The Quelmar Wiki - User contributions [en]

Wynnipher Winchester

2026-03-29T19:28:39Z

Doublecheese247: /* Mission Name: Screams in the Sewers */

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (DANG),
The Feywild Collective|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=Wynnipher_Winchester_screenshot.png|caption=Wynnipher readying an arrow on her bow|playerName=Connor S / Doublecheese247|relatives=No immediate relatives alive|languages=Common, Elvish, Infernal, Abyssal|alias=Winchester|birthPlace=A village in the Feywild that is no more|species=Eladrin|gender=Female|height=7' 1"|weight=185|eyes=Gold|field1=Character Sheet|value1=https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/162187361}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a Summer Eladrin Monster Slayer ranger whose village in the Feywild was destroyed by demons and is now in Pteris to help remove the demons that threaten the continent.

== Physical Appearance ==
Wynnipher is a tall Summer Eladrin who stands at 7' 1" with a lithe build. She has wavy bleach blonde that is partially braided and goes down to her mid back. Her skin is of a sandy hue from] long stretches of time spent out in the deserts of both the Feywild and Pteris. Her attire is compatible with a desert climate, consisting mainly of lightweight and/or flowing materials in earth tones. Notably, she is never seen without her ring, inscribed with the designs of the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (also known as DANG).

== Personality ==
Wynnipher has an aggressive and gruff nature when interacting with "normal" people. But once she hears about something related to demons and fiends, she becomes focused on figuring out how to eliminate the threat by whatever means necessary. She does not hold many around her in high regards unless they are direct superiors that have proven themselves capable of doing what is necessary to rid the world of demons and other such abominations.

Even though she looks down on most, she still has a soft spot in her heart for those in times of need and will help if able for she was once in that very situation when her mentor picked her up off the ground and took her in.

== History ==

=== The Village: ===
Wynnipher was a bright child growing up. She found endless things that would fascinate and entertain her in the Feywild where she grew up. Her parents were pretty loose with her allowing her to roam outside of the village due to the immediate surroundings of the village being safe with the matriarch of the village having a pact with the local oasis queen. Wynnipher only had to promise to behave, be respectful towards anyone and anything she were to come across, and never venture too far away from the village whenever she wanted to venture outside of the village. Wynnipher always respected those three rules of her parents as she loved her parents too much to do anything that would upset them. She would go out often due to this and play with the local water spirits of the oasis along with some other kids from her village.

As she grew up, she learned more about the Feywild that she grew up in and how it closely mirrored the material plane geographically and that there were portals that allowed members of either plane to travel to another. That is when she was told another absolute rule by her parents, which was to never travel to the material plane as it is a place that is not as nice as the village in the Feywild and the people there are not as nice as the people of the village and the ruling members of the Oasis that they were in alliance with. She would also come to learn more about their village and their relationship with the local Oasis. Even as she grew up, and began to learn many new things regarding where she grew up, she continued to venture outside of the village, as she found it truly freeing to be able to run out and experience the Feywild desert. She would surf the sand waves of the Yellow Ocean of liquid sand. She would gaze into the towering crystal pillars of the nearby Crystal Plane where all of the sand had been turned into glass and crystal due to the intense heat in the area. She would run into the Endless Desert where the sand would actively work against your movement making it difficult to move from the edges.

Wynnipher one day decided to visit said endless desert as she was feeling a bit pent up doing her chores around the village and her parents were starting to nag at her to not go out as often due to her getting more responsibilities. And on this day, she decided to run and run at the edge of the Endless Desert, going nowhere, till her legs gave out on her and she collapsed onto the sand. She laid there that day, on the shores of the Endless Desert staring into the sky of the Feywild wondering about what was on the other shore of the Endless Desert as she had only ever been on this one. After laying down on the shore for a bit, she decided that she should probably head back to the village and resume her chores. However, she would never complete those chores...

=== The Scream: ===
As she was getting back into the village and letting her parents know that she was back and that she would pick up her chores where she left them, there was an alarm that started going off from the center of the village. Wynnipher was only ever told about this alarm, she had never seen or heard it be used before which caused her to stumble over her own feet and fall to the ground. And right as she was getting up, she heard another new sound that she hadn't heard before today, screams. Not the screams of kids playing and having fun, but screams of terror and pain. She glanced at where the scream originated from and saw a towering demon with red skin that caused her to feel heat from just looking at it and blazing red eyes that caused one to feel dread if looked into for too long. The demon was holding a spear that was taller than its body, and on that spear was the head of the matriarch, removed from her body and still dripping blood down the shaft of the spear. The matriarchs face still holding a look of terror from when it was savagely ripped from her body. The demon then lifted the spear and screamed in a language that Wynnipher did not understand, but she could feel her body shiver in the heat of the desert as the grating sounds coming from the demons mouth rattled in through her ears and tore through her mind. And after the scratching sound coming from the demon ended, she could see a multitude of other demons sweeping out from behind the one that killed the matriarch, for the new demons were rushing towards the other nearby villagers. Seeing this, Wynnipher panicked and felt like she was back at the Endless Desert, wanting to move but having the sand keep her from moving from her spot. She wanted to run back to her parents and make sure that they are okay. Before she was able to get up from her spot, she felt something grab the back of her shirt firmly and aggressively pull her back from her current spot. She looked to see what had grabbed her, and found her father standing there with a worried look in his eyes, he seemed to be saying something to her, but she couldn't hear him, the demons language and the sight of the matriarchs head on the spear were still running circles around her mind.

Her father seeing that Wynnipher wasn't responding to his calls, then decides to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder as he then turns to run toward their house. As Wynnipher gets picked up and thrown over her dads shoulder, she finds that her mind snaps back to the present and starts to yell at her dad wondering what is going on, where her mom is, and where he is taking her. Her dad, continues to run trough the village turning through gaps between houses while trying to answer Wynniphers question that come out at the rate of an Arch Mages magic missile. He lets her know that he doesn't know what is going on other than the alarm means that the village is under attack and that the attackers appear to be demons followed by letting her know that her mom is at the house preparing a bag for her so that she can get out of the village along with some other kids and some of the elders that are unable to fight, and that they are running to the house to meet up with her mom before getting Wynnipher out of the village. Wynniphers dad turns a final corner and runs up to the house, using Wynniphers feet to knock open the door and screams into the house asking where Wynniphers mom is. They then hear Wynniphers mom call back that she was in the main bedroom getting everything together and that shell be out in a second. That second feels like an eternity not only to Wynnipher, but to her dad as well.

After her moms joins her and her dad in the main room of the house, she shoves a overpacked backpack into Wynniphers arms and tells her to put it on before handing her father a bow and quiver full of arrows along with a shortsword. Wynnipher questions what is in the bag and why its so heavy and her mom quickly answers that it has food and water for several days worth of travel, clothes, a rolled up tent, other miscellaneous gear, and most importantly, a shortsword that she is not to get out unless necessary and to only use it in self defense. It is at that point that she looks back to her mom realizes that she is currently half-plate armor and has a large sword strapped to her back. Her mom then explains that the plan in this situation is that a small group of adults is to lead the kids and elders out of the village and head toward the Endless Desert and then use the secret method to briefly reverse the sand movement for the group before reverting it to prevent any enemies of the village to follow before returning if possible to the village to help defeat the demon invasion.

And as her mom said, the plan that was made in case of scenarios like this started to come into effect. At the border of the village, there was a gathering of kids and elderly along with some armed adults. Wynnipher was forced to join the group by her parents. Her parents briefly stayed with her while telling her to listen to the adults in the group and follow their orders. Wynnipher at this point was back in a state of shock as her village had large plumes of smoke rising from it due to the damage caused by the demon attack. There were also sounds of fighting going on inside the village along with the occasional scream of pain. Her parents noticing this, tried to calm her down saying things along the line of "its going to be okay...", "we will send the demons back before coming to get you..." and most importantly "We love you Wynn." while giving her hugs and kissing her head. After a little bit longer, the adults decided that it was best to send the group away before the demons get to this side of town. And so with that, Wynniphers parents say a tearful goodbye / see you later before looking at each other, nodding, and turning back towards the village where they would go and help fight off the demons. Wynnipher, still distraught by what was happening, stared at her parents backs as they ran back to town that was on fire and engulfed in smoke, quietly telling them to come back and stay with her. A lot of the kids around her were screaming, crying, or in various states of shock/panic just like her while the elders and adults in the group worked to get the kids moving towards the Endless Desert.

=== The Escape: ===
The escape group led by two adults from the village was able to lead the group of elders and kids to the Endless Desert where Wynnipher was not 4 hours ago. One of them then pulled out a token that appeared to be made of solid water, but not ice, that was given to the matriarch from the Oasis. They then pressed a floating rune on the solid water that caused it to fall out of its structure and onto the shore of the Endless Ocean before forming up into a large disc of water that stabilized the sand. This would allow them to actually traverse the Endless Ocean as long as they stayed in the area affected by the water. With that, everybody in the group got into the area affected by the water and the adult that had control over the water commanded it to move forward along with the group. Wynnipher absentmindedly trudged along with the group while staring down at her feet, not realizing that she was actually traveling through the Endless Desert. She did this until she bumped into the person in front of her which caused her to fall onto her butt due to the weight of the backpack that she still had with her. She looked up to see an adult standing there and looking towards the direction of the village. Following their line of sight, Wynnipher looks in the direction of the village as well and what she sees terrifies her, for what she saw will live in her mind forever. She saw the landscape of the desert being changed before her eyes as a large ball of fire grew on the horizon, climbing higher into the sky until it billowed out forming a massive cloud of sand and smoke in the shape of a mushroom. Seeing this, tears would have continued rolling down her face if she was able to cry anymore, but she was out of tears, and out of time, as centering from the large remnant explosion cloud came a fast moving wave of compressed air that travelled from the village to the Endless Desert in no time at all. The group was hit with by the wave and everybody was thrown into the surrounding Endless Desert with everybody being thrown around in different directions. By a matter of luck, Wynnipher ended up landing in the same area that the adult who controlled the water landed. She was also saved from the brunt of the impact as she landed on her butt. After making sure that she was okay, Wynnipher then looked around at the other members of the group, hoping to see that everybody was okay and together. That was not the case; for not too far away from her, another kid from the village, one that she would frequently play with in the outskirts of the village was lying there with no life left in their eyes as they had landed on the ground head first. Similarly, a lot of the elderly members of the group had their bones broken just due to the impact from the wind wall, combining that with the rough landings they experienced, not many of them lived. The adults that were escorting them started gathering what survivors there were left before continuing to painfully move through the Endless Desert to their goal. It was then explained to the group that the goal is to reach the center of the Endless Desert which is rumored to hold a portal between the Feywild and the Material Plane and that the only way to reach the center from the shores of the desert is by flying or by using some other method to prevent the sand from keeping you out, which is where the water disc from the Oasis comes into play. After traveling for a bit more, they end up reaching the center where on the ground, on could see an unending amount of sand being pushed out of a circle and flowed out towards the boundaries of the Endless Desert. This circle where the sand of the desert was being pushed out of was the portal to the material plane, one just had to jump/drop into the circle to move between the Planes. And so, with guidance and encouragement from the adults escorting the group, the kids jumped in first with Wynnipher being part of that group.

=== The Material Plane: ===
Shifting forward through time a bit, we find Wynnipher in a town in the material plane doing some light work to earn some coin to help support herself and the group she came here with. That group consisting of other kids, the two adults, and a couple elders from the Feywild village. It has been a year since they crossed over from the Feywild and escaped the damning event that occurred at their village. The adults had agreed that it was best for the group to continue traveling together as there is strength in numbers. Everybody in the group has given up hope that there are any other survivors from their village in the Feywild after the massive explosion they saw, so they moved forward, or at least physically did so. Mentally, Wynnipher and other children are still in the Endless Desert staring at the large mushroom cloud that came from the explosion in the village, stuck in the sand, unable to run away or move. And like that, time went by as the members of the group started working at various spots in the town of Caftans Ridge to try and make ends meet. But little did the group know, they weren't out of the woods yet, for their fears followed them.

One dreary morning following another sleepless night, Wynnipher was cooped up in the stable of a local tavern, The 3 Legged Dragon, helping take care of some horses that customers have put there. Wynnipher has been helping take care of the stables for a couple of months now, the tavern owners are nice enough and they pay her for her help around the stables and the tavern if needed. Wynnipher has also come to know some of the horses that have been put there as they have been there a while due to their owners having extended their stays due to whatever business they have in the town. She had come to know that most of the horses were pretty smart as they recognized her as their caretaker while they were here, and they knew how to relay the simple needs that they wanted, whether that was being brushed, being fed, taken for a small walk out of the stables, or whatever basic needs it was they wanted/needed. And this morning that she was working, she saw the horses acting strange, at least stranger than she had ever seen. They were neighing to each other in a quick and quiet manner, jostling against each other while trying to get out of the stables. But she recognized this emotion that was being shared by the horses, for it was the same emotion that she had been experiencing every time she closed her eyes, fear. She didn't know what the horses were so afraid of this morning, but their fear soon got picked up by her and she started to look around in a panic, wondering where the source of the fear was coming from. She looked up and saw a flow of birds suddenly take flight in a panic as they flew from the town as well. And in the next moment, she felt it, the inescapable heat that she felt when she gazed at the demon that killed the matriarch of the village, and in that moment, she understood, her past has chased her here.

Bells started ringing and people started running and screaming to their houses and to the taverns, towards wherever they were staying as they wanted, no, needed to escape the attack from the demons. Wynnipher stayed in the stables with the horses, not because she didn't know where to go, but because she couldn't make herself move. And what came next shook her to her core. A demon was blasted through the tavern wall that faced the stables, it had multiple arrows sticking out of it along with multiple wounds scattered along its body. Following that, a group of 4 people came out of the hole that the demon had created, and started circling around the demon, making sure it had nowhere to go. And, without a word, they all resumed fighting the demon, creating openings for each other and covering each other when the demon went on the offensive. It was a masterclass of teamwork that she was witnessing and her eyes sparkled with emotions that was long lost to her, hope, admiration, and one emotion that wasn't entirely new, but was surprising in the moment, anger. She could feel her body trembling with a long pent up rage that was directed at the demon that was being systematically taken care of by the four adventurers who had made sure that the fight between them and the demon didn't escape the stable grounds. And then she saw it, the demon took one last arrow to the chest, but this one was a better shot than the previous ones as it zipped right into the demons heart, piercing it and ending the demons life. The demon fell over onto the ground, dead, but it wouldn't remain there alone, as out from the stables Wynnipher ran at the demon screaming in pure rage at it before she leaped onto the back of the dead demon and started raining fists upon it. The adventurers were stunned, they knew that Wynnipher was in the stable with the horses, as they were their horses she was taking care of, but they never would have expected the timid and quiet girl who took care of the horses to have such an anger and rage about her for she almost looked like a barbarian in her current state. It took them a second to recover from the shock, but then they came together and helped pull off the now crying and screaming Wynnipher who was still swinging her arms and kicking her legs trying to get free so that she could hit the dead demon some more. She didn't even care that her hands were in pain from punching the demon, nor that she had small burns along her body from being on top of the dead demons body. As they carried her away while trying to calm her down, her screams and cries never slowed down, nor did her arms and legs stop thrashing about. And so, in the interest of her not hurting herself further, one of the party members knocked her out with a quick chop to the back of the neck.

=== Arthur: ===
Wynnipher woke up later that day in a room on the second floor of the tavern, she found herself tucked into a bed with the faint smell of a burnt incense still hanging in the air. She shifted her position on the bed so that she could take a better look around the room. As she was doing so, she noticed that her hands were wrapped in bandages along with parts of her legs and chest. It was then that she woke up enough to feel the aches and pain radiating from those spots where she has bandages. With the pain, the memories of what happened came rushing back as well, memories of her hiding in the stable with the horses, watching the demon get killed by the adventurers, and then everything turning red when she jumped on top of the dead demon and started raining blows on its corpse as she cried and screamed before being picked up by the adventurers and taken away from the corpse. Remembering that last bit, she then looked around the room and finally saw one of the adventurers sitting in the corner reading a note. The adventurer was an old man for all she could tell. He had deep piercing black eyes, a nose that looks like it was broken multiple times and was never healed properly, cracked lips from the desert heat and limited amounts of water, and a stubbled white beard and mustache adorning his tanned face. Noticing Wynnipher getting up and looking at him, he greets her, letting her know that she is safe while she is in this room before rolling the scroll back up and tying it up. He then thanks Wynnipher for taking care of his groups horses while they stayed here and that the horses are gonna miss her when they leave town in a couple days. The man then introduces himself as Arthur before telling her that she is free to stay here as long as she likes while him and his group are still in town, after that, he gets up and goes out of the room, closing the door behind him, before heading downstairs to presumably meet up with his group.

Wynnipher stays in the bed for a bit before getting up and wandering the room that she found herself in. She found it odd that Arthur left her here in his room unsupervised, but then again, remembering how he and his team fought the demon, she was pretty confident that they could easily take care of her as well if needed. Looking around the room, it was pretty baren and familiar as she has helped clean up the tavern rooms that are for rent before. There was a window with curtains opposite the wall with the door, a bed on the one side with a trunk at the foot of the bed. A desk and chair are along the other wall along with a standing wardrobe for customers to store their clothes and anything else that might not fit in the trunk. While looking around the room, she noticed the note that Arthur had tied up and left on the desk. Seeing this, she could feel her curiosity getting the better of her, drawing her hand towards the small rolled up note. Finally, after contemplating it some more, she decided to grab it, she quickly undid the knot and opened the note up. On the note it read <blockquote>''"I feel for you kid, I see your pain and it resonates with me for I once held the same pain in my heart. My partners and I will be out of town for the next couple of days. We will be returning briefly to wrap up our business in this town before moving on to the next. If you are still around when we get back in, come find me. ~ That's Cool, '''A'''"'' </blockquote>Wynnipher then puts the note down and feels her gaze drawn out the window, there, on the streets outside the tavern, she sees Arthur and his group on their horses riding towards the one town exit. As if he knew she had just read the note, he turns around and looks at the room she is in, a small smile appears on his face, gives her a small wave, and then turns back around to continue riding out of town. Wynnipher continues to stare out the window in the direction they went until they are out of site. Once they are out of site, she then looks around the room once more before picking up the note that he left her and then leaves the room to find Brost the tavern keeper to let him know that she is taking the day off due to her injuries from the encounter with the demon. Before she is able to leave the tavern, Brost calls out for her to take a seat then and stay for a bite to eat. Wynnipher does just that, she goes and finds an empty seat at the bar, not that there are many taken at the moment, and she waits for Brost to come back out front. After a minute or two, Brost comes back out of the kitchen area with a plate of steaming scrambled eggs along with some fried bacon. He slides it on over to Wynnipher before grabbing her a glass of milk. After doing that the two exchange in some small talk while Wynnipher eats the food given to her. Brost then says he's sorry that she got hurt in the attack yesterday unaware that Wynnipher gave the injuries to herself when she attacked the dead demon. She quietly nods her head in acknowledgement before slightly digging her nails into the bar table in a bit of embarrassment and frustration. After finishing the plate of food that Brost gave her, she gets up and quietly nods a goodbye to Brost before leaving the tavern clutching at the note and thinking back to the group killing the demon.

A couple days pass for Wynnipher as she keeps absentmindedly going through the stables of the Three Legged Dragon and cleaning them up so that they are ready for the next batch of customers to drop their horses off. Every so often she will walk out in front of the tavern and look down the road that Arthur and his group left on, deep down, hoping that they come back, but afraid of if they don't. After checking the roads and seeing nothing, she heads back to the stables, her head down looking at the ground, just wondering if the old man will make it back. She gets back to the stables and continues her duties as day turns to dusk. She goes and tells Brost that she is leaving as there aren't any horses in the stables right now and that they are clean for the next group. Brost bids her a good evening after handing her the money she earned for the work she did today. The money isn't too much, but Wynnipher has been saving up her money so that she could buy a bow that she saw in a display window at the Ravens Wing, the towns hunting supplies store. And with the money she acquired from working for Brost, she should be able to afford the bow, however, she still needs to buy food and other necessities for the Feywild Collective as they have taken to calling themselves. The Feywild Collective being the members who were able to escape from the Feywild with Wynnipher. And so, Wynnipher continues walking through the town to the local butcher and some farm stands to buy some meat and vegetables for her group so that they at least have something to eat. Wynnipher eventually makes it back to the Collective and drops off the food she picked up by the cooking pots and then goes to lie down for the evening. As she's laying on the ground, she once again pulls out that note, wondering what Arthur wants to talk to her about if/when he gets back.

=== The Offer: ===
The following day, Wynnipher makes her way to the Three Legged Dragon and lets Brost know that she is heading back to the stables to take care of the horses that people have taken back before she arrived, and with that, she goes about her normal duties, tending to the horses and the stable grounds. With the day going by, and her still not seeing or hearing anything about Arthur and his group, she gets her days pay from Brost and heads down to Ravens Wing to see if the display bow is still there. She sees the owner of Ravens Wing out front, cleaning the display window where the bow would normally be, and she soon comes to find that the reason the owner is cleaning the window is because he has a new display piece and that the bow was sold earlier that day. Wynnipher, emotionally shaken by the news nods her head in farewell to the owner and leaves the shop before heading back to the residence of the Feywild Collective with her head towards the ground and her feet slightly dragging as she walks. She eventually makes it back to the building where the collective is staying and oddly finds some horses tied to a post out front. Not giving it too much thought, she heads in and goes to greet everybody but stops when she hears a familiar gruff voice in the next room talking to the members of the Collective. Her ears perk up when she hears the voice and she looks outside at the horses and recognizes them as well. Putting 2 and 2 together, she knows that its Arthur and his group visiting the Collective. But then she wonders why they are here, for they shouldn't have any reason to be here. Wondering why they are here, she sneaks up to the room entrance and hides on the other side of the door, listening into their conversation.

She listens into the conversation and learns that Arthur and his companions are what could be considered mercenary adventurers who go around the continent of Pteris working for those who have gold to spare and things that need done. Arthur then lets the elders of the Collective know that should they require any assistance with their future plans of relocation, that Arthur and his group could help relocate them safely for a small fee. Arthur then also lets them know that the offer isn't the main reason they are here. At that, Wynniphers ears perk up even more wondering what the real reason they are here is. Arthur further explains that he understands that they were refugees from the Feywild due to a demon attack and that he is sorry for their losses. He also explains that he understand that people go the grief in different ways before mentioning that Wynnipher herself still caries a lot of grief and anger with her even though she holds it well. He explains what happened the day that Caftans Ridge was attacked by a demon and how Wynnipher lost herself to the rage and sadness that she holds; hearing this, Wynnipher blushes a little in embarrassment briefly remembering her actions that day. Following his explanation, he brings up his reason for being here, he would like to take Wynnipher under his wing and have her become an apprentice member of their organization. Wynnipher hearing this is absolutely shocked and her mind starts racing faster than it ever, her eyes darting to look around the room she is in questioning why it suddenly felt like a new space. The elders of the Collective start to murmur to each other hearing Arthurs proposition. The leader of the collective then sighs and looks back at Arthur and responds by saying that it would be unfair to further discuss this without Wynnipher here, and as if knowing that she had been listening in the entire time, the elder gets up and walks over to the door that Wynnipher was listening in from and opens it up. Wynnipher surprised that the elder knew she was there, falls on her face as the elder opened the door. Wynnipher is then given a light scolding from the elder about listening in to private conversations, but is then given a pass since she is the subject of said conversation. The elder then invites her into the room and offers her a chair at the table and asks Wynnipher if she has any questions for Arthur since she has already heard what that the offer was for him to take her under his wing and for her to become an apprentice adventurer. Wynnipher, still stunned by what is going on is slow to respond as she opens and closes her mouth as if she has something she wants to ask but is unsure of what words to use. Everybody sees that Wynnipher is a bit in shock with what is going on and so Arthur tells her that its alright and that no questions are off the table, to feel free to ask him or his companions anything.

After thinking it over a bit, Wynnipher starts firing some questions off rapidly about what they do, who they are, where would they be going, why her, what about the members of the Collective, what would she be doing, why her, why her, why her, when would they leave, would she be able to come back, would she get paid as if this is a job, does she need anything before hand, is it binding, and many other questions that were bouncing around her mind while she was secretly listening into the conversation earlier. Arthur, his companions, and the elders at the table all chuckle seeing her questions. The main elder then stops her before she passes out from asking so many questions and motions to Arthur to further explain and possibly answer what this offer of his would entail. The elder then gives Wynnipher a cup of water before telling her to just drink and listen with as calm of a mind as she can manage for this may be a great opportunity for her. And so with that, Arthur then goes further into detail about who him and his companions are, who they work for, the kinds of jobs they take, where they have been and where they plan to go, along with many other details with Wynnipher taking it all in. After a while Wynnipher told Arthur that she would let him know after she talked to the members of the Collective as currently she was one of the main members that brought in money for them to survive. Arthur told her to take her time, but not too much, as their group will be leaving the following evening; and once she came to a decision, she would know where to find them. With that, Arthur and his group left the building that housed the Feywild Collective and went back to the Three Legged Dragon where Brost had kept their rooms for them.

That night and into the following day, Wynnipher contemplated the decision before her that Arthur has offered. It was an offer of potential great fortune but great danger and peril as well as some of the missions Arthur and his group took up were monster hunting missions that would place them in immediate danger. Wynnipher had some thoughts after hearing Arthurs in detail explanation and shared those with the leaders of the Collective as she would need their approval if she was to join Arthur due to her being one of their main areas of income at the moment. After a night of talking, they came to a decision to allow Wynnipher to join Arthur is she so chooses on a couple conditions, she writes back to them with monthly or bi-monthly updates, she sends some coin if able or unless noted otherwise in a response letter, she introduces Brost to one of the other kids in the Collective so that they can take her job at the tavern as a stable hand, and most importantly, to be safe and happy with her decision as while her direct parents are gone, the Collective is still her family and family looks out for each other. Before even hearing their response, she had silently determined that she was going to accept Arthurs deal, and now with hearing the decision of the elders, a small smile lit her face and her eyes sparkled as she started to thank them profusely before giving them all hugs and promises to adhere to their conditions. She then gathered some of the kids who she thought would be a good replacement for her at the tavern as a stable hand. After getting them together, she took them back to the tavern which was still open and introduced them to Brost as possible replacements for her as she was going to be leaving town to become an Adventurer! She then went into the tavern and found Arthur and his companions having a meal and drinking. Her brightly shining eyes connected with Arthurs dark eyes and he smiled, beckoning her over to join them. Wynnipher went on over and told them that the Collective was okay with her joining them and that she was ready to become an adventurer. Arthur jokingly scoffed at her after looking her up and down and mentioning that she sure doesn't look like she's ready as she doesn't have any adventuring gear! Hearing this, Wynnipher blushed a little in embarrassment and looked down stating that she didn't have time to prepare anything yet. But then the group laughs at her embarrassment and lets her know that they were joking before telling her that they prepared a little welcoming gift for her. Arthur then pulled a long item that was wrapped in a blanket before sliding it over to her and nodding for her to open it. Without waiting, she removed the blanket and was surprised to find the display bow from Ravens Wing along with a small quiver of arrows and some fingerless adventuring gloves. Wynnipher was floored, as just earlier that day, she was disappointed to see that someone had bought the bow she had been saving up for and so, without warning, she started to happily cry a little before jumping into Arthurs arms and giving him a big hug. Arthur then explains to her that when they had returned to town, he noticed her stopping at Ravens Wing and staring at the display bow with unfettered determination to have that bow. Wynnipher hearing this, chuckled and shyly asked if it was that obvious she had wanted the bow. The group then laughed in response at her remark. That night was Wynniphers happiest day in a while and would continue to be her happiest day for a long time to come.

=== DANG: ===
After Wynnipher joined Arthur and his group as Arthurs apprentice adventurer, they left the town of Caftans Ridge by horseback and rode North, Arthur not saying where they were going next. And then time passed for Wynnipher as she joined the group and helped in missions, slowly, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year becoming a proper adventurer. During that time, Arthur explained and initiated Wynnipher into the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild also known as DANG. They were not a very well know guild, but their group operated under a small list of guidelines which was to A) Neutralize any demonic abominations that threaten the current peace of Pteris, B) Help those in need of helping if able, C) Care for ones own brothers and sisters, and D) Never trust anybody or anything from the Outer Planes. Wynnipher eventually became a fully fledged member of DANG after leading her own demon hunting mission where Arthur and his group followed her lead for the mission. The mission went well and the demonic appearance was taken care of with nothing major going wrong. Time continued to pass and eventually, Arthurs group disbanded when Arthur retired from being an active mission leader for DANG due to receiving a near fatal wound in a botched mission. With their group in DANG being disbanded, each member decided to go and form their own group through other members of DANG or by recruiting new members into the guild. Wynnipher however went a different path, she had heard tell of a settlement out in the western regions of Pteris where there was a coalition of unlikely partners working together to fight against the demonic invasion into the Badlands. And so, with that, she traveled there, planning to join their ranks in the fight to stop the demonic incursions.

== Mission Log ==

=== Mission Name: Stop the Swarming Demons ===
'''Mission Brief:''' '''''Reports of demon attacks have been increasing of late. Traders shakingly tell of having to abandon their goods to escape the clouds of flying demons that swarm parts of the trade routes. They tell how those attacked and bitten turn into demons. These swarms must be coming from somewhere and the Arboretum wants to send a group to investigate.'''''

