed out the pattern of a tail being dragged across the floor. 

The party then continued along the passage deeper into the cavern. In the next room the party found a pool, and at the bottom of the pool was a crossbeam with a chest bolted to the crossbeam. The inside of the pool was lined with tile, each tile with a Dwarvish rune carved into it. 

Looking deep into the pool in front of them, the adventurers saw a chest bolted to a crossbeam at the bottom. Dwarvish runes were carved into the tiles lining the pool, and Flint was able to identify that only some tiles actually meant anything. The tiles that could be read, read "1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.". After pressing the tiles in sequence, a clunk was heard coming from the other side of the pool. Floating on the surface of the water was the body of a human woman, however no blood was present. Crom told Flint what he saw after Flint tapped the runes, and Flint repeated the sequence. After tapping the runes once more, a concrete slab slid open revealing a horizontal concrete slab about two feet below the surface of the water.

Minerva dove into the pool and pried the chest open with her scimitar, and began to hear a rhythmic ticking as the concrete slab above her began to cover the opening of the pool. Flint quickly used his mage hand to tap the runes once more, and paused the trap. Minerva, seeing that she now had an exit from the pool, dove to the chest once more. In the chest was 150 silver, and a golden crown. The crown had three peaks on its front, and the outer two were set with purple gems. The central peak had a setting for a gem, but did not have one placed in. After dissecting the body they pulled from the pool, the adventurers continued following the blood trail.

At the end of the trail was an open cavern, with several bedroom furnishings spread throughout. A dwarf man with a long beard and long unkempt hair was seated at a table with bottles of wine, bread, cheese, and all the makings of a dinner. The bloody footsteps lead to a wooden tub in the corner of the room. Flint asked the man what he was doing here, and the man responded this was his home. Minerva asked why he was living somewhere with monsters and bodies, and the man claimed to not know about the monsters, but was aware of the body in the pool. He stated he left the body there to ward off intruders. After Flint began to ask the dwarf about the bloody footprints leading to the tub, Minerva walked over and grabbed him. Dragging him toward the footsteps she asked whose footprints they were, and a battle broke out.

Olaf held him under water until Crom was able to produce some rope, and after letting him free from the water the dwarf began to change. His skin grew green and scaly, and fur began to sprout from his legs. Crom stepped forward with the rope and tied his mouth shut. Minerva stepped forward and told the dwarf she wanted to make a deal, and that they would spare his life if he told them what he knew. The rope was removed, and the dwarf introduced himself as Dargul. Dargul explained that he currently works for a woman named "D". Minerva interjected that he works for them now, and asked him to explain the nature of his work. Dargul explained that he was hired by D to retrieve bodies from Lake Giihl, and hold them until she is able to retrieve them. He was paid 100G per alive body, and 25G for each dead body. Flint and Olaf grabbed the buoys Dargul identified as the signal, and swam back out into Lake Giihl.

Crom, Minerva, and Chessa began to question Urgeva, asking he if she knew anything about this. Urgeva said she had no knowledge of this creature, nor what it was doing. Chessa asked Urgeva if she knew a Greg, and Urgeva explained that Greg is a fake name given by thieves within Nenaxi. Crom changed his face to Greg's face, and asked if she knew that man. Urgeva said she did, but did not know his name and only referred to him as Greg. 

The adventurers soon hatched a plan to follow D to the destination of the bodies to determine the breadth of the operation. While waiting for D to arrive everyone but Stalk spoke to Urgeva and Dargul. Stalk soon saw the water break, and a dwarf woman break the surface of the water. Flint held out a hand to help her out of the water, and introduced himself. The conversation was soon cut short as Olaf stepped forward and began to draw his greataxe, and D prepared herself for the fight to come.

After killing the woman, the party instructed Dargul on his new position. Olaf told him he was to deploy a black buoy the next time someone came to see him in regard to the body operation. Urgeva told the party she recognized the dwarf woman, and her name was Davathra. The party then gathered themselves and began to return to the surface, following Urgeva's lead to prevent ascending too quickly.

Once the adventurers were back in Nenaxi Divers, they spoke to Urgeva and Kesgrim about Davathra to gain more information as to who this woman may have been. Kesgrim stated he had seen her around The Rusty Keel, and she always ordered an expensive, glowing, red drink called Feywine. The party continued to ask Kesgrim and Urgeva questions before deciding to return to The Rusty Keel. Once there Lufid greeted the party, and Olaf ordered 6 feywines. After offering an arm wrestling competition rather than the 60G bill, Lufid produced a note and handed it to the party. Lufid claimed someone dropped the note off to Lufid and asked him to deliver it directly to the party.

Lufid handed Flint the note, and told him it had been left just a moment before they walked in. Flint lead the note aloud for the party, which told them to meet Greg in the alley in three hours. Greg also asked they be more friendly this time. Olaf placed his elbow on the table and motioned for Lufid to arm wrestle him. Lufid said he would, but Olaf would still have to pay. Lufid was successful in the contest, and Olaf placed Davathra's head on the bar immediately after and said "I don't think we'll be paying". Lufid asked why he placed a head on the bar, and Olaf asked if Lufid knew this woman. Lufid said he had seen her around, and Olaf responded he would keep seeing her around as he pushed the head off the other side of the bar to Lufid's feet. Olaf asked if Ziphli needed assistance, and what connection Davathra might have had to Ziphli. Lufid told him that Davathra was a regular citizen to the best of his knowledge, and that Ziphli would not need help as he has the whole Nenaxi Guard under him. Olaf asked why Davathra met at his bar so frequently, and Lufid told him it was the most popular bar in Nenaxi. As Olaf looked around the bar he saw six people seated in a circle around a man in brightly colored robes tuning a lyre. Olaf approached the group.

Olaf asked how they were, and after they responded they were doing fine he asked if they would like to remain fine. As Olaf was speaking to them, Crom made his way to the bathroom. Flint disguised himself as a guard and told the witnesses to keep quiet, and not to speak. Olaf returned to Lufid and told him he could keep the head, and Lufid stated he would throw it out. Crom exited the bathroom in the form of Davathra and took a seat at the bar. Minerva saw Davathra sit at the bar, and drew Stalk and Chessa's attention to it. Minerva asked for three ales, and Lufid excused himself for a minute to dispose of the head in a backroom. Minerva took her three drinks and sat at the bar near Davathra. Lufid looked to Crom, shocked. He excused himself for a minute and returned with the head, dumping it on the bar in front of Crom. Minerva tried to explain away the head as being a prop or a creation, while Lufid was demanding they leave the bar immediately. Minerva turned to run, and Lufid chased her outside while screaming for guards. Flint disguised himself as a guard and asked what the problem was. Flint was able to convince Lufid the head was a prop, and told him to get some sleep.

Lufid returned inside and kicked everyone out. As the bard exited The Rusty Keel, Minerva began to speak to him. Minerva told him it was a great performance. Minerva asked where the story came from, and the bard began to tell the tale to Minerva. The bard introduced himself as Jonny, and explained that "The First Pariah" was a man named Clav, renamed Úthýst when he was cast down to Orvigo. Clav was a part of a group of paladins with his friends Ug and Ewin that went exploring. During their journey, Ug returned to their camp and told everyone that Clav had killed Ewin. When Clav returned, he had no alibi and was punished for the murder by being cast down into Orvigo. Jonny told Minerva that Clav was the first to commit murder in Febroxi. Jonny said Lufid had never kicked anyone out of The Rusty Keel, and he seemed a bit off today. 

