I explained that we needed to travel to Teikoku, I mean Tibasa, to seek the molt of a serpent named Vasylko by the Lovchyn family.  We should seek out the Lovchyn for permission to travel into the valley where it lives. 

Nan made a beeline for the Crab Shack and got a bouquet of horseshoe crabs and a tub of melted butter.  She explained she'd seen a ship with black sails recently.  Men from the jungle loaded some crates, the ship departed, and they went back into the jungle. 

I met Fran Lovchyn at port.  She think Vasylko may be a fairy tale meant to keep the family out of the dangerous valley where they do adult stuff.   Gary was certain that meant adults have orgies in the valley.  I assured him we do not need to participate.  He explained that because of his alpha musk no one participates with Gary.  I am unsurprised that Gary is a virgin. 

Story says Vasylko resides at the base of the ravine.  There is a stone temple that the serpent rested in. The molt is likely in the space it finds safest. 

She gave us some warnings: Don't swim in the river.  There are little fish that really like to bite—piranha. 

Moonshiners might be operating in the valley.   

Gary peed in the river and a titanoboa popped out and tried to bite his dick off.  We put it down and crossed the river to inspect a statue.  The head was missing and it was covered in moss.  I had considered praying at it for luck until I saw humanoid skulls at its base.  I don't know anything about religion, but this didn't seem like it would be a benevolent deity.  I helped Nan look for any sign of a button, switch, or lever that may open something.  No luck.  She tried to take a rubbing of some faded words on the statue.  Gary explained that it was in the Alpha language that said, "Our lady of... watch over..." 

Eventually the trees gave way to a little path that led to a doorway in the rocks.  There were stone steps leading down into the dark. Gary thought this might be where the "adult parties" happen.  I started walking down into the darkness. 

Glowing etched serpent on the floor of a path with no siderails.  Gary got down on all floors and started smelling for magic.  He assured us there was magic in the air but wasn't sure what flavor.  I touched the glowing markings on the ground and a great serpent appeared.  Thordak charged in and attacked it when it hadn't shown any signs of aggression. 

When defeated we discovered the serpent was long dead, and we had fought a memory of it.  We found it's skeleton and feathers.

Received a letter from a town down the way that is conviniently placed a half day’s journey from Springreach.  A shepherd is having problems with their sheep.  They’ve requested some adventurers come and help them.  It was signed “sad little frog boy.” 

We approached the sheep pen.  There was an object in his belt that looked like a wand or tonfa.  He called it a sheep poking stick.  He poked them with the pointy end to get them to stop what they’re doing.  The sheep are sad and a trip to the beach would make them happy.  We need to get the crabs off the beach.  They are inherently evil and will harm the sheep. 

Knicks pokes and prods old people to get what she wants.  She tried to explain this to the little frog boy.  He interrupted this as Knicks provides them with activity.  He also thinks their hair looks like sheep sometimes. 

Dead fish smell.  Really rocky beach.  A gross amount of crabs.  They all died and he was a happy little frog boy.

Wesley showed us a letter: 

To the Springreach Adventurers' Guild,  

My name is Jenni Dawnwillow, of Cranburg, east of Hfar. Four days past my husband Taelor went into the woods to check his snares and never came home. He has hunted these hills all his life. He does not get lost, and he does not vanish. The men who went looking found nothing at all — no blood, no tracks, not so much as a dropped arrow — and after a single day they gave up.  

There have been lights in the hills at night, near the base of the mountain where no one keeps a fire. The reeve says it is nothing. I know what I have seen.  

I have little coin, but I have a locket of silver and moonstone — old elven work, in my family longer than anyone remembers, worth a small fortune. It is yours if you can bring my Taelor home, or at least tell me what became of him.  

Please come quickly. Something is wrong here.  

With all the hope I have left,  

Jenni Dawnwillow 

 

We took the train to Hfar and headed west to Cranburg.  I asked after Jenni and was told, “Just down there two houses past the Drowsy Martin.”  Jenni said she was not married and has not seen lights in the hills.  She doesn’t know anyone named Taelor. 

Heva’lyn headed toward the tavern and I followed.  There was a woman behind the bar named Petra.  There were two men in their mid-forties, 2 kids—a boy and girl named Wick and Dot— running around in the back, a young shepherd girl in her 20s, and someone with flour on their apron. 

Holice and Marin were the men in their mid-fourties.  The went hunting with Taelor many times.  The went out searching for him, but couldn’t find him.  He normally traps in the northeast quadrant, but they found no sign of him there. 

Petra the bartender seemed suspicious when we asked about Taelor.  She did confirm that he was married to Jenni.  Jenni had come into the bar several days ago screaming that no one was doing anything to help.  When questioned if she’d seen lights she hesitated.  When questioned if others had gone missing she mentioned her son did quite a while ago, although they’ve never found a body.  Wick and Dot are his children.  Petra is actually their grandmother.  She delivered a drink to Taelor’s seat then looked at it confused and drank it herself. 

Heva’lyn went to inspect Jenni’s house to see if it looked like a man lived there.  He wasn’t certain.  When Jenni passed a table with a pipe on it.  She looked confused, stopped, and then walked past it. 

Knicks questioned the kids.  They were fighting over whether she could breathe under water.  Knicks asked about their dad’s disappearance a year ago.  He went hunting and didn’t come back.  Knicks asked if they had noticed her grandmother acting strange or forgetful.  They’ve also noticed her putting out the cups for Taylor.  They have seen blue lights in the fog near the old tin mines in the north west quadrant.  The adults go out looking, but come back really fast and say they didn’t find anything. 

Tansy—the shepherd—introduced herself to me twice. 
 
Garvin—the miller—thought Taelor went to Hfar to sell pelts.  He repeated this.  Down by the river gorge to the south east is where the strange things happen.  Perhaps we should look there.  Garvin couldn’t clarify what was strange and said he wasn’t feeling well.  He stood up and walked to the door.  We tried to follow, but couldn’t find him. 

We tried to find the river.  We walked for hours and didn’t see it.  We came back to the city and decided to head to the mines.  We heard rustling in the bushes of multiple things following us.  Heva’lyn tried to convince the party to turn back.  When that didn’t work he fairie fired the party.  Knicks stabbed him in the thigh.  Sapphyre said everyone was being childish and started to walk away.  Qualia used magic to grab Heva’lyn and he snapped out it.  I got very confused and walked into a bush.  When I snapped out of it I saw rats with exposed brains that were glowing.   A second swarm emerged from the bushes to swarm Qualia.  We destroyed them all and Qualia studied the corpses.  The brains were swollen and enlarged.  The removal process was done perfectly with a skill she had never seen before. 