I arrived at the Arboretum and has been wandering around and getting a lay of the land, for I plan to stay here till the demon incursions have been stopped. I learn that the group defending the Arboretum and using it as a base camp is actually comprised of three different groups who came together to defend shared interests. The groups in the alliance are The Shepherds, The Federation, and the Scrappers. The Scrappers are being lead by the Cambion devil, Raegina, and that her group consists of hell-touched, undead, and other similar vagabonds. I am not a fan of knowing that there is a devil leading one of the groups in the alliance. But, I am going to have to come to terms that I will be taking missions that might be helping said devil and knowing that devils are still better than demons. The Federation is led by a reclusive man by the name of Hektor. He and his group run businesses that deal with peoples want for recreation and excess. I learn that they are in charge of the tavern, the gambling circle, and the fighting ring. The Shepherds are an interesting group, ruled by Duke Solon and led by Vettik Herbert. They typically specialize in agriculture and trade while helping maintain the lives of those who live in the northern/central areas of the Badlands. Overall, the Shepherds and the Federation come across better to me due to not being led by a devil, but I am not so sure that everything is as they say.

I was lounging around the central area of the Arboretum people watching before her gaze landed on another newly arrived person. I studied the person for a while as they were just standing out in the open sun, unmoving, wondering if the person standing there is even alive as they haven't moved for a while. While studying the person standing there, the calm and peaceful atmosphere of the area is broken when a person comes running into the central area screaming their head off until literally, their head detaches from their body, grows wings from where their ears were, and begins to fly away continuing to scream. Seeing this, I am shocked as I have never seen this kind of demon before. The flying head is quickly taken care of by the ones chasing after the now headless corpse in the central area. The people from the group then start talking to one another wondering where all of the flying head demons are coming from and if somebody is going to do something about it as they are swarming the trade routes that were said to be safe. A member in garments representing the Shepherds approaches them and informs the group that a job posting will be made to clean up the trade route and the demon swarms.

As the Shepherd member is making the job posting, a group of adventurers approach the person and inform them that they were all willing to take care of the swarming demon issues. Wynnipher wanting to help in taking care of these demon swarms decides to join the group signing up for the mission. After signing up for the mission, the group, consisting of [[Ichake Asaku|Ichake]], [[Patches Vanderburg|Patches]], and [[Avel]] huddle up and decide that they are going to skip renting horses due to low funds of some members. After making sure they had enough rations and supplies for the trip, they left the Arboretum.

Travel to the location where swarms of demons were being reported were pretty uneventful. Wynnipher noticed that Avel was struggling on the first days travel, but after some help from the rest of the group, he was fine traveling for the other days. During our travel out, Avel tells us some stories, Ichake points out some constellations in the night sky, and I forage for food and water in the surrounding areas. During our fourth day of travel, I can start to sense the demons before we see or hear them due to the mystical senses I have developed towards hunting demons and other such monsters. As our group gets closer, we start to see some dark clouds moving through the air, but they aren't clouds, they are swarms of small demons; and they appear to be chasing a halfling who is riding a dustrunner our direction while screaming his head off. Seeing that the halfling is in need of help and is already riding towards us, our group springs into action to fight against the two swarms of tiny demon heads. We successfully defeat the two swarms of demons, with the swarms dissipating into a black mist. But, our group did not escape unscathed; Avel was bitten by one of the swarms and resulting in him getting cursed. Seeing this, and remembering what happened in the Arboretum a couple of days ago, I keep an eye on him so that I can take him down before he fully turns into a demon. We then approach the still panicking Halfling and Ichake goes to calm them down. The Halfling introduces themself as Ryzen and then explains to us how the demon curse works, stating that once one gets cursed, their facial features start becoming demonic, their ears start elongating, before finally, the head detaches itself from the body of the host and becomes a Vargouille. The group hearing this explanation then looks towards the dustrunner and Ryzen inspecting them for signs of becoming Vargouille. They both show signs of being cursed. We then ask Ryzen about someone who could help remove the curse and they explain that there is a Tortle named Yuru hiding out in a small grove of cactus and other desert fauna above a bluff. Avel hearing that Yuru should be able to help them recognizes the name as he has interacted with her previously with some other members from the Arboretum. We then decide that it is best to travel towards Yuru's location so that Avel and Ryzen could get healed. As Ryzen is getting back on their dustrunner, the dustrunner bucks them off before starting to scream while their ears turn into wings and the head detaches itself. Quickly responding, Patches grabs the head so that it cant fly away while Avel swings at it and I shoot at it taking it down. After recovering from that, we start making our way towards the bluff that Ryzen mentioned.
[[File:Image 2026-03-18 122944306.png|thumb|Ruin Demon Swarm escaping from a corpse. ]]
As we approach the bluff, Avel remarks that he has been here previously on a mission where the group he was a part of took down a corrupted owlbear along with some of the Vargouilles. Approaching the bluff, we see the owlbear corpse on the ground along with several other corpses of horses and a camel. There is also the campfire that Avels group had used previously. Getting an uneasy feeling about the area, we try to sneak around the side towards the bluff face as the corpses are sitting right between us and the bluff face. This however doesn't go well and our group makes too much noise causing our suspicions to become reality as the owlbear corpse starts to vibrate before a large swarm of demons escapes the corpse. We quickly start to fight the demon swarm that I learn to be a Ruin Demon. Recalling what I have heard about Ruin Demons, I remember that they are resistant to most elemental damage along with non-magical damage and I share this with the group before separating and casting Magic Weapon on my longbow. As we fight the Ruin Demon, the varying corpses around us start releasing more parts of the Ruin Demon that fly back to it allowing it to shrug off some of our attacks. Seeing this, I use my Fey Step ability to teleport next to the corpses and have them go up in flames while still fighting the Ruin Demon to prevent the small swarms from rejoining the main swarm. Some Vargouille also fly from somewhere in the bluff and join the battle. Our group eventually gets the upper hand on the Ruin Demon and vanquish it along with the rest of the Vargouilles. We then spend some time healing from the battle as during the fight, Ichake went down due to attacks from the Ruin Demon and Vargouille. I help heal Patches as he tanked a lot of the damage from the Ruin Demon. Following our group healing up, we look around to see where Ryzen went during the fight and find that his body was laying out in the desert without a head and an understanding falls on the group that one of the Vargouille we killed was Ryzen's former head.

Our group then heads towards the bluff and climbs up the face of it to search for the patch of desert fauna that Ryzen stated Yuru the desert Tortle was camping in. We quickly find the patch of fauna and make our way towards the center where we find a tent set up and a Tortle foraging some plants from the area. Avel leads the group toward Yuru before he calls out to Yuru letting her know that we were there. Yuru then greets us before Avel explains that they recently fought some Vargouille and he got cursed by one of them and asks if she could cure him. Yuru approaches Avel and inspects him, with a soft glow escaping her palm and enveloping Avel. She confirms that he is indeed cursed and agrees to help remove the curse. She then pulls out some powder of some kind and takes a sniff of it, seemingly getting a magical high from it, before moving back to Avel and casting a spell to remove the curse from his body. Yuru almost falls over after casting the spell as it appeared to take a small tole on her to cast it. Avel then brings up the powder that Yuru used before curing him and Yuru appears startled that he recognizes it as it is one of the Shepherds secrets. She then asks for our groups silence before discussing the substance. I guess she did not trust the look on my face as she kindly asked me to step out of her tent while they discuss the substance. After Yuru, Avel, Patches, and Ichake finish discussing the substance, I am invited back into the tent for some prickly pear juice. Yuru then informs our group that she is planning to depart from this area soon, but we are more then welcome to use the area as a camp for the night before travelling back to the Arboretum. I am able to forage some food and water from the local fauna patch before we rest for the night.

The following morning, we head back to the bluff face and hear the sound of flapping wings nearby and we see that there are three more Vargouille flying in amongst the remains of corpses below the bluff. Seeing this and wondering where they came from for them to appear in the area along with remembering that some flew from the bluff face the previous day during our fight with the Ruin Demon, we quickly take care of them before they can respond. We then investigate the bluff face and eventually find that there is a loose section of the bluff face that is able to be pushed in. After the section of the bluff falls in, we find that it leads to a small open area inside the bluff and that there is a statue with a demonic head along with a magic circle on the ground that is glowing with a purple light. The statue has a amulet around its neck. Ichake picks up the amulet and we agree that the best path forward would be to destroy the magic circle and statue as we believe that this was what was summoning the Vargouille and demon swarms. Patches smashes the statue and when it falls apart, some viscera comes out if the statue. Patches continues to smash the statue until the viscera stops squirming. Looking around the ritual room, we find that there is a section of wall that has runes on it in Sylvan. Avel reads the rooms and finds that it is a riddle with the answer to the riddle being a coin. Once Avel says "coin" the part of the wall with the Sylvan runes rumbles before moving into the ceiling revealing a door that leads to another room inside the bluff. This room is full of alchemical equipment on several tables along with enough space in the center of the room for an owlbear corpse to reside. Finding that there is nothing in this room to take other than some junk, we quickly pack up our stuff and start our return trip to the Arboretum. We travel back to the Arboretum with nothing of notice occurring during our days of walking. When we arrive back at the Arboretum, we find the Shepherd agent and inform him that we took care of the demon swarms along with the source summoning them and show him the amulet that Ichake picked up. He then pays us each our wage for taking the mission before we split up and go our own ways now that we are back in the Arboretum.

=== Mission Name: Screams in the Sewers ===
'''Mission Brief:''' '''''Strange sounds are coming from the sewers beneath the port city of Arrafell. The Duke is worried that the elusive moss demon that had escaped from the storage warehouse has been letting demons into the sewers. He is asking for a group of adventurers to find it, kill it, and clear out any other demons they come across.'''''

I was wandering the Arboretum grounds looking for something to do after recovering from my previous mission. As I was walking around, I noticed that there was another mission posting listed. This one was also from the Shepherds and also directly from Duke Solon himself as he was listing that previous missions reported the sighting of a moss demon that would form doors to summon other demons fleeing into the sewers of Arrafell. Seeing that the mission is once more related to eliminating demons, I put my name down as a volunteer for the mission. Afterwards, I went and purchased some additional bundles of rope while also trading in my leather armor for some studded leather armor as it should give me some slightly better survivability.

The departure day for those taking part in the Arrafell mission soon comes around and I meet up with the rest of the group. Those that signed up for the mission included myself, [[Patches Vanderburg|Patches]] and his doll, Dallas the Mousefolk, a little goblin fella named Razadrog Eyepoker, Grymos the Duegar , and the Tiefling [[Ozmir Nightshade|Ozmir]]. We all join the caravan and start our 3 week travel to Arrafell. Nothing much happens on the trip to Arrafell. I pass the time reminiscing on the desert areas surrounding the Feywild village I grew up in and telling stories from the Feywild to my travelling companions. On the way out there, I learn that my companions have some interesting missions/personal objectives. Ozmir has a mission from Raegina where she needs to bring back some demon heads or something like that, Razadrog just likes to take the eyes of those he kills, and Grymos just likes to take the skulls of those he kills. Grymos ends up sleeping most of the way there while Patches is showing everybody his doll.

After a while, we can eventually see Arrafell making its presence known over the horizon.

== Languages ==
Wynnipher knows how to speak and read Common, Elvish, Infernal, and Abyssal. She took up learning how to speak Infernal and Abyssal to help with understanding those that she hunts.

== Powers and Abilities ==
Wynnipher developed herself as a Monster Slayer within DANG.

She has become an excellent tracker of fiends, being able to focus in on them with a strong desire to exterminate them. Alongside fiends, she is able to magically enhance her senses to determine if any aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, or undead are present within the local area.

With Wynnipher growing up in the deserts of the Feywild, she finds herself able more easily track creatures, navigate, and generally survive in the deserts of the material plane.

Being developed as a Monster Slayer, Wynnipher has learned some magic to help herself and her partners when hunting.

More specifically, when hunting enemies, she is able to boost her damage to targets through both skills as a Monster Slayer and through some magic that she has learned.

But that is not all she can do, naturally as an Eladrin, Wynnipher can change the season that she is in tune with; she can see in the dark as if it were dim light; she is resistant against being charmed; and can teleport in a similar fashion to the spell Misty Step; Wynnipher also doe not need to sleep and cannot be put to sleep.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
For ranged targets, Wynnipher uses her longbow to target them, and if they get in close, she uses her shortswords, one of which is the one that her parents give her

== Useful Links: ==
[[Bedlam in the Badlands/Player Resources]]

[[Bedlam in the Badlands/The Arboretum Marketplace]]

[[Bedlam in the Badlands/The Story So Far]]

[[Pteris]]

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Wynnipher Winchester

2026-03-25T19:20:06Z

Doublecheese247: /* Mission Name: Screams in the Sweres */

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (DANG),
The Feywild Collective|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=Wynnipher_Winchester_screenshot.png|caption=Wynnipher readying an arrow on her bow|playerName=Connor S / Doublecheese247|relatives=No immediate relatives alive|languages=Common, Elvish, Infernal, Abyssal|alias=Winchester|birthPlace=A village in the Feywild that is no more|species=Eladrin|gender=Female|height=7' 1"|weight=185|eyes=Gold|field1=Character Sheet|value1=https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/162187361}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a Summer Eladrin Monster Slayer ranger whose village in the Feywild was destroyed by demons and is now in Pteris to help remove the demons that threaten the continent.

== Physical Appearance ==
Wynnipher is a tall Summer Eladrin who stands at 7' 1" with a lithe build. She has wavy bleach blonde that is partially braided and goes down to her mid back. Her skin is of a sandy hue from] long stretches of time spent out in the deserts of both the Feywild and Pteris. Her attire is compatible with a desert climate, consisting mainly of lightweight and/or flowing materials in earth tones. Notably, she is never seen without her ring, inscribed with the designs of the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (also known as DANG).

== Personality ==
Wynnipher has an aggressive and gruff nature when interacting with "normal" people. But once she hears about something related to demons and fiends, she becomes focused on figuring out how to eliminate the threat by whatever means necessary. She does not hold many around her in high regards unless they are direct superiors that have proven themselves capable of doing what is necessary to rid the world of demons and other such abominations.

Even though she looks down on most, she still has a soft spot in her heart for those in times of need and will help if able for she was once in that very situation when her mentor picked her up off the ground and took her in.

== History ==

=== The Village: ===
Wynnipher was a bright child growing up. She found endless things that would fascinate and entertain her in the Feywild where she grew up. Her parents were pretty loose with her allowing her to roam outside of the village due to the immediate surroundings of the village being safe with the matriarch of the village having a pact with the local oasis queen. Wynnipher only had to promise to behave, be respectful towards anyone and anything she were to come across, and never venture too far away from the village whenever she wanted to venture outside of the village. Wynnipher always respected those three rules of her parents as she loved her parents too much to do anything that would upset them. She would go out often due to this and play with the local water spirits of the oasis along with some other kids from her village.

As she grew up, she learned more about the Feywild that she grew up in and how it closely mirrored the material plane geographically and that there were portals that allowed members of either plane to travel to another. That is when she was told another absolute rule by her parents, which was to never travel to the material plane as it is a place that is not as nice as the village in the Feywild and the people there are not as nice as the people of the village and the ruling members of the Oasis that they were in alliance with. She would also come to learn more about their village and their relationship with the local Oasis. Even as she grew up, and began to learn many new things regarding where she grew up, she continued to venture outside of the village, as she found it truly freeing to be able to run out and experience the Feywild desert. She would surf the sand waves of the Yellow Ocean of liquid sand. She would gaze into the towering crystal pillars of the nearby Crystal Plane where all of the sand had been turned into glass and crystal due to the intense heat in the area. She would run into the Endless Desert where the sand would actively work against your movement making it difficult to move from the edges.

Wynnipher one day decided to visit said endless desert as she was feeling a bit pent up doing her chores around the village and her parents were starting to nag at her to not go out as often due to her getting more responsibilities. And on this day, she decided to run and run at the edge of the Endless Desert, going nowhere, till her legs gave out on her and she collapsed onto the sand. She laid there that day, on the shores of the Endless Desert staring into the sky of the Feywild wondering about what was on the other shore of the Endless Desert as she had only ever been on this one. After laying down on the shore for a bit, she decided that she should probably head back to the village and resume her chores. However, she would never complete those chores...

=== The Scream: ===
As she was getting back into the village and letting her parents know that she was back and that she would pick up her chores where she left them, there was an alarm that started going off from the center of the village. Wynnipher was only ever told about this alarm, she had never seen or heard it be used before which caused her to stumble over her own feet and fall to the ground. And right as she was getting up, she heard another new sound that she hadn't heard before today, screams. Not the screams of kids playing and having fun, but screams of terror and pain. She glanced at where the scream originated from and saw a towering demon with red skin that caused her to feel heat from just looking at it and blazing red eyes that caused one to feel dread if looked into for too long. The demon was holding a spear that was taller than its body, and on that spear was the head of the matriarch, removed from her body and still dripping blood down the shaft of the spear. The matriarchs face still holding a look of terror from when it was savagely ripped from her body. The demon then lifted the spear and screamed in a language that Wynnipher did not understand, but she could feel her body shiver in the heat of the desert as the grating sounds coming from the demons mouth rattled in through her ears and tore through her mind. And after the scratching sound coming from the demon ended, she could see a multitude of other demons sweeping out from behind the one that killed the matriarch, for the new demons were rushing towards the other nearby villagers. Seeing this, Wynnipher panicked and felt like she was back at the Endless Desert, wanting to move but having the sand keep her from moving from her spot. She wanted to run back to her parents and make sure that they are okay. Before she was able to get up from her spot, she felt something grab the back of her shirt firmly and aggressively pull her back from her current spot. She looked to see what had grabbed her, and found her father standing there with a worried look in his eyes, he seemed to be saying something to her, but she couldn't hear him, the demons language and the sight of the matriarchs head on the spear were still running circles around her mind.

Her father seeing that Wynnipher wasn't responding to his calls, then decides to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder as he then turns to run toward their house. As Wynnipher gets picked up and thrown over her dads shoulder, she finds that her mind snaps back to the present and starts to yell at her dad wondering what is going on, where her mom is, and where he is taking her. Her dad, continues to run trough the village turning through gaps between houses while trying to answer Wynniphers question that come out at the rate of an Arch Mages magic missile. He lets her know that he doesn't know what is going on other than the alarm means that the village is under attack and that the attackers appear to be demons followed by letting her know that her mom is at the house preparing a bag for her so that she can get out of the village along with some other kids and some of the elders that are unable to fight, and that they are running to the house to meet up with her mom before getting Wynnipher out of the village. Wynniphers dad turns a final corner and runs up to the house, using Wynniphers feet to knock open the door and screams into the house asking where Wynniphers mom is. They then hear Wynniphers mom call back that she was in the main bedroom getting everything together and that shell be out in a second. That second feels like an eternity not only to Wynnipher, but to her dad as well.

After her moms joins her and her dad in the main room of the house, she shoves a overpacked backpack into Wynniphers arms and tells her to put it on before handing her father a bow and quiver full of arrows along with a shortsword. Wynnipher questions what is in the bag and why its so heavy and her mom quickly answers that it has food and water for several days worth of travel, clothes, a rolled up tent, other miscellaneous gear, and most importantly, a shortsword that she is not to get out unless necessary and to only use it in self defense. It is at that point that she looks back to her mom realizes that she is currently half-plate armor and has a large sword strapped to her back. Her mom then explains that the plan in this situation is that a small group of adults is to lead the kids and elders out of the village and head toward the Endless Desert and then use the secret method to briefly reverse the sand movement for the group before reverting it to prevent any enemies of the village to follow before returning if possible to the village to help defeat the demon invasion.

And as her mom said, the plan that was made in case of scenarios like this started to come into effect. At the border of the village, there was a gathering of kids and elderly along with some armed adults. Wynnipher was forced to join the group by her parents. Her parents briefly stayed with her while telling her to listen to the adults in the group and follow their orders. Wynnipher at this point was back in a state of shock as her village had large plumes of smoke rising from it due to the damage caused by the demon attack. There were also sounds of fighting going on inside the village along with the occasional scream of pain. Her parents noticing this, tried to calm her down saying things along the line of "its going to be okay...", "we will send the demons back before coming to get you..." and most importantly "We love you Wynn." while giving her hugs and kissing her head. After a little bit longer, the adults decided that it was best to send the group away before the demons get to this side of town. And so with that, Wynniphers parents say a tearful goodbye / see you later before looking at each other, nodding, and turning back towards the village where they would go and help fight off the demons. Wynnipher, still distraught by what was happening, stared at her parents backs as they ran back to town that was on fire and engulfed in smoke, quietly telling them to come back and stay with her. A lot of the kids around her were screaming, crying, or in various states of shock/panic just like her while the elders and adults in the group worked to get the kids moving towards the Endless Desert.

=== The Escape: ===
The escape group led by two adults from the village was able to lead the group of elders and kids to the Endless Desert where Wynnipher was not 4 hours ago. One of them then pulled out a token that appeared to be made of solid water, but not ice, that was given to the matriarch from the Oasis. They then pressed a floating rune on the solid water that caused it to fall out of its structure and onto the shore of the Endless Ocean before forming up into a large disc of water that stabilized the sand. This would allow them to actually traverse the Endless Ocean as long as they stayed in the area affected by the water. With that, everybody in the group got into the area affected by the water and the adult that had control over the water commanded it to move forward along with the group. Wynnipher absentmindedly trudged along with the group while staring down at her feet, not realizing that she was actually traveling through the Endless Desert. She did this until she bumped into the person in front of her which caused her to fall onto her butt due to the weight of the backpack that she still had with her. She looked up to see an adult standing there and looking towards the direction of the village. Following their line of sight, Wynnipher looks in the direction of the village as well and what she sees terrifies her, for what she saw will live in her mind forever. She saw the landscape of the desert being changed before her eyes as a large ball of fire grew on the horizon, climbing higher into the sky until it billowed out forming a massive cloud of sand and smoke in the shape of a mushroom. Seeing this, tears would have continued rolling down her face if she was able to cry anymore, but she was out of tears, and out of time, as centering from the large remnant explosion cloud came a fast moving wave of compressed air that travelled from the village to the Endless Desert in no time at all. The group was hit with by the wave and everybody was thrown into the surrounding Endless Desert with everybody being thrown around in different directions. By a matter of luck, Wynnipher ended up landing in the same area that the adult who controlled the water landed. She was also saved from the brunt of the impact as she landed on her butt. After making sure that she was okay, Wynnipher then looked around at the other members of the group, hoping to see that everybody was okay and together. That was not the case; for not too far away from her, another kid from the village, one that she would frequently play with in the outskirts of the village was lying there with no life left in their eyes as they had landed on the ground head first. Similarly, a lot of the elderly members of the group had their bones broken just due to the impact from the wind wall, combining that with the rough landings they experienced, not many of them lived. The adults that were escorting them started gathering what survivors there were left before continuing to painfully move through the Endless Desert to their goal. It was then explained to the group that the goal is to reach the center of the Endless Desert which is rumored to hold a portal between the Feywild and the Material Plane and that the only way to reach the center from the shores of the desert is by flying or by using some other method to prevent the sand from keeping you out, which is where the water disc from the Oasis comes into play. After traveling for a bit more, they end up reaching the center where on the ground, on could see an unending amount of sand being pushed out of a circle and flowed out towards the boundaries of the Endless Desert. This circle where the sand of the desert was being pushed out of was the portal to the material plane, one just had to jump/drop into the circle to move between the Planes. And so, with guidance and encouragement from the adults escorting the group, the kids jumped in first with Wynnipher being part of that group.

=== The Material Plane: ===
Shifting forward through time a bit, we find Wynnipher in a town in the material plane doing some light work to earn some coin to help support herself and the group she came here with. That group consisting of other kids, the two adults, and a couple elders from the Feywild village. It has been a year since they crossed over from the Feywild and escaped the damning event that occurred at their village. The adults had agreed that it was best for the group to continue traveling together as there is strength in numbers. Everybody in the group has given up hope that there are any other survivors from their village in the Feywild after the massive explosion they saw, so they moved forward, or at least physically did so. Mentally, Wynnipher and other children are still in the Endless Desert staring at the large mushroom cloud that came from the explosion in the village, stuck in the sand, unable to run away or move. And like that, time went by as the members of the group started working at various spots in the town of Caftans Ridge to try and make ends meet. But little did the group know, they weren't out of the woods yet, for their fears followed them.

One dreary morning following another sleepless night, Wynnipher was cooped up in the stable of a local tavern, The 3 Legged Dragon, helping take care of some horses that customers have put there. Wynnipher has been helping take care of the stables for a couple of months now, the tavern owners are nice enough and they pay her for her help around the stables and the tavern if needed. Wynnipher has also come to know some of the horses that have been put there as they have been there a while due to their owners having extended their stays due to whatever business they have in the town. She had come to know that most of the horses were pretty smart as they recognized her as their caretaker while they were here, and they knew how to relay the simple needs that they wanted, whether that was being brushed, being fed, taken for a small walk out of the stables, or whatever basic needs it was they wanted/needed. And this morning that she was working, she saw the horses acting strange, at least stranger than she had ever seen. They were neighing to each other in a quick and quiet manner, jostling against each other while trying to get out of the stables. But she recognized this emotion that was being shared by the horses, for it was the same emotion that she had been experiencing every time she closed her eyes, fear. She didn't know what the horses were so afraid of this morning, but their fear soon got picked up by her and she started to look around in a panic, wondering where the source of the fear was coming from. She looked up and saw a flow of birds suddenly take flight in a panic as they flew from the town as well. And in the next moment, she felt it, the inescapable heat that she felt when she gazed at the demon that killed the matriarch of the village, and in that moment, she understood, her past has chased her here.

Bells started ringing and people started running and screaming to their houses and to the taverns, towards wherever they were staying as they wanted, no, needed to escape the attack from the demons. Wynnipher stayed in the stables with the horses, not because she didn't know where to go, but because she couldn't make herself move. And what came next shook her to her core. A demon was blasted through the tavern wall that faced the stables, it had multiple arrows sticking out of it along with multiple wounds scattered along its body. Following that, a group of 4 people came out of the hole that the demon had created, and started circling around the demon, making sure it had nowhere to go. And, without a word, they all resumed fighting the demon, creating openings for each other and covering each other when the demon went on the offensive. It was a masterclass of teamwork that she was witnessing and her eyes sparkled with emotions that was long lost to her, hope, admiration, and one emotion that wasn't entirely new, but was surprising in the moment, anger. She could feel her body trembling with a long pent up rage that was directed at the demon that was being systematically taken care of by the four adventurers who had made sure that the fight between them and the demon didn't escape the stable grounds. And then she saw it, the demon took one last arrow to the chest, but this one was a better shot than the previous ones as it zipped right into the demons heart, piercing it and ending the demons life. The demon fell over onto the ground, dead, but it wouldn't remain there alone, as out from the stables Wynnipher ran at the demon screaming in pure rage at it before she leaped onto the back of the dead demon and started raining fists upon it. The adventurers were stunned, they knew that Wynnipher was in the stable with the horses, as they were their horses she was taking care of, but they never would have expected the timid and quiet girl who took care of the horses to have such an anger and rage about her for she almost looked like a barbarian in her current state. It took them a second to recover from the shock, but then they came together and helped pull off the now crying and screaming Wynnipher who was still swinging her arms and kicking her legs trying to get free so that she could hit the dead demon some more. She didn't even care that her hands were in pain from punching the demon, nor that she had small burns along her body from being on top of the dead demons body. As they carried her away while trying to calm her down, her screams and cries never slowed down, nor did her arms and legs stop thrashing about. And so, in the interest of her not hurting herself further, one of the party members knocked her out with a quick chop to the back of the neck.

=== Arthur: ===
Wynnipher woke up later that day in a room on the second floor of the tavern, she found herself tucked into a bed with the faint smell of a burnt incense still hanging in the air. She shifted her position on the bed so that she could take a better look around the room. As she was doing so, she noticed that her hands were wrapped in bandages along with parts of her legs and chest. It was then that she woke up enough to feel the aches and pain radiating from those spots where she has bandages. With the pain, the memories of what happened came rushing back as well, memories of her hiding in the stable with the horses, watching the demon get killed by the adventurers, and then everything turning red when she jumped on top of the dead demon and started raining blows on its corpse as she cried and screamed before being picked up by the adventurers and taken away from the corpse. Remembering that last bit, she then looked around the room and finally saw one of the adventurers sitting in the corner reading a note. The adventurer was an old man for all she could tell. He had deep piercing black eyes, a nose that looks like it was broken multiple times and was never healed properly, cracked lips from the desert heat and limited amounts of water, and a stubbled white beard and mustache adorning his tanned face. Noticing Wynnipher getting up and looking at him, he greets her, letting her know that she is safe while she is in this room before rolling the scroll back up and tying it up. He then thanks Wynnipher for taking care of his groups horses while they stayed here and that the horses are gonna miss her when they leave town in a couple days. The man then introduces himself as Arthur before telling her that she is free to stay here as long as she likes while him and his group are still in town, after that, he gets up and goes out of the room, closing the door behind him, before heading downstairs to presumably meet up with his group.