The adventurers made their way to the alley to wait for Greg, and began discussing the information they had found. Soon Greg appeared behind them and thanked them for coming. Greg told them he had information regarding Kesgrim's altercation, and claimed it was not with a little girl, but with a guard. Kesgrim and Melvin were seen arguing with a guard, and the only thing Greg overheard was Melvin yelling "where are they?!". Soon the altercation turned physical, and the guards began to beat Kesgrim and Melvin. Greg identified one of the guards as  aman named Dalostek, and Olaf recognized the description of the man. Greg also told the group his real name was Jacob. Minerva asked if any women have caught Greg's eye, and he stated there was a woman with bright red hair, brown eyes, and pale white skin that he has been taken with for some time. Olaf asked Greg to start leaving notes with Urgeva rather than with Lufid, and Greg went on his way. Crom looked to the ground and began to follow tracks, and led the party onward.

Following the tracks led the party to the southeast guard tower. Before entering, they decided to speak to Kesgrim to ask what they should expect there. Minerva asked Kesgrim to talk a walk, and Crom volunteered to man Kesgrim's station. Minerva began to question Kesgrim about the fight with the girl next door, and Kesgrim soon admitted that he was fighting the guards. Kesgrim told her that him and Melvin had a little too much to drink, and decided to clear up a rumor with the guards. There has been a pervasive rumor in Nenaxi that the bodies being burned are not the actual bodies of the dead. Kesgrim and Melvin decided to clear the rumor with the guards, and that led to their beating. Following their discussion they decided to head to the southeast guard tower.

Arriving at the guard tower they were met by a guard and asked about housing. The guard told them they would need to speak to Selm Brawnfellow. Selm soon stepped out from the tower and greeted the party. Selm showed the party the first house in the brochure priced at 750 gold, without a bathroom. The next house had a bathroom and was going for 1500 gold. Olaf asked about financing the house and paying as they could, and Selm said he would have they would have to speak to Ziphli. Selm told them Ziphli makes rounds to all of the guard towers every day, and they could return tomorrow to speak to him. Olaf arm wrestled Selm and broke his arm, then followed him as he sought out a doctor. Crom took Stalk to look into something else.

Selm led the party to a doctor, and after pausing outside to discuss their options, Minerva and Flint entered. Inside they found Selm and the doctor, Selm's arm stretched across a table. The doctor was running his glowing hands over Selm's broken arm. Minerva and Flint checked with Selm to make sure there weren't any hard feelings, then made their way back to Urgeva's. Crom and Stalk found a house in the brochure, and gained entry through an upstairs window to secure a safe place to sleep for the night. Crom placed a note in front of the rat so when Chessa checked in on it, she would see the note and where Crom and Stalk were. 

Olaf began walking the route Selm walked down to watch for guards taking an interest in what happened. Olaf did come across two guards, one goliath and one human, and called out to the goliath man in giant. Olaf asked if there were other goliaths in Orvigo, and the goliath man said they are in Rheju which is a community of hunters. Olaf asked how Rune sent money to his family in Rheju, and Rune explained that he uses a goliath captain named Bewan Bucksheath to deliver the money to his family. 

Olaf finished his conversation and rejoined Chessa and Flint. They then made their way to the vacant home that Stalk and Crom had secured, and settled in for the night. 

The party awoke in the vacant home and quickly made their way out onto the street. The party decided to explore Nenaxi, and find a job board in an effort to make gold. Flint approached a guard who directed them toward such a board, and the party made their way there.

There were three jobs posted on the board, one in search of demon slayers, the next in search of spokespeople, the last a statement from a man claiming his coin was stolen. The party removed the notices, and started to seek information about the demon slaying job. Flint approached another guard, who told him the scholars are on the west side of Nenaxi. Chessa asked if they could send a message to the scholars, and the guard said he would be able to return a message to them at Nenaxi Divers.

The party explored Nenaxi, stopping in to the various shops before heading to meet Ziphli at the southeastern guard tower. Along the way, Flint spoke to the dock master who offered Flint work on the docks.

[3:02 PM]

Olaf and Minerva met with Ziphli and asked about work. Ziphli told them they were welcome to join the guard following the completion of a trial. He said there was a band of thieves that held a hideout east of Nenaxi, and they had stolen valuable items from traders. 

After speaking to the dock master, Memdap, about renting a boat the party set off for the eastern shore of Lake Giihl. As they proceeded through the woods, they came upon corpses of animals lying along their path. Olaf approached a tree and hit it as hard as he could, the sound echoing through the trees. Soon after a loud, guttural cry was heard through the trees. Stalk was able to identify how far away and which direction the call came from, and soon lead the party in that direction. 

Chessa, Flint, and Stalk took positions within the trees and awaited the creature. The creature soon came into view. It was black with the head of a wolf, wings, and the legs of a wolf on a humanoid body. As the creature descended, the adventurers prepared for battle.

After killing the creature, harvesting some of its body parts, and honoring it with a short ritual, the party rested for a moment before continuing on their journey to the thieves' hideout.

After taking their short rest below the monstrosity, Stalk began to survey the woods to find which direction it came from. The party watched Crom honor the monster, and made vines grow from the dirt beneath it. Stalk then lead the party onward in search of the creatures origin. As they were walking along they heard a gruff, blustering voice commanding a man named Bran to move boxes. Flint asked Olaf to toss him back into the trees so he could get a better view of what's happening. Flint moved through the treetops and made his way to the hill where he saw a man lift a box and begin walking toward two stone walls jutting out from the hillside. After surveying the area for some time the party formulated a plan. Crom wild shaped into an ox as Olaf leaped from the top of the hill toward one of the men, Stalk and Crom following his lead. Chessa casted feather fall on Crom, Olaf, and Stalk to protect them from falling. Crom crushed the man he leaped toward, while Olaf and Stalk killed their man. The men in the cave turned around and were shocked by the sight outside the cave, and prepared to fight. As the battle raged on, Chessa began to carefully make her way down the hill. She entered into the cave and joined the fight. After Minerva got the killing blow on the leader, the party began to sift through the loot in this cave. There was a wooden box with a note on top stating the writer could not figure out what the box does, but someone died defending it. After experimenting with it for some time, Flint shook his demon out from his lamp to ask what the item is. Xog’althar told Flint it's a folding boat that unfolds when the command word is spoken. Xog'althar gave Flint two words to try speaking to the box, but said the command words are different from box to box. Minerva asked Olaf for the gem they found, and tried placing it into the setting on the crown she found earlier. She wasn't able to place the gem into the crown and returned both to her bag. After sorting through the loot and deciding what to keep, the party prepared to spend the night in the cave. After their long rest they began to travel back along the road toward their boat. Once they arrived to the water they placed the folding boat out on a piece of ice Flint created in the lake, then stood back and tried the command words Xog'althar gave them. None of the words caused the boat to unfold, so Flint shook his lamp and Xog'althar came out once more. Minerva stepped forward and tried to get his attention, although Xog’althar didn't seem to be interested. He did offer information in exchange for a soul, but the party decided the information was not worth a soul and forced Xog'althar back into his lamp. The party then boarded their original boat and made their way back to Nenaxi. Olaf and Minerva made their way to the Southeast Guard Tower while everyone else made their way to Urgeva's shop. As Olaf and Minerva arrived to the Southeast Guard Tower, they were greeted by the same guard as the day before and told them to wait for Ziphli to arrive. Ziphli greeted them, and thanked them for retrieving the goods. Ziphli told them their last task was the first of the trial, and they should now proceed to the home of Tabitha Gladbolt and retrieve her journal. Tabatha had been looking into some matters that Ziphli preferred she didn't. Ziphli told Minerva and Olaf she leaves every morning and takes a boat to the west side of Nenaxi. Olaf and Minerva left the cart with Ziphli, and made their way back to Urgeva's shop. Everyone else made their way to Nether Nenaxi to speak Jawahra. They asked her about the folding boat. Jawahra said she could identify the command words for the boat. After some time Jawahra gave them the command words by responding into Flint's mind. Chessa asked for a Mind Spike spell scroll, but did not have enough gold to purchase the scroll. Jawahra asked if they could retrieve three carbuncle garnets from the carbuncle that prowl the woods west of Nenaxi. The group joined back up with Olaf and Minerva near Urgeva's shop. The two groups discussed what they found. The decision was made to seek out the carbuncle on the western shore, then pursue Tabatha's journal the next day. The party then made their way to the dock at Urgeva's shop and asked Kesgrim to lower them down onto their folding boat. They then made their way to the western shore of Lake Giihl.

