Episode 16, "A Soul Reunion"

The heroes. somewhat bruised from their recent battle with a handful of specters and wights in the throne room, decide to try and squeeze in another long rest before tackling the last stretch of the tomb. Unfortunately, Urzaan's tomb is a fairly active place... During the second half of their rest, Talos is alerted (during his meditation) to the presence of two specters and combat ensues. The party goes back to sleep again hoping for 4 hours of R&R, this time with Talos and Fhasys on watch. A lone skeleton makes an appearance in the yet-to-be-explored tunnel past the demolished wooden doorway. Talos and Fhasys decide to handle it themselves without waking the rest, and Fhasys handily destroys the pile of animated bones with a couple crossbow bolts.

As Fhasys searches the remains of the skeleton, the rest of the party wakes up feeling refreshed. Doc takes to investigating the wrought iron bramble throne and spots three onyx crossbow bolts woven into the metal framework. Talos, curiosity piqued, provides assistance via Mage Hand, which manages to dislodge one of the bolts but can't thread it all the way out of the tangled iron structure. Doc flexes his muscles and bends some of the ironwork out of the way--just enough for the Mage Hand to lift the bolts out... and into Fhasys' open and eager hand.

Upon contact, the shiny black bolts radiate a searing cold through her hand and the veins on her palm begin to turn purple, radiating some sort of poison or disease. Fhasys immediately chucks the bolts into her quiver, and the cold can even be felt through the leather bindings into her shoulder! Doc attends to her now pale and spidery hand by asking Apollo for a blessing. In a stunning turn of fortune, Apollo listens and her hand returns to normal. Fhasys' curiosity remains piqued.

The group presses onward, through the ruined doorway and into another rough carved tunnel that soon opens into a small, shallow muddy creek bisecting the tunnel floor, roughly 20' across. As they stood at the shore of the creek pondering how to cross, Vyreth spots some purpleish fabric flowing in the water in a small alcove upstream and decides to investigate. He discovers two old, robed corpses smashed into the far side of the alcove and reports his findings to the others.

Talos, deciding that he needs a more dedicated and trustworthy friend, animates one of the corpses. The figure manages to crawl out of the alcove, shuffles over to Talos, and stands upright awaiting command. Around its neck hangs another of the "eye" medallions, similar to one found earlier on in the tomb. Talos decides to use his new friend to hold his belongings like some undead pack mule, and--not having a will or conscious of its own--the corpse obeys. Watching this interaction, the rest of the party grows somewhat uneasy with Talos' new found fetish for the undead. First an imp, now a zombie... What next?

Talos sends his zombie back into the alcove to drag out his long-since-deceased companion. The other corpse is significantly disfigured, limbs twisted and contorted as if having been slammed by an immense blunt force. While Talos investigates the second corpse, Doc crawls into the alcove to make sure nothing's been left behind. Scraping some rocks and mud away, he discovers a deep red crystal ball affixed to some sort of ancient bird-like claw, the orb itself slowly pulsing with a red glow. Showing the new trinket to the group, Talos immediately recognizes it as some sort of phylactery--a container for some ancient dragon's soul. After a few minutes of brainstorming the significance of the find, some unseen force slams Doc 10' forward into the tunnel ahead and staggers him. The party, suddenly terrified and not being able to identify the source of the impact, ready their weapons. Combat ensues.

The heroes lash out in the space between Doc and the rest using both weapons and magic in an attempt to hit their invisible enemy. Some hits land, most do not, and the only clue to this being's existence is an intermittent shimmer when it moves into a new space. Doc gets slammed once more before Talos takes aim with Scorching Ray, illuminating the entirety of this strange, hulking enemy for a brief moment. The creature turns to Fhasys and plows her into the nearby tunnel wall, knocking her immediately unconscious. Every time the creature connects with an attack, a deep, windy voice seems to groan, "Urzaan". Apparently this thing and Urzaan are friends?

Talos, in a deft display of tactical maneuvering and spell casting talent, whips just out of LoS with the party and unleashes a nasty lightning bolt which completely incinerates their assailant on the spot. Stunned in disbelief, the heroes pause to catch their breath and figure out what just happened. Vyreth manages to bring Fhasys back to consciousness using healing magic, and Talos casually offers up one of his unidentified purple potions to top her off. Fhasys throws caution to the wind and quaffs the brew, immediately puffing out of corporeal form and into a cloud of fog. Delighted with the turn of events, Fhasys floats away down the tunnel to scout and reports back using a series of jiggles and bounces (she can't speak in this form). The group continues onward, but forgets that Fhasys was their key trap finder... Doc steps on another pressure plate and is hit with several poison darts. Luckily, his stout constitution prevents any significant damage. Talos sends his zombie to the front of the party to absorb the next round of poison darts, and the crew finally emerges into a large open chamber.