We heard a voice call to us from the brush.  A yellow spotted tabaxi came out bushes.  His name was Pah'Thuun.  His hunting party was injured and he asked for our help.  Heva’lyn didn’t trust him.  We followed him 20 minutes.  When we refused to follow him into the mine he told his friends to ambush us.  They were immune to fear.  They did not cry out when injured.  They did not cry out when they died.  A floating brain did come out of their corpses.  They tried to crawl into our mouths before they were destroyed. 

We had to talk Heva’lyn into the caves to destroy the remaining brains because.  We came to a dead end, but Sapphyre realized it was an illusionary wall.  We walked through into an area full of twinkling fungal growth.  I was incapacitated and before I was able to shake it off Qualia dropped dead. 

We proceeded and found a room with rats and brains in cages behind glass.  They watched us, but we could not target each other. 

We attempted to open a door in the next room and brains in jars began to attack.  We almost didn’t make it out alive.   

In the last room we found Taelor and returned them to town.  Everyone recognized him except for Jenni.  We agreed to come back to try to defeat whatever if in the center of that cavern.

A temple was discovered after an earthquake on Mt Vidal.  It was been partially explored before, but it felt alive and constantly changing.  It’s full of monsters and unexplained treasure chests.  A temple that belonged to Kesuth worshipers.  Some of the primordial writing speak about the inferno vault.  Take the worthy toward the center for some sort of blessing. 

Bikaji bought a black pearl which Edwina crushed for her.  Edwina bought a jeweled dagger.  I assumed they both had disgusting things planned with their magics. 

We sailed a few days to get there.  We climbed the mountain to the entrance and we could feel the heat coming off it.  We followed winding caves for about 20 minutes until we found a glowing pool of lava in a man made trench of red crimson marble.  There were pictures on the walls.  The air was hot and humid.  

We fought off 4 fire elementals.  We found a chest with 3 greater healing potions.  We found a group of salamanders.  After defeating he followers the leader melted into the lava and disappeared. 

I found a plaque that seemed very clean for the environment.  Edwina told me it said " Trial of the Faithful — beyond lies the Inferno Vault. Prove thy devotion in flame."  It opened up into a much larger room.  Chaos was inside.  Dragons and their kin guarding large crystals. Bik put up a wall of death that blocked most of them from getting to us.  Without that we would have been cooked. 

 Edwina said the dragonkin were saying, “You’ll make a good gift for Vharkul, we’re going to take you to Vharkul.”  I think that he was something huge that would eat us. 

Edwina tried to rally us to fight the rest of the dragonkin, but we were low on resources and refused.  She asked them if we could have any of their treasure and they said absolutely not.  We left empty handed, but at least we had our lives. 

At the exit we found something strange.  A chest with 2500 gold and a note that said "Come back soon, mother misses you."  Who the hell is mother?

D-list adventurers were sent to accompany a ship called The Arkham.  The rumors about mist in the sea around an island that may or may not exist.  Homer Saperstein human fighter was amongst them. 

Wesley gave us 1 gold for chips.  Amara begged for more for root beer.  Denied. 

There was a strange creature at the docks.  It said, “You should be careful.  There are dinosaurs everywhere.  The dinosaurs are after my baby.”  Nan offered to defend the person. For gold.  There was a puff of white powder when the creature handed Nan the baby. 

We woke up in an area surrounded by dinosaurs.  One of them was massive.  At least 40 ft long.  Amara and Gary carved it up afterwards. 

Nan found cookies in a tree and that thing from the docks came back to demand we kill more dinosaurs.  We followed the river downstream and found some predators.  Both of them were very frightening.  It dashed across the field and head bashed Gary.  They both tried to eat us.  Pushing something away when you’re locked in its jaw drags you along.  This was surprising. 

The last dinosaur that the thing wanted us to kill was a lightningosaurus with a 200ft wingspan.  It was 

The thing came back to teach us, “When you do crack the laws of physics don’t apply to you anymore.”  We were also offered the crystal meth baggy of fast travel. 

We sold dino parts for money.

We made our way to Jaeger’s manor and Dr. Price asked if we were ready.  We said nothing and they took that as a yes. 
 
After arriving we headed into the aqueduct.  We unlocked a very creaky door and alerted an army of “men”, rats, and the hated cripples.  Bastion fell, maybe, I wasn’t clear on that as I’d been vortexed warped away to kick cripple ass. 

We found a locked door.  Amara noticed a poison trap which I expertly dismantled.  Inside there was a chest, but four swarms of rats attacked from all angles.  It was a day for area of effect damage.  We found a new rune that allowed for extra healing. 

Down another strange corridor we killed another two swarms of rats and some scourge beasts.   We found a second rune that allowed for more damage on the hardest of hits.
 
We were very tired and decided to call it quits for the day.

Dr Price was awaiting our return.  We were offered drinks and snacks.  That was new.  She thanked us for coming back.  “I know this is not traditional, but nothing about Lord Jaeger’s life was traditional.”  We were sent into the dream. 

The massive red moon hung impossibly low.  The sound of screams, the roars of monsters, and the smell of blood.  Welcome back to Yharnum. 

Instead of crossing all the way over the bridge we backtracked to areas we hadn’t traveled yet.  We killed 10 dogs and found another rune in a chest.  Rounding another corner there was a large gathering.  I was concerned when I saw the huge cleaver and an accursed wheelchair sniper, but we dispatched them with just a few scratches. 

We backtracked even further and found more dogs and wheelchair snipers.  They would hold shots for anyone that stuck their necks out.  It went very poorly for Knicks.  Amara drew fire once to clear the way but there was still a large fire in the hallway.  With no concern for her safety, Sapphyre rolled down the stairs and across some ball bearings almost into flaming webs.  I jumped over the bulk of the fire and charged into the thick of it while shouting to my companions, “Get down here, I’m probably going to die.”  I did some serious damage, but was promptly stunned then knocked unconscious.  I get knocked down, but I get up again. You're never gonna keep me down.  Right back to beating cripples to death.  Or mist. 

We decided to return to the aqueducts next time we entered Yharnam.

The Emerald Order has the key to the vault.  Time to go back to their headquarters in the Golden Gorge.   

We unlocked a door we hadn’t entered before.  Amara found a set of healer’s tools and a surgeon’s kit, and those eye ball tack thingies.  Amara dropped a torch down a rancid hole and gases were released. 

Most things taken in a hurry.  The blood hadn’t been cleaned up.  Notes on charities, orphans, and outreach programs.  Some very nice shoes which happened to be boots of dancing. 

Knicks took the key and something emerged from the center of the courtyard.  An evasion and two stuns were all it took to take him down with no casualties. 

We went back to the sunken castle and backtracked to the underwater vault.  Inside we found a portal to another plane.  We were split into 4 groups.  We were able to gather back together and fight some spooky creatures. 