The crew dropped their folding boat into Lake Giihl, then asked Kesgrim to lower them down onto it. They then sailed their way westward across the glimmering surface of Lake Giihl toward the western bank, filled with beautiful trees of multiple color leaves. As they arrived to the western shore, they disembarked and spoke the command word. The ship began to fold in on itself, and after it finished Flint leaned over to retrieve it. Turning around, they looked into the depths of the forest and wondered what horrors or wonders awaited them within the pastel colored forest. 

Stalk began to survey the area to find tracks of their prey, the carbuncle. Stalk soon found scratches among the tree branches, leading deeper into the Slyasteach forest. Stalk led the group onward before they came upon blinking lights floating amongst the trees. The lights were flashing colors from across the spectrum. As they continued along their path, they noticed the lights were coming from the belly of bugs floating in the air, as the bugs began to form themselves into a swarm of blinking lights. Stalk produced a jar and deftly caught a bug within the jar. Minerva stepped forward and held out a finger as one of the bugs flew over and began to land on her finger. As the bug landed onto her finger, it softly bit into Minerva's finger and began to flash a red light. 

The bugs formed into a large swarm, and all of their lights began to change to red. The adventurers began to prepare themselves for battle, and the battle soon began. The bugs defended themselves well for a while, but they were no match for the group of adventurers. 

The party began to follow the trail of scratch marks in the trees left by the carbuncle once more, and soon came to a fork in the path where the scratches led to the west, but a path laid out by ribbons tied in the trees led to the east.  A decision was made to follow the ribbons first, and after following them through the dense, beautiful forest the adventurers came upon what seemed to be a wall of trees in the forest. With no clear indication as to where the ribbons led beyond, they decided to return to the fork and follow the scratches.

The scratches led the adventurers to a small clearing in the woods, only about 30 feet from end to end. As they approached they noticed shadowy figures darting from tree to tree, and braced themselves for an attack. The carbuncle began to close in on the adventurers, popping out from a tree to make a swipe and dipping back behind the trees for cover. The battle raged on for some time, the carbuncles deftly attacking and hiding, until soon they all were dead. The adventurers took some time to retrieve the sought after gems from their foreheads, and began to recover from the battle. They soon heard more approaching them through the tree cover, and decided to hunt and harvest these carbuncle as well. Olaf took his position in the center of the clearing, attempting to draw the carbuncle into him. As the battle began Olaf grew in size, Chessa also increased Olaf's size, and soon there was a huge goliath man standing in this clearing. The carbuncle sensed the imminent danger from this creature, and began to focus their attacks on him. They fell right into Olaf's trap, and soon all were dead.

After harvesting the gems from the three additional carbuncle, the adventurers carefully made their way back to Lake Giihl toward the east. Following the scratch marks back in the opposite direction, they were soon on the shores of Lake Giihl once more. After summoning their boat, they embarked for the journey back to Nenaxi. After arriving in Nenaxi the adventurers made their way back to Nether Nenaxi to meet with Jawahra and receive their reward. After discovering Jawahra was going to give them far less gold than the gems were worth, they closed the door to her shop and began to close in on her. Jawahra, sensing the immediate danger she was in, quickly offered up the rest of the gold. Olaf purchased some items for the party and himself with his new-found wealth.

After finishing their transactions with Jawahra, Olaf and Minerva decided to head back to the Southeastern Guard Tower to rest for the night, while the rest of the party intended to sleep upon their ship. 

Olaf and Minerva made their way through the bustling streets of Nenaxi toward the Southeast Guard Tower. There they met their long armed Dwarf friend, Selm. Olaf and Minerva talked to Selm about the guard trials and what was asked to do to become a guard. They then asked for admittance into the guard tower. Selm informed them they have begun their trial, but he cannot let them in until they finished the second trial as well. Selm stated he needed to ensure that they were loyal to Ziphli and would not speak of what they saw in the Southeast Guard Tower. Selm invited them back once they've completed their trial, and Olaf and Minerva began to walk back toward the busy street nearby. They made their way through the streets, back to their ship, moored off the side of Nenaxi near Nenaxi Divers'.

Kesgrim lowered Olaf and Minerva down to the ship where they entered into the chambers and rejoined the rest of the group. The group immediately began to plan their heist on Tabitha's house to retrieve the journal, and complete the second half of Minerva and Olaf's trial. As the group was discussing their plan for dealing with Ziphli and retrieving the journal, Chessa excitedly claimed she had solved the coded note they found at the end of the ribbon path in the woods. Chessa read the note aloud, which stated to bring a journal to the place in the woods where the note was found. The group tried to figure out which journal the note was referencing, and who the owner may be. The group settled in for bed as they were finishing their conversation, and soon fell to rest.

Crom and Flint awoke first and asked Kesgrim to pull them to Nenaxi, and began to run their errands for the day. Once Crom and Flint were done with their errands they joined the rest of the group, and they all made their way across the eastern district of the city toward the West District. The group made their way to Tabitha's house, where Chessa sent her rat forward with Crom as a spider into the home in search of the journal after Tabitha had left. Stalk followed Tabitha to keep sight of her trail while marking her path with scraps of Olaf's blanket. After reading some of the journal, Crom ended his wild shape and left with the journal and Chessa's rat in his pocket. The group followed the path of blanket scraps Stalk had left behind for them, and soon found themselves once again at the ribbon path. At the tree wall at the end of the path, Chessa pointed out a path that was visible to her in the center of the tree. Chessa led the party forward, where they soon found a clearing with one large, ancient, lonely tree standing in the center. At the foot of tree Tabitha sat, reading a book. As she heard Minerva attempting to sneak up a tree she called out to Minerva and welcomed her.

Minerva stepped forward and began talking to Tabitha, and soon a plan was made. Tabitha would make a show of preparing to leave Nenaxi, and the party would move her to a safe hiding place. After deciding on their plan, the adventurers made their way back to Nenaxi to meet with Ziphli so Minerva and Olaf could complete their trial. After speaking with Selm and Ziphli, Minerva and Crom were granted access into the Southeast Guard Tower.

As they stepped through the double oak doors into the guard tower, they were greeted with a storage room. Boxes were stacked throughout the room. As they began to look around, they found a long black box, with a red line painted around it, making a perpendicular cross at the top and bottom of the box.

Olaf and Minerva stood in the Southeast Guard Tower, looking down at the body of Melvin. He appeared to have been dead for at least a day, his body bloated and blotchy. Minerva inspected the body and found heavy bruising, confirming Kesgrim's story that he and Melvin had been assaulted by the guards. Minerva looked through the other crates and boxes and found miscellaneous goods within. The boxes all had a brand on the top right of the boxes indicating the origin of the boxes. 

Olaf and Minerva ascended the stone staircase clinging to the walls to the second floor of the tower. There were five guards lounging in this room, in casual attire, seemingly relaxing while they were off duty. Minerva began speaking to a 

goliath man who introduced himself as Sven, then spoke to another guard nearby who introduced himself as George. George told Minerva they don't have a prison system, they just kill anyone they identify as a criminal, and the purpose of the guard is to collect bodies for Ziphli.

Olaf and Minerva proceeded up to the next floor, which George had identified as the kitchen. They passed quickly through this floor up to the next, which was clearly the living quarters. All of the beds seemed to be taken on this floor, so they continued to the next. In this room they were able to find two vacant beds. Minerva, clearly incensed by what she had learned grabbed a pillow and set it aflame. After collecting themselves for a moment, Olaf and Minerva continued to the next floor.