A jagged, blackened rock formation seems to sprout from the floor on the opposite side of the room, in which has been carved an ornate stone gateway of sorts. Through the gateway is nothing but a dirt wall, confounding the party for a moment until Talos realizes it's some sort of deactivated portal. The heroes light two large braziers hoping that it will somehow awaken the portal, but nothing happens. Having had reached the end of the final tunnel in Urzaan's tomb, the party turns back and makes the long trek back to the surface.

The crew emerges into the darkness of night, and immediately notices that the illusory bubble that had been swirling around the tomb entrance is no more. Looking around for their ride back to Quanlo, they find only the silhouette of a humongous ancient undead dragon lying in wait. The dragon awakens and casually welcomes the heroes, thanking them for their "help". Recognizing the dragon as the same who visited them back in Lehren during the funeral pyre, the heroes humbly ask for a ride back to town as the remains of their cart and driver now lay smashed beneath one of the dragon's claws. Unfortunately, the dragon is here for one thing... the phylactery.

Stretching its gigantic, decaying neck and head toward the heroes, the dragon takes a massive sniff and locates the object in Doc's pack. Realizing he has little recourse, Doc hands the dragon the phylactery... The dragon pops the crystal ball like candy between two huge teeth and the heroes watch, helpless, as its soul reunites with its body. Once again, Vyreth asks for a ride back to town but the dragon clearly has better things to do. It takes flight kicking up a huge sandstorm and disappears into the night, leaving the party with only a few remaining hours of cool night before the scorching heat of the desert will return in an attempt to claim their lives.

Episode 15, "Ph4t L3wt and Onward!"

The heroes awoke from a quiet, long rest deep within Urzaan's tomb feeling refreshed and ready to press forward. Talos and Doc shared a strange dream of traveling to the Ruins of Enra together and awakened with an odd compulsion to head to the forest, ASAP. After making their desires known, the lot fiddled around in their packs, suddenly realizing that they had amassed quite a pile of ph4t l3wt that hadn't yet been identified. The crew spent roughly an hour sorting, identifying, and bickering over ownership rights before finally heading back out into the tunnels toward the last junction.

Fhasys turned her attention to her new found rust colored fabric pouch. She found nothing but darkness inside the bag, and when she shook it out a small pink fuzz ball floated out and down to the ground. Using his keen knowledge of arcana, Talos was able to provide some "insight" as to the nature of the pouch and suggested he take it for safe keeping without really explaining why.

Next up was the creepy silver/onyx dagger that Fhasys had picked up, and Talos was able to discern some sort of poisonous, disease-type effect. Finally, Talos placed the "eye" medallion they'd found as being a very old symbol of a fledgling cult or guild.

Doc, having slept with his creepy set of pan flutes, woke up feeling like he knew how to activate them but not quite sure as to what they actually do. Blowing a little ditty, his friends were suddenly overcome with feelings of fear and mistrust which passed as soon as the music abated. The other heroes glared suspiciously at the paladin and advised him not to do that again.

Redistributing and stashing their loot back in their packs, the heroes made their way back to the last junction they could recall, dead-ending at another magically sealed door. Vyreth cast dispel magic and shoved the slab to the side, causing a back draft of foul, putrid and heavy air to wash over them. Save for the few who are immune to disease and poison, the remaining heroes collapsed to the ground retching. As they collected their senses and peered down the dark stairway, they heard the distant sounds of bones scraping against the floor. Feeling significantly more cautious than usual, Talos illuminated a rock with Light and tossed it down the stairs. The rock bounced down for quite a ways until coming to rest at the base, facing a wall where the tunnel veered left. Steeling themselves for yet another encounter, the lot headed downstairs.

The tunnel at the bottom of the stairs opened into a large, dark cavern. Those with darkvision were able to make out a bookshelf and an alchemy table at the far end of the room. Fhasys, in a stunning display of hand-eye coordination, hurled a handful of ball bearings through the entrance and toward the other side, shattering several ceramic dishes sitting on the bookshelf. Nothing stirred.