We found a chest with a set of gold goblets and a crystal decanter.  The urns and baskets around had nothing of value.  We found a second chest we found something shiny.  We had an arm wrestling match later to decide who would walk away with it. 

We ran into the good Dr. Out in the ruins.  He asked what we found.  Magpie offered to sell them waterbreathing to check it out themselves.  I explained the portal to another plane and the crystal staircases we didn’t climb.  Sapphyre believes the spires to be collections of souls.  He added 60 pp to our loot.

A blue dragonborn—William B. Blue—left a note that said, “come find out.”  So we did.  The “B” stands for Bobby. 
 
He asked how many of us have questionable morals.  What he wants is the horn of a blue dragon.  We don’t need to kill him.  We need to shave the horn down to get to the center core. 

We are going to head up the mountain, knock on his door, beat him into submission, and take his horn.  Billy Bobby Blue is going to set up a ballista and has some dynamite. 

Bik wants to keep the dragon in one piece to make a zombie.  She’s not even sure if that’s possible.  She pulled out her zombified rat—Crouton. 

Billy will let us have his prototype once he figures out if it works.  That’s why he needs the horn.  Wizards have spells that create walls.  He believes he can do the same with his device to create a wall of lightning.   

We need to hit the trail before salmon season to avoid tourists.  He provided us with free transport on his stagecoach. 

The salmon were everywhere out of the water in their own protective water bubble.  They said to us telepathically, “Nudes, nudes, sex.”  We were told they were salmon of knowledge and could fly 30 feet in 6 seconds.  That was very specific. 

There were kenku atop the hill.  They said various strange things. 

“Morning is good.”   

“Love that chicken from pop-eyes.”   

“Blood for blood god.”   

“Guidance is good.”   

“That’s what heroes don’t do.” 

Gary offered them some bread for fish.  They tossed Gary’s bread down the cliff. 

They asked where we were going and I pointed up the mountain.  Their response was, “There be dragons.  Dangerous to go alone.  Take this.”  They provided us with a protection spell. 

Billy gave us some poaching tips to bribe officials to get permits to kill specific creature.   

He called me Oatmeal (how did he know?) and implied that I hate joy because I never read the book The Road to El Dorado.  What’s an El Dorado? 

 

Billy said, “We’re going to head over and blow a hole to get down to the layer.  The front door is wherever we make it.”  Bik found a cave entrance, and we decided to go that way instead. 

We were looking the dragon in the face.  Gideon and I tried to sneak in to plant the dynamite, but the dragon woke up and decided that Gideon tie it with a different knot.  Then it turned invisible and we played cat and mouse for a long while until Bik took it out of the air. 

Edwina took the lightning pylons and we found treasure in the hoard.

A letter in the guild, that did not appear to be written but instead spelled out in block text: 

THIS IS AN AUTOMATED REQUEST 

A trap set by Randalf the Blank has been detected to have malfunctioned. Please visit <LOCATION DETAILS ENCLOSED> to reset the trap. 

There were a set of coordinates at the bottom.  On the back a treasure chest with some shiny coins inside that seems to be stamped on.  The coordinates were located about 20 miles north east of Springreach.  I drove the wagon containing Knicks’s barrel. 

There were not so populated cliffsides as we traveled.  Every so often a shepherd dwelling, lighthouse, watchtower.  We headed toward a building that had a different appearance than the others.  There were stones floating through the air in front of a multilevel house. 

A creature with a spectral appearance spoke in our minds, “Interesting.”  It looked like a floating jellyfish. 

Sapphyre wanted to try diplomacy.  She had a terrible time with the party yesterday.  She doesn’t want to kill children.  WHAT?!  There was a bandit guy that agreed to played dead and she gave him some money for his trouble.  People threatened to steal the money off the “body.” 

A toy sized triceratops answered the door and asked for the masters note.  It spit out 4 exit tickets.  It was not allowed deeper into the house as it was the doorway watcher.  It does not know anything about the trap, or pretends not to, and asked us to reset it.   

Knicks tried to involve me in their plans with some Orphan leader.  They needed to address Knicks’ plan with the Council of orphans.  She said she was offering them fair wages.  30% cut.  Signing bonus of 150 gold.  My cut would be 15%.  You need to raise up the young to feed off the poor according to Knicks. 

We saw many odd things.  Floor felt uneven even though it looked flat.  We heard a big, “Cluck cluck.”  Dwarf sized metallic chicken walking throughout the house.  It has a key turning in its back.  I told Knicks to take it for the orphans.  She walked up behind it and tried to pick it up.  Its legs continued moving.  She named it Timmy.  The clock hand it’s hand move in a figure 8.  The views out the windows were not the same.  Some were magnified.  I shut off a running faucet and the water in the sink overflowed.  I turned it back on and the water sucked back upward into the faucet.  The grains on wood in the ceiling didn’t seem aligned.  There was a very intricate chandelier.  Walls on either side of the room are mismatched—two feet higher on one side.  We found a set of carpeted stairs that led upward that darkened as they led up.  There was also a doorway that potentially to another set of stairs.  We jumped backwards up the stairs and found carved on a door the word grimoires.  Inside was a library filled with pale green light.  Things seemed blurry in the deepest recesses.  On some of the bookshelves there were black marks notched into them dabbed with ink.  Knicks found a person on “Careful, these tomes are cursed.”   

He mentioned that the wizard had an interest in collecting creatures.  Wanted a tome, which one was it? Will you help me search?  Opened too many tomes.  Far too cursed now to open any more.  Offered the chicken.  The dark powers demand a plaything and I am not amusing enough to them anymore.  So lonely.  It’s been so so long.  I don’t want you to leave. 

The strange elf man begged us to come back, but we managed to find our way out to a balcony.   

The jellyfish came back and said, “Interesting.”  It had been told that this place was dangerous for their kind, but it’s just so interesting.  The bravest one of his kind remaining outside.  The others went inside and never returned.  It can watch over us from afar.  It touched Knicks’ mind with its tentacle and can hear her thoughts.  It asked us to find its kind inside and it will reward us. 

Distorted but greenish tinged room.  Broke a small hole in the window and it tried to suck Gideon inside cutting him badly.   

We went back into the locked door and entered a nicely scented hallway, not the library.  We found a knife slicing a carrot.  There was also a whisk churning a bowl.  The bowl had an odd mixture of fruits and vegetables.  The bowl was placed into a dumbwaiter and sent elsewhere.  Knicks put Timmy the chicken into the dumbwaiter.  An unseen servant came by with a dish and both things were sent elsewhere.  Sapphyre sent her fawn with a dish.  She got no feedback from it.   