This floor housed boxes and crates of armor, weapons, and supplies. A ladder against one wall lead up to the pinnacle of the tower. There was one man at the pinnacle, seated in a chair, rocking back leisurely as he looked out upon the city. Olaf gestured for Minerva, and Minerva stepped forward and lit the back legs of the chair on fire. Olaf clapped his hand over the man's mouth as he began to shout in shock. Minerva held her hands against the man's face and produced flame, blinding him. Olaf then threw the man from the tower into Lake Giihl. 

Olaf tied off a rope to the top of the tower, and suggested Minerva scale down the building and shoot fire through the windows of the tower. Minerva opened the 

trap door, lit the storeroom below on fire, then Minerva descended the tower and began to set fire to each floor.

Flint, Crom, Stalk, and Chessa made their way back to Nenaxi Divers' to settle onto their ship for the night. While resting on the Melon Collie for a moment, they began to hear people shouting about a fire. Flint began to look around, and saw flames shooting from the windows of the Southeast Guard Tower. They made their way to the tower, where they found Olaf and Minerva standing outside the guard tower. Olaf followed them in and splashed oil on the stairs. Minerva lit the stairs on fire, and she and Olaf barricaded the door. As they exited the tower, Minerva grabbed Melvin's body.

The party fled back to Nenaxi Divers' and rushed down to their boat. Olaf asked Minerva to burn him slightly, making it appear that Olaf and Minerva attempted to save the inhabitants of the tower. The party instructed Kesgrim to sail the boat to the eastern shore with Melvin's body. The party then returned to the tower and watched as many people were throwing water at the tower, attempting to extinguish the flames. The party waited nearby, hoping Ziphli and Dalostek would come to investigate the fire. Stalk hid on a nearby rooftop, waiting to alert the party of Ziphli and Dalostek's approach. 

Soon Stalk did see Ziphli and Dalostek approach in a hurry. Minerva approached them crying, asking what was happening. Minerva approached Dalostek with her 

head in her hands, crying for her fellow guard. Crom exited from an alley disguised as a holy man, screaming about a reckoning. Olaf stabbed into Ziphli after stealing his sword, and Minerva attacked Dalostek, and the battle began. 

Soon Dalostek and Ziphli were dead. Some witnesses begin fleeing, while others stood in place, mouths agape. Other guards began to approach, so Crom and Flint disguised themselves as Ziphli and Dalostek respectively. They told the guards everything was under control, and to continue on with their duties. Crom, disguised as Ziphli, offered to have the party stay with him for the night. Ziphli told everyone to head home for the evening, and they'll investigate in the morning.

The party made their way to the west side of Nenaxi in search of Ziphli's home. As they were crossing the bridge to the west side they encountered a guard and asked for him to help. The guard offended Olaf, so Olaf beheaded him and disposed of his body down the dock holes. 

The party made their way to the northwestern corner of Nenaxi, where they found another guard tower. After the party asked if Ziphli could stay here for the night, the guard out front informed the party that this was Ziphli's home. Crom gave the guard the night off, and the party proceeded inside.

They found Ziphli's home to be ornately decorated, posh, and luxurious compared to the rest of Nenaxi. The party began to 

comb through Ziphli's possessions as they explored the home. The party also discussed what to do about Ziphli's disappearance from life within Nenaxi, and how to explain away his absence. As they were going through Ziphli's possessions they found a magic deed that reflects the holder of the deed as the property owner of West 3,6. 

The party made their way to roof of Ziphli's and discussed their day, what to do with Nenaxi, and how to bring justice to the people here. Crom and Minerva had a disagreement regarding Minerva's ability to lead Nenaxi, and Crom made his way down to Ziphli's study to search for more information. Flint, Olaf, and Minerva remained on the roof, looking out over the city.

Olaf, Flint, Stalk, Chessa, and Minerva stood atop Ziphli's home, looking out across the city of Nenaxi, now freed from Ziphli's corrupt leadership. They discussed their future steps for managing the city of Nenaxi, what to do with the leftover guards and how to ensure the city was fully liberated. 

Crom was rifling through Ziphli's possessions, and came upon a ledger showing sales of general items such as short swords, longswords, chainmail, and other trade goods. Crom also found a note, unsigned, instructing Ziphli to collect the bodies of the dead. 

As Crom finished looking through Ziphli's things, the rest of the party came down to meet Crom. Crom told the group what he found in Ziphli's office, they then proceeded down to Ziphli's bedroom. The party went through Ziphli's possessions in his bedroom, Flint taking some of Ziphli's pillows, the others taking gold and coins. The party then continued back down to the ground floor and attempted to break some of the gold railing off, but were unable to. The party then stepped out into the street of West Nenaxi. 

The party made their way through the well-kept streets to West 3,6. Inside the adventurers found a plethora of adventuring gear organized into boxes throughout the room. As the party began to inspect the items they found them bloodstained and slightly damaged. After collecting their desired items, the party separated to return to their resting 

places for the night. 

The following morning Crom and Chessa made their way to the eastern shore of Lake Giihl to retrieve Kesgrim. Urgeva supplied them with another folding boat to go after Kesgrim. Chessa and Crom talked to one another while traveling back to Nenaxi. Once they arrived the joined back up with the rest of the party, and they all made their way to the center of Nenaxi.

There the adventurers called attention to themselves, and soon a crowd began to form. The adventurers announced that Ziphli had been killed, produced evidence of his wrongdoing, and offered to make reparations to all of Ziphli's victims' families. While holding their event, they noticed guards at the back of the crowd and forced them forward. They then had each guard step forward, confess to their crimes, and gave them a chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of Nenaxi. A trial was held with the population of Nenaxi acting as the jury, and soon the decision was made that a few guards would be set free, while other would be subjected to justice. 

Memdap stepped forward and made his case for being the true leader of Nenaxi. Memdap explained that he had been the leader all along, and Ziphli simply labored to make more gold. After Memdap's defense, it was decided a vote would be held in one week to determine the leader. Memdap led the people of the city to The Rusty Keel and offered to pay for all the drinks. Flint and Olaf began chanting a song and soon the crowd joined in as they made their way to The Rusty Keel.

Chessa and Crom stayed behind with the now captive guards, and discussed what to do with the guards and the city. They decided to place the guards in Ziphli's tower, and Chessa went to Urgeva to ask her to send a message to the Gregs for help. After Chessa returned to Crom, they waited for a Greg to come. Greg soon appeared to them, and they asked him to stand watch outside of Ziphli's tower to make sure the guards didn't attempt to escape. Crom, Chessa, and Greg led the guards over to Ziphli's tower, and separated them into two groups, one for justice, the other for freedom. Crom and Chessa left Greg, and made their way to the Rusty Keel to join in the festivities. 

Flint, Olaf, Stalk, and Minerva enjoyed the festivities at the Rusty Keel, Stalk and Olaf keeping a close eye on Memdap. Soon the door opened and Crom and Chessa entered into The Rusty Keel. Not long after the party was together once again, Flint and Olaf excused themselves from the party for a breath of fresh air. Crom, Chessa, Stalk, and Minerva stayed 

back and enjoyed the party, coffee, and coffee cakes. 

Flint and Olaf arrived to the tower and dismissed Greg, telling him they would take over for him. As they entered into the tower they heard the sounds of fighting above them. They followed the sound, and found the convicted circling and beating the redeemed. Olaf offered 400 gold to the last person left standing. The guards began fighting and killing one another until only one person was left standing. Mara was the last left standing, albeit bloody and beaten. Olaf stepped forward and ran Ziphli's sword through Mara, killing her on the spot.

Crom, Chessa, and Minerva went to speak to Urgeva to gather more information about Memdap and the type of man he is. They also asked Urgeva about Fyvof, the leadership, the culture, and anything else Urgeva thought may be of note. Urgeva began to speak of indescribable monsters, and recounted the story of a group of monsters that have come to be known as Wolfbats. Urgeva also provided the group with more information about the demon discovered in the woods. After gathering the information Crom, Chessa, and Minerva returned to Ziphli's tower.