Wynnipher stays in the bed for a bit before getting up and wandering the room that she found herself in. She found it odd that Arthur left her here in his room unsupervised, but then again, remembering how he and his team fought the demon, she was pretty confident that they could easily take care of her as well if needed. Looking around the room, it was pretty baren and familiar as she has helped clean up the tavern rooms that are for rent before. There was a window with curtains opposite the wall with the door, a bed on the one side with a trunk at the foot of the bed. A desk and chair are along the other wall along with a standing wardrobe for customers to store their clothes and anything else that might not fit in the trunk. While looking around the room, she noticed the note that Arthur had tied up and left on the desk. Seeing this, she could feel her curiosity getting the better of her, drawing her hand towards the small rolled up note. Finally, after contemplating it some more, she decided to grab it, she quickly undid the knot and opened the note up. On the note it read <blockquote>''"I feel for you kid, I see your pain and it resonates with me for I once held the same pain in my heart. My partners and I will be out of town for the next couple of days. We will be returning briefly to wrap up our business in this town before moving on to the next. If you are still around when we get back in, come find me. ~ That's Cool, '''A'''"'' </blockquote>Wynnipher then puts the note down and feels her gaze drawn out the window, there, on the streets outside the tavern, she sees Arthur and his group on their horses riding towards the one town exit. As if he knew she had just read the note, he turns around and looks at the room she is in, a small smile appears on his face, gives her a small wave, and then turns back around to continue riding out of town. Wynnipher continues to stare out the window in the direction they went until they are out of site. Once they are out of site, she then looks around the room once more before picking up the note that he left her and then leaves the room to find Brost the tavern keeper to let him know that she is taking the day off due to her injuries from the encounter with the demon. Before she is able to leave the tavern, Brost calls out for her to take a seat then and stay for a bite to eat. Wynnipher does just that, she goes and finds an empty seat at the bar, not that there are many taken at the moment, and she waits for Brost to come back out front. After a minute or two, Brost comes back out of the kitchen area with a plate of steaming scrambled eggs along with some fried bacon. He slides it on over to Wynnipher before grabbing her a glass of milk. After doing that the two exchange in some small talk while Wynnipher eats the food given to her. Brost then says he's sorry that she got hurt in the attack yesterday unaware that Wynnipher gave the injuries to herself when she attacked the dead demon. She quietly nods her head in acknowledgement before slightly digging her nails into the bar table in a bit of embarrassment and frustration. After finishing the plate of food that Brost gave her, she gets up and quietly nods a goodbye to Brost before leaving the tavern clutching at the note and thinking back to the group killing the demon.

A couple days pass for Wynnipher as she keeps absentmindedly going through the stables of the Three Legged Dragon and cleaning them up so that they are ready for the next batch of customers to drop their horses off. Every so often she will walk out in front of the tavern and look down the road that Arthur and his group left on, deep down, hoping that they come back, but afraid of if they don't. After checking the roads and seeing nothing, she heads back to the stables, her head down looking at the ground, just wondering if the old man will make it back. She gets back to the stables and continues her duties as day turns to dusk. She goes and tells Brost that she is leaving as there aren't any horses in the stables right now and that they are clean for the next group. Brost bids her a good evening after handing her the money she earned for the work she did today. The money isn't too much, but Wynnipher has been saving up her money so that she could buy a bow that she saw in a display window at the Ravens Wing, the towns hunting supplies store. And with the money she acquired from working for Brost, she should be able to afford the bow, however, she still needs to buy food and other necessities for the Feywild Collective as they have taken to calling themselves. The Feywild Collective being the members who were able to escape from the Feywild with Wynnipher. And so, Wynnipher continues walking through the town to the local butcher and some farm stands to buy some meat and vegetables for her group so that they at least have something to eat. Wynnipher eventually makes it back to the Collective and drops off the food she picked up by the cooking pots and then goes to lie down for the evening. As she's laying on the ground, she once again pulls out that note, wondering what Arthur wants to talk to her about if/when he gets back.

=== The Offer: ===
The following day, Wynnipher makes her way to the Three Legged Dragon and lets Brost know that she is heading back to the stables to take care of the horses that people have taken back before she arrived, and with that, she goes about her normal duties, tending to the horses and the stable grounds. With the day going by, and her still not seeing or hearing anything about Arthur and his group, she gets her days pay from Brost and heads down to Ravens Wing to see if the display bow is still there. She sees the owner of Ravens Wing out front, cleaning the display window where the bow would normally be, and she soon comes to find that the reason the owner is cleaning the window is because he has a new display piece and that the bow was sold earlier that day. Wynnipher, emotionally shaken by the news nods her head in farewell to the owner and leaves the shop before heading back to the residence of the Feywild Collective with her head towards the ground and her feet slightly dragging as she walks. She eventually makes it back to the building where the collective is staying and oddly finds some horses tied to a post out front. Not giving it too much thought, she heads in and goes to greet everybody but stops when she hears a familiar gruff voice in the next room talking to the members of the Collective. Her ears perk up when she hears the voice and she looks outside at the horses and recognizes them as well. Putting 2 and 2 together, she knows that its Arthur and his group visiting the Collective. But then she wonders why they are here, for they shouldn't have any reason to be here. Wondering why they are here, she sneaks up to the room entrance and hides on the other side of the door, listening into their conversation.

She listens into the conversation and learns that Arthur and his companions are what could be considered mercenary adventurers who go around the continent of Pteris working for those who have gold to spare and things that need done. Arthur then lets the elders of the Collective know that should they require any assistance with their future plans of relocation, that Arthur and his group could help relocate them safely for a small fee. Arthur then also lets them know that the offer isn't the main reason they are here. At that, Wynniphers ears perk up even more wondering what the real reason they are here is. Arthur further explains that he understands that they were refugees from the Feywild due to a demon attack and that he is sorry for their losses. He also explains that he understand that people go the grief in different ways before mentioning that Wynnipher herself still caries a lot of grief and anger with her even though she holds it well. He explains what happened the day that Caftans Ridge was attacked by a demon and how Wynnipher lost herself to the rage and sadness that she holds; hearing this, Wynnipher blushes a little in embarrassment briefly remembering her actions that day. Following his explanation, he brings up his reason for being here, he would like to take Wynnipher under his wing and have her become an apprentice member of their organization. Wynnipher hearing this is absolutely shocked and her mind starts racing faster than it ever, her eyes darting to look around the room she is in questioning why it suddenly felt like a new space. The elders of the Collective start to murmur to each other hearing Arthurs proposition. The leader of the collective then sighs and looks back at Arthur and responds by saying that it would be unfair to further discuss this without Wynnipher here, and as if knowing that she had been listening in the entire time, the elder gets up and walks over to the door that Wynnipher was listening in from and opens it up. Wynnipher surprised that the elder knew she was there, falls on her face as the elder opened the door. Wynnipher is then given a light scolding from the elder about listening in to private conversations, but is then given a pass since she is the subject of said conversation. The elder then invites her into the room and offers her a chair at the table and asks Wynnipher if she has any questions for Arthur since she has already heard what that the offer was for him to take her under his wing and for her to become an apprentice adventurer. Wynnipher, still stunned by what is going on is slow to respond as she opens and closes her mouth as if she has something she wants to ask but is unsure of what words to use. Everybody sees that Wynnipher is a bit in shock with what is going on and so Arthur tells her that its alright and that no questions are off the table, to feel free to ask him or his companions anything.

After thinking it over a bit, Wynnipher starts firing some questions off rapidly about what they do, who they are, where would they be going, why her, what about the members of the Collective, what would she be doing, why her, why her, why her, when would they leave, would she be able to come back, would she get paid as if this is a job, does she need anything before hand, is it binding, and many other questions that were bouncing around her mind while she was secretly listening into the conversation earlier. Arthur, his companions, and the elders at the table all chuckle seeing her questions. The main elder then stops her before she passes out from asking so many questions and motions to Arthur to further explain and possibly answer what this offer of his would entail. The elder then gives Wynnipher a cup of water before telling her to just drink and listen with as calm of a mind as she can manage for this may be a great opportunity for her. And so with that, Arthur then goes further into detail about who him and his companions are, who they work for, the kinds of jobs they take, where they have been and where they plan to go, along with many other details with Wynnipher taking it all in. After a while Wynnipher told Arthur that she would let him know after she talked to the members of the Collective as currently she was one of the main members that brought in money for them to survive. Arthur told her to take her time, but not too much, as their group will be leaving the following evening; and once she came to a decision, she would know where to find them. With that, Arthur and his group left the building that housed the Feywild Collective and went back to the Three Legged Dragon where Brost had kept their rooms for them.

That night and into the following day, Wynnipher contemplated the decision before her that Arthur has offered. It was an offer of potential great fortune but great danger and peril as well as some of the missions Arthur and his group took up were monster hunting missions that would place them in immediate danger. Wynnipher had some thoughts after hearing Arthurs in detail explanation and shared those with the leaders of the Collective as she would need their approval if she was to join Arthur due to her being one of their main areas of income at the moment. After a night of talking, they came to a decision to allow Wynnipher to join Arthur is she so chooses on a couple conditions, she writes back to them with monthly or bi-monthly updates, she sends some coin if able or unless noted otherwise in a response letter, she introduces Brost to one of the other kids in the Collective so that they can take her job at the tavern as a stable hand, and most importantly, to be safe and happy with her decision as while her direct parents are gone, the Collective is still her family and family looks out for each other. Before even hearing their response, she had silently determined that she was going to accept Arthurs deal, and now with hearing the decision of the elders, a small smile lit her face and her eyes sparkled as she started to thank them profusely before giving them all hugs and promises to adhere to their conditions. She then gathered some of the kids who she thought would be a good replacement for her at the tavern as a stable hand. After getting them together, she took them back to the tavern which was still open and introduced them to Brost as possible replacements for her as she was going to be leaving town to become an Adventurer! She then went into the tavern and found Arthur and his companions having a meal and drinking. Her brightly shining eyes connected with Arthurs dark eyes and he smiled, beckoning her over to join them. Wynnipher went on over and told them that the Collective was okay with her joining them and that she was ready to become an adventurer. Arthur jokingly scoffed at her after looking her up and down and mentioning that she sure doesn't look like she's ready as she doesn't have any adventuring gear! Hearing this, Wynnipher blushed a little in embarrassment and looked down stating that she didn't have time to prepare anything yet. But then the group laughs at her embarrassment and lets her know that they were joking before telling her that they prepared a little welcoming gift for her. Arthur then pulled a long item that was wrapped in a blanket before sliding it over to her and nodding for her to open it. Without waiting, she removed the blanket and was surprised to find the display bow from Ravens Wing along with a small quiver of arrows and some fingerless adventuring gloves. Wynnipher was floored, as just earlier that day, she was disappointed to see that someone had bought the bow she had been saving up for and so, without warning, she started to happily cry a little before jumping into Arthurs arms and giving him a big hug. Arthur then explains to her that when they had returned to town, he noticed her stopping at Ravens Wing and staring at the display bow with unfettered determination to have that bow. Wynnipher hearing this, chuckled and shyly asked if it was that obvious she had wanted the bow. The group then laughed in response at her remark. That night was Wynniphers happiest day in a while and would continue to be her happiest day for a long time to come.

=== DANG: ===
After Wynnipher joined Arthur and his group as Arthurs apprentice adventurer, they left the town of Caftans Ridge by horseback and rode North, Arthur not saying where they were going next. And then time passed for Wynnipher as she joined the group and helped in missions, slowly, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year becoming a proper adventurer. During that time, Arthur explained and initiated Wynnipher into the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild also known as DANG. They were not a very well know guild, but their group operated under a small list of guidelines which was to A) Neutralize any demonic abominations that threaten the current peace of Pteris, B) Help those in need of helping if able, C) Care for ones own brothers and sisters, and D) Never trust anybody or anything from the Outer Planes. Wynnipher eventually became a fully fledged member of DANG after leading her own demon hunting mission where Arthur and his group followed her lead for the mission. The mission went well and the demonic appearance was taken care of with nothing major going wrong. Time continued to pass and eventually, Arthurs group disbanded when Arthur retired from being an active mission leader for DANG due to receiving a near fatal wound in a botched mission. With their group in DANG being disbanded, each member decided to go and form their own group through other members of DANG or by recruiting new members into the guild. Wynnipher however went a different path, she had heard tell of a settlement out in the western regions of Pteris where there was a coalition of unlikely partners working together to fight against the demonic invasion into the Badlands. And so, with that, she traveled there, planning to join their ranks in the fight to stop the demonic incursions.

== Mission Log ==

=== Mission Name: Stop the Swarming Demons ===
'''Mission Brief:''' '''''Reports of demon attacks have been increasing of late. Traders shakingly tell of having to abandon their goods to escape the clouds of flying demons that swarm parts of the trade routes. They tell how those attacked and bitten turn into demons. These swarms must be coming from somewhere and the Arboretum wants to send a group to investigate.'''''

I arrived at the Arboretum and has been wandering around and getting a lay of the land, for I plan to stay here till the demon incursions have been stopped. I learn that the group defending the Arboretum and using it as a base camp is actually comprised of three different groups who came together to defend shared interests. The groups in the alliance are The Shepherds, The Federation, and the Scrappers. The Scrappers are being lead by the Cambion devil, Raegina, and that her group consists of hell-touched, undead, and other similar vagabonds. I am not a fan of knowing that there is a devil leading one of the groups in the alliance. But, I am going to have to come to terms that I will be taking missions that might be helping said devil and knowing that devils are still better than demons. The Federation is led by a reclusive man by the name of Hektor. He and his group run businesses that deal with peoples want for recreation and excess. I learn that they are in charge of the tavern, the gambling circle, and the fighting ring. The Shepherds are an interesting group, ruled by Duke Solon and led by Vettik Herbert. They typically specialize in agriculture and trade while helping maintain the lives of those who live in the northern/central areas of the Badlands. Overall, the Shepherds and the Federation come across better to me due to not being led by a devil, but I am not so sure that everything is as they say.

I was lounging around the central area of the Arboretum people watching before her gaze landed on another newly arrived person. I studied the person for a while as they were just standing out in the open sun, unmoving, wondering if the person standing there is even alive as they haven't moved for a while. While studying the person standing there, the calm and peaceful atmosphere of the area is broken when a person comes running into the central area screaming their head off until literally, their head detaches from their body, grows wings from where their ears were, and begins to fly away continuing to scream. Seeing this, I am shocked as I have never seen this kind of demon before. The flying head is quickly taken care of by the ones chasing after the now headless corpse in the central area. The people from the group then start talking to one another wondering where all of the flying head demons are coming from and if somebody is going to do something about it as they are swarming the trade routes that were said to be safe. A member in garments representing the Shepherds approaches them and informs the group that a job posting will be made to clean up the trade route and the demon swarms.

As the Shepherd member is making the job posting, a group of adventurers approach the person and inform them that they were all willing to take care of the swarming demon issues. Wynnipher wanting to help in taking care of these demon swarms decides to join the group signing up for the mission. After signing up for the mission, the group, consisting of [[Ichake Asaku|Ichake]], [[Patches Vanderburg|Patches]], and [[Avel]] huddle up and decide that they are going to skip renting horses due to low funds of some members. After making sure they had enough rations and supplies for the trip, they left the Arboretum.

Travel to the location where swarms of demons were being reported were pretty uneventful. Wynnipher noticed that Avel was struggling on the first days travel, but after some help from the rest of the group, he was fine traveling for the other days. During our travel out, Avel tells us some stories, Ichake points out some constellations in the night sky, and I forage for food and water in the surrounding areas. During our fourth day of travel, I can start to sense the demons before we see or hear them due to the mystical senses I have developed towards hunting demons and other such monsters. As our group gets closer, we start to see some dark clouds moving through the air, but they aren't clouds, they are swarms of small demons; and they appear to be chasing a halfling who is riding a dustrunner our direction while screaming his head off. Seeing that the halfling is in need of help and is already riding towards us, our group springs into action to fight against the two swarms of tiny demon heads. We successfully defeat the two swarms of demons, with the swarms dissipating into a black mist. But, our group did not escape unscathed; Avel was bitten by one of the swarms and resulting in him getting cursed. Seeing this, and remembering what happened in the Arboretum a couple of days ago, I keep an eye on him so that I can take him down before he fully turns into a demon. We then approach the still panicking Halfling and Ichake goes to calm them down. The Halfling introduces themself as Ryzen and then explains to us how the demon curse works, stating that once one gets cursed, their facial features start becoming demonic, their ears start elongating, before finally, the head detaches itself from the body of the host and becomes a Vargouille. The group hearing this explanation then looks towards the dustrunner and Ryzen inspecting them for signs of becoming Vargouille. They both show signs of being cursed. We then ask Ryzen about someone who could help remove the curse and they explain that there is a Tortle named Yuru hiding out in a small grove of cactus and other desert fauna above a bluff. Avel hearing that Yuru should be able to help them recognizes the name as he has interacted with her previously with some other members from the Arboretum. We then decide that it is best to travel towards Yuru's location so that Avel and Ryzen could get healed. As Ryzen is getting back on their dustrunner, the dustrunner bucks them off before starting to scream while their ears turn into wings and the head detaches itself. Quickly responding, Patches grabs the head so that it cant fly away while Avel swings at it and I shoot at it taking it down. After recovering from that, we start making our way towards the bluff that Ryzen mentioned.
[[File:Image 2026-03-18 122944306.png|thumb|Ruin Demon Swarm escaping from a corpse. ]]
As we approach the bluff, Avel remarks that he has been here previously on a mission where the group he was a part of took down a corrupted owlbear along with some of the Vargouilles. Approaching the bluff, we see the owlbear corpse on the ground along with several other corpses of horses and a camel. There is also the campfire that Avels group had used previously. Getting an uneasy feeling about the area, we try to sneak around the side towards the bluff face as the corpses are sitting right between us and the bluff face. This however doesn't go well and our group makes too much noise causing our suspicions to become reality as the owlbear corpse starts to vibrate before a large swarm of demons escapes the corpse. We quickly start to fight the demon swarm that I learn to be a Ruin Demon. Recalling what I have heard about Ruin Demons, I remember that they are resistant to most elemental damage along with non-magical damage and I share this with the group before separating and casting Magic Weapon on my longbow. As we fight the Ruin Demon, the varying corpses around us start releasing more parts of the Ruin Demon that fly back to it allowing it to shrug off some of our attacks. Seeing this, I use my Fey Step ability to teleport next to the corpses and have them go up in flames while still fighting the Ruin Demon to prevent the small swarms from rejoining the main swarm. Some Vargouille also fly from somewhere in the bluff and join the battle. Our group eventually gets the upper hand on the Ruin Demon and vanquish it along with the rest of the Vargouilles. We then spend some time healing from the battle as during the fight, Ichake went down due to attacks from the Ruin Demon and Vargouille. I help heal Patches as he tanked a lot of the damage from the Ruin Demon. Following our group healing up, we look around to see where Ryzen went during the fight and find that his body was laying out in the desert without a head and an understanding falls on the group that one of the Vargouille we killed was Ryzen's former head.

Our group then heads towards the bluff and climbs up the face of it to search for the patch of desert fauna that Ryzen stated Yuru the desert Tortle was camping in. We quickly find the patch of fauna and make our way towards the center where we find a tent set up and a Tortle foraging some plants from the area. Avel leads the group toward Yuru before he calls out to Yuru letting her know that we were there. Yuru then greets us before Avel explains that they recently fought some Vargouille and he got cursed by one of them and asks if she could cure him. Yuru approaches Avel and inspects him, with a soft glow escaping her palm and enveloping Avel. She confirms that he is indeed cursed and agrees to help remove the curse. She then pulls out some powder of some kind and takes a sniff of it, seemingly getting a magical high from it, before moving back to Avel and casting a spell to remove the curse from his body. Yuru almost falls over after casting the spell as it appeared to take a small tole on her to cast it. Avel then brings up the powder that Yuru used before curing him and Yuru appears startled that he recognizes it as it is one of the Shepherds secrets. She then asks for our groups silence before discussing the substance. I guess she did not trust the look on my face as she kindly asked me to step out of her tent while they discuss the substance. After Yuru, Avel, Patches, and Ichake finish discussing the substance, I am invited back into the tent for some prickly pear juice. Yuru then informs our group that she is planning to depart from this area soon, but we are more then welcome to use the area as a camp for the night before travelling back to the Arboretum. I am able to forage some food and water from the local fauna patch before we rest for the night.

The following morning, we head back to the bluff face and hear the sound of flapping wings nearby and we see that there are three more Vargouille flying in amongst the remains of corpses below the bluff. Seeing this and wondering where they came from for them to appear in the area along with remembering that some flew from the bluff face the previous day during our fight with the Ruin Demon, we quickly take care of them before they can respond. We then investigate the bluff face and eventually find that there is a loose section of the bluff face that is able to be pushed in. After the section of the bluff falls in, we find that it leads to a small open area inside the bluff and that there is a statue with a demonic head along with a magic circle on the ground that is glowing with a purple light. The statue has a amulet around its neck. Ichake picks up the amulet and we agree that the best path forward would be to destroy the magic circle and statue as we believe that this was what was summoning the Vargouille and demon swarms. Patches smashes the statue and when it falls apart, some viscera comes out if the statue. Patches continues to smash the statue until the viscera stops squirming. Looking around the ritual room, we find that there is a section of wall that has runes on it in Sylvan. Avel reads the rooms and finds that it is a riddle with the answer to the riddle being a coin. Once Avel says "coin" the part of the wall with the Sylvan runes rumbles before moving into the ceiling revealing a door that leads to another room inside the bluff. This room is full of alchemical equipment on several tables along with enough space in the center of the room for an owlbear corpse to reside. Finding that there is nothing in this room to take other than some junk, we quickly pack up our stuff and start our return trip to the Arboretum. We travel back to the Arboretum with nothing of notice occurring during our days of walking. When we arrive back at the Arboretum, we find the Shepherd agent and inform him that we took care of the demon swarms along with the source summoning them and show him the amulet that Ichake picked up. He then pays us each our wage for taking the mission before we split up and go our own ways now that we are back in the Arboretum.

=== Mission Name: Screams in the Sewers ===
'''Mission Brief:''' '''''Strange sounds are coming from the sewers beneath the port city of Arrafell. The Duke is worried that the elusive moss demon that had escaped from the storage warehouse has been letting demons into the sewers. He is asking for a group of adventurers to find it, kill it, and clear out any other demons they come across.'''''

== Languages ==
Wynnipher knows how to speak and read Common, Elvish, Infernal, and Abyssal. She took up learning how to speak Infernal and Abyssal to help with understanding those that she hunts.

== Powers and Abilities ==
Wynnipher developed herself as a Monster Slayer within DANG.

She has become an excellent tracker of fiends, being able to focus in on them with a strong desire to exterminate them. Alongside fiends, she is able to magically enhance her senses to determine if any aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, or undead are present within the local area.

With Wynnipher growing up in the deserts of the Feywild, she finds herself able more easily track creatures, navigate, and generally survive in the deserts of the material plane.

Being developed as a Monster Slayer, Wynnipher has learned some magic to help herself and her partners when hunting.

More specifically, when hunting enemies, she is able to boost her damage to targets through both skills as a Monster Slayer and through some magic that she has learned.

But that is not all she can do, naturally as an Eladrin, Wynnipher can change the season that she is in tune with; she can see in the dark as if it were dim light; she is resistant against being charmed; and can teleport in a similar fashion to the spell Misty Step; Wynnipher also doe not need to sleep and cannot be put to sleep.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
For ranged targets, Wynnipher uses her longbow to target them, and if they get in close, she uses her shortswords, one of which is the one that her parents give her

== Useful Links: ==
[[Bedlam in the Badlands/Player Resources]]

[[Bedlam in the Badlands/The Arboretum Marketplace]]

[[Bedlam in the Badlands/The Story So Far]]

[[Pteris]]

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Wynnipher Winchester

2026-03-18T17:09:05Z

Doublecheese247: /* Mission Name: Stop the Swarming Demons */

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (DANG),
The Feywild Collective|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=Wynnipher_Winchester_screenshot.png|caption=Wynnipher readying an arrow on her bow|playerName=Connor S / Doublecheese247|relatives=No immediate relatives alive|languages=Common, Elvish, Infernal, Abyssal|alias=Winchester|birthPlace=A village in the Feywild that is no more|species=Eladrin|gender=Female|height=7' 1"|weight=185|eyes=Gold|field1=Character Sheet|value1=https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/162187361}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a Summer Eladrin Monster Slayer ranger whose village in the Feywild was destroyed by demons and is now in Pteris to help remove the demons that threaten the continent.

== Physical Appearance ==
Wynnipher is a tall Summer Eladrin who stands at 7' 1" with a lithe build. She has wavy bleach blonde that is partially braided and goes down to her mid back. Her skin is of a sandy hue from] long stretches of time spent out in the deserts of both the Feywild and Pteris. Her attire is compatible with a desert climate, consisting mainly of lightweight and/or flowing materials in earth tones. Notably, she is never seen without her ring, inscribed with the designs of the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (also known as DANG).

== Personality ==
Wynnipher has an aggressive and gruff nature when interacting with "normal" people. But once she hears about something related to demons and fiends, she becomes focused on figuring out how to eliminate the threat by whatever means necessary. She does not hold many around her in high regards unless they are direct superiors that have proven themselves capable of doing what is necessary to rid the world of demons and other such abominations.

Even though she looks down on most, she still has a soft spot in her heart for those in times of need and will help if able for she was once in that very situation when her mentor picked her up off the ground and took her in.

== History ==

=== The Village: ===
Wynnipher was a bright child growing up. She found endless things that would fascinate and entertain her in the Feywild where she grew up. Her parents were pretty loose with her allowing her to roam outside of the village due to the immediate surroundings of the village being safe with the matriarch of the village having a pact with the local oasis queen. Wynnipher only had to promise to behave, be respectful towards anyone and anything she were to come across, and never venture too far away from the village whenever she wanted to venture outside of the village. Wynnipher always respected those three rules of her parents as she loved her parents too much to do anything that would upset them. She would go out often due to this and play with the local water spirits of the oasis along with some other kids from her village.

As she grew up, she learned more about the Feywild that she grew up in and how it closely mirrored the material plane geographically and that there were portals that allowed members of either plane to travel to another. That is when she was told another absolute rule by her parents, which was to never travel to the material plane as it is a place that is not as nice as the village in the Feywild and the people there are not as nice as the people of the village and the ruling members of the Oasis that they were in alliance with. She would also come to learn more about their village and their relationship with the local Oasis. Even as she grew up, and began to learn many new things regarding where she grew up, she continued to venture outside of the village, as she found it truly freeing to be able to run out and experience the Feywild desert. She would surf the sand waves of the Yellow Ocean of liquid sand. She would gaze into the towering crystal pillars of the nearby Crystal Plane where all of the sand had been turned into glass and crystal due to the intense heat in the area. She would run into the Endless Desert where the sand would actively work against your movement making it difficult to move from the edges.

Wynnipher one day decided to visit said endless desert as she was feeling a bit pent up doing her chores around the village and her parents were starting to nag at her to not go out as often due to her getting more responsibilities. And on this day, she decided to run and run at the edge of the Endless Desert, going nowhere, till her legs gave out on her and she collapsed onto the sand. She laid there that day, on the shores of the Endless Desert staring into the sky of the Feywild wondering about what was on the other shore of the Endless Desert as she had only ever been on this one. After laying down on the shore for a bit, she decided that she should probably head back to the village and resume her chores. However, she would never complete those chores...

=== The Scream: ===
As she was getting back into the village and letting her parents know that she was back and that she would pick up her chores where she left them, there was an alarm that started going off from the center of the village. Wynnipher was only ever told about this alarm, she had never seen or heard it be used before which caused her to stumble over her own feet and fall to the ground. And right as she was getting up, she heard another new sound that she hadn't heard before today, screams. Not the screams of kids playing and having fun, but screams of terror and pain. She glanced at where the scream originated from and saw a towering demon with red skin that caused her to feel heat from just looking at it and blazing red eyes that caused one to feel dread if looked into for too long. The demon was holding a spear that was taller than its body, and on that spear was the head of the matriarch, removed from her body and still dripping blood down the shaft of the spear. The matriarchs face still holding a look of terror from when it was savagely ripped from her body. The demon then lifted the spear and screamed in a language that Wynnipher did not understand, but she could feel her body shiver in the heat of the desert as the grating sounds coming from the demons mouth rattled in through her ears and tore through her mind. And after the scratching sound coming from the demon ended, she could see a multitude of other demons sweeping out from behind the one that killed the matriarch, for the new demons were rushing towards the other nearby villagers. Seeing this, Wynnipher panicked and felt like she was back at the Endless Desert, wanting to move but having the sand keep her from moving from her spot. She wanted to run back to her parents and make sure that they are okay. Before she was able to get up from her spot, she felt something grab the back of her shirt firmly and aggressively pull her back from her current spot. She looked to see what had grabbed her, and found her father standing there with a worried look in his eyes, he seemed to be saying something to her, but she couldn't hear him, the demons language and the sight of the matriarchs head on the spear were still running circles around her mind.

Her father seeing that Wynnipher wasn't responding to his calls, then decides to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder as he then turns to run toward their house. As Wynnipher gets picked up and thrown over her dads shoulder, she finds that her mind snaps back to the present and starts to yell at her dad wondering what is going on, where her mom is, and where he is taking her. Her dad, continues to run trough the village turning through gaps between houses while trying to answer Wynniphers question that come out at the rate of an Arch Mages magic missile. He lets her know that he doesn't know what is going on other than the alarm means that the village is under attack and that the attackers appear to be demons followed by letting her know that her mom is at the house preparing a bag for her so that she can get out of the village along with some other kids and some of the elders that are unable to fight, and that they are running to the house to meet up with her mom before getting Wynnipher out of the village. Wynniphers dad turns a final corner and runs up to the house, using Wynniphers feet to knock open the door and screams into the house asking where Wynniphers mom is. They then hear Wynniphers mom call back that she was in the main bedroom getting everything together and that shell be out in a second. That second feels like an eternity not only to Wynnipher, but to her dad as well.

After her moms joins her and her dad in the main room of the house, she shoves a overpacked backpack into Wynniphers arms and tells her to put it on before handing her father a bow and quiver full of arrows along with a shortsword. Wynnipher questions what is in the bag and why its so heavy and her mom quickly answers that it has food and water for several days worth of travel, clothes, a rolled up tent, other miscellaneous gear, and most importantly, a shortsword that she is not to get out unless necessary and to only use it in self defense. It is at that point that she looks back to her mom realizes that she is currently half-plate armor and has a large sword strapped to her back. Her mom then explains that the plan in this situation is that a small group of adults is to lead the kids and elders out of the village and head toward the Endless Desert and then use the secret method to briefly reverse the sand movement for the group before reverting it to prevent any enemies of the village to follow before returning if possible to the village to help defeat the demon invasion.