They tip-toed slowly into the cavern and discovered, laying off to one side, the skeletal remains of a humongous snake! Wasting no time, Fhasys used the element of surprise to blast a crossbow bolt through its neck and combat ensued.

The giant skeletal snake animated and attacked the party with a dark ferocity, casting Sleep and Lightning Bolt to decimate the intruders. Two specters joined the fray, lashing through their flesh with cold icy claws and draining their strength. Fortunately, the heroes prevailed and scored some interesting trinkets from the laboratory.

At this point, there was a heated discussion about whether or not they ought to continue sticking their noses in places of such evil... Talos and Doc, once again, urged the group to abandon the dungeon in light of their dreams the night prior. Fhasys mentioned that "the DM" would want them to continue exploring the rest of the dungeon, a reference mostly lost on the party at-large but likely merely a projection of her own inner desires, and they all seemed in agreement. Onward. But, maybe after another long rest...

Episode 14, "Master of the House"

The heroes manage to scrape together a long rest while barricaded in the guard room. Upon waking, they set to trying to open the magically locked door on the other side of the room. Doc and Vyreth give it the 'ol heave-ho! with Fhasys' crow bar to no avail. Talos, watching the brutes with great amusement, notices a fine blue glow emanating from the seams of the doorway and realizes that it's magically locked. He fumbles around his sack and procures his only scroll of Dispel Magic... but has a hard time letting go. The group discuss options and even entertain the idea of exploring the rest of the dungeon instead, but eventually sober up and dispel the lock.

The door swings open revealing a long, dark stonework tunnel with another--this time deeper--chasm splitting the ground. Fhasys impulsively takes a running leap, nearly loses her finger hold on the far ledge, but manages to scramble up. Doc, impressed with Fhasys' performance, follows suit... only to lose his grip and tumble down the cliff to the powdery ground below. He lands with a muffled "thud". The remaining heroes scrounge around for a rope and places to tie it up, but only find one such thing on the side from whence they came. Using his Mage Hand, Talos lifts the far end of the rope up to the ground level on the opposite side while Doc summons the last of his energy to scale up the cliff. Doc holds the rope securely for the other two as they high-tail it across the chasm.

The tunnel bends to the left, opening up into a wider tunnel adorned with stone pillars and an ornately carved stone doorway. Fhasys takes lead and absorbs a nasty poison dart trap for the group. They press onward toward the doorway. The door itself is a massive stone slab, polished with more infernal inscriptions, and Vyreth and Doc get to shoving the thing out of the way... but they push the wrong way. Nothing. The other two heroes decide to try the other direction and meet success! The door slides out of the way equalizing the air pressure between the two chambers with a back draft of stagnant air. The room is small, dark, and very cold, containing a decorated chest sitting next to a sacrophagus. Black wisps of smoke-like trails dance around the floor of the room, climbing up the walls and the sarcophagus. The heroes begin to feel the weight of dark emotions--hate and envy and despair begin to settle in. Talos discovers more infernal inscriptions along the lid of the sarcophagus reading simply, "Here lies Urzaan".

Doc jumps the gun and slides the cover off the sarcophagus, the room goes dark, and a tower of black smoke erupts from within forming the visage of a crowned, emaciated, undead king with hollow red orbs for eyes. Urzaan asks why he was summoned, but gets a glib response from the heroes prompting him to attack. The party engages in a brutal encounter with two shadows and the wraith, all of which drain max HP and STR upon contact. The heroes slowly wither away with every hit and begin to worry for their safety. The battle finally ends with the heroes (barely) victorious, struggling to stand and winded from the loss of constitution, and they search the chest. Clearly needing a rest, the heroes once again brave the dungeon depths and turn in. Their first long rest is broken by a couple wights banging at the door. They try and wait it out, hoping for the unwelcome guests to go away, but no dice... The heroes open the door and face the threat. Their second attempt at a long rest is broken by a couple more shadows and combat ensues once again. The party decides they've had enough healing to get by and huddle to figure out the next course of action.