There they questioned Olaf and Flint about what happened to the prisoners, listening skeptically to their explanation. Minerva told everyone about the information Urgeva gave them about the demon, the iceberg, and Memdap. They then 

checked with Xog'althar to see what he knew about this type of demon. After being told what the demon is called, the party discussed the information they had been presented before returning to their resting places for the night.

The party awoke in different locations. Crom and Chessa rose on the group's ship, the Melon Collie. The rest of the party awoke in Ziphli's tower. Flint prepared breakfast and he, Olaf, and Stalk sat in the tower and ate. Crom and Chessa soon returned to the tower with coffee and coffee cakes. As the group ate the began to plan their day, as well as the plan for Nenaxi's election.

Crom laid out his plan for discovering where the bodies are going after Nenaxi, and suggested shipping themselves down the river and arriving where they do. After their breakfast the party took to the streets of Nenaxi.

They made their way to Nether-Nenaxi and Nenaxi Knick Knacks to peruse Jawahra and Iris' wares. While speaking to Iris, the group learned that any cartographers that have attempted to map Orvigo never returned, usually disappearing after attempting to map the forests. Flint and Chessa offered to return with a map of Orvigo in exchange for gold. Minerva asked Iris for a sleeping medication. Iris told Minerva that she may have better luck buying one from Nether-Nenaxi.


After finishing their shopping the group went to meet Memdap to gather more information. They spoke to Memdap about Ziphli's history, how he came to be the leader of Nenaxi, and how he got involved in stealing and selling bodies. After speaking with Memdap for some time the party took to the water, and began sailing down river to Ecywej.

After arriving to Ecywej the group quickly made their way to the local inn, The Relieved Barrel Inn. There they ordered breakfast and beds and spoke to the owner, Zathra, about the demon and the woods surrounding Ecywej. After getting annoyed with Zathra's incessant questions the party went to bed, deciding to wake up at dawn the next morning to begin searching for the demon.

The party walked along the winding path, cutting between trees. Minerva led the party along the path, keeping an eye in the ground for traps. The party behind Minerva watched as an odd, colorful tendril shot below the canopy at Minerva. Not long after three more tendrils also attacked Minerva, all of them missing. As the last tendril missed, then heard the sound of something peeling away from a hard surface. A multi-colored, vaguely branch shaped creature fell from the treetops. The party quickly identified this as a strangler, and prepared for the fight to come. The group quickly destroyed the strangler, Minerva getting the killing blow as the creature was lying on the ground.

The group continued onward, soon arriving to a rectangular hole in the ground. Olaf began to grow in size as the group approached the hole. In the hope the party saw darkness, and nothing else. The party looked into the hole, and soon heard a deep, grating laugh reverberate out from the hole.

    Olaf began to grow in size, Chessa increasing his size even more as she saw him beginning to grow. Olaf grew to be 16 feet tall, weighing roughly a ton. Olaf jumped into the hole, feeling a slight squish underneath his foot as he made contact with the floor. As he felt the squish he watched the darkness begin to recede. Olaf began to shrink back to his normal size, asking Chessa to also reduce his size. As they stood in this entryway the adventurers saw the body of what was once a demon. FLint summoned Xog'althar and asked if that was the dmeon. Xog'althar told them it was indeed, and he had watched demons of that like destroy armies. Minerva asked Xog'althar about something he had said the last time they spoke, and Xog'althar told Minerva he would be willing to reunite her with her sister Electra in exchange for Minerva's soul. Minerva told Xog'althar she'd think about his proposal, and the adventurers continued deeper into the dungeon that opened before them.
    

The next room was lined with broken, dilapidated bookcases on each wall. The smell of moldy parchment, stagnant water, and rotting wood filled the room. Ruined, waterlogged books were scattered along the floor and piled loosely below the broken shelves of the bookcases. Flint, Chessa, and Crom began searching the room for anything of note, and soon came away with three somewhat legible books. After collecting the books the adventurers continued along a passageway into the next room.
    

The next room was littered with rough shaped holes in the stone floor, descending into darkness. Against one wall of this room sat a dusty, wood and iron chest. As Stalk approached the chest, he noticed the feet were bolted to the stone floor. Stalk examined the exterior of the chest for traps, and after deeming it safe opened the lid. Inside was one dagger, a stone ring, and 80 gold pieces. Flint noticed that carved out of the wood on the inside of the lid was a toothed cog and four spokes. After collecting the items from the chest and flipping it over, the adventurers steeled themselves and continued forward.
    

The adventurers entered into a room with a chasm spreading 10 feet from one wall to another, cutting off a corner of the floor. Minerva tied a rope off to her waist and asked Olaf to brace her as she descended into the chasm. Minerva looked around the chasm and saw it was empty. As Minerva was checking the chasm Flint began to look through the bedrolls. As Flint pulled back the blanket on one of the bedrolls he was hit with the smell of stagnant water and wet wool. Flint also saw small rocks in the bedroll, confused as to why someone would sleep with rocks in the bedroll. The adventurers concluded their search of this room and continued forward.
    

As the adventurers walked into the next room they noticed the first 10 feet of the walls were smooth, with algae and mold growing within the cracks of the stone. Small pools of water were spread out across the room with one large pool of water extending three feet past a circular wall created from sea shells and stone resembling coral. Across the circular wall they saw two human-sized creatures. Several tentacles protruded from the creatures head down to their feet, they wore clothing made from rough, ratty fabric. As the creatures noticed the party one of them let out a gross, wet, strained screeching sound. Its mouth opened not up and down, but from side to side. The inside of the creatures' mouths were lined with rows of very small, very sharp teeth. The adventurers prepared themselves, and the battle quickly began.
    

The battle raged for longer than the adventurers would have liked, but soon both of the weird, piscine creatures were dead. Crom began to remove teeth from the creatures, and returned Stalk's daggers to him. The party tossed one of the bodies into the circular wall, and waited to hear it hit bottom. After a significant amount of time the sound of splashing water faintly rose from inside the wall. After finishing their investigation, the party took a moment to rest in this room.
   

As the adventurers took their short rest Chessa summoned a raven familiar. Crom knelt down and dipped two fingers into the puddle surrounding the well, then tasted the water. Crom tasted salty water, and passed that along to the rest of the group. The adventurers stood around the well-like feature, discussing its purpose and origin. Chessa sent her raven down the well holding a piece of paper, instructing it to dip the paper into the water at the bottom. Once the raven returned Chessa tasted the water, and found it was also salt water. In the next room the adventurers found the rubble of a dining room and continued through the room without spending much time here.
    

In the next room the adventurers found crude tapestries hung from the walls, on them a multi-headed creature with one central trunk. As the adventurers were approaching the room they began to hear a low, strained moaning coming from the room. The source of the sound soon came into sight, and the adventurers saw a man covered in small green worms, squirming and crawling over every surface of this man. The adventurers made short work of the worm covered zombie. Stalk stabbed into the being with the magical dagger they had found. Chessa recalled the creatures depicted as a hydra. Crom looked on the back of the tapestries checking for any indication as to who created the tapestries or where they came from, and found the backsides to be blank.
    

Continuing onward the adventurers entered into a room which resembled a chapel, with a line of pews separated by an aisle. The end of each pew closest to the aisle was burnt, with the burnt area increasing in size on the pews furthest from the statue at the end of the aisle. The statue depicted a seven-headed hydra. The statue was roughly the size of a human. Behind the statue yellow mold was growing away from the statue toward the wall behind it, running up the wall to the ceiling. Olaf approached the statue and lifted it from the dais, then began making his way toward the exit. Crom began to investigate the mold and decided to poke the mold with a stick. As he did so a cloud of yellow spores began to fill the air, choking him and Stalk. Crom and Stalk began to quickly move away from the mold, choking and coughing as they ran away. Crom and Stalk struggled to make their way to the exit, the rest of the party helping them along to the exit.
    