And as her mom said, the plan that was made in case of scenarios like this started to come into effect. At the border of the village, there was a gathering of kids and elderly along with some armed adults. Wynnipher was forced to join the group by her parents. Her parents briefly stayed with her while telling her to listen to the adults in the group and follow their orders. Wynnipher at this point was back in a state of shock as her village had large plumes of smoke rising from it due to the damage caused by the demon attack. There were also sounds of fighting going on inside the village along with the occasional scream of pain. Her parents noticing this, tried to calm her down saying things along the line of "its going to be okay...", "we will send the demons back before coming to get you..." and most importantly "We love you Wynn." while giving her hugs and kissing her head. After a little bit longer, the adults decided that it was best to send the group away before the demons get to this side of town. And so with that, Wynniphers parents say a tearful goodbye / see you later before looking at each other, nodding, and turning back towards the village where they would go and help fight off the demons. Wynnipher, still distraught by what was happening, stared at her parents backs as they ran back to town that was on fire and engulfed in smoke, quietly telling them to come back and stay with her. A lot of the kids around her were screaming, crying, or in various states of shock/panic just like her while the elders and adults in the group worked to get the kids moving towards the Endless Desert.

=== The Escape: ===
The escape group led by two adults from the village was able to lead the group of elders and kids to the Endless Desert where Wynnipher was not 4 hours ago. One of them then pulled out a token that appeared to be made of solid water, but not ice, that was given to the matriarch from the Oasis. They then pressed a floating rune on the solid water that caused it to fall out of its structure and onto the shore of the Endless Ocean before forming up into a large disc of water that stabilized the sand. This would allow them to actually traverse the Endless Ocean as long as they stayed in the area affected by the water. With that, everybody in the group got into the area affected by the water and the adult that had control over the water commanded it to move forward along with the group. Wynnipher absentmindedly trudged along with the group while staring down at her feet, not realizing that she was actually traveling through the Endless Desert. She did this until she bumped into the person in front of her which caused her to fall onto her butt due to the weight of the backpack that she still had with her. She looked up to see an adult standing there and looking towards the direction of the village. Following their line of sight, Wynnipher looks in the direction of the village as well and what she sees terrifies her, for what she saw will live in her mind forever. She saw the landscape of the desert being changed before her eyes as a large ball of fire grew on the horizon, climbing higher into the sky until it billowed out forming a massive cloud of sand and smoke in the shape of a mushroom. Seeing this, tears would have continued rolling down her face if she was able to cry anymore, but she was out of tears, and out of time, as centering from the large remnant explosion cloud came a fast moving wave of compressed air that travelled from the village to the Endless Desert in no time at all. The group was hit with by the wave and everybody was thrown into the surrounding Endless Desert with everybody being thrown around in different directions. By a matter of luck, Wynnipher ended up landing in the same area that the adult who controlled the water landed. She was also saved from the brunt of the impact as she landed on her butt. After making sure that she was okay, Wynnipher then looked around at the other members of the group, hoping to see that everybody was okay and together. That was not the case; for not too far away from her, another kid from the village, one that she would frequently play with in the outskirts of the village was lying there with no life left in their eyes as they had landed on the ground head first. Similarly, a lot of the elderly members of the group had their bones broken just due to the impact from the wind wall, combining that with the rough landings they experienced, not many of them lived. The adults that were escorting them started gathering what survivors there were left before continuing to painfully move through the Endless Desert to their goal. It was then explained to the group that the goal is to reach the center of the Endless Desert which is rumored to hold a portal between the Feywild and the Material Plane and that the only way to reach the center from the shores of the desert is by flying or by using some other method to prevent the sand from keeping you out, which is where the water disc from the Oasis comes into play. After traveling for a bit more, they end up reaching the center where on the ground, on could see an unending amount of sand being pushed out of a circle and flowed out towards the boundaries of the Endless Desert. This circle where the sand of the desert was being pushed out of was the portal to the material plane, one just had to jump/drop into the circle to move between the Planes. And so, with guidance and encouragement from the adults escorting the group, the kids jumped in first with Wynnipher being part of that group.

=== The Material Plane: ===
Shifting forward through time a bit, we find Wynnipher in a town in the material plane doing some light work to earn some coin to help support herself and the group she came here with. That group consisting of other kids, the two adults, and a couple elders from the Feywild village. It has been a year since they crossed over from the Feywild and escaped the damning event that occurred at their village. The adults had agreed that it was best for the group to continue traveling together as there is strength in numbers. Everybody in the group has given up hope that there are any other survivors from their village in the Feywild after the massive explosion they saw, so they moved forward, or at least physically did so. Mentally, Wynnipher and other children are still in the Endless Desert staring at the large mushroom cloud that came from the explosion in the village, stuck in the sand, unable to run away or move. And like that, time went by as the members of the group started working at various spots in the town of Caftans Ridge to try and make ends meet. But little did the group know, they weren't out of the woods yet, for their fears followed them.

One dreary morning following another sleepless night, Wynnipher was cooped up in the stable of a local tavern, The 3 Legged Dragon, helping take care of some horses that customers have put there. Wynnipher has been helping take care of the stables for a couple of months now, the tavern owners are nice enough and they pay her for her help around the stables and the tavern if needed. Wynnipher has also come to know some of the horses that have been put there as they have been there a while due to their owners having extended their stays due to whatever business they have in the town. She had come to know that most of the horses were pretty smart as they recognized her as their caretaker while they were here, and they knew how to relay the simple needs that they wanted, whether that was being brushed, being fed, taken for a small walk out of the stables, or whatever basic needs it was they wanted/needed. And this morning that she was working, she saw the horses acting strange, at least stranger than she had ever seen. They were neighing to each other in a quick and quiet manner, jostling against each other while trying to get out of the stables. But she recognized this emotion that was being shared by the horses, for it was the same emotion that she had been experiencing every time she closed her eyes, fear. She didn't know what the horses were so afraid of this morning, but their fear soon got picked up by her and she started to look around in a panic, wondering where the source of the fear was coming from. She looked up and saw a flow of birds suddenly take flight in a panic as they flew from the town as well. And in the next moment, she felt it, the inescapable heat that she felt when she gazed at the demon that killed the matriarch of the village, and in that moment, she understood, her past has chased her here.

Bells started ringing and people started running and screaming to their houses and to the taverns, towards wherever they were staying as they wanted, no, needed to escape the attack from the demons. Wynnipher stayed in the stables with the horses, not because she didn't know where to go, but because she couldn't make herself move. And what came next shook her to her core. A demon was blasted through the tavern wall that faced the stables, it had multiple arrows sticking out of it along with multiple wounds scattered along its body. Following that, a group of 4 people came out of the hole that the demon had created, and started circling around the demon, making sure it had nowhere to go. And, without a word, they all resumed fighting the demon, creating openings for each other and covering each other when the demon went on the offensive. It was a masterclass of teamwork that she was witnessing and her eyes sparkled with emotions that was long lost to her, hope, admiration, and one emotion that wasn't entirely new, but was surprising in the moment, anger. She could feel her body trembling with a long pent up rage that was directed at the demon that was being systematically taken care of by the four adventurers who had made sure that the fight between them and the demon didn't escape the stable grounds. And then she saw it, the demon took one last arrow to the chest, but this one was a better shot than the previous ones as it zipped right into the demons heart, piercing it and ending the demons life. The demon fell over onto the ground, dead, but it wouldn't remain there alone, as out from the stables Wynnipher ran at the demon screaming in pure rage at it before she leaped onto the back of the dead demon and started raining fists upon it. The adventurers were stunned, they knew that Wynnipher was in the stable with the horses, as they were their horses she was taking care of, but they never would have expected the timid and quiet girl who took care of the horses to have such an anger and rage about her for she almost looked like a barbarian in her current state. It took them a second to recover from the shock, but then they came together and helped pull off the now crying and screaming Wynnipher who was still swinging her arms and kicking her legs trying to get free so that she could hit the dead demon some more. She didn't even care that her hands were in pain from punching the demon, nor that she had small burns along her body from being on top of the dead demons body. As they carried her away while trying to calm her down, her screams and cries never slowed down, nor did her arms and legs stop thrashing about. And so, in the interest of her not hurting herself further, one of the party members knocked her out with a quick chop to the back of the neck.

=== Arthur: ===
Wynnipher woke up later that day in a room on the second floor of the tavern, she found herself tucked into a bed with the faint smell of a burnt incense still hanging in the air. She shifted her position on the bed so that she could take a better look around the room. As she was doing so, she noticed that her hands were wrapped in bandages along with parts of her legs and chest. It was then that she woke up enough to feel the aches and pain radiating from those spots where she has bandages. With the pain, the memories of what happened came rushing back as well, memories of her hiding in the stable with the horses, watching the demon get killed by the adventurers, and then everything turning red when she jumped on top of the dead demon and started raining blows on its corpse as she cried and screamed before being picked up by the adventurers and taken away from the corpse. Remembering that last bit, she then looked around the room and finally saw one of the adventurers sitting in the corner reading a note. The adventurer was an old man for all she could tell. He had deep piercing black eyes, a nose that looks like it was broken multiple times and was never healed properly, cracked lips from the desert heat and limited amounts of water, and a stubbled white beard and mustache adorning his tanned face. Noticing Wynnipher getting up and looking at him, he greets her, letting her know that she is safe while she is in this room before rolling the scroll back up and tying it up. He then thanks Wynnipher for taking care of his groups horses while they stayed here and that the horses are gonna miss her when they leave town in a couple days. The man then introduces himself as Arthur before telling her that she is free to stay here as long as she likes while him and his group are still in town, after that, he gets up and goes out of the room, closing the door behind him, before heading downstairs to presumably meet up with his group.

Wynnipher stays in the bed for a bit before getting up and wandering the room that she found herself in. She found it odd that Arthur left her here in his room unsupervised, but then again, remembering how he and his team fought the demon, she was pretty confident that they could easily take care of her as well if needed. Looking around the room, it was pretty baren and familiar as she has helped clean up the tavern rooms that are for rent before. There was a window with curtains opposite the wall with the door, a bed on the one side with a trunk at the foot of the bed. A desk and chair are along the other wall along with a standing wardrobe for customers to store their clothes and anything else that might not fit in the trunk. While looking around the room, she noticed the note that Arthur had tied up and left on the desk. Seeing this, she could feel her curiosity getting the better of her, drawing her hand towards the small rolled up note. Finally, after contemplating it some more, she decided to grab it, she quickly undid the knot and opened the note up. On the note it read <blockquote>''"I feel for you kid, I see your pain and it resonates with me for I once held the same pain in my heart. My partners and I will be out of town for the next couple of days. We will be returning briefly to wrap up our business in this town before moving on to the next. If you are still around when we get back in, come find me. ~ That's Cool, '''A'''"'' </blockquote>Wynnipher then puts the note down and feels her gaze drawn out the window, there, on the streets outside the tavern, she sees Arthur and his group on their horses riding towards the one town exit. As if he knew she had just read the note, he turns around and looks at the room she is in, a small smile appears on his face, gives her a small wave, and then turns back around to continue riding out of town. Wynnipher continues to stare out the window in the direction they went until they are out of site. Once they are out of site, she then looks around the room once more before picking up the note that he left her and then leaves the room to find Brost the tavern keeper to let him know that she is taking the day off due to her injuries from the encounter with the demon. Before she is able to leave the tavern, Brost calls out for her to take a seat then and stay for a bite to eat. Wynnipher does just that, she goes and finds an empty seat at the bar, not that there are many taken at the moment, and she waits for Brost to come back out front. After a minute or two, Brost comes back out of the kitchen area with a plate of steaming scrambled eggs along with some fried bacon. He slides it on over to Wynnipher before grabbing her a glass of milk. After doing that the two exchange in some small talk while Wynnipher eats the food given to her. Brost then says he's sorry that she got hurt in the attack yesterday unaware that Wynnipher gave the injuries to herself when she attacked the dead demon. She quietly nods her head in acknowledgement before slightly digging her nails into the bar table in a bit of embarrassment and frustration. After finishing the plate of food that Brost gave her, she gets up and quietly nods a goodbye to Brost before leaving the tavern clutching at the note and thinking back to the group killing the demon.

A couple days pass for Wynnipher as she keeps absentmindedly going through the stables of the Three Legged Dragon and cleaning them up so that they are ready for the next batch of customers to drop their horses off. Every so often she will walk out in front of the tavern and look down the road that Arthur and his group left on, deep down, hoping that they come back, but afraid of if they don't. After checking the roads and seeing nothing, she heads back to the stables, her head down looking at the ground, just wondering if the old man will make it back. She gets back to the stables and continues her duties as day turns to dusk. She goes and tells Brost that she is leaving as there aren't any horses in the stables right now and that they are clean for the next group. Brost bids her a good evening after handing her the money she earned for the work she did today. The money isn't too much, but Wynnipher has been saving up her money so that she could buy a bow that she saw in a display window at the Ravens Wing, the towns hunting supplies store. And with the money she acquired from working for Brost, she should be able to afford the bow, however, she still needs to buy food and other necessities for the Feywild Collective as they have taken to calling themselves. The Feywild Collective being the members who were able to escape from the Feywild with Wynnipher. And so, Wynnipher continues walking through the town to the local butcher and some farm stands to buy some meat and vegetables for her group so that they at least have something to eat. Wynnipher eventually makes it back to the Collective and drops off the food she picked up by the cooking pots and then goes to lie down for the evening. As she's laying on the ground, she once again pulls out that note, wondering what Arthur wants to talk to her about if/when he gets back.

=== The Offer: ===
The following day, Wynnipher makes her way to the Three Legged Dragon and lets Brost know that she is heading back to the stables to take care of the horses that people have taken back before she arrived, and with that, she goes about her normal duties, tending to the horses and the stable grounds. With the day going by, and her still not seeing or hearing anything about Arthur and his group, she gets her days pay from Brost and heads down to Ravens Wing to see if the display bow is still there. She sees the owner of Ravens Wing out front, cleaning the display window where the bow would normally be, and she soon comes to find that the reason the owner is cleaning the window is because he has a new display piece and that the bow was sold earlier that day. Wynnipher, emotionally shaken by the news nods her head in farewell to the owner and leaves the shop before heading back to the residence of the Feywild Collective with her head towards the ground and her feet slightly dragging as she walks. She eventually makes it back to the building where the collective is staying and oddly finds some horses tied to a post out front. Not giving it too much thought, she heads in and goes to greet everybody but stops when she hears a familiar gruff voice in the next room talking to the members of the Collective. Her ears perk up when she hears the voice and she looks outside at the horses and recognizes them as well. Putting 2 and 2 together, she knows that its Arthur and his group visiting the Collective. But then she wonders why they are here, for they shouldn't have any reason to be here. Wondering why they are here, she sneaks up to the room entrance and hides on the other side of the door, listening into their conversation.

She listens into the conversation and learns that Arthur and his companions are what could be considered mercenary adventurers who go around the continent of Pteris working for those who have gold to spare and things that need done. Arthur then lets the elders of the Collective know that should they require any assistance with their future plans of relocation, that Arthur and his group could help relocate them safely for a small fee. Arthur then also lets them know that the offer isn't the main reason they are here. At that, Wynniphers ears perk up even more wondering what the real reason they are here is. Arthur further explains that he understands that they were refugees from the Feywild due to a demon attack and that he is sorry for their losses. He also explains that he understand that people go the grief in different ways before mentioning that Wynnipher herself still caries a lot of grief and anger with her even though she holds it well. He explains what happened the day that Caftans Ridge was attacked by a demon and how Wynnipher lost herself to the rage and sadness that she holds; hearing this, Wynnipher blushes a little in embarrassment briefly remembering her actions that day. Following his explanation, he brings up his reason for being here, he would like to take Wynnipher under his wing and have her become an apprentice member of their organization. Wynnipher hearing this is absolutely shocked and her mind starts racing faster than it ever, her eyes darting to look around the room she is in questioning why it suddenly felt like a new space. The elders of the Collective start to murmur to each other hearing Arthurs proposition. The leader of the collective then sighs and looks back at Arthur and responds by saying that it would be unfair to further discuss this without Wynnipher here, and as if knowing that she had been listening in the entire time, the elder gets up and walks over to the door that Wynnipher was listening in from and opens it up. Wynnipher surprised that the elder knew she was there, falls on her face as the elder opened the door. Wynnipher is then given a light scolding from the elder about listening in to private conversations, but is then given a pass since she is the subject of said conversation. The elder then invites her into the room and offers her a chair at the table and asks Wynnipher if she has any questions for Arthur since she has already heard what that the offer was for him to take her under his wing and for her to become an apprentice adventurer. Wynnipher, still stunned by what is going on is slow to respond as she opens and closes her mouth as if she has something she wants to ask but is unsure of what words to use. Everybody sees that Wynnipher is a bit in shock with what is going on and so Arthur tells her that its alright and that no questions are off the table, to feel free to ask him or his companions anything.

After thinking it over a bit, Wynnipher starts firing some questions off rapidly about what they do, who they are, where would they be going, why her, what about the members of the Collective, what would she be doing, why her, why her, why her, when would they leave, would she be able to come back, would she get paid as if this is a job, does she need anything before hand, is it binding, and many other questions that were bouncing around her mind while she was secretly listening into the conversation earlier. Arthur, his companions, and the elders at the table all chuckle seeing her questions. The main elder then stops her before she passes out from asking so many questions and motions to Arthur to further explain and possibly answer what this offer of his would entail. The elder then gives Wynnipher a cup of water before telling her to just drink and listen with as calm of a mind as she can manage for this may be a great opportunity for her. And so with that, Arthur then goes further into detail about who him and his companions are, who they work for, the kinds of jobs they take, where they have been and where they plan to go, along with many other details with Wynnipher taking it all in. After a while Wynnipher told Arthur that she would let him know after she talked to the members of the Collective as currently she was one of the main members that brought in money for them to survive. Arthur told her to take her time, but not too much, as their group will be leaving the following evening; and once she came to a decision, she would know where to find them. With that, Arthur and his group left the building that housed the Feywild Collective and went back to the Three Legged Dragon where Brost had kept their rooms for them.

That night and into the following day, Wynnipher contemplated the decision before her that Arthur has offered. It was an offer of potential great fortune but great danger and peril as well as some of the missions Arthur and his group took up were monster hunting missions that would place them in immediate danger. Wynnipher had some thoughts after hearing Arthurs in detail explanation and shared those with the leaders of the Collective as she would need their approval if she was to join Arthur due to her being one of their main areas of income at the moment. After a night of talking, they came to a decision to allow Wynnipher to join Arthur is she so chooses on a couple conditions, she writes back to them with monthly or bi-monthly updates, she sends some coin if able or unless noted otherwise in a response letter, she introduces Brost to one of the other kids in the Collective so that they can take her job at the tavern as a stable hand, and most importantly, to be safe and happy with her decision as while her direct parents are gone, the Collective is still her family and family looks out for each other. Before even hearing their response, she had silently determined that she was going to accept Arthurs deal, and now with hearing the decision of the elders, a small smile lit her face and her eyes sparkled as she started to thank them profusely before giving them all hugs and promises to adhere to their conditions. She then gathered some of the kids who she thought would be a good replacement for her at the tavern as a stable hand. After getting them together, she took them back to the tavern which was still open and introduced them to Brost as possible replacements for her as she was going to be leaving town to become an Adventurer! She then went into the tavern and found Arthur and his companions having a meal and drinking. Her brightly shining eyes connected with Arthurs dark eyes and he smiled, beckoning her over to join them. Wynnipher went on over and told them that the Collective was okay with her joining them and that she was ready to become an adventurer. Arthur jokingly scoffed at her after looking her up and down and mentioning that she sure doesn't look like she's ready as she doesn't have any adventuring gear! Hearing this, Wynnipher blushed a little in embarrassment and looked down stating that she didn't have time to prepare anything yet. But then the group laughs at her embarrassment and lets her know that they were joking before telling her that they prepared a little welcoming gift for her. Arthur then pulled a long item that was wrapped in a blanket before sliding it over to her and nodding for her to open it. Without waiting, she removed the blanket and was surprised to find the display bow from Ravens Wing along with a small quiver of arrows and some fingerless adventuring gloves. Wynnipher was floored, as just earlier that day, she was disappointed to see that someone had bought the bow she had been saving up for and so, without warning, she started to happily cry a little before jumping into Arthurs arms and giving him a big hug. Arthur then explains to her that when they had returned to town, he noticed her stopping at Ravens Wing and staring at the display bow with unfettered determination to have that bow. Wynnipher hearing this, chuckled and shyly asked if it was that obvious she had wanted the bow. The group then laughed in response at her remark. That night was Wynniphers happiest day in a while and would continue to be her happiest day for a long time to come.

=== DANG: ===
After Wynnipher joined Arthur and his group as Arthurs apprentice adventurer, they left the town of Caftans Ridge by horseback and rode North, Arthur not saying where they were going next. And then time passed for Wynnipher as she joined the group and helped in missions, slowly, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year becoming a proper adventurer. During that time, Arthur explained and initiated Wynnipher into the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild also known as DANG. They were not a very well know guild, but their group operated under a small list of guidelines which was to A) Neutralize any demonic abominations that threaten the current peace of Pteris, B) Help those in need of helping if able, C) Care for ones own brothers and sisters, and D) Never trust anybody or anything from the Outer Planes. Wynnipher eventually became a fully fledged member of DANG after leading her own demon hunting mission where Arthur and his group followed her lead for the mission. The mission went well and the demonic appearance was taken care of with nothing major going wrong. Time continued to pass and eventually, Arthurs group disbanded when Arthur retired from being an active mission leader for DANG due to receiving a near fatal wound in a botched mission. With their group in DANG being disbanded, each member decided to go and form their own group through other members of DANG or by recruiting new members into the guild. Wynnipher however went a different path, she had heard tell of a settlement out in the western regions of Pteris where there was a coalition of unlikely partners working together to fight against the demonic invasion into the Badlands. And so, with that, she traveled there, planning to join their ranks in the fight to stop the demonic incursions.

== Mission Log ==

=== Mission Name: Stop the Swarming Demons ===
'''Mission Brief:''' '''''Reports of demon attacks have been increasing of late. Traders shakingly tell of having to abandon their goods to escape the clouds of flying demons that swarm parts of the trade routes. They tell how those attacked and bitten turn into demons. These swarms must be coming from somewhere and the Arboretum wants to send a group to investigate.'''''

I arrived at the Arboretum and has been wandering around and getting a lay of the land, for I plan to stay here till the demon incursions have been stopped. I learn that the group defending the Arboretum and using it as a base camp is actually comprised of three different groups who came together to defend shared interests. The groups in the alliance are The Shepherds, The Federation, and the Scrappers. The Scrappers are being lead by the Cambion devil, Raegina, and that her group consists of hell-touched, undead, and other similar vagabonds. I am not a fan of knowing that there is a devil leading one of the groups in the alliance. But, I am going to have to come to terms that I will be taking missions that might be helping said devil and knowing that devils are still better than demons. The Federation is led by a reclusive man by the name of Hektor. He and his group run businesses that deal with peoples want for recreation and excess. I learn that they are in charge of the tavern, the gambling circle, and the fighting ring. The Shepherds are an interesting group, ruled by Duke Solon and led by Vettik Herbert. They typically specialize in agriculture and trade while helping maintain the lives of those who live in the northern/central areas of the Badlands. Overall, the Shepherds and the Federation come across better to me due to not being led by a devil, but I am not so sure that everything is as they say.

I was lounging around the central area of the Arboretum people watching before her gaze landed on another newly arrived person. I studied the person for a while as they were just standing out in the open sun, unmoving, wondering if the person standing there is even alive as they haven't moved for a while. While studying the person standing there, the calm and peaceful atmosphere of the area is broken when a person comes running into the central area screaming their head off until literally, their head detaches from their body, grows wings from where their ears were, and begins to fly away continuing to scream. Seeing this, I am shocked as I have never seen this kind of demon before. The flying head is quickly taken care of by the ones chasing after the now headless corpse in the central area. The people from the group then start talking to one another wondering where all of the flying head demons are coming from and if somebody is going to do something about it as they are swarming the trade routes that were said to be safe. A member in garments representing the Shepherds approaches them and informs the group that a job posting will be made to clean up the trade route and the demon swarms.

As the Shepherd member is making the job posting, a group of adventurers approach the person and inform them that they were all willing to take care of the swarming demon issues. Wynnipher wanting to help in taking care of these demon swarms decides to join the group signing up for the mission. After signing up for the mission, the group, consisting of [[Ichake Asaku|Ichake]], [[Patches Vanderburg|Patches]], and [[Avel]] huddle up and decide that they are going to skip renting horses due to low funds of some members. After making sure they had enough rations and supplies for the trip, they left the Arboretum.

Travel to the location where swarms of demons were being reported were pretty uneventful. Wynnipher noticed that Avel was struggling on the first days travel, but after some help from the rest of the group, he was fine traveling for the other days. During our travel out, Avel tells us some stories, Ichake points out some constellations in the night sky, and I forage for food and water in the surrounding areas. During our fourth day of travel, I can start to sense the demons before we see or hear them due to the mystical senses I have developed towards hunting demons and other such monsters. As our group gets closer, we start to see some dark clouds moving through the air, but they aren't clouds, they are swarms of small demons; and they appear to be chasing a halfling who is riding a dustrunner our direction while screaming his head off. Seeing that the halfling is in need of help and is already riding towards us, our group springs into action to fight against the two swarms of tiny demon heads. We successfully defeat the two swarms of demons, with the swarms dissipating into a black mist. But, our group did not escape unscathed; Avel was bitten by one of the swarms and resulting in him getting cursed. Seeing this, and remembering what happened in the Arboretum a couple of days ago, I keep an eye on him so that I can take him down before he fully turns into a demon. We then approach the still panicking Halfling and Ichake goes to calm them down. The Halfling introduces themself as Ryzen and then explains to us how the demon curse works, stating that once one gets cursed, their facial features start becoming demonic, their ears start elongating, before finally, the head detaches itself from the body of the host and becomes a Vargouille. The group hearing this explanation then looks towards the dustrunner and Ryzen inspecting them for signs of becoming Vargouille. They both show signs of being cursed. We then ask Ryzen about someone who could help remove the curse and they explain that there is a Tortle named Yuru hiding out in a small grove of cactus and other desert fauna above a bluff. Avel hearing that Yuru should be able to help them recognizes the name as he has interacted with her previously with some other members from the Arboretum. We then decide that it is best to travel towards Yuru's location so that Avel and Ryzen could get healed. As Ryzen is getting back on their dustrunner, the dustrunner bucks them off before starting to scream while their ears turn into wings and the head detaches itself. Quickly responding, Patches grabs the head so that it cant fly away while Avel swings at it and I shoot at it taking it down. After recovering from that, we start making our way towards the bluff that Ryzen mentioned.
[[File:Image 2026-03-18 122944306.png|thumb|Ruin Demon Swarm escaping from a corpse. ]]
As we approach the bluff, Avel remarks that he has been here previously on a mission where the group he was a part of took down a corrupted owlbear along with some of the Vargouilles. Approaching the bluff, we see the owlbear corpse on the ground along with several other corpses of horses and a camel. There is also the campfire that Avels group had used previously. Getting an uneasy feeling about the area, we try to sneak around the side towards the bluff face as the corpses are sitting right between us and the bluff face. This however doesn't go well and our group makes too much noise causing our suspicions to become reality as the owlbear corpse starts to vibrate before a large swarm of demons escapes the corpse. We quickly start to fight the demon swarm that I learn to be a Ruin Demon. Recalling what I have heard about Ruin Demons, I remember that they are resistant to most elemental damage along with non-magical damage and I share this with the group before separating and casting Magic Weapon on my longbow. As we fight the Ruin Demon, the varying corpses around us start releasing more parts of the Ruin Demon that fly back to it allowing it to shrug off some of our attacks. Seeing this, I use my Fey Step ability to teleport next to the corpses and have them go up in flames while still fighting the Ruin Demon to prevent the small swarms from rejoining the main swarm. Some Vargouille also fly from somewhere in the bluff and join the battle. Our group eventually gets the upper hand on the Ruin Demon and vanquish it along with the rest of the Vargouilles. We then spend some time healing from the battle as during the fight, Ichake went down due to attacks from the Ruin Demon and Vargouille. I help heal Patches as he tanked a lot of the damage from the Ruin Demon. Following our group healing up, we look around to see where Ryzen went during the fight and find that his body was laying out in the desert without a head and an understanding falls on the group that one of the Vargouille we killed was Ryzen's former head.

Our group then heads towards the bluff and climbs up the face of it to search for the patch of desert fauna that Ryzen stated Yuru the desert Tortle was camping in. We quickly find the patch of fauna and make our way towards the center where we find a tent set up and a Tortle foraging some plants from the area. Avel leads the group toward Yuru before he calls out to Yuru letting her know that we were there. Yuru then greets us before Avel explains that they recently fought some Vargouille and he got cursed by one of them and asks if she could cure him. Yuru approaches Avel and inspects him, with a soft glow escaping her palm and enveloping Avel. She confirms that he is indeed cursed and agrees to help remove the curse. She then pulls out some powder of some kind and takes a sniff of it, seemingly getting a magical high from it, before moving back to Avel and casting a spell to remove the curse from his body. Yuru almost falls over after casting the spell as it appeared to take a small tole on her to cast it. Avel then brings up the powder that Yuru used before curing him and Yuru appears startled that he recognizes it as it is one of the Shepherds secrets. She then asks for our groups silence before discussing the substance. I guess she did not trust the look on my face as she kindly asked me to step out of her tent while they discuss the substance. After Yuru, Avel, Patches, and Ichake finish discussing the substance, I am invited back into the tent for some prickly pear juice. Yuru then informs our group that she is planning to depart from this area soon, but we are more then welcome to use the area as a camp for the night before travelling back to the Arboretum. I am able to forage some food and water from the local fauna patch before we rest for the night.