I found an icebox on the other side of the room.  There was a block of solid ice inside with something frozen inside.  A porcupine named Crammel, was melted out, “I’m a person that got attacked by a mad wizard.   I was a senior mage.  I had tenure!”  Randolf the Great and Terrible got him with a true polymorph spell.  Our clothes seemed odd to him.  The year did not make sense to him, “You must be using a different calendar.”  

Crammel said that the trap was likely for Flumpfs that had destroyed an entire country in his world.  Also that this house would be a series of dimensionally connected rooms. 

Knicks found the chicken again.  The chicken had an orange stain (mango puree—I tasted it) and some soot on it.   

The door triceratops found us, “The trap is beginning to become unstable.  Within.  Below.”  We went down and found a chamber opening wide.  Walls faded into a stary expanse.  There was a ghostly orb and a bronze dragon wrapped in golden threads.  The threads were attempting to pull her into a glass container full of flumpfs.  The Flumpfs said there was a switch to end the prison.  The ghostly orb could not be damaged by a javelin.  It passed right through it.  Magic seemed to be absorbed by it.  Timmy was sent into the magic circle and was pulled up toward the trap.  The dragon’s breath made the sphere bigger. 

I found a journal full of diagrams and showed it to the porcupine.  He suggested we look for the off switch.   

Knicks sent Crammel to talk to the pale elf in the library.  A shadow killed it.  We killed the pale elf and all the shadows.  Found a clue in the library.  We found a suspiciously clean toilet and flushed it.  “System Resetting.” 

We went back downstairs and the dragon was freed.  We asked if she would free the flumpfs, “Those strange creatures are not of this world. We should not take undue risk.”  Coughed up large blue sapphire and asked for the name of our guild.  Refused to spread word of Knicks schemes.  

Bob asked if we could send stronger adventurers to solve the problem.

We headed back into the high end district of Springreach.    Dr. Price told us money is not an issue and we will receive 300 a piece for our efforts.  The drow entered in to start the ritual.  In a few seconds the comfortable feeling of our chairs slipped away and we once again we travelled into Yharnum.  

We awoke on a cobblestone street in front of a lamppost.  We followed a chalk sign on the ground stating: To the Great Bridge.  We followed some stairs up and I was very quiet.  Unfortunately, my team were not.  I used my powers to frighten all of our enemies, including Wheely McGunboi.  Qualia dropped a massive fireball on them.  Sapphyre ran out into the middle of the mess and... fell down.  The rest were dispatched quickly. 

We went through the streets looking for the chests with earbones.  Instead we found beasts.  They dashed right through Knicks’ ball bearing like they weren’t there. 

Wheely McNumbNuts shot a flamethrower at me.  I backflipped out of the way.  The room was full of wheeled individuals with firearms.  As the bullets passed through my body everything went black.  When I awoke I was filled with a rage I only hold for the handicapped.   

Stepping outside we were ambushed by two massive figures. One tried to hit me with a great stone club.  I shoved it aside, scratching my hand slightly.  I punched him repeatedly until he faded away.  The other creature charged Qualia completely ignoring me as it ran passed.  I kicked it bravely in the back.  Sapphyre slid across the ground and sliced off his toes. 

We found some chests with runes inside.  Qualia is a terrible liar.  We split the loot inside and moved north 

We were ambushed by a Cleric Beast on the Great Bridge.  It was looking grim, but we eventually took it out.  It looked relieved. 
 
We went to the lantern to leave.  Dr. Price gave each of us 30 platinum, not the 300 gold promised.  Yuck.

Wesley received a letter from Thiramin.  Nobility in area have familial artifacts that have been absconded with. 

The meeting point was the Fox’s Hound.  The nobles, the concerned council, are paying for our teleportation there. 

The others argued over a woman named Shirley.  The bartender delivered some drinks.  I was not thirsty, but I ordered a lukewarm tap water to appear normal and fit in. 

A group of finer looking people entered the bar and seated themselves.  One of them, Jonjon Johnson, said his father was a great public speaker.  A quill that he used to write speeches with was stolen.  Another woman was missing an engagement ring from her late husband.  A man that used to be a battle chef was missing his finest cleaver. 

We heard commotion as a group of people came in to hold up the bar.  That was their last mistake.  Even the one that begged for his life was dispatched. 

A tabaxi ran out the door.  We gave chase and somehow ended up in the feywild.  The tabaxi ran into a library.  Inside we found an owl that had used cats to collect various items.  We killed the owl, all but one of the cats, and collected quite a few magic items. 

The nobles paid our return trip to Springreach.

Dr. Namanik asked us to travel to a place the guild had been before.  He said there were a few scholars exploring a ruined castle in northern Farryn.  A cult was operating in the neighboring caves and the guild drove them off.  He’s explored perimeter, wants us to step inside as adventurers are better at this than scholars in terms of survival.  Whatever coins we find in keep are ours. 

Magpie afraid of Knicks during our introductions.  As she should be. 

Dr. Namanik traveled with a large black carriage pulled by six large draft horses.  Wherever he was taking us we would make good time.  Knicks stayed moist in her barrel. This seemed to bother Magpie as well. 

We traveled a few days north.  Camped along the way. 

We arrived outside the ruins of a partially flooded castle.  We were warned about a large eel in the water.  The Dr. Noticed it four days ago. 

Parkour to the top of the tower.  It was pretty impressive.  Then Gideon flew up. Less impressive. There was a trap door at the top of the tower.  It was not trapped or locked. 

Magpie cast Ghost light on Gideon’s hat.  He forgot he was our only light source and left us in the dark later when under attack. 

Trip wire trap was found by Amara on a second trap door.  I helped Gideon to disarm it.  I’m a good supervisor. 

Down another ladder.  We found a sickly green fire in the fireplace of a dining room.  Knicks found some thick wine.  It looked like this room had been used recently, but they abandoned the spoiled wine and left. 

We found a second tower, which we didn’t climb.  We found a second fireplace and tiny little ghosties swarmed all over me.  Magpie can heal from range.  Very effective. 

We found a stone staircase heading down.  Floor covered in a foot of water.  I told Knicks to search the toilets.  Apparently this has happened to her before.   

We found a huge vault door that Knock wouldn’t open.  Two warrior spirits attacked us.  Gideon hid around the corner with our only light source.  The vault key is the Warden’s key that we found with the dragon cultists. 

We found gold in chests inside some twisting tunnels.  There was a HUGE room with the floor covered in coins... and bones.  I touched a skull and a huge swam of bones attacked.  We opened quite a few chests.  Some of them really hurt.  Me.  Just me.  I should stop touching things.

Doctor Price offered us 250 gold to return.   

Doctor Price told us, “We believe that he is lost somewhere inside the greatest accomplishments in his mind.  You might have to recreate them.  His mind is not a safe place or a gentle one.” 