Episode 13, "Unearthing the Past" p1

Squinting to make out any detail in the pitch black hall, Vyreth realizes he's going to need a light source to be able to see a damned thing. Talos magically lights Vyreth's sword, and the scene opens up to all... The huge hall is adorned with tall, stone pillars on each side and a sarcophagus sits at the far end of the room guarded by some form of dog-like statue. Four sets of full-plate armor stand watch in the middle of the hall, arms resting on huge swords. Doc, after recognizing two of the sets as being roughly dwarf size, skirts around the side of the hall for a closer look and the rest follow suit. Doc inspects the armor and, once satisfied as to its quality and condition, decides to grab it on the way back out. The heroes, stressed from the desert journey and the encounter with the skeletons outside the tomb, decide to once again take a rest in the great hall.

While the rest of the party sleeps, Talos' curiosity overtakes him and he wanders toward the sarcophagus to inspect. Stepping on a hidden pressure plate just in front of the canine statue, a torrent of flame erupts badly singing his robe. The party is startled awake by the wave of heat and noise, and the suits of armor awaken--climbing off their pedestals advancing on the heroes in a slow, steady march. The swords they were once resting on also take flight and combat ensues.

The animated armors pack a wallop, and a couple of the heroes end up quite battered from their steel fists. Vyreth summons a pack of giant spiders to help the cause, and Talos blasts a bolt of lightning through two suits and a flying sword. Since the heroes decided (rightly so) to steer clear of the main floor and instead stick to the walls while crossing, they didn't run into the spiked pit trap lying in wait... but a spider did. With a loud metallic slam, the center of the hall opens up into a large pit, swallowing one of the spiders and locking it inside. The party watches with a mix of apprehension and relief knowing that it could well have been one of them.

Once the battle ends, Talos apologizes for waking the lot and gets to investigating the sarcophagus. Doc, in a moment of keen awareness, spots century-old foot prints in the dusty ground leading toward the sarcophagus implying prior visitors to the tomb. He goes to work sliding the heavy stone lid off and reveals an empty space inside. Fhasys pokes around inside for latches or levers and discovers that the entire base panel lifts out revealing a ladder down into a small, uninteresting room with a closed door.

Pressing onward, the heroes listen for activity beyond the door and upon hearing nothing, open the door into a long set of descending steps. The stairs eventually level into a slightly larger room split in two likely by geological movement. A 10' wide chasm stands between the party and the other side, and they set out to find a way across. While Fhasys, Vyreth, and Doc examine the drop itself, Talos spots some rock outcroppings on each side of the chasm along the northern wall and manages to lasso the far side with his rope creating a way across. Fhasys eagerly jumps down and attempts to swing her way across, hand-over-hand. Halfway across, she loses her grip and falls, her tether keeping her from hitting the ground but slamming her into the close wall instead. While dangling upside down waiting for her friends to pull her back up, she spots an old scroll laying in the dust and dirt. She asks to be let down instead and fetches the scroll. After a series of attempts, the entire party manages to make it across the chasm hand-over-hand while Talos opts to tight rope walk.

The crew comes to a tunnel junction and Doc once more spots the old footprints, now leading into a tunnel to the north. Instead of investigating the footprints further, they decide to take the path less traveled and head into the southern tunnel. The door is locked.

Fhasys fails an attempt at picking the lock, but Vyreth and Doc manage to force it open with a crowbar. They enter an old storage room complete with a small shelf, aged wooden barrels, and a chest. Fhasys immediately bolts over to the chest to see whats inside. She begins to open the lid, but the lid opens the rest of the way by itself revealing a huge maw of razor sharp teeth. The chest sprouts legs and tentacle-like arms, and lashes out at Fhasys. Combat ensues.

Once the mimic is killed, a search of the room reveals some trinkets: x7 refined crossbow bolts, a suit of chainmail, x3 potions of greater healing, a long green crystal of some sort, a pouch w/some gold, and an old black leather bound tome which instills knowledge of the Infernal language to Talos when read. Not a bad find!

The heroes continue through the closed door in the store room, out into another tunnel, and through a demolished doorway into what appears to be some type of guard room. At a table on one side of the room sits two long-since deceased humanoids face-down in their plates, and on the other lies an ornate tapestry flanked by two more suits of armor. Fhasys takes the lead into the room and triggers a tripwire, launching a poison dart into her side. Vyreth, captivated by the rug's craftsmanship, decides to investigate closer while Talos attempts to animate the corpses at the table.

As Vyreth strokes the soft fabric of the rug, it suddenly leaps into the air, wrapping itself tightly around Vyreth and suffocating him. The corpses stubbornly refuse to animate, to Talos' dismay, and his imp poofs into existence atop the table for a closer view. With a terrified shriek, the imp vanishes again and the corpses begin to breath long, guttural sighs. Combat ensues.