The following morning, we head back to the bluff face and hear the sound of flapping wings nearby and we see that there are three more Vargouille flying in amongst the remains of corpses below the bluff. Seeing this and wondering where they came from for them to appear in the area along with remembering that some flew from the bluff face the previous day during our fight with the Ruin Demon, we quickly take care of them before they can respond. We then investigate the bluff face and eventually find that there is a loose section of the bluff face that is able to be pushed in. After the section of the bluff falls in, we find that it leads to a small open area inside the bluff and that there is a statue with a demonic head along with a magic circle on the ground that is glowing with a purple light. The statue has a amulet around its neck. Ichake picks up the amulet and we agree that the best path forward would be to destroy the magic circle and statue as we believe that this was what was summoning the Vargouille and demon swarms. Patches smashes the statue and when it falls apart, some viscera comes out if the statue. Patches continues to smash the statue until the viscera stops squirming. Looking around the ritual room, we find that there is a section of wall that has runes on it in Sylvan. Avel reads the rooms and finds that it is a riddle with the answer to the riddle being a coin. Once Avel says "coin" the part of the wall with the Sylvan runes rumbles before moving into the ceiling revealing a door that leads to another room inside the bluff. This room is full of alchemical equipment on several tables along with enough space in the center of the room for an owlbear corpse to reside. Finding that there is nothing in this room to take other than some junk, we quickly pack up our stuff and start our return trip to the Arboretum. We travel back to the Arboretum with nothing of notice occurring during our days of walking. When we arrive back at the Arboretum, we find the Shepherd agent and inform him that we took care of the demon swarms along with the source summoning them and show him the amulet that Ichake picked up. He then pays us each our wage for taking the mission before we split up and go our own ways now that we are back in the Arboretum.

== Languages ==
Wynnipher knows how to speak and read Common, Elvish, Infernal, and Abyssal. She took up learning how to speak Infernal and Abyssal to help with understanding those that she hunts.

== Powers and Abilities ==
Wynnipher developed herself as a Monster Slayer within DANG.

She has become an excellent tracker of fiends, being able to focus in on them with a strong desire to exterminate them. Alongside fiends, she is able to magically enhance her senses to determine if any aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, or undead are present within the local area.

With Wynnipher growing up in the deserts of the Feywild, she finds herself able more easily track creatures, navigate, and generally survive in the deserts of the material plane.

Being developed as a Monster Slayer, Wynnipher has learned some magic to help herself and her partners when hunting.

More specifically, when hunting enemies, she is able to boost her damage to targets through both skills as a Monster Slayer and through some magic that she has learned.

But that is not all she can do, naturally as an Eladrin, Wynnipher can change the season that she is in tune with; she can see in the dark as if it were dim light; she is resistant against being charmed; and can teleport in a similar fashion to the spell Misty Step; Wynnipher also doe not need to sleep and cannot be put to sleep.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
For ranged targets, Wynnipher uses her longbow to target them, and if they get in close, she uses her shortswords, one of which is the one that her parents give her

== Useful Links: ==
[[Bedlam in the Badlands/Player Resources]]

[[Bedlam in the Badlands/The Arboretum Marketplace]]

[[Bedlam in the Badlands/The Story So Far]]

[[Pteris]]

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

File:Image 2026-03-18 122944306.png

2026-03-18T16:30:08Z

Doublecheese247: Image of Ruin Demon from stat block

== Summary ==
Image of Ruin Demon from stat block

Wynnipher Winchester

2026-03-18T12:40:38Z

Doublecheese247: /* Mission Name: Stop the Swarming Demons */

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (DANG),
The Feywild Collective|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=Wynnipher_Winchester_screenshot.png|caption=Wynnipher readying an arrow on her bow|playerName=Connor S / Doublecheese247|relatives=No immediate relatives alive|languages=Common, Elvish, Infernal, Abyssal|alias=Winchester|birthPlace=A village in the Feywild that is no more|species=Eladrin|gender=Female|height=7' 1"|weight=185|eyes=Gold|field1=Character Sheet|value1=https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/162187361}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a Summer Eladrin Monster Slayer ranger whose village in the Feywild was destroyed by demons and is now in Pteris to help remove the demons that threaten the continent.

== Physical Appearance ==
Wynnipher is a tall Summer Eladrin who stands at 7' 1" with a lithe build. She has wavy bleach blonde that is partially braided and goes down to her mid back. Her skin is of a sandy hue from] long stretches of time spent out in the deserts of both the Feywild and Pteris. Her attire is compatible with a desert climate, consisting mainly of lightweight and/or flowing materials in earth tones. Notably, she is never seen without her ring, inscribed with the designs of the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (also known as DANG).

== Personality ==
Wynnipher has an aggressive and gruff nature when interacting with "normal" people. But once she hears about something related to demons and fiends, she becomes focused on figuring out how to eliminate the threat by whatever means necessary. She does not hold many around her in high regards unless they are direct superiors that have proven themselves capable of doing what is necessary to rid the world of demons and other such abominations.

Even though she looks down on most, she still has a soft spot in her heart for those in times of need and will help if able for she was once in that very situation when her mentor picked her up off the ground and took her in.

== History ==

=== The Village: ===
Wynnipher was a bright child growing up. She found endless things that would fascinate and entertain her in the Feywild where she grew up. Her parents were pretty loose with her allowing her to roam outside of the village due to the immediate surroundings of the village being safe with the matriarch of the village having a pact with the local oasis queen. Wynnipher only had to promise to behave, be respectful towards anyone and anything she were to come across, and never venture too far away from the village whenever she wanted to venture outside of the village. Wynnipher always respected those three rules of her parents as she loved her parents too much to do anything that would upset them. She would go out often due to this and play with the local water spirits of the oasis along with some other kids from her village.

As she grew up, she learned more about the Feywild that she grew up in and how it closely mirrored the material plane geographically and that there were portals that allowed members of either plane to travel to another. That is when she was told another absolute rule by her parents, which was to never travel to the material plane as it is a place that is not as nice as the village in the Feywild and the people there are not as nice as the people of the village and the ruling members of the Oasis that they were in alliance with. She would also come to learn more about their village and their relationship with the local Oasis. Even as she grew up, and began to learn many new things regarding where she grew up, she continued to venture outside of the village, as she found it truly freeing to be able to run out and experience the Feywild desert. She would surf the sand waves of the Yellow Ocean of liquid sand. She would gaze into the towering crystal pillars of the nearby Crystal Plane where all of the sand had been turned into glass and crystal due to the intense heat in the area. She would run into the Endless Desert where the sand would actively work against your movement making it difficult to move from the edges.

Wynnipher one day decided to visit said endless desert as she was feeling a bit pent up doing her chores around the village and her parents were starting to nag at her to not go out as often due to her getting more responsibilities. And on this day, she decided to run and run at the edge of the Endless Desert, going nowhere, till her legs gave out on her and she collapsed onto the sand. She laid there that day, on the shores of the Endless Desert staring into the sky of the Feywild wondering about what was on the other shore of the Endless Desert as she had only ever been on this one. After laying down on the shore for a bit, she decided that she should probably head back to the village and resume her chores. However, she would never complete those chores...

=== The Scream: ===
As she was getting back into the village and letting her parents know that she was back and that she would pick up her chores where she left them, there was an alarm that started going off from the center of the village. Wynnipher was only ever told about this alarm, she had never seen or heard it be used before which caused her to stumble over her own feet and fall to the ground. And right as she was getting up, she heard another new sound that she hadn't heard before today, screams. Not the screams of kids playing and having fun, but screams of terror and pain. She glanced at where the scream originated from and saw a towering demon with red skin that caused her to feel heat from just looking at it and blazing red eyes that caused one to feel dread if looked into for too long. The demon was holding a spear that was taller than its body, and on that spear was the head of the matriarch, removed from her body and still dripping blood down the shaft of the spear. The matriarchs face still holding a look of terror from when it was savagely ripped from her body. The demon then lifted the spear and screamed in a language that Wynnipher did not understand, but she could feel her body shiver in the heat of the desert as the grating sounds coming from the demons mouth rattled in through her ears and tore through her mind. And after the scratching sound coming from the demon ended, she could see a multitude of other demons sweeping out from behind the one that killed the matriarch, for the new demons were rushing towards the other nearby villagers. Seeing this, Wynnipher panicked and felt like she was back at the Endless Desert, wanting to move but having the sand keep her from moving from her spot. She wanted to run back to her parents and make sure that they are okay. Before she was able to get up from her spot, she felt something grab the back of her shirt firmly and aggressively pull her back from her current spot. She looked to see what had grabbed her, and found her father standing there with a worried look in his eyes, he seemed to be saying something to her, but she couldn't hear him, the demons language and the sight of the matriarchs head on the spear were still running circles around her mind.

Her father seeing that Wynnipher wasn't responding to his calls, then decides to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder as he then turns to run toward their house. As Wynnipher gets picked up and thrown over her dads shoulder, she finds that her mind snaps back to the present and starts to yell at her dad wondering what is going on, where her mom is, and where he is taking her. Her dad, continues to run trough the village turning through gaps between houses while trying to answer Wynniphers question that come out at the rate of an Arch Mages magic missile. He lets her know that he doesn't know what is going on other than the alarm means that the village is under attack and that the attackers appear to be demons followed by letting her know that her mom is at the house preparing a bag for her so that she can get out of the village along with some other kids and some of the elders that are unable to fight, and that they are running to the house to meet up with her mom before getting Wynnipher out of the village. Wynniphers dad turns a final corner and runs up to the house, using Wynniphers feet to knock open the door and screams into the house asking where Wynniphers mom is. They then hear Wynniphers mom call back that she was in the main bedroom getting everything together and that shell be out in a second. That second feels like an eternity not only to Wynnipher, but to her dad as well.

After her moms joins her and her dad in the main room of the house, she shoves a overpacked backpack into Wynniphers arms and tells her to put it on before handing her father a bow and quiver full of arrows along with a shortsword. Wynnipher questions what is in the bag and why its so heavy and her mom quickly answers that it has food and water for several days worth of travel, clothes, a rolled up tent, other miscellaneous gear, and most importantly, a shortsword that she is not to get out unless necessary and to only use it in self defense. It is at that point that she looks back to her mom realizes that she is currently half-plate armor and has a large sword strapped to her back. Her mom then explains that the plan in this situation is that a small group of adults is to lead the kids and elders out of the village and head toward the Endless Desert and then use the secret method to briefly reverse the sand movement for the group before reverting it to prevent any enemies of the village to follow before returning if possible to the village to help defeat the demon invasion.

And as her mom said, the plan that was made in case of scenarios like this started to come into effect. At the border of the village, there was a gathering of kids and elderly along with some armed adults. Wynnipher was forced to join the group by her parents. Her parents briefly stayed with her while telling her to listen to the adults in the group and follow their orders. Wynnipher at this point was back in a state of shock as her village had large plumes of smoke rising from it due to the damage caused by the demon attack. There were also sounds of fighting going on inside the village along with the occasional scream of pain. Her parents noticing this, tried to calm her down saying things along the line of "its going to be okay...", "we will send the demons back before coming to get you..." and most importantly "We love you Wynn." while giving her hugs and kissing her head. After a little bit longer, the adults decided that it was best to send the group away before the demons get to this side of town. And so with that, Wynniphers parents say a tearful goodbye / see you later before looking at each other, nodding, and turning back towards the village where they would go and help fight off the demons. Wynnipher, still distraught by what was happening, stared at her parents backs as they ran back to town that was on fire and engulfed in smoke, quietly telling them to come back and stay with her. A lot of the kids around her were screaming, crying, or in various states of shock/panic just like her while the elders and adults in the group worked to get the kids moving towards the Endless Desert.

=== The Escape: ===
The escape group led by two adults from the village was able to lead the group of elders and kids to the Endless Desert where Wynnipher was not 4 hours ago. One of them then pulled out a token that appeared to be made of solid water, but not ice, that was given to the matriarch from the Oasis. They then pressed a floating rune on the solid water that caused it to fall out of its structure and onto the shore of the Endless Ocean before forming up into a large disc of water that stabilized the sand. This would allow them to actually traverse the Endless Ocean as long as they stayed in the area affected by the water. With that, everybody in the group got into the area affected by the water and the adult that had control over the water commanded it to move forward along with the group. Wynnipher absentmindedly trudged along with the group while staring down at her feet, not realizing that she was actually traveling through the Endless Desert. She did this until she bumped into the person in front of her which caused her to fall onto her butt due to the weight of the backpack that she still had with her. She looked up to see an adult standing there and looking towards the direction of the village. Following their line of sight, Wynnipher looks in the direction of the village as well and what she sees terrifies her, for what she saw will live in her mind forever. She saw the landscape of the desert being changed before her eyes as a large ball of fire grew on the horizon, climbing higher into the sky until it billowed out forming a massive cloud of sand and smoke in the shape of a mushroom. Seeing this, tears would have continued rolling down her face if she was able to cry anymore, but she was out of tears, and out of time, as centering from the large remnant explosion cloud came a fast moving wave of compressed air that travelled from the village to the Endless Desert in no time at all. The group was hit with by the wave and everybody was thrown into the surrounding Endless Desert with everybody being thrown around in different directions. By a matter of luck, Wynnipher ended up landing in the same area that the adult who controlled the water landed. She was also saved from the brunt of the impact as she landed on her butt. After making sure that she was okay, Wynnipher then looked around at the other members of the group, hoping to see that everybody was okay and together. That was not the case; for not too far away from her, another kid from the village, one that she would frequently play with in the outskirts of the village was lying there with no life left in their eyes as they had landed on the ground head first. Similarly, a lot of the elderly members of the group had their bones broken just due to the impact from the wind wall, combining that with the rough landings they experienced, not many of them lived. The adults that were escorting them started gathering what survivors there were left before continuing to painfully move through the Endless Desert to their goal. It was then explained to the group that the goal is to reach the center of the Endless Desert which is rumored to hold a portal between the Feywild and the Material Plane and that the only way to reach the center from the shores of the desert is by flying or by using some other method to prevent the sand from keeping you out, which is where the water disc from the Oasis comes into play. After traveling for a bit more, they end up reaching the center where on the ground, on could see an unending amount of sand being pushed out of a circle and flowed out towards the boundaries of the Endless Desert. This circle where the sand of the desert was being pushed out of was the portal to the material plane, one just had to jump/drop into the circle to move between the Planes. And so, with guidance and encouragement from the adults escorting the group, the kids jumped in first with Wynnipher being part of that group.

=== The Material Plane: ===
Shifting forward through time a bit, we find Wynnipher in a town in the material plane doing some light work to earn some coin to help support herself and the group she came here with. That group consisting of other kids, the two adults, and a couple elders from the Feywild village. It has been a year since they crossed over from the Feywild and escaped the damning event that occurred at their village. The adults had agreed that it was best for the group to continue traveling together as there is strength in numbers. Everybody in the group has given up hope that there are any other survivors from their village in the Feywild after the massive explosion they saw, so they moved forward, or at least physically did so. Mentally, Wynnipher and other children are still in the Endless Desert staring at the large mushroom cloud that came from the explosion in the village, stuck in the sand, unable to run away or move. And like that, time went by as the members of the group started working at various spots in the town of Caftans Ridge to try and make ends meet. But little did the group know, they weren't out of the woods yet, for their fears followed them.

One dreary morning following another sleepless night, Wynnipher was cooped up in the stable of a local tavern, The 3 Legged Dragon, helping take care of some horses that customers have put there. Wynnipher has been helping take care of the stables for a couple of months now, the tavern owners are nice enough and they pay her for her help around the stables and the tavern if needed. Wynnipher has also come to know some of the horses that have been put there as they have been there a while due to their owners having extended their stays due to whatever business they have in the town. She had come to know that most of the horses were pretty smart as they recognized her as their caretaker while they were here, and they knew how to relay the simple needs that they wanted, whether that was being brushed, being fed, taken for a small walk out of the stables, or whatever basic needs it was they wanted/needed. And this morning that she was working, she saw the horses acting strange, at least stranger than she had ever seen. They were neighing to each other in a quick and quiet manner, jostling against each other while trying to get out of the stables. But she recognized this emotion that was being shared by the horses, for it was the same emotion that she had been experiencing every time she closed her eyes, fear. She didn't know what the horses were so afraid of this morning, but their fear soon got picked up by her and she started to look around in a panic, wondering where the source of the fear was coming from. She looked up and saw a flow of birds suddenly take flight in a panic as they flew from the town as well. And in the next moment, she felt it, the inescapable heat that she felt when she gazed at the demon that killed the matriarch of the village, and in that moment, she understood, her past has chased her here.

Bells started ringing and people started running and screaming to their houses and to the taverns, towards wherever they were staying as they wanted, no, needed to escape the attack from the demons. Wynnipher stayed in the stables with the horses, not because she didn't know where to go, but because she couldn't make herself move. And what came next shook her to her core. A demon was blasted through the tavern wall that faced the stables, it had multiple arrows sticking out of it along with multiple wounds scattered along its body. Following that, a group of 4 people came out of the hole that the demon had created, and started circling around the demon, making sure it had nowhere to go. And, without a word, they all resumed fighting the demon, creating openings for each other and covering each other when the demon went on the offensive. It was a masterclass of teamwork that she was witnessing and her eyes sparkled with emotions that was long lost to her, hope, admiration, and one emotion that wasn't entirely new, but was surprising in the moment, anger. She could feel her body trembling with a long pent up rage that was directed at the demon that was being systematically taken care of by the four adventurers who had made sure that the fight between them and the demon didn't escape the stable grounds. And then she saw it, the demon took one last arrow to the chest, but this one was a better shot than the previous ones as it zipped right into the demons heart, piercing it and ending the demons life. The demon fell over onto the ground, dead, but it wouldn't remain there alone, as out from the stables Wynnipher ran at the demon screaming in pure rage at it before she leaped onto the back of the dead demon and started raining fists upon it. The adventurers were stunned, they knew that Wynnipher was in the stable with the horses, as they were their horses she was taking care of, but they never would have expected the timid and quiet girl who took care of the horses to have such an anger and rage about her for she almost looked like a barbarian in her current state. It took them a second to recover from the shock, but then they came together and helped pull off the now crying and screaming Wynnipher who was still swinging her arms and kicking her legs trying to get free so that she could hit the dead demon some more. She didn't even care that her hands were in pain from punching the demon, nor that she had small burns along her body from being on top of the dead demons body. As they carried her away while trying to calm her down, her screams and cries never slowed down, nor did her arms and legs stop thrashing about. And so, in the interest of her not hurting herself further, one of the party members knocked her out with a quick chop to the back of the neck.

=== Arthur: ===
Wynnipher woke up later that day in a room on the second floor of the tavern, she found herself tucked into a bed with the faint smell of a burnt incense still hanging in the air. She shifted her position on the bed so that she could take a better look around the room. As she was doing so, she noticed that her hands were wrapped in bandages along with parts of her legs and chest. It was then that she woke up enough to feel the aches and pain radiating from those spots where she has bandages. With the pain, the memories of what happened came rushing back as well, memories of her hiding in the stable with the horses, watching the demon get killed by the adventurers, and then everything turning red when she jumped on top of the dead demon and started raining blows on its corpse as she cried and screamed before being picked up by the adventurers and taken away from the corpse. Remembering that last bit, she then looked around the room and finally saw one of the adventurers sitting in the corner reading a note. The adventurer was an old man for all she could tell. He had deep piercing black eyes, a nose that looks like it was broken multiple times and was never healed properly, cracked lips from the desert heat and limited amounts of water, and a stubbled white beard and mustache adorning his tanned face. Noticing Wynnipher getting up and looking at him, he greets her, letting her know that she is safe while she is in this room before rolling the scroll back up and tying it up. He then thanks Wynnipher for taking care of his groups horses while they stayed here and that the horses are gonna miss her when they leave town in a couple days. The man then introduces himself as Arthur before telling her that she is free to stay here as long as she likes while him and his group are still in town, after that, he gets up and goes out of the room, closing the door behind him, before heading downstairs to presumably meet up with his group.

Wynnipher stays in the bed for a bit before getting up and wandering the room that she found herself in. She found it odd that Arthur left her here in his room unsupervised, but then again, remembering how he and his team fought the demon, she was pretty confident that they could easily take care of her as well if needed. Looking around the room, it was pretty baren and familiar as she has helped clean up the tavern rooms that are for rent before. There was a window with curtains opposite the wall with the door, a bed on the one side with a trunk at the foot of the bed. A desk and chair are along the other wall along with a standing wardrobe for customers to store their clothes and anything else that might not fit in the trunk. While looking around the room, she noticed the note that Arthur had tied up and left on the desk. Seeing this, she could feel her curiosity getting the better of her, drawing her hand towards the small rolled up note. Finally, after contemplating it some more, she decided to grab it, she quickly undid the knot and opened the note up. On the note it read <blockquote>''"I feel for you kid, I see your pain and it resonates with me for I once held the same pain in my heart. My partners and I will be out of town for the next couple of days. We will be returning briefly to wrap up our business in this town before moving on to the next. If you are still around when we get back in, come find me. ~ That's Cool, '''A'''"'' </blockquote>Wynnipher then puts the note down and feels her gaze drawn out the window, there, on the streets outside the tavern, she sees Arthur and his group on their horses riding towards the one town exit. As if he knew she had just read the note, he turns around and looks at the room she is in, a small smile appears on his face, gives her a small wave, and then turns back around to continue riding out of town. Wynnipher continues to stare out the window in the direction they went until they are out of site. Once they are out of site, she then looks around the room once more before picking up the note that he left her and then leaves the room to find Brost the tavern keeper to let him know that she is taking the day off due to her injuries from the encounter with the demon. Before she is able to leave the tavern, Brost calls out for her to take a seat then and stay for a bite to eat. Wynnipher does just that, she goes and finds an empty seat at the bar, not that there are many taken at the moment, and she waits for Brost to come back out front. After a minute or two, Brost comes back out of the kitchen area with a plate of steaming scrambled eggs along with some fried bacon. He slides it on over to Wynnipher before grabbing her a glass of milk. After doing that the two exchange in some small talk while Wynnipher eats the food given to her. Brost then says he's sorry that she got hurt in the attack yesterday unaware that Wynnipher gave the injuries to herself when she attacked the dead demon. She quietly nods her head in acknowledgement before slightly digging her nails into the bar table in a bit of embarrassment and frustration. After finishing the plate of food that Brost gave her, she gets up and quietly nods a goodbye to Brost before leaving the tavern clutching at the note and thinking back to the group killing the demon.

A couple days pass for Wynnipher as she keeps absentmindedly going through the stables of the Three Legged Dragon and cleaning them up so that they are ready for the next batch of customers to drop their horses off. Every so often she will walk out in front of the tavern and look down the road that Arthur and his group left on, deep down, hoping that they come back, but afraid of if they don't. After checking the roads and seeing nothing, she heads back to the stables, her head down looking at the ground, just wondering if the old man will make it back. She gets back to the stables and continues her duties as day turns to dusk. She goes and tells Brost that she is leaving as there aren't any horses in the stables right now and that they are clean for the next group. Brost bids her a good evening after handing her the money she earned for the work she did today. The money isn't too much, but Wynnipher has been saving up her money so that she could buy a bow that she saw in a display window at the Ravens Wing, the towns hunting supplies store. And with the money she acquired from working for Brost, she should be able to afford the bow, however, she still needs to buy food and other necessities for the Feywild Collective as they have taken to calling themselves. The Feywild Collective being the members who were able to escape from the Feywild with Wynnipher. And so, Wynnipher continues walking through the town to the local butcher and some farm stands to buy some meat and vegetables for her group so that they at least have something to eat. Wynnipher eventually makes it back to the Collective and drops off the food she picked up by the cooking pots and then goes to lie down for the evening. As she's laying on the ground, she once again pulls out that note, wondering what Arthur wants to talk to her about if/when he gets back.

=== The Offer: ===
The following day, Wynnipher makes her way to the Three Legged Dragon and lets Brost know that she is heading back to the stables to take care of the horses that people have taken back before she arrived, and with that, she goes about her normal duties, tending to the horses and the stable grounds. With the day going by, and her still not seeing or hearing anything about Arthur and his group, she gets her days pay from Brost and heads down to Ravens Wing to see if the display bow is still there. She sees the owner of Ravens Wing out front, cleaning the display window where the bow would normally be, and she soon comes to find that the reason the owner is cleaning the window is because he has a new display piece and that the bow was sold earlier that day. Wynnipher, emotionally shaken by the news nods her head in farewell to the owner and leaves the shop before heading back to the residence of the Feywild Collective with her head towards the ground and her feet slightly dragging as she walks. She eventually makes it back to the building where the collective is staying and oddly finds some horses tied to a post out front. Not giving it too much thought, she heads in and goes to greet everybody but stops when she hears a familiar gruff voice in the next room talking to the members of the Collective. Her ears perk up when she hears the voice and she looks outside at the horses and recognizes them as well. Putting 2 and 2 together, she knows that its Arthur and his group visiting the Collective. But then she wonders why they are here, for they shouldn't have any reason to be here. Wondering why they are here, she sneaks up to the room entrance and hides on the other side of the door, listening into their conversation.

She listens into the conversation and learns that Arthur and his companions are what could be considered mercenary adventurers who go around the continent of Pteris working for those who have gold to spare and things that need done. Arthur then lets the elders of the Collective know that should they require any assistance with their future plans of relocation, that Arthur and his group could help relocate them safely for a small fee. Arthur then also lets them know that the offer isn't the main reason they are here. At that, Wynniphers ears perk up even more wondering what the real reason they are here is. Arthur further explains that he understands that they were refugees from the Feywild due to a demon attack and that he is sorry for their losses. He also explains that he understand that people go the grief in different ways before mentioning that Wynnipher herself still caries a lot of grief and anger with her even though she holds it well. He explains what happened the day that Caftans Ridge was attacked by a demon and how Wynnipher lost herself to the rage and sadness that she holds; hearing this, Wynnipher blushes a little in embarrassment briefly remembering her actions that day. Following his explanation, he brings up his reason for being here, he would like to take Wynnipher under his wing and have her become an apprentice member of their organization. Wynnipher hearing this is absolutely shocked and her mind starts racing faster than it ever, her eyes darting to look around the room she is in questioning why it suddenly felt like a new space. The elders of the Collective start to murmur to each other hearing Arthurs proposition. The leader of the collective then sighs and looks back at Arthur and responds by saying that it would be unfair to further discuss this without Wynnipher here, and as if knowing that she had been listening in the entire time, the elder gets up and walks over to the door that Wynnipher was listening in from and opens it up. Wynnipher surprised that the elder knew she was there, falls on her face as the elder opened the door. Wynnipher is then given a light scolding from the elder about listening in to private conversations, but is then given a pass since she is the subject of said conversation. The elder then invites her into the room and offers her a chair at the table and asks Wynnipher if she has any questions for Arthur since she has already heard what that the offer was for him to take her under his wing and for her to become an apprentice adventurer. Wynnipher, still stunned by what is going on is slow to respond as she opens and closes her mouth as if she has something she wants to ask but is unsure of what words to use. Everybody sees that Wynnipher is a bit in shock with what is going on and so Arthur tells her that its alright and that no questions are off the table, to feel free to ask him or his companions anything.

After thinking it over a bit, Wynnipher starts firing some questions off rapidly about what they do, who they are, where would they be going, why her, what about the members of the Collective, what would she be doing, why her, why her, why her, when would they leave, would she be able to come back, would she get paid as if this is a job, does she need anything before hand, is it binding, and many other questions that were bouncing around her mind while she was secretly listening into the conversation earlier. Arthur, his companions, and the elders at the table all chuckle seeing her questions. The main elder then stops her before she passes out from asking so many questions and motions to Arthur to further explain and possibly answer what this offer of his would entail. The elder then gives Wynnipher a cup of water before telling her to just drink and listen with as calm of a mind as she can manage for this may be a great opportunity for her. And so with that, Arthur then goes further into detail about who him and his companions are, who they work for, the kinds of jobs they take, where they have been and where they plan to go, along with many other details with Wynnipher taking it all in. After a while Wynnipher told Arthur that she would let him know after she talked to the members of the Collective as currently she was one of the main members that brought in money for them to survive. Arthur told her to take her time, but not too much, as their group will be leaving the following evening; and once she came to a decision, she would know where to find them. With that, Arthur and his group left the building that housed the Feywild Collective and went back to the Three Legged Dragon where Brost had kept their rooms for them.