As they made their way to the entryway to the dungeon, Flint summoned Xog'althar and asked for help to heal Crom and Stalk of the poisoning. Xog'althar did so, and produced a dagger for Flint. Xog'althar told Flint the next human killed with the dagger would have its soul trapped in the dagger. Olaf tied his shield to some ropes and a block and tackle to create a platform to remove the hydra statue from the dungeon. The adventurers made their way back to the path toward Kvego. They traveled until nighttime, then made their way slightly off the path and set up camp. As Crom was cooking dinner for the group, they heard the sounds of sticks breaking and leaves crunching. Stalk, Flint and Chessa set out to investigate the sounds. Stalk climbed a nearby tree and began to look for the source of the sounds, and saw four glimmering men with flowing, rainbow hair making their way through the woods.
    

Flint approached and called out to them. The men asked what the group was going in the woods, claiming the woods as their home. Flint invited the group to the party's camp for dinner, and they all began to make their way over. The leader of the group introduced himself as Phanio, and proceeded to introduce the rest of the group. The group asked for their dinner, and Minerva rose to grab the group their food and walked behind Phanio and Coronis and attempted to burn them on the shoulders. With that attack on them, the battle began. Soon the bandits were all dead, and the adventurers settled in for the night. The magic dagger Stalk was holding had absorbed the blood of Olaf after Stalk accidentally stabbed him. Stalk gave Chessa the dagger to let her attempt to solve the mystery of the dagger and the stone ring, and Chessa felt a magical tug from the dagger to the ring. Olaf ran his finger through the blood and watched as it immediately refilled the space behind his finger. Stalk lightly stabbed Olaf once again, and the blood on the dagger increased. Olaf then took the dagger and lightly stabbed Flint, and the blood on the dagger grew in size. As Chessa placed the dagger into the same hand as the dagger, the blood drained from the dagger down to the ring, filling all the tiny cracks in the ring with blood. A symbol appeared on the underside of the top of the ring, which Crom identified as reading "stone".

As Crom and Chessa looked at the ring filling with blood, Crom told Chessa the symbol on the ring meant "cloch", meaning stone in druidic. Stalk moved his bugs together into the same jar before sitting down with the rest of the party for breakfast. Minerva asked if the bandits outright threatened the party, and Flint told her they did not. Minerva walked away disappointed in herself for acting so brashly, and walked a short way into the woods. The party discussed what to do with the ring, and it was decided that Minerva should wear the ring while Crom spoke the word.

As Minerva spoke the word, a small section of rock and blood congealed together and lightly arced toward the ground. As the rock touched the ground it began to form into a humanoid body. Minerva found she could control the being, and began to explore the limits of her commands. After about a minute the being crumbled back down the earth, the pieces of its body becoming one with the ground once more. Minerva asked if she could keep the ring, and the rest of the party reluctantly agreed.

Flint and Olaf pulled the statue behind them, and the party travelled most of the way through the day without any event. As the crew was travelling along, they noticed a shadow slowly circling them. Looking up, they saw a beautiful dragon beginning to descend toward them. The dragon had beautiful, multicolored scales that seemed to reflect the light in the color of its scales, casting a rainbow-like aura around itself as it descended. Flint called out to the dragon in draconic, welcoming it. Olaf began to beckon the dragon down to land, claiming to have never seen a dragon.

The dragon introduced itself as Parsnax. The party asked Parsnax some questions about the history of Orvigo, the existence of other dragons, the iceberg to the southeast, and if the dragon had seen any people with masks walking along the road. Minerva asked if Parsnax had ever gone into Febroxi, and Parsnax said he does not like flying to that area as the people there are usually violent toward him. The dragon stated he had seen some people in masks walking the roads of Orvigo, but it had been a couple years since the last sighting. Right before the dragon left, Olaf asked if he had seen any giants in Orvigo. Parsnax directed Olaf to the mountains at the southeast, claiming to have seen some giants there in the past.

The party continued to Kvego where they were met by two guards standing on either side of a large wooden door. One of the guards greeted the party, and welcomed them to the city. The guard warned them to be cautious in the city, as it is a misty night. The guard told them to make their way quickly to the local inn, called The Honorable Pike. People had been found dead after some misty nights, and the adventurers should quickly make their way to the inn if they valued their lives. The guard lowered the door, and quickly closed it after the party made their way within. The party followed the guard's instructions and rushed to The Honorable Pike, and found the inn more vacant than they had expected. The innkeeper introduced himself to the party as Darrin, and took their orders for food and drink. Olaf went to bed, as the rest of the party stayed downstairs to drink and commiserate.

The party had their dinner and drinks, and some private conversations, but soon everyone was safe and sound in their beds. Ready to rest for the night, and see what the following day would bring.

Olaf and Flint exited The Honorable Pike and found the city of Kvego considerably more busy than they had seen the night before. As they made their way through the city they saw the fog from the night before beginning to recede to Lake Lianojar. A small part of the fog looked as though it separated from the cloud, and began moving toward the mountains rather than the lake. Flint and Olaf gazed upon the fog, and saw flashes of crimson swirling within the fog. They began to search the city to find if someone had died in the fog the night before and soon found an alley being guarded by 2 guards.
Flint and Olaf approached the guard and asked what happened, and learned it was another casualty of the fog. After speaking to the guard for some time, Olaf offered his services in helping rid the city of Kvego of the fog. The guard told Flint and Olaf he would pass the information along to Kvego's leader, Mr. Artri. Flint and Olaf finished their conversation with the guard, and made their way back to The Honorable Pike.
    Stalk, Crom, Chessa, and Minerva began to stir and awaken back at The Honorable Pike. They then made their way down to the common room, rejoined the rest of the group, and had their breakfast and coffee. After finishing their breakfast, the party exited into the city of Kvego. They made their way through the bustling city streets to the alley with the dead body with the intention of distracting the guard so Stalk could climb to the rooftops and get a glimpse of the body.
    Stalk saw the body of a heavily armored guard lying on the ground, skin taut and pale, with no signs of blood around the body. Flint disguised himself before speaking to the guard, and told the guard he and Crom were representatives of a tourism company based in Nenaxi called Nenaxi Navigators. Flint asked the guard if there was a general store in Kvego, and the guard referred him to Kvego General. Flint and Crom collected all the information they needed, and rejoined the party. The party then made their way to Kvego Keepsakes.
    The party entered into Kvego Keepsakes where they met the shop owner Talifrey Fleetdew, a Gnomish man with a very odd beard and deep voice. Talifrey told the party he had a partnership with Jawahra, and that he sends any gems found in the mines of Kvego to Jawahra. Talifrey also explained how Mr. Artri became the ruler of Kvego. Talifray explained to the group how the system of guards works in Kvego, and how Mr. Artri collects majority of the wage the guards earn for their services. After finishing their conversation with Talifrey, the party made their way to Orvigo Origins to meet with the curator of the museum.
    The curator introduced himself as Kane Silverhollow, and welcomed the party into the museum to take a look around. The first thing the party noticed was paintings of different numbers of animals. Kane also pointed out several stone tablets with recognizable but unreadable runes, an old looking sword in a display case, and of course the paintings. The adventurers presented some of the items they've collected along the way, including the books Chessa found in the dungeon with the demon. Kane thanked the adventurers for their donation, and the party attempted to sell the items rather than donate them. Olaf asked Kane how he survives in the city if he doesn't make any money off the museum, and Kane explained that Mr. Artri pays him in enough gold to secure food, drinks, and Mr. Artri provides him a place to live.
    The old sword was housed above a placard that read "Uthyst's Longsword". Olaf and Chessa began trying to work out the puzzle that Kane mentioned in the paintings, and soon solved the puzzle. The solution came out to "hydra". Kane retrieved the highlight of the display in the museum, a page from Uthysts journal. The page read: "The key to me is seven deep, if you seek me, it will be your defeat.".  The party then turned their attention to the sword, and were told it was found in a dungeon, and that it was the first donation by Mr. Artri to the museum.
    The party then exited the museum back into the streets of Kvego, and made their way back to The Honorable Pike. Darrin told the party he had received a letter for them from Captain Newmire, the captain of the guard. Captain Newmire sent the note to ask the party to kill the fog. As the party sat down for dinner Olaf stated he had a plan to hunt the fog. Olaf laid out his plan while the party ate, then they watched and waited as the fog rolled in off Lake Lianojar to blanket the city of Kvego.
   