Two ghasts, two flying swords, and a rug of smothering later... The crew loots a pouch of gold and gems from the table and moves onward toward a locked door on the opposite side of the room. Doc attempts to kick the door in, but his foot is rebuffed by some sort of magical field. Talos, realizing that his spell book may be in dire need of retooling for this dungeon, suggests they use this room for a long rest. Doc bars the doorway they came in through as best he can and the party hunkers down for the night.

Episode 12, "Plunging into Darkness"

Armed with a bag-full of artisan cakes, the heroes make their way back to the Bumblebrook Sanctuary to placate the fairy dragon (clearly frustrated by the party's lack of curiosity as to its name). The dragon pounces on the cakes, eating them all up like there's no tomorrow and then rolling around in the leftover icing. The cakes clearly made an impression! In exchange for the treats, the dragon shows Doc the path to find Peter (from the foothills by Quanlo, down through the Ragneron Forest, and near a lake). Doc struggles to recognize the terrain, but thinks he gets the gist and flings his recently purchased platinum coin at the dragon as a token of his gratitude. The dragon reflexively flies safely out of range of the flying coin, hisses, and vanishes out of sight, leaving the coin to fall haplessly back to the ground unattended. Curious reaction. With the disappearance of the dragon, the illusory terrain fades from existence all around the sanctuary revealing a plain old, grassy, overgrown marsh.

Since it's late evening and the party has a long ride ahead of them (to the desert tomb), they decide to park it at the Troublesome Troll for food and rest. During their dinner, the heroes overhear talk between two miners of some strange discovery deep within the Thanon mine... some sort of huge, ancient stone doorway blocking a newly dug tunnel. They get some much needed rest that night, and Talos awakens before dawn to the sound of a spinning coin falling close to his ear. Opening his eyes, it would seem a plain platinum coin has mysteriously found its way into his room. Talos inspects the premises for signs of intrusion but finds none, pockets the coin, and drifts off to sleep. His dreams are filled with wonderous imagery from a lush, overgrown ruin somewhere deep within a forest, and he's overcome with the desire to visit.

Over breakfast, Talos brings up the topic of the odd coin he found and Doc notices the similarity between this and his own coin. Rifling around in his pockets, Doc discovers that his own coin has gone missing and the two discuss just how it came to land in Talos' possession. Talos claims innocence and hands the coin back to Doc for safe keeping. The lot then begin discussing plans for the day. Most decide that catching the wagon out to the desert tomb sounds like the best thing to do first, and Talos mentions that he'd rather visit these ruins he'd dreamed about... overruled. The heroes head out of the town gates, meet the driver, and get to travelling.

The journey, according to the old man at the reigns, should take about 4 hours given smooth riding (ha). The driver is clearly wary of the journey and not looking forward to what may come of it, but the pay is good. An hour passes by uneventfully as the wagon heads NE away from the foothills and into the sandy desert, and with a few lurches and an exclamation or two from the driver, the whole thing comes to a stop. A wheel had gotten stuck in the hard, sandy, stone-ridden earth. The heroes pile out of the wagon to bitch and try and help push the wagon free of its bondage. Ultimately, after the driver sticks a wedge beneath the problem wheel, the crew manages to heave it free. This delay had cost them 2 more hours, and just as they started to ride again the lot is ambushed by a pack of giant hyenas! Combat ensues.

The driver manages to fend off a couple of the beasts with an old machete until they finally grow a pair and pounce, pinning him to the floor and nearly eviscerating him. Talos' imp dive-bombs the hyena nearest to its master, latching on to its side and stinging it with a nasty poison until it collapses. Showing a bit of its devious personality, the imp then decides to join the driver and three hyenas to "stir the pot" a bit. Eventually, the hyenas are slain, the driver is healed, and the crew gets back on the road.

The remaining couple hours pass by uneventfully, and the wagon rolls up to the site of a strange visual anomaly (the tomb). Large, neon-blue rimmed "bubbles" of space seem to swirl and rotate around the axis of some invisible hemisphere sitting atop the desert sand. When inspected closer, the bubbles appear more to be tears in the fabric of space-time, providing windows into a dark, moonlit landscape dotted with ruined ivory pillars and a sporting a great gaping maw of a hole protruding from the earth.