That night and into the following day, Wynnipher contemplated the decision before her that Arthur has offered. It was an offer of potential great fortune but great danger and peril as well as some of the missions Arthur and his group took up were monster hunting missions that would place them in immediate danger. Wynnipher had some thoughts after hearing Arthurs in detail explanation and shared those with the leaders of the Collective as she would need their approval if she was to join Arthur due to her being one of their main areas of income at the moment. After a night of talking, they came to a decision to allow Wynnipher to join Arthur is she so chooses on a couple conditions, she writes back to them with monthly or bi-monthly updates, she sends some coin if able or unless noted otherwise in a response letter, she introduces Brost to one of the other kids in the Collective so that they can take her job at the tavern as a stable hand, and most importantly, to be safe and happy with her decision as while her direct parents are gone, the Collective is still her family and family looks out for each other. Before even hearing their response, she had silently determined that she was going to accept Arthurs deal, and now with hearing the decision of the elders, a small smile lit her face and her eyes sparkled as she started to thank them profusely before giving them all hugs and promises to adhere to their conditions. She then gathered some of the kids who she thought would be a good replacement for her at the tavern as a stable hand. After getting them together, she took them back to the tavern which was still open and introduced them to Brost as possible replacements for her as she was going to be leaving town to become an Adventurer! She then went into the tavern and found Arthur and his companions having a meal and drinking. Her brightly shining eyes connected with Arthurs dark eyes and he smiled, beckoning her over to join them. Wynnipher went on over and told them that the Collective was okay with her joining them and that she was ready to become an adventurer. Arthur jokingly scoffed at her after looking her up and down and mentioning that she sure doesn't look like she's ready as she doesn't have any adventuring gear! Hearing this, Wynnipher blushed a little in embarrassment and looked down stating that she didn't have time to prepare anything yet. But then the group laughs at her embarrassment and lets her know that they were joking before telling her that they prepared a little welcoming gift for her. Arthur then pulled a long item that was wrapped in a blanket before sliding it over to her and nodding for her to open it. Without waiting, she removed the blanket and was surprised to find the display bow from Ravens Wing along with a small quiver of arrows and some fingerless adventuring gloves. Wynnipher was floored, as just earlier that day, she was disappointed to see that someone had bought the bow she had been saving up for and so, without warning, she started to happily cry a little before jumping into Arthurs arms and giving him a big hug. Arthur then explains to her that when they had returned to town, he noticed her stopping at Ravens Wing and staring at the display bow with unfettered determination to have that bow. Wynnipher hearing this, chuckled and shyly asked if it was that obvious she had wanted the bow. The group then laughed in response at her remark. That night was Wynniphers happiest day in a while and would continue to be her happiest day for a long time to come.

=== DANG: ===
After Wynnipher joined Arthur and his group as Arthurs apprentice adventurer, they left the town of Caftans Ridge by horseback and rode North, Arthur not saying where they were going next. And then time passed for Wynnipher as she joined the group and helped in missions, slowly, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year becoming a proper adventurer. During that time, Arthur explained and initiated Wynnipher into the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild also known as DANG. They were not a very well know guild, but their group operated under a small list of guidelines which was to A) Neutralize any demonic abominations that threaten the current peace of Pteris, B) Help those in need of helping if able, C) Care for ones own brothers and sisters, and D) Never trust anybody or anything from the Outer Planes. Wynnipher eventually became a fully fledged member of DANG after leading her own demon hunting mission where Arthur and his group followed her lead for the mission. The mission went well and the demonic appearance was taken care of with nothing major going wrong. Time continued to pass and eventually, Arthurs group disbanded when Arthur retired from being an active mission leader for DANG due to receiving a near fatal wound in a botched mission. With their group in DANG being disbanded, each member decided to go and form their own group through other members of DANG or by recruiting new members into the guild. Wynnipher however went a different path, she had heard tell of a settlement out in the western regions of Pteris where there was a coalition of unlikely partners working together to fight against the demonic invasion into the Badlands. And so, with that, she traveled there, planning to join their ranks in the fight to stop the demonic incursions.

== Mission Log ==

=== Mission Name: Stop the Swarming Demons ===
'''Mission Brief:''' '''''Reports of demon attacks have been increasing of late. Traders shakingly tell of having to abandon their goods to escape the clouds of flying demons that swarm parts of the trade routes. They tell how those attacked and bitten turn into demons. These swarms must be coming from somewhere and the Arboretum wants to send a group to investigate.'''''

I arrived at the Arboretum and has been wandering around and getting a lay of the land, for I plan to stay here till the demon incursions have been stopped. I learn that the group defending the Arboretum and using it as a base camp is actually comprised of three different groups who came together to defend shared interests. The groups in the alliance are The Shepherds, The Federation, and the Scrappers. The Scrappers are being lead by the Cambion devil, Raegina, and that her group consists of hell-touched, undead, and other similar vagabonds. I am not a fan of knowing that there is a devil leading one of the groups in the alliance. But, I am going to have to come to terms that I will be taking missions that might be helping said devil and knowing that devils are still better than demons. The Federation is led by a reclusive man by the name of Hektor. He and his group run businesses that deal with peoples want for recreation and excess. I learn that they are in charge of the tavern, the gambling circle, and the fighting ring. The Shepherds are an interesting group, ruled by Duke Solon and led by Vettik Herbert. They typically specialize in agriculture and trade while helping maintain the lives of those who live in the northern/central areas of the Badlands. Overall, the Shepherds and the Federation come across better to me due to not being led by a devil, but I am not so sure that everything is as they say.

I was lounging around the central area of the Arboretum people watching before her gaze landed on another newly arrived person. I studied the person for a while as they were just standing out in the open sun, unmoving, wondering if the person standing there is even alive as they haven't moved for a while. While studying the person standing there, the calm and peaceful atmosphere of the area is broken when a person comes running into the central area screaming their head off until literally, their head detaches from their body, grows wings from where their ears were, and begins to fly away continuing to scream. Seeing this, I am shocked as I have never seen this kind of demon before. The flying head is quickly taken care of by the ones chasing after the now headless corpse in the central area. The people from the group then start talking to one another wondering where all of the flying head demons are coming from and if somebody is going to do something about it as they are swarming the trade routes that were said to be safe. A member in garments representing the Shepherds approaches them and informs the group that a job posting will be made to clean up the trade route and the demon swarms.

As the Shepherd member is making the job posting, a group of adventurers approach the person and inform them that they were all willing to take care of the swarming demon issues. Wynnipher wanting to help in taking care of these demon swarms decides to join the group signing up for the mission. After signing up for the mission, the group, consisting of [[Ichake Asaku|Ichake]], [[Patches Vanderburg|Patches]], and [[Avel]] huddle up and decide that they are going to skip renting horses due to low funds of some members. After making sure they had enough rations and supplies for the trip, they left the Arboretum.

Travel to the location where swarms of demons were being reported were pretty uneventful. Wynnipher noticed that Avel was struggling on the first days travel, but after some help from the rest of the group, he was fine traveling for the other days. During our travel out, Avel tells us some stories, Ichake points out some constellations in the night sky, and I forage for food and water in the surrounding areas. During our fourth day of travel, I can start to sense the demons before we see or hear them due to the mystical senses I have developed towards hunting demons and other such monsters. As our group gets closer, we start to see some dark clouds moving through the air, but they aren't clouds, they are swarms of small demons; and they appear to be chasing a halfling who is riding a dustrunner our direction while screaming his head off. Seeing that the halfling is in need of help and is already riding towards us, our group springs into action to fight against the two swarms of tiny demon heads. We successfully defeat the two swarms of demons, with the swarms dissipating into a black mist. But, our group did not escape unscathed; Avel was bitten by one of the swarms and resulting in him getting cursed. Seeing this, and knowing that he might eventually turn into a demon, I keep an eye on him so that I can take him down before he harms the rest of the group.

== Languages ==
Wynnipher knows how to speak and read Common, Elvish, Infernal, and Abyssal. She took up learning how to speak Infernal and Abyssal to help with understanding those that she hunts.

== Powers and Abilities ==
Wynnipher developed herself as a Monster Slayer within DANG.

She has become an excellent tracker of fiends, being able to focus in on them with a strong desire to exterminate them. Alongside fiends, she is able to magically enhance her senses to determine if any aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, or undead are present within the local area.

With Wynnipher growing up in the deserts of the Feywild, she finds herself able more easily track creatures, navigate, and generally survive in the deserts of the material plane.

Being developed as a Monster Slayer, Wynnipher has learned some magic to help herself and her partners when hunting.

More specifically, when hunting enemies, she is able to boost her damage to targets through both skills as a Monster Slayer and through some magic that she has learned.

But that is not all she can do, naturally as an Eladrin, Wynnipher can change the season that she is in tune with; she can see in the dark as if it were dim light; she is resistant against being charmed; and can teleport in a similar fashion to the spell Misty Step; Wynnipher also doe not need to sleep and cannot be put to sleep.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
For ranged targets, Wynnipher uses her longbow to target them, and if they get in close, she uses her shortswords, one of which is the one that her parents give her

== Useful Links: ==
[[Bedlam in the Badlands/Player Resources]]

[[Bedlam in the Badlands/The Arboretum Marketplace]]

[[Bedlam in the Badlands/The Story So Far]]

[[Pteris]]

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Wynnipher Winchester

2026-03-16T22:31:26Z

Doublecheese247: started mission log for wynnipher

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (DANG),
The Feywild Collective|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=Wynnipher_Winchester_screenshot.png|caption=Wynnipher readying an arrow on her bow|playerName=Connor S / Doublecheese247|relatives=No immediate relatives alive|languages=Common, Elvish, Infernal, Abyssal|alias=Winchester|birthPlace=A village in the Feywild that is no more|species=Eladrin|gender=Female|height=7' 1"|weight=185|eyes=Gold|field1=Character Sheet|value1=https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/162187361}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a Summer Eladrin Monster Slayer ranger whose village in the Feywild was destroyed by demons and is now in Pteris to help remove the demons that threaten the continent.

== Physical Appearance ==
Wynnipher is a tall Summer Eladrin who stands at 7' 1" with a lithe build. She has wavy bleach blonde that is partially braided and goes down to her mid back. Her skin is of a sandy hue from] long stretches of time spent out in the deserts of both the Feywild and Pteris. Her attire is compatible with a desert climate, consisting mainly of lightweight and/or flowing materials in earth tones. Notably, she is never seen without her ring, inscribed with the designs of the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (also known as DANG).

== Personality ==
Wynnipher has an aggressive and gruff nature when interacting with "normal" people. But once she hears about something related to demons and fiends, she becomes focused on figuring out how to eliminate the threat by whatever means necessary. She does not hold many around her in high regards unless they are direct superiors that have proven themselves capable of doing what is necessary to rid the world of demons and other such abominations.

Even though she looks down on most, she still has a soft spot in her heart for those in times of need and will help if able for she was once in that very situation when her mentor picked her up off the ground and took her in.

== History ==

=== The Village: ===
Wynnipher was a bright child growing up. She found endless things that would fascinate and entertain her in the Feywild where she grew up. Her parents were pretty loose with her allowing her to roam outside of the village due to the immediate surroundings of the village being safe with the matriarch of the village having a pact with the local oasis queen. Wynnipher only had to promise to behave, be respectful towards anyone and anything she were to come across, and never venture too far away from the village whenever she wanted to venture outside of the village. Wynnipher always respected those three rules of her parents as she loved her parents too much to do anything that would upset them. She would go out often due to this and play with the local water spirits of the oasis along with some other kids from her village.

As she grew up, she learned more about the Feywild that she grew up in and how it closely mirrored the material plane geographically and that there were portals that allowed members of either plane to travel to another. That is when she was told another absolute rule by her parents, which was to never travel to the material plane as it is a place that is not as nice as the village in the Feywild and the people there are not as nice as the people of the village and the ruling members of the Oasis that they were in alliance with. She would also come to learn more about their village and their relationship with the local Oasis. Even as she grew up, and began to learn many new things regarding where she grew up, she continued to venture outside of the village, as she found it truly freeing to be able to run out and experience the Feywild desert. She would surf the sand waves of the Yellow Ocean of liquid sand. She would gaze into the towering crystal pillars of the nearby Crystal Plane where all of the sand had been turned into glass and crystal due to the intense heat in the area. She would run into the Endless Desert where the sand would actively work against your movement making it difficult to move from the edges.

Wynnipher one day decided to visit said endless desert as she was feeling a bit pent up doing her chores around the village and her parents were starting to nag at her to not go out as often due to her getting more responsibilities. And on this day, she decided to run and run at the edge of the Endless Desert, going nowhere, till her legs gave out on her and she collapsed onto the sand. She laid there that day, on the shores of the Endless Desert staring into the sky of the Feywild wondering about what was on the other shore of the Endless Desert as she had only ever been on this one. After laying down on the shore for a bit, she decided that she should probably head back to the village and resume her chores. However, she would never complete those chores...

=== The Scream: ===
As she was getting back into the village and letting her parents know that she was back and that she would pick up her chores where she left them, there was an alarm that started going off from the center of the village. Wynnipher was only ever told about this alarm, she had never seen or heard it be used before which caused her to stumble over her own feet and fall to the ground. And right as she was getting up, she heard another new sound that she hadn't heard before today, screams. Not the screams of kids playing and having fun, but screams of terror and pain. She glanced at where the scream originated from and saw a towering demon with red skin that caused her to feel heat from just looking at it and blazing red eyes that caused one to feel dread if looked into for too long. The demon was holding a spear that was taller than its body, and on that spear was the head of the matriarch, removed from her body and still dripping blood down the shaft of the spear. The matriarchs face still holding a look of terror from when it was savagely ripped from her body. The demon then lifted the spear and screamed in a language that Wynnipher did not understand, but she could feel her body shiver in the heat of the desert as the grating sounds coming from the demons mouth rattled in through her ears and tore through her mind. And after the scratching sound coming from the demon ended, she could see a multitude of other demons sweeping out from behind the one that killed the matriarch, for the new demons were rushing towards the other nearby villagers. Seeing this, Wynnipher panicked and felt like she was back at the Endless Desert, wanting to move but having the sand keep her from moving from her spot. She wanted to run back to her parents and make sure that they are okay. Before she was able to get up from her spot, she felt something grab the back of her shirt firmly and aggressively pull her back from her current spot. She looked to see what had grabbed her, and found her father standing there with a worried look in his eyes, he seemed to be saying something to her, but she couldn't hear him, the demons language and the sight of the matriarchs head on the spear were still running circles around her mind.

Her father seeing that Wynnipher wasn't responding to his calls, then decides to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder as he then turns to run toward their house. As Wynnipher gets picked up and thrown over her dads shoulder, she finds that her mind snaps back to the present and starts to yell at her dad wondering what is going on, where her mom is, and where he is taking her. Her dad, continues to run trough the village turning through gaps between houses while trying to answer Wynniphers question that come out at the rate of an Arch Mages magic missile. He lets her know that he doesn't know what is going on other than the alarm means that the village is under attack and that the attackers appear to be demons followed by letting her know that her mom is at the house preparing a bag for her so that she can get out of the village along with some other kids and some of the elders that are unable to fight, and that they are running to the house to meet up with her mom before getting Wynnipher out of the village. Wynniphers dad turns a final corner and runs up to the house, using Wynniphers feet to knock open the door and screams into the house asking where Wynniphers mom is. They then hear Wynniphers mom call back that she was in the main bedroom getting everything together and that shell be out in a second. That second feels like an eternity not only to Wynnipher, but to her dad as well.

After her moms joins her and her dad in the main room of the house, she shoves a overpacked backpack into Wynniphers arms and tells her to put it on before handing her father a bow and quiver full of arrows along with a shortsword. Wynnipher questions what is in the bag and why its so heavy and her mom quickly answers that it has food and water for several days worth of travel, clothes, a rolled up tent, other miscellaneous gear, and most importantly, a shortsword that she is not to get out unless necessary and to only use it in self defense. It is at that point that she looks back to her mom realizes that she is currently half-plate armor and has a large sword strapped to her back. Her mom then explains that the plan in this situation is that a small group of adults is to lead the kids and elders out of the village and head toward the Endless Desert and then use the secret method to briefly reverse the sand movement for the group before reverting it to prevent any enemies of the village to follow before returning if possible to the village to help defeat the demon invasion.

And as her mom said, the plan that was made in case of scenarios like this started to come into effect. At the border of the village, there was a gathering of kids and elderly along with some armed adults. Wynnipher was forced to join the group by her parents. Her parents briefly stayed with her while telling her to listen to the adults in the group and follow their orders. Wynnipher at this point was back in a state of shock as her village had large plumes of smoke rising from it due to the damage caused by the demon attack. There were also sounds of fighting going on inside the village along with the occasional scream of pain. Her parents noticing this, tried to calm her down saying things along the line of "its going to be okay...", "we will send the demons back before coming to get you..." and most importantly "We love you Wynn." while giving her hugs and kissing her head. After a little bit longer, the adults decided that it was best to send the group away before the demons get to this side of town. And so with that, Wynniphers parents say a tearful goodbye / see you later before looking at each other, nodding, and turning back towards the village where they would go and help fight off the demons. Wynnipher, still distraught by what was happening, stared at her parents backs as they ran back to town that was on fire and engulfed in smoke, quietly telling them to come back and stay with her. A lot of the kids around her were screaming, crying, or in various states of shock/panic just like her while the elders and adults in the group worked to get the kids moving towards the Endless Desert.

=== The Escape: ===
The escape group led by two adults from the village was able to lead the group of elders and kids to the Endless Desert where Wynnipher was not 4 hours ago. One of them then pulled out a token that appeared to be made of solid water, but not ice, that was given to the matriarch from the Oasis. They then pressed a floating rune on the solid water that caused it to fall out of its structure and onto the shore of the Endless Ocean before forming up into a large disc of water that stabilized the sand. This would allow them to actually traverse the Endless Ocean as long as they stayed in the area affected by the water. With that, everybody in the group got into the area affected by the water and the adult that had control over the water commanded it to move forward along with the group. Wynnipher absentmindedly trudged along with the group while staring down at her feet, not realizing that she was actually traveling through the Endless Desert. She did this until she bumped into the person in front of her which caused her to fall onto her butt due to the weight of the backpack that she still had with her. She looked up to see an adult standing there and looking towards the direction of the village. Following their line of sight, Wynnipher looks in the direction of the village as well and what she sees terrifies her, for what she saw will live in her mind forever. She saw the landscape of the desert being changed before her eyes as a large ball of fire grew on the horizon, climbing higher into the sky until it billowed out forming a massive cloud of sand and smoke in the shape of a mushroom. Seeing this, tears would have continued rolling down her face if she was able to cry anymore, but she was out of tears, and out of time, as centering from the large remnant explosion cloud came a fast moving wave of compressed air that travelled from the village to the Endless Desert in no time at all. The group was hit with by the wave and everybody was thrown into the surrounding Endless Desert with everybody being thrown around in different directions. By a matter of luck, Wynnipher ended up landing in the same area that the adult who controlled the water landed. She was also saved from the brunt of the impact as she landed on her butt. After making sure that she was okay, Wynnipher then looked around at the other members of the group, hoping to see that everybody was okay and together. That was not the case; for not too far away from her, another kid from the village, one that she would frequently play with in the outskirts of the village was lying there with no life left in their eyes as they had landed on the ground head first. Similarly, a lot of the elderly members of the group had their bones broken just due to the impact from the wind wall, combining that with the rough landings they experienced, not many of them lived. The adults that were escorting them started gathering what survivors there were left before continuing to painfully move through the Endless Desert to their goal. It was then explained to the group that the goal is to reach the center of the Endless Desert which is rumored to hold a portal between the Feywild and the Material Plane and that the only way to reach the center from the shores of the desert is by flying or by using some other method to prevent the sand from keeping you out, which is where the water disc from the Oasis comes into play. After traveling for a bit more, they end up reaching the center where on the ground, on could see an unending amount of sand being pushed out of a circle and flowed out towards the boundaries of the Endless Desert. This circle where the sand of the desert was being pushed out of was the portal to the material plane, one just had to jump/drop into the circle to move between the Planes. And so, with guidance and encouragement from the adults escorting the group, the kids jumped in first with Wynnipher being part of that group.

=== The Material Plane: ===
Shifting forward through time a bit, we find Wynnipher in a town in the material plane doing some light work to earn some coin to help support herself and the group she came here with. That group consisting of other kids, the two adults, and a couple elders from the Feywild village. It has been a year since they crossed over from the Feywild and escaped the damning event that occurred at their village. The adults had agreed that it was best for the group to continue traveling together as there is strength in numbers. Everybody in the group has given up hope that there are any other survivors from their village in the Feywild after the massive explosion they saw, so they moved forward, or at least physically did so. Mentally, Wynnipher and other children are still in the Endless Desert staring at the large mushroom cloud that came from the explosion in the village, stuck in the sand, unable to run away or move. And like that, time went by as the members of the group started working at various spots in the town of Caftans Ridge to try and make ends meet. But little did the group know, they weren't out of the woods yet, for their fears followed them.

One dreary morning following another sleepless night, Wynnipher was cooped up in the stable of a local tavern, The 3 Legged Dragon, helping take care of some horses that customers have put there. Wynnipher has been helping take care of the stables for a couple of months now, the tavern owners are nice enough and they pay her for her help around the stables and the tavern if needed. Wynnipher has also come to know some of the horses that have been put there as they have been there a while due to their owners having extended their stays due to whatever business they have in the town. She had come to know that most of the horses were pretty smart as they recognized her as their caretaker while they were here, and they knew how to relay the simple needs that they wanted, whether that was being brushed, being fed, taken for a small walk out of the stables, or whatever basic needs it was they wanted/needed. And this morning that she was working, she saw the horses acting strange, at least stranger than she had ever seen. They were neighing to each other in a quick and quiet manner, jostling against each other while trying to get out of the stables. But she recognized this emotion that was being shared by the horses, for it was the same emotion that she had been experiencing every time she closed her eyes, fear. She didn't know what the horses were so afraid of this morning, but their fear soon got picked up by her and she started to look around in a panic, wondering where the source of the fear was coming from. She looked up and saw a flow of birds suddenly take flight in a panic as they flew from the town as well. And in the next moment, she felt it, the inescapable heat that she felt when she gazed at the demon that killed the matriarch of the village, and in that moment, she understood, her past has chased her here.

Bells started ringing and people started running and screaming to their houses and to the taverns, towards wherever they were staying as they wanted, no, needed to escape the attack from the demons. Wynnipher stayed in the stables with the horses, not because she didn't know where to go, but because she couldn't make herself move. And what came next shook her to her core. A demon was blasted through the tavern wall that faced the stables, it had multiple arrows sticking out of it along with multiple wounds scattered along its body. Following that, a group of 4 people came out of the hole that the demon had created, and started circling around the demon, making sure it had nowhere to go. And, without a word, they all resumed fighting the demon, creating openings for each other and covering each other when the demon went on the offensive. It was a masterclass of teamwork that she was witnessing and her eyes sparkled with emotions that was long lost to her, hope, admiration, and one emotion that wasn't entirely new, but was surprising in the moment, anger. She could feel her body trembling with a long pent up rage that was directed at the demon that was being systematically taken care of by the four adventurers who had made sure that the fight between them and the demon didn't escape the stable grounds. And then she saw it, the demon took one last arrow to the chest, but this one was a better shot than the previous ones as it zipped right into the demons heart, piercing it and ending the demons life. The demon fell over onto the ground, dead, but it wouldn't remain there alone, as out from the stables Wynnipher ran at the demon screaming in pure rage at it before she leaped onto the back of the dead demon and started raining fists upon it. The adventurers were stunned, they knew that Wynnipher was in the stable with the horses, as they were their horses she was taking care of, but they never would have expected the timid and quiet girl who took care of the horses to have such an anger and rage about her for she almost looked like a barbarian in her current state. It took them a second to recover from the shock, but then they came together and helped pull off the now crying and screaming Wynnipher who was still swinging her arms and kicking her legs trying to get free so that she could hit the dead demon some more. She didn't even care that her hands were in pain from punching the demon, nor that she had small burns along her body from being on top of the dead demons body. As they carried her away while trying to calm her down, her screams and cries never slowed down, nor did her arms and legs stop thrashing about. And so, in the interest of her not hurting herself further, one of the party members knocked her out with a quick chop to the back of the neck.

=== Arthur: ===
Wynnipher woke up later that day in a room on the second floor of the tavern, she found herself tucked into a bed with the faint smell of a burnt incense still hanging in the air. She shifted her position on the bed so that she could take a better look around the room. As she was doing so, she noticed that her hands were wrapped in bandages along with parts of her legs and chest. It was then that she woke up enough to feel the aches and pain radiating from those spots where she has bandages. With the pain, the memories of what happened came rushing back as well, memories of her hiding in the stable with the horses, watching the demon get killed by the adventurers, and then everything turning red when she jumped on top of the dead demon and started raining blows on its corpse as she cried and screamed before being picked up by the adventurers and taken away from the corpse. Remembering that last bit, she then looked around the room and finally saw one of the adventurers sitting in the corner reading a note. The adventurer was an old man for all she could tell. He had deep piercing black eyes, a nose that looks like it was broken multiple times and was never healed properly, cracked lips from the desert heat and limited amounts of water, and a stubbled white beard and mustache adorning his tanned face. Noticing Wynnipher getting up and looking at him, he greets her, letting her know that she is safe while she is in this room before rolling the scroll back up and tying it up. He then thanks Wynnipher for taking care of his groups horses while they stayed here and that the horses are gonna miss her when they leave town in a couple days. The man then introduces himself as Arthur before telling her that she is free to stay here as long as she likes while him and his group are still in town, after that, he gets up and goes out of the room, closing the door behind him, before heading downstairs to presumably meet up with his group.

Wynnipher stays in the bed for a bit before getting up and wandering the room that she found herself in. She found it odd that Arthur left her here in his room unsupervised, but then again, remembering how he and his team fought the demon, she was pretty confident that they could easily take care of her as well if needed. Looking around the room, it was pretty baren and familiar as she has helped clean up the tavern rooms that are for rent before. There was a window with curtains opposite the wall with the door, a bed on the one side with a trunk at the foot of the bed. A desk and chair are along the other wall along with a standing wardrobe for customers to store their clothes and anything else that might not fit in the trunk. While looking around the room, she noticed the note that Arthur had tied up and left on the desk. Seeing this, she could feel her curiosity getting the better of her, drawing her hand towards the small rolled up note. Finally, after contemplating it some more, she decided to grab it, she quickly undid the knot and opened the note up. On the note it read <blockquote>''"I feel for you kid, I see your pain and it resonates with me for I once held the same pain in my heart. My partners and I will be out of town for the next couple of days. We will be returning briefly to wrap up our business in this town before moving on to the next. If you are still around when we get back in, come find me. ~ That's Cool, '''A'''"'' </blockquote>Wynnipher then puts the note down and feels her gaze drawn out the window, there, on the streets outside the tavern, she sees Arthur and his group on their horses riding towards the one town exit. As if he knew she had just read the note, he turns around and looks at the room she is in, a small smile appears on his face, gives her a small wave, and then turns back around to continue riding out of town. Wynnipher continues to stare out the window in the direction they went until they are out of site. Once they are out of site, she then looks around the room once more before picking up the note that he left her and then leaves the room to find Brost the tavern keeper to let him know that she is taking the day off due to her injuries from the encounter with the demon. Before she is able to leave the tavern, Brost calls out for her to take a seat then and stay for a bite to eat. Wynnipher does just that, she goes and finds an empty seat at the bar, not that there are many taken at the moment, and she waits for Brost to come back out front. After a minute or two, Brost comes back out of the kitchen area with a plate of steaming scrambled eggs along with some fried bacon. He slides it on over to Wynnipher before grabbing her a glass of milk. After doing that the two exchange in some small talk while Wynnipher eats the food given to her. Brost then says he's sorry that she got hurt in the attack yesterday unaware that Wynnipher gave the injuries to herself when she attacked the dead demon. She quietly nods her head in acknowledgement before slightly digging her nails into the bar table in a bit of embarrassment and frustration. After finishing the plate of food that Brost gave her, she gets up and quietly nods a goodbye to Brost before leaving the tavern clutching at the note and thinking back to the group killing the demon.

A couple days pass for Wynnipher as she keeps absentmindedly going through the stables of the Three Legged Dragon and cleaning them up so that they are ready for the next batch of customers to drop their horses off. Every so often she will walk out in front of the tavern and look down the road that Arthur and his group left on, deep down, hoping that they come back, but afraid of if they don't. After checking the roads and seeing nothing, she heads back to the stables, her head down looking at the ground, just wondering if the old man will make it back. She gets back to the stables and continues her duties as day turns to dusk. She goes and tells Brost that she is leaving as there aren't any horses in the stables right now and that they are clean for the next group. Brost bids her a good evening after handing her the money she earned for the work she did today. The money isn't too much, but Wynnipher has been saving up her money so that she could buy a bow that she saw in a display window at the Ravens Wing, the towns hunting supplies store. And with the money she acquired from working for Brost, she should be able to afford the bow, however, she still needs to buy food and other necessities for the Feywild Collective as they have taken to calling themselves. The Feywild Collective being the members who were able to escape from the Feywild with Wynnipher. And so, Wynnipher continues walking through the town to the local butcher and some farm stands to buy some meat and vegetables for her group so that they at least have something to eat. Wynnipher eventually makes it back to the Collective and drops off the food she picked up by the cooking pots and then goes to lie down for the evening. As she's laying on the ground, she once again pulls out that note, wondering what Arthur wants to talk to her about if/when he gets back.

=== The Offer: ===
The following day, Wynnipher makes her way to the Three Legged Dragon and lets Brost know that she is heading back to the stables to take care of the horses that people have taken back before she arrived, and with that, she goes about her normal duties, tending to the horses and the stable grounds. With the day going by, and her still not seeing or hearing anything about Arthur and his group, she gets her days pay from Brost and heads down to Ravens Wing to see if the display bow is still there. She sees the owner of Ravens Wing out front, cleaning the display window where the bow would normally be, and she soon comes to find that the reason the owner is cleaning the window is because he has a new display piece and that the bow was sold earlier that day. Wynnipher, emotionally shaken by the news nods her head in farewell to the owner and leaves the shop before heading back to the residence of the Feywild Collective with her head towards the ground and her feet slightly dragging as she walks. She eventually makes it back to the building where the collective is staying and oddly finds some horses tied to a post out front. Not giving it too much thought, she heads in and goes to greet everybody but stops when she hears a familiar gruff voice in the next room talking to the members of the Collective. Her ears perk up when she hears the voice and she looks outside at the horses and recognizes them as well. Putting 2 and 2 together, she knows that its Arthur and his group visiting the Collective. But then she wonders why they are here, for they shouldn't have any reason to be here. Wondering why they are here, she sneaks up to the room entrance and hides on the other side of the door, listening into their conversation.