The party sat around the table and watched the mist roll in off Lake Lianojar. The party began to take their places in preparation of the battle, and lied in wait until the mist was manifest. As the party waited, Olaf covered himself in whiskey before slicing his hand and drawing blood. Soon the mist did indeed begin to spread through the streets of Kvego, and the party prepared themselves for the battle. The battle raged on in Kvego, but soon the mist dispersed and blood began to rain from the mist. After gathering themselves, the party returned to The Honorable Pike where they were greeted by Darrin. The party had dinner and wine, and soon after Minerva and Olaf went to bed.
    Stalk thought back on the museum, and the security of the building. Remembering there were multiple points of entry, and low guard cover, Stalk slipped out into the night. Stalk made his way to the museum, where he popped open the window and slid into the museum. After entering the museum Stalk went to the painting of the lightning bugs and began to roll the painting out of the frame. After removing the painting Stalk began to sneak back to The Honorable Pike, where he slid into bed with the painting concealed beneath the blankets. Stalk awoke Minerva, and held a single finger to his lips, indicating to Minerva to be quiet.
    Crom went up to Olaf's room after eating, and offered him some wine and a grub. Crom and Olaf began to discuss Olaf's desire to run away from something, and what he was running away from. Crom bandanged Olaf's wounds from the fire while discussing Olaf's past and what brough him here. Crom dropped his disguise in front of Olaf, showing Olaf his true face. Olaf and Crom spoke of being outsiders, never feeling as if they belong, and their position within the party as a whole. After finishing their conversation, Crom returned to his room, and the party slept for the night.
    The following morning Darrin thanked the adventurers for slaying the mist, and told them breakfast was on his this morning. Darrin also told them he sent word to Mr. Artri about the slaying of the mist, but had not heard a response. Soon the door opened, and four guards carrying a platform draped in fine purple cloth, trimmed in gold. Soon the drapes parted, and a goblin poked his head out and greeted the adventurers. The goblin introduced himself as Mr. Artri. Mr. Artri thanked the adventurers for slaying the mist, provided them with their reward. Mr. Artri asked for help with some of the other issues plaguing Kvego, including the mine as well as the hydra. Mr. Artri explained he has worked out a deal with the hydra so he can fish in the lake. Mr. Artri told the party that now the mist has been killed, he no longer has a source of food to feed the hydra, so it must be slain before it lays siege to Kvego.
    The party discussed payment and tactics for dealing with the hydra. Soon the terms were laid out. In return for killing the hydra, the party would receive 2400 gold, information about the masked men, an item from the museum, a carriage like Mr. Artri's, and access to the mines.

The adventurers sat with Mr. Artri for some time to work out a plan for their assault on the hydra. Mr. Artri explained that when the city would feed the hydra, if they approached with torches the hydra would reel back, seemingly afraid of the fire. Mr. Artri also explained that every day they clear the mines, and it seems every day they refill with other creatures and monsters. The adventurers inquired into Mr. Artri's training program for new guard, as well as the leadership of the guard. After discussing the details of the guard, the conversation turned to payment for the work being proposed. It was decided Mr Artri would provide the group with gold, information, and the ability to submit a training regiment for his guards. Minerva felt as though the guards were untrained and inexperienced, and Mr. Artri was sending them to their deaths. Minerva asked to submit a training regiment, and decide who is responsible for training the guard.
Everyone but Flint and Olaf decided to go speak to Kian, a guard assigned to mine duty who was able to make enough gold to retire. Minerva intended on asking Kian to become the trainer for the guard while she was adventuring. Minerva pleaded with Kian to take the position, but Kian kept responding he doesn't know how to train someone to be a fighter. Kian believed you were either born a fighter, willing to overcome any obstacle placed in your path to improve, or not. That ambition and dedication could not be taught, and the only way to become a skilled fighter is through trial, challenges, and experience. Minerva became increasingly frustrated with Kian, before finally giving up and storming away, hands sparking.
Flint and Olaf made their way to the blacksmith shop to speak to Talifrey Fleetdew about their cut of the ore that will be retrieved from the mine after it is cleared. After striking their deal, they met the party at the tavern. Concluding their conversation about their plan, the adventurers made their way to the mines. Prepared to face the challenges ahead.
The adventurers were greeted by two guards upon arriving to the mines. The guards told the party that the morning shift of mine guards did not clear the top-level, as they heard adventurers were coming to clear the mine. Minerva asked the guards to begin spreading the word about training to the other guards, and intended to use this feat as a point of authority. The guards accepted, and the adventurers entered into the mine.
After entering the adventurers saw a passageway to their left which turned sharply to the right after a fair distance, and a passage straight ahead which lead into darkness. The party walked into the darkness, following the corridor until a wall was met. The party made note of 3 passages to the left as they walked along, and of the seemingly glossed floor. The stone underfoot seemed to be reflective and lacquered. The party followed this trail, where they soon came across two snails with reflective, chromatic shells and spiked, mace-like tendrils protruding from the top of their heads. Chessa attempted to detect magic and rather than detecting the creatures detected the absence of these creatures. Chessa threw her light rock just in front of the snails.
The stone made contact with the floor, sending out a sharp clack sound through the chamber. One of the snails jumped, sending a bright flash of light out from its shell, stunning Olaf and Chessa. The party raised their weapons and prepared for battle.

The battle with the snails raged in without anyone falling to their assault. Both snails receded into their shells and began to scream as their dying process began. The party tried everything they could to stop the screaming, and soon resorted to scooping the body of the snails out of the shells and tossing them out of the mine. Olaf hid the snail shells in a room close to the entrance and covered them with a cloak and his ever-smoking bottle.

After returning to the party the group took a short rest while Crom, as a spider, and Stalk began to scout ahead. They soon came across spiderwebs, and began to follow them. They soon found a room with broken swords, shafts, scraps of armor, and other debris strewn about the room. Adjacent to that room was another room choked by spiderwebs.
Stalk waited for the party to catch up, then began burning the webs away while Crom touched the web with his foot to sense the movement of any spider on the web. Crom immediately sensed 3 spiders, who also sensed him and began scurrying to his location. Crom did his best to communicate this to Stalk, and the party began to ready themselves for battle.

The three spiders were soon dead, and the party took some time to burn out the rest of the spiderwebs. Olaf began to investigate the room filled with debris. One corner of the room was piled up with bodies, with a singular antenna Stalk protruding from the top. Olaf approached the pile and began to wave to the tentacle. Two new tentacles fired out from both sides of the pile and converged on Olaf, one wrapping around his torso and lifting him slightly in the air. The pile of bodies began to tremor and fall, and soon a three-legged, three-tentacled, gaping maw of long spindly teeth began to rise from the pile of bodies.

The creature rising from the corpses attacked Olaf with its tentacles, wrapping him in one and pulling him closer. The rest of the party sprang into action, and make quick work of the creature. The party continued further into the second level of the mine, clearing some debris and rubble where they came upon a guard from Kvego facing away from them. As the guard began to turn the party watched as his mouth began to fall open, and didn't stop until it reached his sternum, his dark, empty eyes dancing from party member to party member. The man introduced himself as Darak. The party recalled the story of a guard sent into the mine who was presumed dead, as he did not return. Darak warned the party of the danger ahead, of the creature with "Eyes of the Abyss".  Olaf asked Darak what awaited in the dungeon, Darak responded "Death awaits you.". Olaf, excited by the prospect began charging headlong into the darkness, with Flint trailing slightly behind him.