At first, some folks in the party are taken aback with the power and mystery of this place and consider heading back to Quanlo having had "investigated" the area thoroughly. Fhasys, feeling brave and restless, first wanders into the center of the bubble swarm for a looksee and then back out to attempt to jump through one of the bigger holes. Her first attempt ends up unsuccessful, but her second try vaults her through to the other side. Meanwhile, Doc discovers what appears to be a large humanoid lying face-down in the distance. Doc, Talos, and Vyreth head out to investigate and find what appears to be the scene of a small battle between a handful of red robed mages (identified as being from the mages guild of Quanlo) and a couple blighted ogres.

The rest of the crew ends up following Fhasys into the alternate dimension (through the bubble holes), and they all decide to set up camp for a short rest. Doc stands watch for the duration and the group is ambushed by 10 skeletons that burst from the hallowed grounds and attack. Despite a few knicks, the party makes it through unscathed. As the last skeleton falls, a great, foul mass of air belches forth from the opening in the ground filling the heroes with sadness and bitterness. Steeling themselves, they gather their gear and head down the tunnel leading into the earth.

After a long descent, the tunnel finally flattens out and dead-ends at a large onyx inscribed slab blocking the way. Talos, using his knowledge of lore and arcana, deciphers the inscriptions as being ancient dwarven and reads the text to his group; it's a poem dedicated to the nasty inhabitant of this tomb for which it was constructed, Urzaan. Whipping out a scroll of Dispel Magic, Talos releases the magical lock on the slab and Doc and Vyreth manage to slide it out of the way. Standing before a dimly lit great hallway lined with pillars and torches, the heroes spot a lone sarcophagus at the far-end and decide how to best approach.

Episode 11, "On the Road Again"

Having cleared their names with the local authorities--courtesy of Raven and the thieves guild--the heroes spent one last night in the den eating, drinking, and being merry. Talos' strange disappearance was noticed by the party momentarily, but sleep seemed more of a pressing matter than finding their pretty-boy mage, so they turned in for the night.

Talos, meanwhile, had a run-in with the local prankster being talked about all over town. A fountain became a towering pillar of water drawing the attention of some Iron Gate guards, and Talos decided he'd be better off hidden in a nearby alleyway. It was in this alley that he came face to face with the prankster, a metallic purple, cat-sized faerie dragon who took quite an interest in his abilities. After a mostly useless conversation with the dragon, Talos was polymorphed into a dog and then compelled to chase an illusory cat straight into the Gate barracks, rudely awakening them. While pleading his case (as a dog) to the irritated guards, two of them got into a heated brawl. Talos used this opportunity to get out of Dodge. Once the polymorph wore off, he headed to the trail leading up to the mages guild and was met with yet another prankster trick. This time, the entire hillside transformed into a lush forest, making it difficult for him to find his way out. Using his keen sense of direction, however, Talos managed to get to the guild in just under an hour.

Talos engaged two acolytes standing in the guild courtyard in idle conversation, showing them his mysterious glass sphere and asking to speak with Reeser about it. They brought him to Reeser's quarters, had a little chit-chat, and then Talos spent the rest of the night with a summoner who bound the sphere's inhabitant--an imp--to his soul (at the cost of some Constitution).

In the morning, Talos and his new pet met up with Reeser and a few other guild mages in the dining hall for breakfast. They discussed Quar Jezz't and his request to consume Talos' ex-mentor's soul (Weshryn), where to find Weshryn, and a task that the guild asks in exchange for said information.

Meanwhile, the rest of the heroes awoke in the thieves guild fairly rested--except for Fhasys who woke up face-down in a food dish. During the night, Vyreth overheard some folks discussing recent happenings with a missing lumber shipment from a local camp and his curiosity was piqued. Noticing that Talos was still missing, the lot decided it was likely that he'd be at the mages guild... so they headed out to meet up with him.

Once at the mages guild, they inquired about their elven friend and were lead up into the dining hall where Reeser & co. were finishing up breakfast. Introductions were made, information was shared, items identified (werewolf tooth for Fhasys, Cannesh slave ring for Vyreth, and amulet of regeneration for Doc), and at a hefty expense, Fhasys finally had the aboleth's curse lifted from her shoulders. The heroes agreed to the exchange of services--investigate a strange exposed tomb deep in the desert of Olais in exchange for magically sealing the Embershale mine--and a covered wagon was dispatched to meet them outside of town for the journey.