She listens into the conversation and learns that Arthur and his companions are what could be considered mercenary adventurers who go around the continent of Pteris working for those who have gold to spare and things that need done. Arthur then lets the elders of the Collective know that should they require any assistance with their future plans of relocation, that Arthur and his group could help relocate them safely for a small fee. Arthur then also lets them know that the offer isn't the main reason they are here. At that, Wynniphers ears perk up even more wondering what the real reason they are here is. Arthur further explains that he understands that they were refugees from the Feywild due to a demon attack and that he is sorry for their losses. He also explains that he understand that people go the grief in different ways before mentioning that Wynnipher herself still caries a lot of grief and anger with her even though she holds it well. He explains what happened the day that Caftans Ridge was attacked by a demon and how Wynnipher lost herself to the rage and sadness that she holds; hearing this, Wynnipher blushes a little in embarrassment briefly remembering her actions that day. Following his explanation, he brings up his reason for being here, he would like to take Wynnipher under his wing and have her become an apprentice member of their organization. Wynnipher hearing this is absolutely shocked and her mind starts racing faster than it ever, her eyes darting to look around the room she is in questioning why it suddenly felt like a new space. The elders of the Collective start to murmur to each other hearing Arthurs proposition. The leader of the collective then sighs and looks back at Arthur and responds by saying that it would be unfair to further discuss this without Wynnipher here, and as if knowing that she had been listening in the entire time, the elder gets up and walks over to the door that Wynnipher was listening in from and opens it up. Wynnipher surprised that the elder knew she was there, falls on her face as the elder opened the door. Wynnipher is then given a light scolding from the elder about listening in to private conversations, but is then given a pass since she is the subject of said conversation. The elder then invites her into the room and offers her a chair at the table and asks Wynnipher if she has any questions for Arthur since she has already heard what that the offer was for him to take her under his wing and for her to become an apprentice adventurer. Wynnipher, still stunned by what is going on is slow to respond as she opens and closes her mouth as if she has something she wants to ask but is unsure of what words to use. Everybody sees that Wynnipher is a bit in shock with what is going on and so Arthur tells her that its alright and that no questions are off the table, to feel free to ask him or his companions anything.

After thinking it over a bit, Wynnipher starts firing some questions off rapidly about what they do, who they are, where would they be going, why her, what about the members of the Collective, what would she be doing, why her, why her, why her, when would they leave, would she be able to come back, would she get paid as if this is a job, does she need anything before hand, is it binding, and many other questions that were bouncing around her mind while she was secretly listening into the conversation earlier. Arthur, his companions, and the elders at the table all chuckle seeing her questions. The main elder then stops her before she passes out from asking so many questions and motions to Arthur to further explain and possibly answer what this offer of his would entail. The elder then gives Wynnipher a cup of water before telling her to just drink and listen with as calm of a mind as she can manage for this may be a great opportunity for her. And so with that, Arthur then goes further into detail about who him and his companions are, who they work for, the kinds of jobs they take, where they have been and where they plan to go, along with many other details with Wynnipher taking it all in. After a while Wynnipher told Arthur that she would let him know after she talked to the members of the Collective as currently she was one of the main members that brought in money for them to survive. Arthur told her to take her time, but not too much, as their group will be leaving the following evening; and once she came to a decision, she would know where to find them. With that, Arthur and his group left the building that housed the Feywild Collective and went back to the Three Legged Dragon where Brost had kept their rooms for them.

That night and into the following day, Wynnipher contemplated the decision before her that Arthur has offered. It was an offer of potential great fortune but great danger and peril as well as some of the missions Arthur and his group took up were monster hunting missions that would place them in immediate danger. Wynnipher had some thoughts after hearing Arthurs in detail explanation and shared those with the leaders of the Collective as she would need their approval if she was to join Arthur due to her being one of their main areas of income at the moment. After a night of talking, they came to a decision to allow Wynnipher to join Arthur is she so chooses on a couple conditions, she writes back to them with monthly or bi-monthly updates, she sends some coin if able or unless noted otherwise in a response letter, she introduces Brost to one of the other kids in the Collective so that they can take her job at the tavern as a stable hand, and most importantly, to be safe and happy with her decision as while her direct parents are gone, the Collective is still her family and family looks out for each other. Before even hearing their response, she had silently determined that she was going to accept Arthurs deal, and now with hearing the decision of the elders, a small smile lit her face and her eyes sparkled as she started to thank them profusely before giving them all hugs and promises to adhere to their conditions. She then gathered some of the kids who she thought would be a good replacement for her at the tavern as a stable hand. After getting them together, she took them back to the tavern which was still open and introduced them to Brost as possible replacements for her as she was going to be leaving town to become an Adventurer! She then went into the tavern and found Arthur and his companions having a meal and drinking. Her brightly shining eyes connected with Arthurs dark eyes and he smiled, beckoning her over to join them. Wynnipher went on over and told them that the Collective was okay with her joining them and that she was ready to become an adventurer. Arthur jokingly scoffed at her after looking her up and down and mentioning that she sure doesn't look like she's ready as she doesn't have any adventuring gear! Hearing this, Wynnipher blushed a little in embarrassment and looked down stating that she didn't have time to prepare anything yet. But then the group laughs at her embarrassment and lets her know that they were joking before telling her that they prepared a little welcoming gift for her. Arthur then pulled a long item that was wrapped in a blanket before sliding it over to her and nodding for her to open it. Without waiting, she removed the blanket and was surprised to find the display bow from Ravens Wing along with a small quiver of arrows and some fingerless adventuring gloves. Wynnipher was floored, as just earlier that day, she was disappointed to see that someone had bought the bow she had been saving up for and so, without warning, she started to happily cry a little before jumping into Arthurs arms and giving him a big hug. Arthur then explains to her that when they had returned to town, he noticed her stopping at Ravens Wing and staring at the display bow with unfettered determination to have that bow. Wynnipher hearing this, chuckled and shyly asked if it was that obvious she had wanted the bow. The group then laughed in response at her remark. That night was Wynniphers happiest day in a while and would continue to be her happiest day for a long time to come.

=== DANG: ===
After Wynnipher joined Arthur and his group as Arthurs apprentice adventurer, they left the town of Caftans Ridge by horseback and rode North, Arthur not saying where they were going next. And then time passed for Wynnipher as she joined the group and helped in missions, slowly, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year becoming a proper adventurer. During that time, Arthur explained and initiated Wynnipher into the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild also known as DANG. They were not a very well know guild, but their group operated under a small list of guidelines which was to A) Neutralize any demonic abominations that threaten the current peace of Pteris, B) Help those in need of helping if able, C) Care for ones own brothers and sisters, and D) Never trust anybody or anything from the Outer Planes. Wynnipher eventually became a fully fledged member of DANG after leading her own demon hunting mission where Arthur and his group followed her lead for the mission. The mission went well and the demonic appearance was taken care of with nothing major going wrong. Time continued to pass and eventually, Arthurs group disbanded when Arthur retired from being an active mission leader for DANG due to receiving a near fatal wound in a botched mission. With their group in DANG being disbanded, each member decided to go and form their own group through other members of DANG or by recruiting new members into the guild. Wynnipher however went a different path, she had heard tell of a settlement out in the western regions of Pteris where there was a coalition of unlikely partners working together to fight against the demonic invasion into the Badlands. And so, with that, she traveled there, planning to join their ranks in the fight to stop the demonic incursions.

== Mission Log ==

=== Mission Name: Stop the Swarming Demons ===
'''Mission Brief:''' '''''Reports of demon attacks have been increasing of late. Traders shakingly tell of having to abandon their goods to escape the clouds of flying demons that swarm parts of the trade routes. They tell how those attacked and bitten turn into demons. These swarms must be coming from somewhere and the Arboretum wants to send a group to investigate.'''''

Wynnipher arrived at the Arboretum and has been wandering around and getting a lay of the land, for she planned to stay here till the demon incursions have been stopped. She learns that the group defending the Arboretum and using it as a base camp is actually comprised of three different groups who came together to defend shared interests. The groups in the alliance are The Shepherds, The Federation, and the Scrappers. She comes to learn that the Scrappers are being lead by the Cambion devil, Raegina, and that her group consists of hell-touched, undead, and other similar vagabonds. Wynnipher does not like that there is a devil leading one of the groups in the alliance. But, she is going to have to come to terms that she will be taking missions that might be helping said devil and knowing that devils are still better than demons. Compared to the Scrappers, the people of the Federation and the Shepherds come off in a better light.

Wynnipher was lounging around the central area of the Arboretum people watching before her gaze landed on another newly arrived person. She studied the person for a while as they were just standing out in the open sun, unmoving, wondering if the person standing there is even alive as they haven't moved for a while. While studying the person standing there, the calm and peaceful atmosphere of the area is broken when a person comes running into the central area screaming their head off until literally, their head detaches from their body, grows wings from where their ears were, and begins to fly away continuing to scream. The flying head is quickly taken care of by the ones chasing after the now headless corpse in the central area.

== Languages ==
Wynnipher knows how to speak and read Common, Elvish, Infernal, and Abyssal. She took up learning how to speak Infernal and Abyssal to help with understanding those that she hunts.

== Powers and Abilities ==
Wynnipher developed herself as a Monster Slayer within DANG.

She has become an excellent tracker of fiends, being able to focus in on them with a strong desire to exterminate them. Alongside fiends, she is able to magically enhance her senses to determine if any aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, or undead are present within the local area.

With Wynnipher growing up in the deserts of the Feywild, she finds herself able more easily track creatures, navigate, and generally survive in the deserts of the material plane.

Being developed as a Monster Slayer, Wynnipher has learned some magic to help herself and her partners when hunting.

More specifically, when hunting enemies, she is able to boost her damage to targets through both skills as a Monster Slayer and through some magic that she has learned.

But that is not all she can do, naturally as an Eladrin, Wynnipher can change the season that she is in tune with; she can see in the dark as if it were dim light; she is resistant against being charmed; and can teleport in a similar fashion to the spell Misty Step; Wynnipher also doe not need to sleep and cannot be put to sleep.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
For ranged targets, Wynnipher uses her longbow to target them, and if they get in close, she uses her shortswords, one of which is the one that her parents give her

== Useful Links: ==
[[Bedlam in the Badlands/Player Resources]]

[[Bedlam in the Badlands/The Arboretum Marketplace]]

[[Bedlam in the Badlands/The Story So Far]]

[[Pteris]]

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Wynnipher Winchester

2026-03-12T13:21:11Z

Doublecheese247: added links for personal use

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (DANG),
The Feywild Collective|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=Wynnipher_Winchester_screenshot.png|caption=Wynnipher readying an arrow on her bow|playerName=Connor S / Doublecheese247|relatives=No immediate relatives alive|languages=Common, Elvish, Infernal, Abyssal|alias=Winchester|birthPlace=A village in the Feywild that is no more|species=Eladrin|gender=Female|height=7' 1"|weight=185|eyes=Gold|field1=Character Sheet|value1=https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/162187361}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a Summer Eladrin Monster Slayer ranger whose village in the Feywild was destroyed by demons and is now in Pteris to help remove the demons that threaten the continent.

== Physical Appearance ==
Wynnipher is a tall Summer Eladrin who stands at 7' 1" with a lithe build. She has wavy bleach blonde that is partially braided and goes down to her mid back. Her skin is of a sandy hue from] long stretches of time spent out in the deserts of both the Feywild and Pteris. Her attire is compatible with a desert climate, consisting mainly of lightweight and/or flowing materials in earth tones. Notably, she is never seen without her ring, inscribed with the designs of the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (also known as DANG).

== Personality ==
Wynnipher has an aggressive and gruff nature when interacting with "normal" people. But once she hears about something related to demons and fiends, she becomes focused on figuring out how to eliminate the threat by whatever means necessary. She does not hold many around her in high regards unless they are direct superiors that have proven themselves capable of doing what is necessary to rid the world of demons and other such abominations.

Even though she looks down on most, she still has a soft spot in her heart for those in times of need and will help if able for she was once in that very situation when her mentor picked her up off the ground and took her in.

== History ==

=== The Village: ===
Wynnipher was a bright child growing up. She found endless things that would fascinate and entertain her in the Feywild where she grew up. Her parents were pretty loose with her allowing her to roam outside of the village due to the immediate surroundings of the village being safe with the matriarch of the village having a pact with the local oasis queen. Wynnipher only had to promise to behave, be respectful towards anyone and anything she were to come across, and never venture too far away from the village whenever she wanted to venture outside of the village. Wynnipher always respected those three rules of her parents as she loved her parents too much to do anything that would upset them. She would go out often due to this and play with the local water spirits of the oasis along with some other kids from her village.

As she grew up, she learned more about the Feywild that she grew up in and how it closely mirrored the material plane geographically and that there were portals that allowed members of either plane to travel to another. That is when she was told another absolute rule by her parents, which was to never travel to the material plane as it is a place that is not as nice as the village in the Feywild and the people there are not as nice as the people of the village and the ruling members of the Oasis that they were in alliance with. She would also come to learn more about their village and their relationship with the local Oasis. Even as she grew up, and began to learn many new things regarding where she grew up, she continued to venture outside of the village, as she found it truly freeing to be able to run out and experience the Feywild desert. She would surf the sand waves of the Yellow Ocean of liquid sand. She would gaze into the towering crystal pillars of the nearby Crystal Plane where all of the sand had been turned into glass and crystal due to the intense heat in the area. She would run into the Endless Desert where the sand would actively work against your movement making it difficult to move from the edges.

Wynnipher one day decided to visit said endless desert as she was feeling a bit pent up doing her chores around the village and her parents were starting to nag at her to not go out as often due to her getting more responsibilities. And on this day, she decided to run and run at the edge of the Endless Desert, going nowhere, till her legs gave out on her and she collapsed onto the sand. She laid there that day, on the shores of the Endless Desert staring into the sky of the Feywild wondering about what was on the other shore of the Endless Desert as she had only ever been on this one. After laying down on the shore for a bit, she decided that she should probably head back to the village and resume her chores. However, she would never complete those chores...

=== The Scream: ===
As she was getting back into the village and letting her parents know that she was back and that she would pick up her chores where she left them, there was an alarm that started going off from the center of the village. Wynnipher was only ever told about this alarm, she had never seen or heard it be used before which caused her to stumble over her own feet and fall to the ground. And right as she was getting up, she heard another new sound that she hadn't heard before today, screams. Not the screams of kids playing and having fun, but screams of terror and pain. She glanced at where the scream originated from and saw a towering demon with red skin that caused her to feel heat from just looking at it and blazing red eyes that caused one to feel dread if looked into for too long. The demon was holding a spear that was taller than its body, and on that spear was the head of the matriarch, removed from her body and still dripping blood down the shaft of the spear. The matriarchs face still holding a look of terror from when it was savagely ripped from her body. The demon then lifted the spear and screamed in a language that Wynnipher did not understand, but she could feel her body shiver in the heat of the desert as the grating sounds coming from the demons mouth rattled in through her ears and tore through her mind. And after the scratching sound coming from the demon ended, she could see a multitude of other demons sweeping out from behind the one that killed the matriarch, for the new demons were rushing towards the other nearby villagers. Seeing this, Wynnipher panicked and felt like she was back at the Endless Desert, wanting to move but having the sand keep her from moving from her spot. She wanted to run back to her parents and make sure that they are okay. Before she was able to get up from her spot, she felt something grab the back of her shirt firmly and aggressively pull her back from her current spot. She looked to see what had grabbed her, and found her father standing there with a worried look in his eyes, he seemed to be saying something to her, but she couldn't hear him, the demons language and the sight of the matriarchs head on the spear were still running circles around her mind.

Her father seeing that Wynnipher wasn't responding to his calls, then decides to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder as he then turns to run toward their house. As Wynnipher gets picked up and thrown over her dads shoulder, she finds that her mind snaps back to the present and starts to yell at her dad wondering what is going on, where her mom is, and where he is taking her. Her dad, continues to run trough the village turning through gaps between houses while trying to answer Wynniphers question that come out at the rate of an Arch Mages magic missile. He lets her know that he doesn't know what is going on other than the alarm means that the village is under attack and that the attackers appear to be demons followed by letting her know that her mom is at the house preparing a bag for her so that she can get out of the village along with some other kids and some of the elders that are unable to fight, and that they are running to the house to meet up with her mom before getting Wynnipher out of the village. Wynniphers dad turns a final corner and runs up to the house, using Wynniphers feet to knock open the door and screams into the house asking where Wynniphers mom is. They then hear Wynniphers mom call back that she was in the main bedroom getting everything together and that shell be out in a second. That second feels like an eternity not only to Wynnipher, but to her dad as well.

After her moms joins her and her dad in the main room of the house, she shoves a overpacked backpack into Wynniphers arms and tells her to put it on before handing her father a bow and quiver full of arrows along with a shortsword. Wynnipher questions what is in the bag and why its so heavy and her mom quickly answers that it has food and water for several days worth of travel, clothes, a rolled up tent, other miscellaneous gear, and most importantly, a shortsword that she is not to get out unless necessary and to only use it in self defense. It is at that point that she looks back to her mom realizes that she is currently half-plate armor and has a large sword strapped to her back. Her mom then explains that the plan in this situation is that a small group of adults is to lead the kids and elders out of the village and head toward the Endless Desert and then use the secret method to briefly reverse the sand movement for the group before reverting it to prevent any enemies of the village to follow before returning if possible to the village to help defeat the demon invasion.

And as her mom said, the plan that was made in case of scenarios like this started to come into effect. At the border of the village, there was a gathering of kids and elderly along with some armed adults. Wynnipher was forced to join the group by her parents. Her parents briefly stayed with her while telling her to listen to the adults in the group and follow their orders. Wynnipher at this point was back in a state of shock as her village had large plumes of smoke rising from it due to the damage caused by the demon attack. There were also sounds of fighting going on inside the village along with the occasional scream of pain. Her parents noticing this, tried to calm her down saying things along the line of "its going to be okay...", "we will send the demons back before coming to get you..." and most importantly "We love you Wynn." while giving her hugs and kissing her head. After a little bit longer, the adults decided that it was best to send the group away before the demons get to this side of town. And so with that, Wynniphers parents say a tearful goodbye / see you later before looking at each other, nodding, and turning back towards the village where they would go and help fight off the demons. Wynnipher, still distraught by what was happening, stared at her parents backs as they ran back to town that was on fire and engulfed in smoke, quietly telling them to come back and stay with her. A lot of the kids around her were screaming, crying, or in various states of shock/panic just like her while the elders and adults in the group worked to get the kids moving towards the Endless Desert.

=== The Escape: ===
The escape group led by two adults from the village was able to lead the group of elders and kids to the Endless Desert where Wynnipher was not 4 hours ago. One of them then pulled out a token that appeared to be made of solid water, but not ice, that was given to the matriarch from the Oasis. They then pressed a floating rune on the solid water that caused it to fall out of its structure and onto the shore of the Endless Ocean before forming up into a large disc of water that stabilized the sand. This would allow them to actually traverse the Endless Ocean as long as they stayed in the area affected by the water. With that, everybody in the group got into the area affected by the water and the adult that had control over the water commanded it to move forward along with the group. Wynnipher absentmindedly trudged along with the group while staring down at her feet, not realizing that she was actually traveling through the Endless Desert. She did this until she bumped into the person in front of her which caused her to fall onto her butt due to the weight of the backpack that she still had with her. She looked up to see an adult standing there and looking towards the direction of the village. Following their line of sight, Wynnipher looks in the direction of the village as well and what she sees terrifies her, for what she saw will live in her mind forever. She saw the landscape of the desert being changed before her eyes as a large ball of fire grew on the horizon, climbing higher into the sky until it billowed out forming a massive cloud of sand and smoke in the shape of a mushroom. Seeing this, tears would have continued rolling down her face if she was able to cry anymore, but she was out of tears, and out of time, as centering from the large remnant explosion cloud came a fast moving wave of compressed air that travelled from the village to the Endless Desert in no time at all. The group was hit with by the wave and everybody was thrown into the surrounding Endless Desert with everybody being thrown around in different directions. By a matter of luck, Wynnipher ended up landing in the same area that the adult who controlled the water landed. She was also saved from the brunt of the impact as she landed on her butt. After making sure that she was okay, Wynnipher then looked around at the other members of the group, hoping to see that everybody was okay and together. That was not the case; for not too far away from her, another kid from the village, one that she would frequently play with in the outskirts of the village was lying there with no life left in their eyes as they had landed on the ground head first. Similarly, a lot of the elderly members of the group had their bones broken just due to the impact from the wind wall, combining that with the rough landings they experienced, not many of them lived. The adults that were escorting them started gathering what survivors there were left before continuing to painfully move through the Endless Desert to their goal. It was then explained to the group that the goal is to reach the center of the Endless Desert which is rumored to hold a portal between the Feywild and the Material Plane and that the only way to reach the center from the shores of the desert is by flying or by using some other method to prevent the sand from keeping you out, which is where the water disc from the Oasis comes into play. After traveling for a bit more, they end up reaching the center where on the ground, on could see an unending amount of sand being pushed out of a circle and flowed out towards the boundaries of the Endless Desert. This circle where the sand of the desert was being pushed out of was the portal to the material plane, one just had to jump/drop into the circle to move between the Planes. And so, with guidance and encouragement from the adults escorting the group, the kids jumped in first with Wynnipher being part of that group.

=== The Material Plane: ===
Shifting forward through time a bit, we find Wynnipher in a town in the material plane doing some light work to earn some coin to help support herself and the group she came here with. That group consisting of other kids, the two adults, and a couple elders from the Feywild village. It has been a year since they crossed over from the Feywild and escaped the damning event that occurred at their village. The adults had agreed that it was best for the group to continue traveling together as there is strength in numbers. Everybody in the group has given up hope that there are any other survivors from their village in the Feywild after the massive explosion they saw, so they moved forward, or at least physically did so. Mentally, Wynnipher and other children are still in the Endless Desert staring at the large mushroom cloud that came from the explosion in the village, stuck in the sand, unable to run away or move. And like that, time went by as the members of the group started working at various spots in the town of Caftans Ridge to try and make ends meet. But little did the group know, they weren't out of the woods yet, for their fears followed them.

One dreary morning following another sleepless night, Wynnipher was cooped up in the stable of a local tavern, The 3 Legged Dragon, helping take care of some horses that customers have put there. Wynnipher has been helping take care of the stables for a couple of months now, the tavern owners are nice enough and they pay her for her help around the stables and the tavern if needed. Wynnipher has also come to know some of the horses that have been put there as they have been there a while due to their owners having extended their stays due to whatever business they have in the town. She had come to know that most of the horses were pretty smart as they recognized her as their caretaker while they were here, and they knew how to relay the simple needs that they wanted, whether that was being brushed, being fed, taken for a small walk out of the stables, or whatever basic needs it was they wanted/needed. And this morning that she was working, she saw the horses acting strange, at least stranger than she had ever seen. They were neighing to each other in a quick and quiet manner, jostling against each other while trying to get out of the stables. But she recognized this emotion that was being shared by the horses, for it was the same emotion that she had been experiencing every time she closed her eyes, fear. She didn't know what the horses were so afraid of this morning, but their fear soon got picked up by her and she started to look around in a panic, wondering where the source of the fear was coming from. She looked up and saw a flow of birds suddenly take flight in a panic as they flew from the town as well. And in the next moment, she felt it, the inescapable heat that she felt when she gazed at the demon that killed the matriarch of the village, and in that moment, she understood, her past has chased her here.

Bells started ringing and people started running and screaming to their houses and to the taverns, towards wherever they were staying as they wanted, no, needed to escape the attack from the demons. Wynnipher stayed in the stables with the horses, not because she didn't know where to go, but because she couldn't make herself move. And what came next shook her to her core. A demon was blasted through the tavern wall that faced the stables, it had multiple arrows sticking out of it along with multiple wounds scattered along its body. Following that, a group of 4 people came out of the hole that the demon had created, and started circling around the demon, making sure it had nowhere to go. And, without a word, they all resumed fighting the demon, creating openings for each other and covering each other when the demon went on the offensive. It was a masterclass of teamwork that she was witnessing and her eyes sparkled with emotions that was long lost to her, hope, admiration, and one emotion that wasn't entirely new, but was surprising in the moment, anger. She could feel her body trembling with a long pent up rage that was directed at the demon that was being systematically taken care of by the four adventurers who had made sure that the fight between them and the demon didn't escape the stable grounds. And then she saw it, the demon took one last arrow to the chest, but this one was a better shot than the previous ones as it zipped right into the demons heart, piercing it and ending the demons life. The demon fell over onto the ground, dead, but it wouldn't remain there alone, as out from the stables Wynnipher ran at the demon screaming in pure rage at it before she leaped onto the back of the dead demon and started raining fists upon it. The adventurers were stunned, they knew that Wynnipher was in the stable with the horses, as they were their horses she was taking care of, but they never would have expected the timid and quiet girl who took care of the horses to have such an anger and rage about her for she almost looked like a barbarian in her current state. It took them a second to recover from the shock, but then they came together and helped pull off the now crying and screaming Wynnipher who was still swinging her arms and kicking her legs trying to get free so that she could hit the dead demon some more. She didn't even care that her hands were in pain from punching the demon, nor that she had small burns along her body from being on top of the dead demons body. As they carried her away while trying to calm her down, her screams and cries never slowed down, nor did her arms and legs stop thrashing about. And so, in the interest of her not hurting herself further, one of the party members knocked her out with a quick chop to the back of the neck.

=== Arthur: ===
Wynnipher woke up later that day in a room on the second floor of the tavern, she found herself tucked into a bed with the faint smell of a burnt incense still hanging in the air. She shifted her position on the bed so that she could take a better look around the room. As she was doing so, she noticed that her hands were wrapped in bandages along with parts of her legs and chest. It was then that she woke up enough to feel the aches and pain radiating from those spots where she has bandages. With the pain, the memories of what happened came rushing back as well, memories of her hiding in the stable with the horses, watching the demon get killed by the adventurers, and then everything turning red when she jumped on top of the dead demon and started raining blows on its corpse as she cried and screamed before being picked up by the adventurers and taken away from the corpse. Remembering that last bit, she then looked around the room and finally saw one of the adventurers sitting in the corner reading a note. The adventurer was an old man for all she could tell. He had deep piercing black eyes, a nose that looks like it was broken multiple times and was never healed properly, cracked lips from the desert heat and limited amounts of water, and a stubbled white beard and mustache adorning his tanned face. Noticing Wynnipher getting up and looking at him, he greets her, letting her know that she is safe while she is in this room before rolling the scroll back up and tying it up. He then thanks Wynnipher for taking care of his groups horses while they stayed here and that the horses are gonna miss her when they leave town in a couple days. The man then introduces himself as Arthur before telling her that she is free to stay here as long as she likes while him and his group are still in town, after that, he gets up and goes out of the room, closing the door behind him, before heading downstairs to presumably meet up with his group.

Wynnipher stays in the bed for a bit before getting up and wandering the room that she found herself in. She found it odd that Arthur left her here in his room unsupervised, but then again, remembering how he and his team fought the demon, she was pretty confident that they could easily take care of her as well if needed. Looking around the room, it was pretty baren and familiar as she has helped clean up the tavern rooms that are for rent before. There was a window with curtains opposite the wall with the door, a bed on the one side with a trunk at the foot of the bed. A desk and chair are along the other wall along with a standing wardrobe for customers to store their clothes and anything else that might not fit in the trunk. While looking around the room, she noticed the note that Arthur had tied up and left on the desk. Seeing this, she could feel her curiosity getting the better of her, drawing her hand towards the small rolled up note. Finally, after contemplating it some more, she decided to grab it, she quickly undid the knot and opened the note up. On the note it read <blockquote>''"I feel for you kid, I see your pain and it resonates with me for I once held the same pain in my heart. My partners and I will be out of town for the next couple of days. We will be returning briefly to wrap up our business in this town before moving on to the next. If you are still around when we get back in, come find me. ~ That's Cool, '''A'''"'' </blockquote>Wynnipher then puts the note down and feels her gaze drawn out the window, there, on the streets outside the tavern, she sees Arthur and his group on their horses riding towards the one town exit. As if he knew she had just read the note, he turns around and looks at the room she is in, a small smile appears on his face, gives her a small wave, and then turns back around to continue riding out of town. Wynnipher continues to stare out the window in the direction they went until they are out of site. Once they are out of site, she then looks around the room once more before picking up the note that he left her and then leaves the room to find Brost the tavern keeper to let him know that she is taking the day off due to her injuries from the encounter with the demon. Before she is able to leave the tavern, Brost calls out for her to take a seat then and stay for a bite to eat. Wynnipher does just that, she goes and finds an empty seat at the bar, not that there are many taken at the moment, and she waits for Brost to come back out front. After a minute or two, Brost comes back out of the kitchen area with a plate of steaming scrambled eggs along with some fried bacon. He slides it on over to Wynnipher before grabbing her a glass of milk. After doing that the two exchange in some small talk while Wynnipher eats the food given to her. Brost then says he's sorry that she got hurt in the attack yesterday unaware that Wynnipher gave the injuries to herself when she attacked the dead demon. She quietly nods her head in acknowledgement before slightly digging her nails into the bar table in a bit of embarrassment and frustration. After finishing the plate of food that Brost gave her, she gets up and quietly nods a goodbye to Brost before leaving the tavern clutching at the note and thinking back to the group killing the demon.