The rest of the party began to investigate the area of the creature, looking for equipment and provisions left behind by other expeditions. After finishing, they began to walk deeper into the mine in search of Olaf. Deeper in the mine they found spiders that appeared to pop in and out of existence, which offered them no protection from the onslaught the party wrought upon them.

 

Olaf took once more, charging headlong into death awaiting him at the end of a long, straight hallway.

Olaf continued running into the darkness, unsure of what awaited him aside from death. Olaf soon caught a glimpse of something ahead, reeling from the sight of the creature. A being with pallid, gray flesh, dark, elongated eyes stretching back above its ears, and a long, gaping mouth stretching toward the ground. A ratty, green shawl was draped over the head and shoulders of the creature, its long spindly finger and arms branching out toward the floor.

 

Olaf was able to shake off the effect of the creature's visage after yelling "I see it, Flint!". Minerva used the stone ring to summon and earth elemental, as the party formed a line behind it and began to approach the creature. Olaf placed his hand on Chessa shoulder, telling her he planned to tackle the creature and cover its eyes. Minerva approached Olaf from behind and placed her hand on Olaf's shoulder, tell him to continue following the earth elemental until they were closer, then they could make a plan. Olaf, impatient and anxious to fight, broke rank and invoked his frost rune and channeled his giant's might, growing in size.

 

The proper battle with the creature began. The adventurers did their best to attack the creature while averting their gaze, before Flint had a moment of clarity and ingenuity. Removing the chest lid he had found previously from the bag of holding, he approached the creature as Olaf was pinning it to the ground. Flint placed the chest lid over the creature's torso, blocking its eyes from view. The creature was unable to defend itself as the adventurers took turns wailing on the creature's legs. Before long the creature went still, and the adventurers released their hold on it, stepping back to look upon the creature. Chessa began to sketch the creature, while Minerva, Olaf, and Crom began to test the tensile strength of the creature's jaw.

 

Minerva began to search the creature's body, and found what appeared to be a tattoo of a black mask on the inside of the creature's wrist. Minerva asked Olaf for his expertise on tattoos, and Olaf explained that the tattoo appears to identify the creature belonging to an organization, or group of people. After discussing the tattoo the party continued deeper into the mine, in search of what other horrors may be waiting in the dark.

 

In the next room the party found a mostly empty room, with the exception of a hole in the ground in a dark corner, surrounded by what appeared to be brown mold. Minerva began to approach the hole, and when she was within 5 feet of it the mold released its spores into the air, sucking the heat from the area. Minerva watched her breath leave her mouth, and felt her body heat be sapped. Minerva dropped to the ground, unconscious and shivering. Crom ran forward, grabbing Minvera and pulling her away from the mold, feeling his own body heat seep into the air around him. After pulling Minerva to safety Crom healed her, then warned her not to approach the hole again. Chessa removed a torch and had Minerva light it before tossing it into the patch of mold. As the fire touched the mold it grew in size, spreading out toward the party. Minerva and Olaf, already weakened from their trials in this mine, fell as their body heat was once again sapped by the mold spores. Flint was able to recall his past dealings with mold, and remembered that brown mold was destroyed by ice. Flint asked Cheesa to use frostbite on the mold in an effort to kill it, which succeeded.

 

The party stood around the hole, experimenting with how deep the hole was, before deciding to descend through the hole. The party continued through a long, straight hallway once more. The corridor they progressed through almost appeared as a tunnel, with beautiful palettes of ore branching and spreading throughout the rock in the walls and ceiling. After travelling for some time, the adventurers came upon an effigy in the center of the path, with multiple human body parts sewn together in a cruel parody of a human. Further ahead the adventurers found a sign, with the words "Back turn" facing them, on the opposite side were the words "pens slave".

The adventurers continued past these disturbing visions, and entered into a very large cavern that Olaf was unable to see the entirety of. The adventurers were able to hear what sounded like running water, as well as  deep guttural laugh that echoed off the walls, originating from somewhere in the darkness. Stalk broke away and began to scout the room, looking for the source of the laughter, as well as the sound of running water. Stalk did locate the river in this cavern. A very clear river, clear enough to allow sight to the bottom, spanned 30 feet from shore to shore, with a singular bridge, currently standing. On either side of the bridge was one huge creature, vaguely humanoid, but with too many facial features.

 

Olaf approached the creatures, invisible and huge. While trying to be as stealthy as possible on approach, Olaf was unable to silence the sound of his heavy foot falls, and the creatures were able to hear him Olaf heard one of the creatures say something about slaves being sent down a hole, to which Olaf responded "I am no slave."

As Olaf approached the creatures he began to pick up speed, intending to tackle one of the creatures into the water behind. As the rest of the adventurers saw the creature get tackled, they sprung into action. The battle raged on land and in the river, as Olaf kept the creature pinned to the bottom. After the creature on land was dead, the adventurers ran forward to the river and saw Olaf floating lazily near the bottom of the river, and so began the rescue effort for Olaf.

 

The party positioned themselves along the depth of the river, and passed Olaf from the bottom to the top until they were able to remove him safely from the water and stabilize him. After gathering themselves and beginning to wind down from the flurry of events, the party settled in to rest near this river for a moment before continuing deeper into the darkness.

As the adventurer's eyes adjusted to the daylight, they noticed 3 guards in front of the mine. Olaf rushed past with the flail snail shells toward Kvego Keepsakes, while Crom stayed behind to hand over Darrak's armor to the guards posted at the mine. The adventurers relayed Darrak's fate to the guards. Crom and Chessa brought Canary, the female slave they rescued from the Ebonmore to The Honorable Pike as Olaf, Flint, and Stalk began making their way to Kvego Keepsakes.

Olaf, Flint, and Stalk entered into Kvego Keepsakes and were heartily greeted by Talifrey Fleetdew. Olaf dropped the shells and asked Talifrey to buy the shells or make something out of the shells. Talifrey offered to make a Spellguard Shield, which grants the user resistance to magic. Stalk began perusing the shop looking for daggers, and soon found a crate of daggers. Olaf informed Talifrey that the group had cleared the second level of the mine, and found several veins of multi-colored ore and precious gems. Flint produced a red and blue gem from his pocket, passing it to Talifrey. Talifrey was taken aback by the sight of the gem, having never seen a gem of this color before. After finishing their transactions with Talifrey the group made their way back to the tavern.

As Chessa, Crom and Minerva entered into The Honorable Pike they were greeted by Darrin. Minerva asked for food and water. The group made their way up to the room with Canary after asking Darrin to send message to Mr. Artri that the party came out from the mines. Inside their room the group went to work covering the windows as well as the mirror with blankets, cloaks, and other fabric. The group began to talk to Canary, learning all the could from her about the Ebonmoor, how you're able to enter, what exists there, and who her masters were.

After settling Canary in, the group made their way downstairs to the main room of The Honorable Pike where they waited for the rest of the party. Having a moment of rest for the first time in several days, the party began to go over the events of the past couple of days while waiting for Mr. Artri. Before long Mr. Artri was brought in on his litter, and sat down for a meal with the party.

Mr. Artri explained that the meal, as well as the rent for their room was taken care of, and began to relay the information Minerva and Chessa desired. The conversation soon turned to the topic of the hydra, and how the party should approach this confrontation. After discussing their strategy for the fight, the party began shopping for the last of their items to prepare. After completing their shopping and stepping back out into Kvego, Chessa began to ritual cast Find Familiar, Minerva casted Find Steed, and Olaf began to wrap himself in chains.