Galsariad (previous winner) expressed interest in seeing us at the closing ceremony
Kaiyo earned the Medal of the Conch
We all earned the Medal of the Maze
Marr earned the Medal of Muscle
Aphrodite & Kaiyo earned the Medal of the Wetlands
We all earned the Medal of the Horizonback
We all got a long rest, and tomorrow we'll compete against the Hometown Heroes in the closing ceremony!
We went into a labyrinthine underwater cave system, armed with 3 hours of Waterbreathing, to find an emerald amulet and retrieve it. The prize was 100GP.
We immediately split the party and Delphi almost died to an octopus. Kaiyo saved her by making the octopus laugh.
Marr absolutely could not swim.
We found the amulet, and Kaiyo mage-handed it off of the Magic Glowing Shark Boss's neck, singlehandedly winning us the contest.
Upon meeting back with the Hometown Heroes, they asked if we'd seen the vision too. Having cheesed the boss battle, we asked What Vision
The Hometown Heroes, at the other end of the cave system, had found a magic gemstone (worth 4,000GP) that gave them a vision of the fallen hero Alyxian, begging for their help.
We invited ourselves along on their quest, because we kinda suck at plot hooks, but that one was beating us over the head.
We woke the next morning and the Hometown Heroes had already left both us and half their belongings behind.
We traveled fast to catch up to them.
A gloomstalker failed to menace a mammoth, and then failed to menace us. We killed it in 3 turns. Kaiyo thought it was a bird.
We saw a tiefling and his trained moorbounder being harassed by bristleback moorbounders. Marr scared the bristlebacks off, and got the name of a moorbounder breeder in case Kaiyo ever remembers she wanted one.
A group of bandits tried to "tax" us. Aphrodite pretended to be AN ENTIRE GODDESS, FULLY PREPARED TO SMITE THEM AS THE GROUND SHOOK BENEATH THEIR FEET AND DAYLIGHT BURNED FROM BEHIND HER HEAD. They booked it.
We stopped at the Emerald Loop Caravan Stop, caught up with the Moorbounder Trainer, and bought a bunch of supplies.
We avoided an Udok corpse that had more demons around it, and learned that Delphi's Celestial. And immortal. And does not understand basic elements of society.
We caught up to the Hometown Heroes making camp just outside of Bazzoxan. Marr warned Maggie about the party, Aphrodite convinced Delphi & Dermott that Delphi had a crush on him, Kaiyo put on a show, and then Aphrodite tried to steal the gem from Aiyo.
Aiyo stopped her, coldly informed us that she doesn't like liars or thieves, and the whole camp started packing up to Get Away From Us.
Tired Drow guard, Veryn, brought us all into Bazzoxan so we could help take out the gibbering mouther menacing the town gates. Delphi & Aphrodite killed it in like, a single round of combat.
Bazzoxan is home to the Betrayer's Rise, which is a significant site for the primordial Betrayer Gods who fought their way up out of there during the Calamity.
A big pit filled with tracks of motorized blades (can be switched on with a single lever) (lever unguarded) is near the center of town, and called the Sacrifice Engine. It's used for demon hunting, these days, since a lot of demons come out of the Betrayer's Rise.
We went to a healing bay where Aphrodite attempted to convert a cleric to the Cult of Aphrodite, and then we put a charm of a little tiger's eye rabbit for a badly injured Drow teenager on the Wall of the Unforgotten.
While we were there, an old man blessed us all with a Mote of Possibility! We can now reroll anything. Once.
Foghome, a Firbolg gardener currently taking up residence in an old temple to Avandra (Goddess of Freedom, Trade, Travel, Adventure and Luck), is trying and failing to grow things. Also, he's having Alyxian visions.
We went to help cremate bodies with two brothers. Mar explained unions. Aphrodite robbed a corpse. Delphi was the most content any of us have ever seen her.
Prolix, a tiefling academic coming to the crematory to investigate the contents of a dead Vrok's stomach, suggested we talk to Question and avoid Aloysia.