The drow man cast the magic to put us into Lord Jaeger’s mind.  He gave us the reminder, “Watch for the lampposts to get out, or we will pull you out if someone dies.” 

We awoke in the same abandoned hospital room wearing the same strange clothes.   Our healing potions were replaced by bloodvials.  I drank some and was told that was weird since it’s obviously an injectable.  It tasted like a whiskey shot with a hint of copper. 

The moon was very big.  Gorgeous.  Massive.  Red tinged. Watching us... 

Tried to take necklace to test if we could take items from this place.  My hand passed right through it. 

I opened a locked door with Knick’s help.  A huge man cleaved through both of us and knocked me senseless.  When he was defeated, he faded away to black ashy mist.  We found a sawcleaver and books with titles about the Healing Chruch of Yahrnam and a hymn book. 

We returned to where Dartan fell and took our revenge on Wheely McRifle and friends.  I’d usually say it’s wrong to beat up cripples, but they had it coming.  We made a partial retreat to catch our breath, but then approached the second half of the battle much more tactically.  Ranged attacks.  Hit and run. 

We traveled deeper into the city and were attacked by a giant festering pig with putrid breath.  We defeated it and the lamppost appeared. 

We awoke in our bodies. 

Doctor Price gave us two old treasured item of his:  A Sawcleaver and a Logarius' Wheel.

Wesley received a vague letter.  It said to head to the Dancing Dragon Inn.  Meet “L”.  They are having concerns.  Discretion is advised is the best way to put it.  They believe they—and other members of their organization—are in danger.  Meet them at the inn, and they will approach us. 

Wesley seemed concerned that Sapphyre actually read her 1099.  Knick said she never got one, and Wesley was trying to kill her.   

Even the brand-new girl new that Knick has tried to rip off Wesley’s grandmother.  Knick’s response was, “She shouldn’t have signed it.” 

We were told that the small inn is between Springreach and Willowcreek.  A single building with a faded sign that might be tough to spot.  We found it and most of us headed to the bar to order drinks.  Knick wandered the bar eating off tables like a savage.  The bartender didn’t seem to mind as long as she didn’t drop anything on the floor as he had just mopped.  Knick asked if she could drink the alcohol on the floor and clarified that she meant was still in the bottle.  Not literally on the floor, “That’s gross.  I take showers.” 

Knick asked the bartender if he knew how to make a shark bite?  I thought it was a joke with a bad punch line like, “Poke it with a stick.”  No.  Apparently it’s a drink.  

A masked WOMAN joined us and Knick started off with a good impression, “Hello, Sir.”  She corrected Knick with a very cold, “It’s madam." 

She explained that something had been stolen from the order she belongs to. She and her sisters would like our assistance in retrieving it. 
 
Knick kept saying something about being loose to the client who seemed confused as I was. Sapphyre said that Knick was loose like a hot dog down a hallway.  It was later clarified that Knick has little understanding of what loose means on the surface and that she refers to her genitals as a seabed.  She’s also a racist that calls us all landwalkers. 

ANYWAY... The thieves are a group known as the Emerald Order.  The madam said she would be polite and not say they are a dragon cult.  That absolutely sounds like a call out.  They are an order of mages.  The groups used to have an alliance and work together.  Because of a rift that happened long ago, they chose to steal the Rakma stone—an item of historic importance to her order.  Their order would be the only other ones to know that it was something worth stealing.  They have a headquarters in the Golden Gorge. 

The Rakma stone is a large gray gemstone about 6 inches in diameter. 

The Emerald Order wear emerald green robes.  “One on one I’ll get them out of their clothes.”  Knick clarified, “With my words to be clear.”  First part of their complex is where new initiates stay.  Deeper in is where you’ll find senior members.  There is a central courtyard next to the chapel.  She believes it would be in either the courtyard or chapel.  

We are to return to the Inn with the stone. 

As always, Knick told the newcomer, “If you notice anything, don’t tell Wesley.” 

When we arrived we could see humanoid bones.  We could tell because of the ears.  We snuck through the halls finding more bones.  We found a scroll in draconic.  “Dragons are the best to scam.  They’ve got the best money,” said you know who.  The scroll read, “This is the hall of the Five dragons.  Blessings to all that enter here.” 

We broke into some crates and found apples and 9 gold. 

Sapphyre tossed a coin in a fountain and made a wish.  Knick took it and they argued about lost wishes. 

We met an initiate named Liam.  He keeps the rooms clean and is in the cooking rotation. He’s only been here about a week.  He told us to talk to Brother Nableth to get settled in, but he’s not here now.  He thought we might be a few days early.  Mab and a few other brothers went out a few days ago.  Not sure exactly what, but it was something about an archeological find.   

Gideon asked him about a locked door and was told it was to a supply room.  Most of the dry goods and potion ingredients.  Liam ran off to grab the key from the kitchen.  On our explorations we ran into another brother.  I was wearing Liam’s face.  That was a mistake as he had just spoken to the real Liam.  We had to kill the man.  Real Liam stripped to his underwear and ran away. 

Found a pipe of smoke monsters, 400 gold, acid trap on gold chest, and a large key. 

We snuck past a group of men and into the chapel and courtyard.  There were dragon headed statues mounted over lighted brasiers.  They did not give off heat, but they sure did give off radiant damage!  There we artifacts underneath all of them to Sir George the Warden last of the dragon knights.   

I sat in on a meeting that was a recruitment scheme thinly veiled as youth outreach. 

We spent forever trying to figure out what the last item would be to light the last dragon statue.  It was the key the whole time!

Wesley said we were to seek out a physician named Doctor Price.  She wants help with a patient.  Wesley was told to send a party of brave adventurers with the promise of a 250 gold reward for each.  He is trusting this is not nefarious.  We were told to go meet with her and help as best we could.   

Wesley: “Go make me proud, or at least not ashamed.”   

Knick: “What do you expect?” Said Knick.   

Wesley: “I expect the bare minimum, Knick” 

Knick: “Scams the game.  Knick’s the name.” 

We went to a very nice area of Springreach.  There were large houses wiht long gated driveways.  The gate of our address had a J on it.  We were greeted by a well-dressed human man, and escorted through the house filled with gothic Decor.  There were paintings on the wall that were somber.  A little off. 

Doctor Price told us that a comatose man—Lord Jagere—had been under care for some time.  She’s been the family’s physician for 20 years.  He has undergone a sleep that she can’t treat with medicine.  She believes that his mind has gone somewhere else.   

We were asked to go inside of his mind and find where he has gone.  She believes the malady that effects him is a curse not a sickness.  Part of him has become lost.  More arcane friends of the family with discretion say he has lost himself somewhere in his past.  He used to hunt monsters.   