Leaving the mages guild, the lot decided to take a small shopping detour whereupon Doc became enthralled by the faerie dragon. A magical glade suddenly sprung up in the seedier area of Quanlo, drawing Doc's attention and compelling him to wander inside, where he met a talking bunny who mentioned Peter. As the rest of the party caught up, Doc explained that they needed dessert and shiny trinkets for the dragon in exchange for more information on Peter. They decided to hit the bazaar.

Quite a few cakes were purchased from a baker, Vyreth found some spoiled pastries and a large fishing net--presumably to catch the dragon--and Doc stumbled into a mysterious tattooed vendor selling odd bits 'n pieces from a local ruin. Despite being given any real information on the various artifacts being sold, Doc purchased a platinum coin and a glass ring which radiated warmth when held. Shortly thereafter, Doc began to catch his mind wondering to the Ruins of Enra, imagining just how awesome it'd be to go exploring there.

The heroes reconvened outside of the bazaar with their newfound treats and trinkets, and paused for a moment to decide what to do next.

Episode 10, "Pulling Strings"

Having been lead by a man named Levin into the den of the Red Hand--the infamous thieves guild of Quanlo--the heroes were treated to a curiously warm welcome by the guild's leader, Raven. Over dinner, the group discussed a growing web of intrigue and opportunity they'd unknowingly spun in their dealings with Quanlo and the Iron Gate.

The Red Hand had been made aware of Demetrius' return to Quanlo and had planned an elaborate scheme to profit off of his misfortunes. Since Doc was wanted in the murder of Draven Hensely--the head of a local strong arm organization called Slabtown--a sizable bounty was out for his arrest and the guild wanted a cut. A letter was drafted to a key witness in the murder, Orin Thren, aimed at using him to clear Doc's name in exchange for the bounty. Unfortunately, Doc had since become wrapped-up in a group of unlikely compatriots who took it upon themselves to stir up even more trouble with the Iron Gate by murdering a caravan of slavers and subsequently evading arrest. The Iron Gate was now on full alert and new bounties had been posted for each suspect, including one "mysteriously disappeared" mage (Talos). Needless to say, things had quickly become very complicated and the potential for profit quadrupled for the Red Hand.

Raven had dispatched Levin to secure Demetrius, but got a bit more than he'd bargained for. He decided to come clean with the (now defunct) plan to clear Doc's name in exchange for the bounty, trusting that the ragtag group had enough sense to invent a contingency plan. Putting the guilds' bargaining chips on the table--loaner equipment, contacts and information, access to the group's stolen belongings, and desire for both gold from the bounties as well as insider leverage into Slabtown (courtesy of Doc)--Raven asked that the party come up with a proposal in exchange for clearing all of their names. Finishing dinner, Raven offered to also return with a writ detailing the specific accusations and bounties within an hour's time and left the heroes to huddle.

This was clearly a complex and befuddling set of circumstances for the heroes. They sat around the table for a good hour, first learning more about Demetrius' history with Quanlo and Slabtown and then detailing their options. The first thing discussed was gold; specifically, how much of their own bounties they wanted for themselves once the deal was done. Doc quickly decided that he would be more than willing to provide insight into Slabtown as the primary bargaining chip, seeing as he wanted nothing to do with the seedy organization, and Vyreth expressed deep concerns over the authenticity of the Red Hand's offer. Vyreth asked for some sort of guarantee or collateral just in case the guild decided to pull a fast one over on them, and decided that their missing equipment could play such a role. An hour or so had passed by this time, at which point Raven returned to the table with the writ of accusations totaling nearly 1,700gp in total bounties! The group had a few questions answered and points clarified, then Raven retired for the night leaving them to finalize their proposal.

As the party slept, Fhasys' keen ears woke her to the sound of a muffled conversation involving some strange occurrences around town. It seemed as though pranks were being played on the townsfolk by some unseen creature or force, causing mischief and completely befuddling the local authorities.

Come morning, the group made their way out of the dirty common "cavern" space where they'd slept back into the dim lighting of the central chamber and found Raven awaiting them at a table. Over breakfast, they discussed the terms of their freedom. Demetrius was nominated as the chief negotiator, proposing that the party offer the following in exchange for clearing their names:

• The Red Hand would first secure the party's equipment from the Iron Gate barracks as a down-payment on the deal.
  


• The heroes (except for Doc) would hand deliver the guild's letter to Orin, forcing his hand in admitting guilt for the murder of Draven and thus clearing Doc of the murder charges.
  