We found them both in The Ready Room, a small tavern/inn which also housed the Hometown Heroes. Aphrodite apologized to Aiyo while still hitting on her. Somehow, this worked.
Aloysia hired us (100GP a person a day) to escort her into the Betrayer's Rise. It was sketchy as hell and she sucked but holy shit that's good money.
Marr apologized to Aphrodite for trying to take her on as a responsibility, and the two of them talked about godhood for a bit.
Aphrodite hand-carved a stone engagement ring and then fucking proposed to Aiyo. Aiyo didn't say yes, but she definitely didn't say no and gave Aphrodite an agate ring in exchange.
The Interlopers went to the Hellmouth only to find that Aloysia was not actually allowed in there. Red flag.
A pair of Gloomstalkers (the birds) busted out of the Hellmouth and we fought them off.
The guards allowed us in. The big magic doors, which can only be opened by the magical gemstone that we do not fucking have, did not.
Aphrodite, Delphi, and Kaiyo trudged back out of the bigass doors all the way to the Hometown Heroes, and then wheedled them into coming down on the dungeon crawl with us because we literally needed that fucking gem to get anywhere. Marr spent this time yelling at Aloysia and getting a quarter of the day's pay up front.
Past the doors, there was the Hall of Holes, where something snored in the depths of the world's worst trypophobia trigger.
A small altar to Tharizdun (God of Cold & Insanity, creator of the Abyss and represented by a spiral rune) asked us to cast something of value into oblivion. Kaiyo tried a gold coin and it shriveled to iron ore. She then gave up her first harp string, the thing that sparked her love of music and a memento from her father; a pathway was revealed.
The next room was a cavern with pillars of fire and dancers made of flames within. Kaiyo and Aphrodite danced with them, and they lit up a mosaic of the Primordial Gods Lolth (Goddess of Drow & Spiders, represented by a spider), He Who Never Sleeps, Tharizdun, and Torag (God of Death & the Underdark, represented by a T and a circular shackle).
Past the mosaic, there was a hole in the ground that led to a massive cavern with a statue inside. When climbing down to it, Aphrodite took no fall damage. Everybody else fucked up so bad Aloysia had to give us potions of Cure Serious Wounds.
We got into the room proper, which had a statue of Torag in the middle and three hand statues around it in a triangle. It also had a Curse Of Bloodlust, which only Dermott, Maggie, and Marr saved against.
Marr cast Calm Emotion, which calmed some of the party down but didn't get everybody, and would be smothered by the curse if they took (or saw anyone else take) damage.
We* shattered glowing gems in the hand statues' palms, which opened up a room in the main statue's chest. Ayo directed everyone to get into the room.
*Marr was busy bullying Delphi and getting her knees kicked in for it.
Once inside, we saw a small altar to Avandra and the curse was broken. Torag's voice rang out: "CHANGEBRINGER, YOUR LUCK SHALL NOT HOLD"
We clambered down to the altar over the sharp crystals littering the ground, and we took more damage because fuck this dungeon and the Betrayers it Rised in on.
Ayo, holding the gem, suddenly had her eyes glaze over as she sleepwalked (sleptwalked??) to the altar, placing the gem in a recess perfectly fitted to it.
We all had a vision of a spectral figure saying, "You came. You followed. You can find me." Then of an army marching, expecting to die. Only Alyxian survived, bleeding out before this very altar before being lifted to his feet by Avandra. The Crawling King spoke to him, telling him that all was futile and to let go, give in to his sacred and devouring darkness. And then a flash of forsaken, underwater ruins. We were granted three (3) questions.
ARE WE STILL IN DANGER?
"I am forever trapped in torment."
WHERE DO WE GO NEXT?
"The Coralon Temple in the Arch Heart of the city of Elves and Orcs, in the Jungles of Marquette. It was destroyed long ago."
WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR WORLD ONCE YOU ARE FREED?
"There is no way to know. You mortals draw upon the light that torments me."
We woke up at the bottom of the chasm, and then Aloysia cast Dominate Person on the rival party because she's a shithead. We all had the chance to talk to them to give advantage on their wisdom save against it.