A drow came quietly into the room behind us.  Short, about 5’4”, and wearing nice robes.  He had leather bound tome with a buckle.  He took the hand of the lord and squeezed it affectionately.  Zoron Dra'Giir was his name. He has some magic that will transport our souls into Lord Jagere.  A soul severed in any place can pass on.  We will be vulnerable.  We have a way to come out.  He didn’t think this can be accomplished in one visit and doesn’t entirely know what we are facing.   

We were to find the pieces that have gone missing and bring them back.  Look for a sign.  There will be opportunities to come back, but we can only do this once a week.  We were to watch the lampposts glowing sickly pale light.  They would look out of place.   

He began to prepare the ritual and told us it would be 20 minutes.  Set up all around the room were candles.  Lit incense that made our heads swim a bit.  He began a soft chanting in a language: low guttural grinding unpleasant.  The darkness became tangible.  I could feel warmth and my eyes shut.  My senses faded.   

We awoke in beds inside of a room that was old run down victorian.  No fire in the fireplace.  There was a lamp that sprouted out of the middle of the floor of the room.  Ghostly light with dancing pale flame.  Felt like a makeshift hospital room that was abandoned.  There was a book on a desk that talked about blood diseases.  We were wearing different clothes. 

Knick and Piprim weren’t getting along.  There were insults: 

“Piprim, You’ve got the face of someone that’s bald,”    

“Scammer.” 

“Farmboy.”   

Then Melania jumped in with “What’s updog?”to shame Piprim further. 

I found medical books and religious texts.  References to the blood church and healing church and Yharnam.  None of this meant anything to me. 

Piprim opened a door and there was the sound of tearing flesh.  I could see humanoid wolf men tearing into corpses.  There was a yellow flash when the light hit their eyes.  When killed they melted into a weird ashen substance. 

I attempted to talk to a man men and wolf creatures attacked in a mob.   

Dartan banged his sword and shield together.  Dozens of monsters swarmed us.  He died for making that decision.  We were immediately pulled out of Jager’s mind.  

We explained what we had seen.  Doctor Price said, “He went back to Yharnam reinvestigating the Blood Church?  Perhaps the pieces lie with his greatest accomplishments.  We need to know what happened.  We need to find him.” 

We were paid 300 gold.  Could 50 extra gold compensate us for a lost comrade?  When he was a bad person and my nemesis?  Yes.  I resisted the urge to spit on his corpse. 

Doctor Price said they will summon us when they have the magic available again in a week, and that we shouldn’t talk to anyone about what is happening here.  Lord Jaeger has many enemies.

Keplan is southeast of Hfar in the great forest, south of the Pinecrest Mountains.  They have been reporting seasoned hunters not returning.  Search parties coming up empty handed. 

We took the train to Hfar.  Knick rode in a barrel to keep moist.  What a gross word. 

We arrived at some standing stones in the woods.  There was a serpent or dragon on the stones that Gideon said was named Guantánamo.  Probably.  Melaina said absolutely not.  This was some pagan heretical bullshit.  Someone clearly comes by here to maintain this place, but we found no reason to linger. 

Qualia and Melaina got into it.  Melaina said that she was not going to deny someone their choices and their freedom.  Nine times out of ten it’s the mainstream religions that are “right.” 

The subject turned to Dartan.  Always Dartan.  There is not enough shoes in the world to shame him enough.  They suggested I throw shoes that were heavier, or spiked.  I’m trying to hurt his pride, but his pride is dead according to Melaina.   

We camped and took watches.  Knick was not allowed.  They cannot be trusted.  I stood on their barrel as I took the first watch.  I did not notice as the oak trolls started to close in.  They only took fire damage when they were shrouded, which was most of the time.  We looked rough when the fight was over. 

I got us extremely lost and few found a cave. This is not the town we’re looking for, but how could we resist?  There was mushrooms.  Amara identified one of them as raging henbane.  Knick will paint hers blue and sell it to old people.  They like blue caps for when they get Frisky. 

We made it to Keplan.  I changed into my female form and they nicknamed me Shits and Giggles and threatened to tickle me.  Melaina is into some strange things I want no part of. 

We spoke to Alexi, a man with two peglegs.  Melania told him to avoid beaches.  He said there isn’t many of them left.  Only five.  The last search party didn’t return.  They are considering leaving at the end of the week.  The search party followed the hunters out the other side of town into the black forest.  There are unholy sounds that come from the forest at night.  Some sort of accursed creature.  Similar to a moose in heat.  He thinks that is what has been taking the villagers.  Typically a group of 5 would go into the woods for five to six days and come back with a beast.  Food stores are getting low. 

Melania asked if he could provide anything to assist us in our journey.  Alexi offered pie.  Everyone perked up.  Then he said it was bear pie.  What’s the opposite of perking up?  Perking down?  No, that doesn’t make sense.  Regardless, Melaina told him Bear have a lot of parasites and are not good to eat.  He said its not too bad with berry compote. 

We headed into the woods as it was getting dark.  We set up camp and made a big fire to attract the beast.  It was a Wendigo.  We killed it, but it had effected Melaina’s memory.  Knick tried repeatedly to swindle her. 

Knick said, “I didn’t know she was Wesley’s grandmother.”  It was some sort of brilliant bank scheme.  Another bad person.  Can a person have more than one nemesis?  I will think on this.

There was a letter aggressively nailed to the door.  Written in the tiniest font possible is a note that roughly read “Hello, fellow humans, it is I, Tax Evasion.  I have fallen for classic human trap and now need human help.”   
 
Gideon and Dartan think this is a trap set up by a rat.  They recently the went on a mission where people were controlled by rats pulling on parts of your hair.  There was a rat king amalgamation of rats all smushed together.  Fork Lift was the controller of Harrision who originally wrote to the guild.  The rats are fine as long as you play along.  We need to liberate the people with red hats. 

We found out that a drow fella with white coffin tattoo on the back of his hand repeatedly stabbed Gideon one hundred and two years ago.  He “woke up” about two years ago. 

We are going to the town that is a 3 day walk away.  You know the one.  It was decided to take a carriage instead and I was peer pressured into paying for one of the days.  Gideon taught Piprim how to play cards. 

We went to the fancy cheese side of town, so I put on my nice suit.  This side of town is run by Archibald and he has something in the basement we need to get to.   

We should knock the hats off and attack the rats underneath.  There is no need to hurt the people who are likely to attack us.  Piprim talked to a woman named Cheesecake Factory and they moved like a marionette.  They were very interested in cheese.  She asked if we were here for the festivities. 

Allergic Reaction has cheese wine.  We should speak to him.  No one wanted cheese wine.  Instead we spoke with  Mild Concussion who directed us to Unpaid Parking Ticket to get some shredded cheese to lift our spirits. 