• Demetrius would remain in the den during this time and divulge the inner-workings of Slabtown so that the Red Hand could assume control of the organization.
  


• The party would take a 90/10 cut of the bounties (in their favor).
  


• The Red Hand would work their magic in clearing all remaining crimes.

Raven thought the supplies request made sense and immediately agreed to that provision, and salivated over the thought of being basically handed Slabtown on a silver platter, but the cut of the bounties was essentially the opposite of what he'd been thinking. After all, the guild's primary interest in orchestrating this whole deal was gold. Raven and Doc argued over the bounties for a good long while, both posturing and intimidating to gain advantage, but--taking advantage of a slip in Doc's resolve, Raven made a play which forced him to second-guess their position. In the end, the group agreed to a 50/50 split in addition to details on Slabtown, Raven drafted a contract which the party signed, and fetched the sealed letter for Orin.

The heroes (sans Demetrius) headed out to deliver the letter while Doc stayed behind to have a chat with Raven. Talos took the lead some 20' ahead of Vyreth and Fhasys, all under cover of Vyreth's magical shroud. They encountered a heavily armored Gate guard along the way, accompanied by some type of mage, who seemed to notice Talos approaching. Talos, in a moment of fast-thinking, used Suggestion to motivate their hasty retreat and they made their way to Orin's home. Fhasys scouted the perimeter looking for alternate means of entry while Talos and Vyreth stood watch. All she ended up finding was a half-open window on the second story. Fhasys convinced Vyreth to give her a boost but she missed and the two collapsed to the ground. Determined to try again, Vyreth gave her another boost in which she barely hung on to the window sill and pulled herself inside.

Meanwhile, back in the den of the Red Hand, Doc had finished explaining which buttons and levers to pull in order to assume control of Slabtown to Raven. The two continued conversations over drinks talking about Quanlo, the Iron Gate, and catching up on current events and rumors. Doc was given more detail regarding the "Quanlo prankster" and, to his surprise, his old friend Peter. Some scouts that had come back from a lumber camp in the nearby Ragneron forest had stumbled upon the man strolling through a particularly pretty glade, whistling to himself and looking happy as can be. They positively identified Peter, but remained hidden until he'd passed so didn't have a chance to speak with him. As their conversation wound down, Doc was finally given access to the Red Hand equipment stores (at a discount) and was handed a gold religious medallion of mysterious origin that radiated warmth when hung from his neck.

Fhasys discovered a ransacked and mostly quiet second floor, but heard faint whispers and shuffling coming from downstairs. She descended to the first floor which, again looked as if it'd been ransacked, and proceeded to snoop around for hidden doors. Discovering a latched basement door beneath a rug, Fhasys finally opened the front door and let the others inside. She yanked the door open to the surprise of two guards standing at the base of the stairs (who immediately scattered), Talos sent a light-bubble into the darkness, and Vyreth cast sleep on... somebody.

Fhasys cautiously headed down the stairs and discovered four guards--two standing shaken, weapons partially drawn, and two trying to wake up the (now sleeping) Orin. Dialogue ensued. Fhasys repeatedly attempted to intimidate the guards to hand over Orin, while the guards postured to obtain the letter first. Hitting a stand-off, Vyreth pulled out his big guns and transformed into a bear, letting out a loud roar after poking his upper torso into the entrance. The roar was enough to snap Orin out of it, and he approached Fhasys to read the letter. Understanding what must be done, Orin sent one of the guards out to notify the Iron Gate of his whereabouts and the heroes headed back to the den to report to Raven.

On the way back to the thieves guild, the crew was nearly spotted by another regiment of guards, but something very odd happened as they walked past... In the blink of an eye, the well armored lot was reduced to their undergarments by some unseen force who then let out a devious cackle. The guards, in a moment of clear shock and embarrassment, took off running leaving the party completely confused.

The crew reassembled in the den, explained the goings-on to Raven who in turn gave them their equipment and supplies as-per the plan. Raven advised them to lay low for the rest of the day and through the night until word of their innocence made it up the food chain, so they ate and drank in good spirits. Talos slipped off at some point during the festivities to "go to the bathroom", and a couple hours later Fhasys begun to notice his absence. But, for the most part, the now inebriated lot really could care less and let him be. Talos, under a cloak of invisibility, made his way through town and to the gates of the mages guild to speak with Reeser about his strange little glass sphere.