Marr went straight to Ayo because she was Holding The Fucking Gem That Aloysia Wanted, and needed to be right there in grabbing range if the save didn't work. It did though. Sorry, Aphrodite.
Aphrodite talked to Galseryad instead, promising to look out for him as one of her own, just like she would for Ayo.
Delphi went to Dermott, saying that she still didn't know what a crush was, but that he was good. And she knew that he was stronger than the spell.
Alas, we will never know what Kaiyo said to Maggie. It worked though!
Aloysia threw an earth-rending temper tantrum and then teleported out like a loser, leaving behind two Tablets Of Teleportation to the exact same landing point. Dumbass.
We got through a maze, stunned some corrupted Orcs trying to do a blood apocalypse, found Question's dead companions and grabbed their important shit to give to her, and then got the fuck out of the Betrayer's Rise.
Marr took a nap. Delphi and Aphrodite got the Aurora Watch wizards to look at the teleportation tablets, then to the cremation station for shits and giggles, and then to get Aphrodite's gems (looted) appraised. The little old lady blacksmith tried to scam Aphrodite. The two of them combined forces to scam Delphi into buying charms for her crushes.
After a Long Rest, we woke up to find that the rival party packed their shit and left without us AGAIN, so we teleported to Ank'Harel with the tablets and found ourselves overlooking the Suncut Bazaar.
We're in Ank'Harel! On top of a weird inn, looking down at Fishbone Pawn, Luck's Run, etc.
The inn we were on was called First Eclipse, and had a blue Dragonborn barkeep who ABSOLUTELY eavesdropped on us while we talked about needing to find Aloysia. We pissed him off asking questions about her because he Knew Something, (and also Aphrodite dipped her whole face into a gallon of ale? girl,) and he kicked us out.
Delphi cast Locate Object and found Aloysia's fuckass little beret. It was in the wall of the tavern. We waited outside of the tavern for ten (10) minutes and she waltzed out. And we GOT her ass.
Aphrodite cast Hold Person, Delphi tied her up, and we blackmailed her into letting us meet her boss.
Vril, a no-nonsense elf lady in a Carmen Sandiego hat, paid us the rest of our money and then kicked us out because we weren't willing to show her the gem. That we don't have.
We stop by Old Man Cruck's. He is selling pita bread that is tough andchewy. But more importantly, he's illegally pawning magic shit. Bought Marr's medal of the maze, sold Delphi Transmutation Googly Eyes that bring to life anything that she sticks them on.
There's a spa where you can rest for 5g an hour, and we had a nice short rest there. It was strongly implied that a long rest her would give us longterm benefits :eyes:
We buy a room for us and for the Hometown Heroes. Aphrodite buys them all breakfast.
They saw Question and Prolix when they were coming in from being teleported to the Crystal Chateau, and then we all have a Nice Long Rest.
We go to the Crystal Chateau! It's basically a college with teleportation landing pads.
Question is with the Allegiance of Allsight, a group focused on learning as many things as possible. Prolix is with the Cobalt Soul, a group based (and only interested) in Ank'Harel.
Oh, and also the sunken city beneath it: Caelmorrow. The city of Elves and Orcs, in the jungle of Marquette. Hrm.
We try and join the Cobalt Soul; it requires us to follow a suspected Zehir Cultist and find out what he's doing here and why he's been looking around the books in the CB.
Delphi and Aphrodite give chase, with the addition of Saxony. A bedroll Delphi sewed into a man and put the eyes on.
Marr takes her armor off and disappears into the city, hunting down Zehir cultists. She ignores when Aphrodite sends up a firework of her WHOLE FACE AND NAME.
Delphi and Aphrodite figure that Marr's not coming back. So they bust into the Cultist's inn room and Clench Of The North Wind his ass instantly. Aphrodite steals his Staff of the Adder and then they leave him tied up in his room.
We are now on the path: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.
Also Marr stays out all night and when she comes back in the morning, she's Divinely Cursed. Don't even worry about it.