Bikaji said something unpleasant followed by, “All my thoughts are thoughts are outside thoughts.” 

Piprim make an error in judgement and mentioned the name Roof Tile.  There was no rat by that name.  They asked is he had meant Moldy Spores.  

Divorce papers is selling cheese hats.  The rats play sports like any of the normal humans do. Full contact football with a tongue of a cow.  Shirts and skins.  When you get hit with the tongue it makes a slap sound and everyone in the crowd go “OOOOOOO I bet that hurt.” 

Gideon called out that he was going to do a card trick.  The crowd was concerned about Satanism, but Gideon brushed that off by saying he was an illusionist.  Not a magician.  Bikaji used the opportunity to case a spell that killed13 rats at once.  The people beneath were knocked unconscious. 

I asked why Dartan acts the way he does when he got plenty of hugs as a child.  He said, “My mother was an embodiment, she didn’t have a physical form.”  I trust Melaina more than my nemesis, but we had bigger problems to solve than arguing about it. 

We went to Archibald’s house and talked our way in with me posing as Egg the rat.  He spilled the beans and told us that familiars get blamed for the cost of being conjured back after being sacrificed.  Archibald was very upset when he realized he’d be bamboozled.  He’d had names all picked out for the party: Cigarette Wizard, Gravy Knife, Meat Lantern, Bonesaw, and Rust Bucket. 

Archibald elaborated that the rat king takes care of them regularly and provided him with all the rats.  His true name is Marshall.  He doesn’t have a moral compass.  He’s a rat.  It was fabled that he is the collective of what happens to all familiar rats when they die over and over.  An amalgamation.  His manifestation has turned him into the rat king.  The rats are caring for him, rebuilding him, and got him a gun.  I punched the rat off his head.  Dead. 

In the basement another rat suggested I drill a hole through my eye socket and stick the tail inside to direct wire into the brain.  I found lots of coffins and bodies in different states of decay that have been discarded. 

Gideon warned us Marshall has a breath weapon.  I bravely repositioned to get out of the breath.  I heard Piprim say, “First you beat kids, then you beat meat.  Come on!”  I’m glad I left the room. 

Gideon took Marshall down with a card.  From its corpse one single tiny magical rat.  It was a plushy that Gideon put on his shoulder.

Wesley told us that we need to go to a village near Mount Vidal.  Strange “children” are running around and harrassing people.  Things are getting set on fire.  There is lava popping up.  They are said to stand like they are trying to poop their pants.  Real children yearn for the mines.  These are not children.  They are offering each of us 200 gold pieces to resolve the issue. 

Wesley gave us keys to the boat.  Knick isn’t allowed to drive due to a grand theft auto incident where they crashed one boat.  Or several.  This was unclear.  However, it was clarified that no one should put wheels on a boat and then run people over.  Knick thought it sounded like a good idea after 4 rums.  Gideon told her she drinks wrong.  Whiskey all the way.  She says it’s too bitter. 

The scam started immediately after arriving.  Knick wanted to know about pay for the travel that was promised.  Nonsense.  Gideon told me not to snitch.  The woman that she was trying to extort let us know that Zebidiah from the philosophy club at community college joined the military and was overseas, but he’s back in town. 

I went to speak with Zebidiah and he was a wealth of information. So much so that we decided to ignore the rest of the village. 

He told us that the creatures come in the morning.  Arrows and greatswords phase through them.  They have the weird stance that toddlers make when they are pooping.  They can definitely set stuff on fire.  They are medium-sized.  For sure.  They wear suspenders and diapers.  Only have three toes.  This is on each foot, not total.  When they come, they set things on fire, take food, and leave.  He thinks they are coming from just right down the road.  There is a cave with a lot of lava in it.  The lava is new since they showed up.   
 
He also filled us in that Matilda is distraught because one of them took her barrel of pomegrante wine.  She had to import them!  She did not want mead and refused to add honey per Zebidiah’s suggestion. 

We should head north past the second sign that says This Way.  Ignore the first sign that says This Way. It leads the wrong way.  In their village everyone works and gets the benefit, but no one wants to work. 

Zebidiah business is rebuilding vintage chariots.  Every once in a while people in their later years in life stop on in.  Generally they are wearing leather jackets. He advertises his services on the little blue pills from the pharmacy.  His last name is Johnson, and the pharmacist he bribes is also named Johnson.  What a side hustle! 

Knick tried to scheme with me acting as Wesley.  Absolutely not. 

Incontinent clown came out of the lava and went back in.  I threw a rock in the lava and 8 mephits came out.  I dug deep and pulled out a nightmare shroud of pure fear.  6 of them dropped on the spot. 

We went deeper in to the cave and found 4 diaper babies and three tar dinosaur elementals.  I very quickly ran around unleashing fear on all of them.  

The bad person still has a fixation of harming children.  He swung his metal weapons at the diaper babies repeatedly after being told it wouldn’t work.  Even after seeing it with his own two eyes he continued to try.  He eventually wised up and punched one to death.  Then continued to punch it.  What a monster. 

Knick looked very crusty.  Qualia turned her into a misty cloud, and invited her into her water skin. 

We found fireweaver gloves on one of the diaper babies.  I kept them. 

Qualia had party invitations and candles that didn’t match.  She may in fact be a child.

Gary was pacing around the Salty Siren.  “Thank you for coming to my pack meeting.”  He was wearing a tinfoil hat and was all twitchy.  He wanted us to raid a temple.  That was a hard no from everyone.  “The hat keeps whispering violence.”  Penny and Kobal helped to find a temple where a moon sickle was located.  Pack contribution reward system was offered. 

We get to the twin moon temples that only appear at night.  We need to get there before the eclipse that happens tonight.  Not too far from Springreach. Need to get both temples to agree that Gary can have the moon sickle.  They are at odds with each other. 

Blathnat told me that she dog walked Dartan his first day at the guild.  Slapped kid had to pull doubles because he was four hours late for his shift. 

There are two temples.  One honors Solalara the watcher.  The other honors Theros the veiled one.  We went to the smaller temple first.  Theros. 

The Theros temple had been there for centuries.  It was still standing, although in a state of disrepair.  We met a man outside.  He told Gary, who was in wolf form, that he was a good boy.  Gary for some reason continued to act like a dog.  Brother Clarance said that Gary can consider him the pack leader for now...  Gary told him that he came for the moon sickle.  “You seek Yuna’s artifact.  Why do you seek this out?”  He kept muttering about how this was auspicious.  Gary said because he was an alpha leader and he needs to protect his pack.  He can’t lose anyone else.  “What’s the application process?”  Gary said with a puppy dog look.  We were told, “When you get to Solara tell them that brother Clarance has given you his blessing.” 

Gary seemed more disturbed when he spoke of Kobal.  All I got out of the story was that he was dead. 

The temple of Solara was a much grander building.  Solara is the larger moon and is brighter in the night sky then Theros, so this did make some sense.  Gary knocked at the door and there was no answer.  He knocked again and we heard, “I’m coming! I’m coming!  So many stairs.”  A small gnome greeted us.  She also said auspicious.  Odd.  Selune is the goddess of the moon Solara.  Despite it not being visible in the sky for a moment it will be illuminated.  One of her more recent champions met there end in a dark place.  Put aside first impressions.  I advised him to stop talking an nod more when the woman looked irritated.  If the moon goddess does wish you to be her new champion you might find the answers you seek within the moon grove at the bottom of the ravine.  She says Clarance is an idiot.  All he talks about is the wrong moon and personal finances.  “How do we get our champion champiafied?” Bram asked.  She pointed at the very obvious ravine. 

Gary once again tried to involve me with his financial advice.  I pretended not to hear him comments about investing and 401Ks. That's grooming behavior.

Gary guided us deep within the ravine.  Gary called Bram and Omega which confused Bram greatly.  Gary said “Something is screaming at me that this is the right location.”  He licked a pool of water.  A water spirit named Yuna— at least that was her name in life—asked who he was and why he was here.  Gary once again said he needed to be stronger to protect his pack.  “Many have fallen, and many more surely will, but if you seek the weapon Selune bestowed upon me in life.  After the eclipse the grove will not be safe for her worshipers.”  If we can make it safe again, since some of the creatures may be irritable.  She directed us to a good place to draw the attention of the creatures.   

The eclipse happened.  It created a crimson horn-like shape.  Gary hurried us along to a point where made a very loud noise to draw things in. Wave after wave of horrible creatures attacked. 
 
When we returned to Yuna’s pool we found Gary’s moon sickle waiting for him.  Gary is Selune’s new champion.  He left tinfoil hat at the edge of the pool.

“We all might die, but that is where a family heirloom of mine is,” was the introduction Bikaji gave us to this mission of hers.  Vignetto was our destination.   

Plan to get there teleport to Avistan and then get to the border.  Crossing the border is a bad idea, but that is a later problem.  The land is tainted there and ripe with all sorts of horrid abominations that will stand in the way of our goals.  We should ask the church of Pellor for aid as they are enemies.    

The crown might be a little bit on the evil side.  This doesn’t leave the table.  They spoke a lot of a monster named Dartan who harmed children.  Gary invited me to join a school about betas, alphas, and financial management.  I politely declined. 

We teleported to Avistan and were greeted by well armored men.  Captain Halsin, a member of the church guard, greeted us.  They asked a few questions.  Piprim insisted he was a gnome and they were highly offended by the goliath’s dishonesty.  Bikaji explained that a feywild heirloom ended up in Vignetto.  They stiffened, but listened to her story.  They agreed that if we could take any power out Vignetto they supported the cause. 

We traveled from Solaria to New Sule via carriage.  The border of Oscara had a mist at the edge that did not move.  It is said that it’s cursed by the Duke to keep Avistan out.  Edwina noticed pockets of land where green bubbling liquid sizzled and bubbled.  This seems to be where the bad air was coming from.  It was everywhere. 

The crown was stolen from the Duke long ago by an agent of Avistan that fell and no one really knows what happened to them.  Edwina and Bikaji tried to figure out the path they may have taken.  Some of the gas began to drift closer.  There were lights inside.  A whip of smoke came toward Blathnat.  We were surrounded by them.  Blathnat, Edwina, and Gary were sucked into one.  We destoyed them and moved father into that cursed land. 

Fungal slime has grown over the corpses of some knights of Pelor.  We threw rocks at them for a while.  Unsuccessful.  Really a sad showing of strength. Piprim approached and there was a puff of spores they began to stand.  We destroyed them and took all their valuables.  They had a journal that sent out 75 years ago searching for the burial place of a fallen saint. 

We found a gigantic winged skeleton in celestial armor.  The crown was in its chest cavity.  Bikaji went to retrieve it and a creature arose.  It seemed to have an argument with itself.  It looked relieved when we killed it. 

We returned to Avistan with information and the belongings of the fallen paladins.  We were rewarded for our efforts.

I was directed to the Adventurer’s Guild in my search for Be’bop.  A red-haired woman named Penny directed me to a meeting room where two adventurer’s were meeting with the head of the guild, Wesley.  The two woman were named Qualia and Blathnat and both were accompanied by birds.  I was told that Be’bop has opened a business called The Cog.  Since I required employment I agreed to accompany these ladies to Rikevist. 

We arrived in a town with a marshy, earthy aroma.  There was also a smoke in the air.  They apparently made bricks there.  The man that owned the brickyard, Giani, who requested the guild’s assistance finding missing employees.  He was very dirty and appeared to also work amongst his employees.  Some have them have been missing a few days, some a few weeks.  His business is falling farther and farther behind and losing money.  “Some people just want to see the world burn,” was his reason why.  Someone at one of the pubs must be trying to lure them off into the swamp according to witnesses.  They head north.  He has not seen any unusual people in town, but the owner of the pub might.  Giani knows most of the townsfolk and employees three quarters of them.  Someone may have found clay out in the swamp.  It’s not hard to make bricks. 

We went to the pub.  A dragonborn man was working there.  His name was Garm.  There is an old ruined monastery three days north.  He thinks someone has been luring them there.  He refuses to tell us who he thinks it is.  He wants to keep his reputation in case he is wrong.  He offered us moss sandwiches.  I said, “Ugh” under my breath.  He misheard and said, “No it’s not Mmmm, but it is nutritious.”  The sandwiches had a thick slimey moss you find on trees.  The texture was awful.  The dark bread full of seeds was also unpleasant. I ate it to be polite but also because I require sustenance to survive.  The chickens went missing recently.  Maybe it’s goblins.  There are a lot of those in the swamp. 

Garm directed us to a merchant at the dock yard.  I purchased clothes for traveling through the swamp. 

We were attacked in the swamp by a corrupting ooze and 3 bagiennik.  After defeating them we rested. 

In the morning we traveled to the monastery.  It was crumbling and returning to nature.  There was nothing in the ruined houses but bugs.  We were attacked by skeletons.  Inside there were more skeletons and a potato wearing an opal bra and pink miniskirt that Blathnat was very interested in.  One of them was very large.  It was comprised of multiple skeletons.  We found nothing of interest except some renovation plans for the monastery. Outside we found a statue of Lathander showing off his nipples. 

We returned to Giani with the plans.  He said he would like to keep them even though he has no plans of restoring it. There are a lot of bricks there.  Blathnat said something about unions, but I had already mentally moved on.