A couple days pass for Wynnipher as she keeps absentmindedly going through the stables of the Three Legged Dragon and cleaning them up so that they are ready for the next batch of customers to drop their horses off. Every so often she will walk out in front of the tavern and look down the road that Arthur and his group left on, deep down, hoping that they come back, but afraid of if they don't. After checking the roads and seeing nothing, she heads back to the stables, her head down looking at the ground, just wondering if the old man will make it back. She gets back to the stables and continues her duties as day turns to dusk. She goes and tells Brost that she is leaving as there aren't any horses in the stables right now and that they are clean for the next group. Brost bids her a good evening after handing her the money she earned for the work she did today. The money isn't too much, but Wynnipher has been saving up her money so that she could buy a bow that she saw in a display window at the Ravens Wing, the towns hunting supplies store. And with the money she acquired from working for Brost, she should be able to afford the bow, however, she still needs to buy food and other necessities for the Feywild Collective as they have taken to calling themselves. The Feywild Collective being the members who were able to escape from the Feywild with Wynnipher. And so, Wynnipher continues walking through the town to the local butcher and some farm stands to buy some meat and vegetables for her group so that they at least have something to eat. Wynnipher eventually makes it back to the Collective and drops off the food she picked up by the cooking pots and then goes to lie down for the evening. As she's laying on the ground, she once again pulls out that note, wondering what Arthur wants to talk to her about if/when he gets back.

=== The Offer: ===
The following day, Wynnipher makes her way to the Three Legged Dragon and lets Brost know that she is heading back to the stables to take care of the horses that people have taken back before she arrived, and with that, she goes about her normal duties, tending to the horses and the stable grounds. With the day going by, and her still not seeing or hearing anything about Arthur and his group, she gets her days pay from Brost and heads down to Ravens Wing to see if the display bow is still there. She sees the owner of Ravens Wing out front, cleaning the display window where the bow would normally be, and she soon comes to find that the reason the owner is cleaning the window is because he has a new display piece and that the bow was sold earlier that day. Wynnipher, emotionally shaken by the news nods her head in farewell to the owner and leaves the shop before heading back to the residence of the Feywild Collective with her head towards the ground and her feet slightly dragging as she walks. She eventually makes it back to the building where the collective is staying and oddly finds some horses tied to a post out front. Not giving it too much thought, she heads in and goes to greet everybody but stops when she hears a familiar gruff voice in the next room talking to the members of the Collective. Her ears perk up when she hears the voice and she looks outside at the horses and recognizes them as well. Putting 2 and 2 together, she knows that its Arthur and his group visiting the Collective. But then she wonders why they are here, for they shouldn't have any reason to be here. Wondering why they are here, she sneaks up to the room entrance and hides on the other side of the door, listening into their conversation.

She listens into the conversation and learns that Arthur and his companions are what could be considered mercenary adventurers who go around the continent of Pteris working for those who have gold to spare and things that need done. Arthur then lets the elders of the Collective know that should they require any assistance with their future plans of relocation, that Arthur and his group could help relocate them safely for a small fee. Arthur then also lets them know that the offer isn't the main reason they are here. At that, Wynniphers ears perk up even more wondering what the real reason they are here is. Arthur further explains that he understands that they were refugees from the Feywild due to a demon attack and that he is sorry for their losses. He also explains that he understand that people go the grief in different ways before mentioning that Wynnipher herself still caries a lot of grief and anger with her even though she holds it well. He explains what happened the day that Caftans Ridge was attacked by a demon and how Wynnipher lost herself to the rage and sadness that she holds; hearing this, Wynnipher blushes a little in embarrassment briefly remembering her actions that day. Following his explanation, he brings up his reason for being here, he would like to take Wynnipher under his wing and have her become an apprentice member of their organization. Wynnipher hearing this is absolutely shocked and her mind starts racing faster than it ever, her eyes darting to look around the room she is in questioning why it suddenly felt like a new space. The elders of the Collective start to murmur to each other hearing Arthurs proposition. The leader of the collective then sighs and looks back at Arthur and responds by saying that it would be unfair to further discuss this without Wynnipher here, and as if knowing that she had been listening in the entire time, the elder gets up and walks over to the door that Wynnipher was listening in from and opens it up. Wynnipher surprised that the elder knew she was there, falls on her face as the elder opened the door. Wynnipher is then given a light scolding from the elder about listening in to private conversations, but is then given a pass since she is the subject of said conversation. The elder then invites her into the room and offers her a chair at the table and asks Wynnipher if she has any questions for Arthur since she has already heard what that the offer was for him to take her under his wing and for her to become an apprentice adventurer. Wynnipher, still stunned by what is going on is slow to respond as she opens and closes her mouth as if she has something she wants to ask but is unsure of what words to use. Everybody sees that Wynnipher is a bit in shock with what is going on and so Arthur tells her that its alright and that no questions are off the table, to feel free to ask him or his companions anything.

After thinking it over a bit, Wynnipher starts firing some questions off rapidly about what they do, who they are, where would they be going, why her, what about the members of the Collective, what would she be doing, why her, why her, why her, when would they leave, would she be able to come back, would she get paid as if this is a job, does she need anything before hand, is it binding, and many other questions that were bouncing around her mind while she was secretly listening into the conversation earlier. Arthur, his companions, and the elders at the table all chuckle seeing her questions. The main elder then stops her before she passes out from asking so many questions and motions to Arthur to further explain and possibly answer what this offer of his would entail. The elder then gives Wynnipher a cup of water before telling her to just drink and listen with as calm of a mind as she can manage for this may be a great opportunity for her. And so with that, Arthur then goes further into detail about who him and his companions are, who they work for, the kinds of jobs they take, where they have been and where they plan to go, along with many other details with Wynnipher taking it all in. After a while Wynnipher told Arthur that she would let him know after she talked to the members of the Collective as currently she was one of the main members that brought in money for them to survive. Arthur told her to take her time, but not too much, as their group will be leaving the following evening; and once she came to a decision, she would know where to find them. With that, Arthur and his group left the building that housed the Feywild Collective and went back to the Three Legged Dragon where Brost had kept their rooms for them.

That night and into the following day, Wynnipher contemplated the decision before her that Arthur has offered. It was an offer of potential great fortune but great danger and peril as well as some of the missions Arthur and his group took up were monster hunting missions that would place them in immediate danger. Wynnipher had some thoughts after hearing Arthurs in detail explanation and shared those with the leaders of the Collective as she would need their approval if she was to join Arthur due to her being one of their main areas of income at the moment. After a night of talking, they came to a decision to allow Wynnipher to join Arthur is she so chooses on a couple conditions, she writes back to them with monthly or bi-monthly updates, she sends some coin if able or unless noted otherwise in a response letter, she introduces Brost to one of the other kids in the Collective so that they can take her job at the tavern as a stable hand, and most importantly, to be safe and happy with her decision as while her direct parents are gone, the Collective is still her family and family looks out for each other. Before even hearing their response, she had silently determined that she was going to accept Arthurs deal, and now with hearing the decision of the elders, a small smile lit her face and her eyes sparkled as she started to thank them profusely before giving them all hugs and promises to adhere to their conditions. She then gathered some of the kids who she thought would be a good replacement for her at the tavern as a stable hand. After getting them together, she took them back to the tavern which was still open and introduced them to Brost as possible replacements for her as she was going to be leaving town to become an Adventurer! She then went into the tavern and found Arthur and his companions having a meal and drinking. Her brightly shining eyes connected with Arthurs dark eyes and he smiled, beckoning her over to join them. Wynnipher went on over and told them that the Collective was okay with her joining them and that she was ready to become an adventurer. Arthur jokingly scoffed at her after looking her up and down and mentioning that she sure doesn't look like she's ready as she doesn't have any adventuring gear! Hearing this, Wynnipher blushed a little in embarrassment and looked down stating that she didn't have time to prepare anything yet. But then the group laughs at her embarrassment and lets her know that they were joking before telling her that they prepared a little welcoming gift for her. Arthur then pulled a long item that was wrapped in a blanket before sliding it over to her and nodding for her to open it. Without waiting, she removed the blanket and was surprised to find the display bow from Ravens Wing along with a small quiver of arrows and some fingerless adventuring gloves. Wynnipher was floored, as just earlier that day, she was disappointed to see that someone had bought the bow she had been saving up for and so, without warning, she started to happily cry a little before jumping into Arthurs arms and giving him a big hug. Arthur then explains to her that when they had returned to town, he noticed her stopping at Ravens Wing and staring at the display bow with unfettered determination to have that bow. Wynnipher hearing this, chuckled and shyly asked if it was that obvious she had wanted the bow. The group then laughed in response at her remark. That night was Wynniphers happiest day in a while and would continue to be her happiest day for a long time to come.

=== DANG: ===
After Wynnipher joined Arthur and his group as Arthurs apprentice adventurer, they left the town of Caftans Ridge by horseback and rode North, Arthur not saying where they were going next. And then time passed for Wynnipher as she joined the group and helped in missions, slowly, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year becoming a proper adventurer. During that time, Arthur explained and initiated Wynnipher into the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild also known as DANG. They were not a very well know guild, but their group operated under a small list of guidelines which was to A) Neutralize any demonic abominations that threaten the current peace of Pteris, B) Help those in need of helping if able, C) Care for ones own brothers and sisters, and D) Never trust anybody or anything from the Outer Planes. Wynnipher eventually became a fully fledged member of DANG after leading her own demon hunting mission where Arthur and his group followed her lead for the mission. The mission went well and the demonic appearance was taken care of with nothing major going wrong. Time continued to pass and eventually, Arthurs group disbanded when Arthur retired from being an active mission leader for DANG due to receiving a near fatal wound in a botched mission. With their group in DANG being disbanded, each member decided to go and form their own group through other members of DANG or by recruiting new members into the guild. Wynnipher however went a different path, she had heard tell of a settlement out in the western regions of Pteris where there was a coalition of unlikely partners working together to fight against the demonic invasion into the Badlands. And so, with that, she traveled there, planning to join their ranks in the fight to stop the demonic incursions.

== Languages ==
Wynnipher knows how to speak and read Common, Elvish, Infernal, and Abyssal. She took up learning how to speak Infernal and Abyssal to help with understanding those that she hunts.

== Powers and Abilities ==
Wynnipher developed herself as a Monster Slayer within DANG.

She has become an excellent tracker of fiends, being able to focus in on them with a strong desire to exterminate them. Alongside fiends, she is able to magically enhance her senses to determine if any aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, or undead are present within the local area.

With Wynnipher growing up in the deserts of the Feywild, she finds herself able more easily track creatures, navigate, and generally survive in the deserts of the material plane.

Being developed as a Monster Slayer, Wynnipher has learned some magic to help herself and her partners when hunting.

More specifically, when hunting enemies, she is able to boost her damage to targets through both skills as a Monster Slayer and through some magic that she has learned.

But that is not all she can do, naturally as an Eladrin, Wynnipher can change the season that she is in tune with; she can see in the dark as if it were dim light; she is resistant against being charmed; and can teleport in a similar fashion to the spell Misty Step; Wynnipher also doe not need to sleep and cannot be put to sleep.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
For ranged targets, Wynnipher uses her longbow to target them, and if they get in close, she uses her shortswords, one of which is the one that her parents give her

== Useful Links: ==
[[Bedlam in the Badlands/Player Resources]]

[[Bedlam in the Badlands/The Arboretum Marketplace]]

[[Bedlam in the Badlands/The Story So Far]]

[[Pteris]]

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Wynnipher Winchester

2026-03-04T16:29:27Z

Doublecheese247:

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (DANG),
The Feywild Collective|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=Wynnipher_Winchester_screenshot.png|caption=Wynnipher readying an arrow on her bow|playerName=Connor S / Doublecheese247|relatives=No immediate relatives alive|languages=Common, Elvish, Infernal, Abyssal|alias=Winchester|birthPlace=A village in the Feywild that is no more|species=Eladrin|gender=Female|height=7' 1"|weight=185|eyes=Gold|field1=Character Sheet|value1=https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/162187361}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a Summer Eladrin Monster Slayer ranger whose village in the Feywild was destroyed by demons and is now in Pteris to help remove the demons that threaten the continent.

== Physical Appearance ==
Wynnipher is a tall Summer Eladrin who stands at 7' 1" with a lithe build. She has wavy bleach blonde that is partially braided and goes down to her mid back. Her skin is of a sandy hue from] long stretches of time spent out in the deserts of both the Feywild and Pteris. Her attire is compatible with a desert climate, consisting mainly of lightweight and/or flowing materials in earth tones. Notably, she is never seen without her ring, inscribed with the designs of the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (also known as DANG).

== Personality ==
Wynnipher has an aggressive and gruff nature when interacting with "normal" people. But once she hears about something related to demons and fiends, she becomes focused on figuring out how to eliminate the threat by whatever means necessary. She does not hold many around her in high regards unless they are direct superiors that have proven themselves capable of doing what is necessary to rid the world of demons and other such abominations.

Even though she looks down on most, she still has a soft spot in her heart for those in times of need and will help if able for she was once in that very situation when her mentor picked her up off the ground and took her in.

== History ==

=== The Village: ===
Wynnipher was a bright child growing up. She found endless things that would fascinate and entertain her in the Feywild where she grew up. Her parents were pretty loose with her allowing her to roam outside of the village due to the immediate surroundings of the village being safe with the matriarch of the village having a pact with the local oasis queen. Wynnipher only had to promise to behave, be respectful towards anyone and anything she were to come across, and never venture too far away from the village whenever she wanted to venture outside of the village. Wynnipher always respected those three rules of her parents as she loved her parents too much to do anything that would upset them. She would go out often due to this and play with the local water spirits of the oasis along with some other kids from her village.

As she grew up, she learned more about the Feywild that she grew up in and how it closely mirrored the material plane geographically and that there were portals that allowed members of either plane to travel to another. That is when she was told another absolute rule by her parents, which was to never travel to the material plane as it is a place that is not as nice as the village in the Feywild and the people there are not as nice as the people of the village and the ruling members of the Oasis that they were in alliance with. She would also come to learn more about their village and their relationship with the local Oasis. Even as she grew up, and began to learn many new things regarding where she grew up, she continued to venture outside of the village, as she found it truly freeing to be able to run out and experience the Feywild desert. She would surf the sand waves of the Yellow Ocean of liquid sand. She would gaze into the towering crystal pillars of the nearby Crystal Plane where all of the sand had been turned into glass and crystal due to the intense heat in the area. She would run into the Endless Desert where the sand would actively work against your movement making it difficult to move from the edges.

Wynnipher one day decided to visit said endless desert as she was feeling a bit pent up doing her chores around the village and her parents were starting to nag at her to not go out as often due to her getting more responsibilities. And on this day, she decided to run and run at the edge of the Endless Desert, going nowhere, till her legs gave out on her and she collapsed onto the sand. She laid there that day, on the shores of the Endless Desert staring into the sky of the Feywild wondering about what was on the other shore of the Endless Desert as she had only ever been on this one. After laying down on the shore for a bit, she decided that she should probably head back to the village and resume her chores. However, she would never complete those chores...

=== The Scream: ===
As she was getting back into the village and letting her parents know that she was back and that she would pick up her chores where she left them, there was an alarm that started going off from the center of the village. Wynnipher was only ever told about this alarm, she had never seen or heard it be used before which caused her to stumble over her own feet and fall to the ground. And right as she was getting up, she heard another new sound that she hadn't heard before today, screams. Not the screams of kids playing and having fun, but screams of terror and pain. She glanced at where the scream originated from and saw a towering demon with red skin that caused her to feel heat from just looking at it and blazing red eyes that caused one to feel dread if looked into for too long. The demon was holding a spear that was taller than its body, and on that spear was the head of the matriarch, removed from her body and still dripping blood down the shaft of the spear. The matriarchs face still holding a look of terror from when it was savagely ripped from her body. The demon then lifted the spear and screamed in a language that Wynnipher did not understand, but she could feel her body shiver in the heat of the desert as the grating sounds coming from the demons mouth rattled in through her ears and tore through her mind. And after the scratching sound coming from the demon ended, she could see a multitude of other demons sweeping out from behind the one that killed the matriarch, for the new demons were rushing towards the other nearby villagers. Seeing this, Wynnipher panicked and felt like she was back at the Endless Desert, wanting to move but having the sand keep her from moving from her spot. She wanted to run back to her parents and make sure that they are okay. Before she was able to get up from her spot, she felt something grab the back of her shirt firmly and aggressively pull her back from her current spot. She looked to see what had grabbed her, and found her father standing there with a worried look in his eyes, he seemed to be saying something to her, but she couldn't hear him, the demons language and the sight of the matriarchs head on the spear were still running circles around her mind.

Her father seeing that Wynnipher wasn't responding to his calls, then decides to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder as he then turns to run toward their house. As Wynnipher gets picked up and thrown over her dads shoulder, she finds that her mind snaps back to the present and starts to yell at her dad wondering what is going on, where her mom is, and where he is taking her. Her dad, continues to run trough the village turning through gaps between houses while trying to answer Wynniphers question that come out at the rate of an Arch Mages magic missile. He lets her know that he doesn't know what is going on other than the alarm means that the village is under attack and that the attackers appear to be demons followed by letting her know that her mom is at the house preparing a bag for her so that she can get out of the village along with some other kids and some of the elders that are unable to fight, and that they are running to the house to meet up with her mom before getting Wynnipher out of the village. Wynniphers dad turns a final corner and runs up to the house, using Wynniphers feet to knock open the door and screams into the house asking where Wynniphers mom is. They then hear Wynniphers mom call back that she was in the main bedroom getting everything together and that shell be out in a second. That second feels like an eternity not only to Wynnipher, but to her dad as well.

After her moms joins her and her dad in the main room of the house, she shoves a overpacked backpack into Wynniphers arms and tells her to put it on before handing her father a bow and quiver full of arrows along with a shortsword. Wynnipher questions what is in the bag and why its so heavy and her mom quickly answers that it has food and water for several days worth of travel, clothes, a rolled up tent, other miscellaneous gear, and most importantly, a shortsword that she is not to get out unless necessary and to only use it in self defense. It is at that point that she looks back to her mom realizes that she is currently half-plate armor and has a large sword strapped to her back. Her mom then explains that the plan in this situation is that a small group of adults is to lead the kids and elders out of the village and head toward the Endless Desert and then use the secret method to briefly reverse the sand movement for the group before reverting it to prevent any enemies of the village to follow before returning if possible to the village to help defeat the demon invasion.

And as her mom said, the plan that was made in case of scenarios like this started to come into effect. At the border of the village, there was a gathering of kids and elderly along with some armed adults. Wynnipher was forced to join the group by her parents. Her parents briefly stayed with her while telling her to listen to the adults in the group and follow their orders. Wynnipher at this point was back in a state of shock as her village had large plumes of smoke rising from it due to the damage caused by the demon attack. There were also sounds of fighting going on inside the village along with the occasional scream of pain. Her parents noticing this, tried to calm her down saying things along the line of "its going to be okay...", "we will send the demons back before coming to get you..." and most importantly "We love you Wynn." while giving her hugs and kissing her head. After a little bit longer, the adults decided that it was best to send the group away before the demons get to this side of town. And so with that, Wynniphers parents say a tearful goodbye / see you later before looking at each other, nodding, and turning back towards the village where they would go and help fight off the demons. Wynnipher, still distraught by what was happening, stared at her parents backs as they ran back to town that was on fire and engulfed in smoke, quietly telling them to come back and stay with her. A lot of the kids around her were screaming, crying, or in various states of shock/panic just like her while the elders and adults in the group worked to get the kids moving towards the Endless Desert.

=== The Escape: ===
The escape group led by two adults from the village was able to lead the group of elders and kids to the Endless Desert where Wynnipher was not 4 hours ago. One of them then pulled out a token that appeared to be made of solid water, but not ice, that was given to the matriarch from the Oasis. They then pressed a floating rune on the solid water that caused it to fall out of its structure and onto the shore of the Endless Ocean before forming up into a large disc of water that stabilized the sand. This would allow them to actually traverse the Endless Ocean as long as they stayed in the area affected by the water. With that, everybody in the group got into the area affected by the water and the adult that had control over the water commanded it to move forward along with the group. Wynnipher absentmindedly trudged along with the group while staring down at her feet, not realizing that she was actually traveling through the Endless Desert. She did this until she bumped into the person in front of her which caused her to fall onto her butt due to the weight of the backpack that she still had with her. She looked up to see an adult standing there and looking towards the direction of the village. Following their line of sight, Wynnipher looks in the direction of the village as well and what she sees terrifies her, for what she saw will live in her mind forever. She saw the landscape of the desert being changed before her eyes as a large ball of fire grew on the horizon, climbing higher into the sky until it billowed out forming a massive cloud of sand and smoke in the shape of a mushroom. Seeing this, tears would have continued rolling down her face if she was able to cry anymore, but she was out of tears, and out of time, as centering from the large remnant explosion cloud came a fast moving wave of compressed air that travelled from the village to the Endless Desert in no time at all. The group was hit with by the wave and everybody was thrown into the surrounding Endless Desert with everybody being thrown around in different directions. By a matter of luck, Wynnipher ended up landing in the same area that the adult who controlled the water landed. She was also saved from the brunt of the impact as she landed on her butt. After making sure that she was okay, Wynnipher then looked around at the other members of the group, hoping to see that everybody was okay and together. That was not the case; for not too far away from her, another kid from the village, one that she would frequently play with in the outskirts of the village was lying there with no life left in their eyes as they had landed on the ground head first. Similarly, a lot of the elderly members of the group had their bones broken just due to the impact from the wind wall, combining that with the rough landings they experienced, not many of them lived. The adults that were escorting them started gathering what survivors there were left before continuing to painfully move through the Endless Desert to their goal. It was then explained to the group that the goal is to reach the center of the Endless Desert which is rumored to hold a portal between the Feywild and the Material Plane and that the only way to reach the center from the shores of the desert is by flying or by using some other method to prevent the sand from keeping you out, which is where the water disc from the Oasis comes into play. After traveling for a bit more, they end up reaching the center where on the ground, on could see an unending amount of sand being pushed out of a circle and flowed out towards the boundaries of the Endless Desert. This circle where the sand of the desert was being pushed out of was the portal to the material plane, one just had to jump/drop into the circle to move between the Planes. And so, with guidance and encouragement from the adults escorting the group, the kids jumped in first with Wynnipher being part of that group.

=== The Material Plane: ===
Shifting forward through time a bit, we find Wynnipher in a town in the material plane doing some light work to earn some coin to help support herself and the group she came here with. That group consisting of other kids, the two adults, and a couple elders from the Feywild village. It has been a year since they crossed over from the Feywild and escaped the damning event that occurred at their village. The adults had agreed that it was best for the group to continue traveling together as there is strength in numbers. Everybody in the group has given up hope that there are any other survivors from their village in the Feywild after the massive explosion they saw, so they moved forward, or at least physically did so. Mentally, Wynnipher and other children are still in the Endless Desert staring at the large mushroom cloud that came from the explosion in the village, stuck in the sand, unable to run away or move. And like that, time went by as the members of the group started working at various spots in the town of Caftans Ridge to try and make ends meet. But little did the group know, they weren't out of the woods yet, for their fears followed them.

One dreary morning following another sleepless night, Wynnipher was cooped up in the stable of a local tavern, The 3 Legged Dragon, helping take care of some horses that customers have put there. Wynnipher has been helping take care of the stables for a couple of months now, the tavern owners are nice enough and they pay her for her help around the stables and the tavern if needed. Wynnipher has also come to know some of the horses that have been put there as they have been there a while due to their owners having extended their stays due to whatever business they have in the town. She had come to know that most of the horses were pretty smart as they recognized her as their caretaker while they were here, and they knew how to relay the simple needs that they wanted, whether that was being brushed, being fed, taken for a small walk out of the stables, or whatever basic needs it was they wanted/needed. And this morning that she was working, she saw the horses acting strange, at least stranger than she had ever seen. They were neighing to each other in a quick and quiet manner, jostling against each other while trying to get out of the stables. But she recognized this emotion that was being shared by the horses, for it was the same emotion that she had been experiencing every time she closed her eyes, fear. She didn't know what the horses were so afraid of this morning, but their fear soon got picked up by her and she started to look around in a panic, wondering where the source of the fear was coming from. She looked up and saw a flow of birds suddenly take flight in a panic as they flew from the town as well. And in the next moment, she felt it, the inescapable heat that she felt when she gazed at the demon that killed the matriarch of the village, and in that moment, she understood, her past has chased her here.

Bells started ringing and people started running and screaming to their houses and to the taverns, towards wherever they were staying as they wanted, no, needed to escape the attack from the demons. Wynnipher stayed in the stables with the horses, not because she didn't know where to go, but because she couldn't make herself move. And what came next shook her to her core. A demon was blasted through the tavern wall that faced the stables, it had multiple arrows sticking out of it along with multiple wounds scattered along its body. Following that, a group of 4 people came out of the hole that the demon had created, and started circling around the demon, making sure it had nowhere to go. And, without a word, they all resumed fighting the demon, creating openings for each other and covering each other when the demon went on the offensive. It was a masterclass of teamwork that she was witnessing and her eyes sparkled with emotions that was long lost to her, hope, admiration, and one emotion that wasn't entirely new, but was surprising in the moment, anger. She could feel her body trembling with a long pent up rage that was directed at the demon that was being systematically taken care of by the four adventurers who had made sure that the fight between them and the demon didn't escape the stable grounds. And then she saw it, the demon took one last arrow to the chest, but this one was a better shot than the previous ones as it zipped right into the demons heart, piercing it and ending the demons life. The demon fell over onto the ground, dead, but it wouldn't remain there alone, as out from the stables Wynnipher ran at the demon screaming in pure rage at it before she leaped onto the back of the dead demon and started raining fists upon it. The adventurers were stunned, they knew that Wynnipher was in the stable with the horses, as they were their horses she was taking care of, but they never would have expected the timid and quiet girl who took care of the horses to have such an anger and rage about her for she almost looked like a barbarian in her current state. It took them a second to recover from the shock, but then they came together and helped pull off the now crying and screaming Wynnipher who was still swinging her arms and kicking her legs trying to get free so that she could hit the dead demon some more. She didn't even care that her hands were in pain from punching the demon, nor that she had small burns along her body from being on top of the dead demons body. As they carried her away while trying to calm her down, her screams and cries never slowed down, nor did her arms and legs stop thrashing about. And so, in the interest of her not hurting herself further, one of the party members knocked her out with a quick chop to the back of the neck.

=== Arthur: ===
Wynnipher woke up later that day in a room on the second floor of the tavern, she found herself tucked into a bed with the faint smell of a burnt incense still hanging in the air. She shifted her position on the bed so that she could take a better look around the room. As she was doing so, she noticed that her hands were wrapped in bandages along with parts of her legs and chest. It was then that she woke up enough to feel the aches and pain radiating from those spots where she has bandages. With the pain, the memories of what happened came rushing back as well, memories of her hiding in the stable with the horses, watching the demon get killed by the adventurers, and then everything turning red when she jumped on top of the dead demon and started raining blows on its corpse as she cried and screamed before being picked up by the adventurers and taken away from the corpse. Remembering that last bit, she then looked around the room and finally saw one of the adventurers sitting in the corner reading a note. The adventurer was an old man for all she could tell. He had deep piercing black eyes, a nose that looks like it was broken multiple times and was never healed properly, cracked lips from the desert heat and limited amounts of water, and a stubbled white beard and mustache adorning his tanned face. Noticing Wynnipher getting up and looking at him, he greets her, letting her know that she is safe while she is in this room before rolling the scroll back up and tying it up. He then thanks Wynnipher for taking care of his groups horses while they stayed here and that the horses are gonna miss her when they leave town in a couple days. The man then introduces himself as Arthur before telling her that she is free to stay here as long as she likes while him and his group are still in town, after that, he gets up and goes out of the room, closing the door behind him, before heading downstairs to presumably meet up with his group.

Wynnipher stays in the bed for a bit before getting up and wandering the room that she found herself in. She found it odd that Arthur left her here in his room unsupervised, but then again, remembering how he and his team fought the demon, she was pretty confident that they could easily take care of her as well if needed. Looking around the room, it was pretty baren and familiar as she has helped clean up the tavern rooms that are for rent before. There was a window with curtains opposite the wall with the door, a bed on the one side with a trunk at the foot of the bed. A desk and chair are along the other wall along with a standing wardrobe for customers to store their clothes and anything else that might not fit in the trunk. While looking around the room, she noticed the note that Arthur had tied up and left on the desk. Seeing this, she could feel her curiosity getting the better of her, drawing her hand towards the small rolled up note. Finally, after contemplating it some more, she decided to grab it, she quickly undid the knot and opened the note up. On the note it read <blockquote>''"I feel for you kid, I see your pain and it resonates with me for I once held the same pain in my heart. My partners and I will be out of town for the next couple of days. We will be returning briefly to wrap up our business in this town before moving on to the next. If you are still around when we get back in, come find me. ~ That's Cool, '''A'''"'' </blockquote>Wynnipher then puts the note down and feels her gaze drawn out the window, there, on the streets outside the tavern, she sees Arthur and his group on their horses riding towards the one town exit. As if he knew she had just read the note, he turns around and looks at the room she is in, a small smile appears on his face, gives her a small wave, and then turns back around to continue riding out of town. Wynnipher continues to stare out the window in the direction they went until they are out of site. Once they are out of site, she then looks around the room once more before picking up the note that he left her and then leaves the room to find Brost the tavern keeper to let him know that she is taking the day off due to her injuries from the encounter with the demon. Before she is able to leave the tavern, Brost calls out for her to take a seat then and stay for a bite to eat. Wynnipher does just that, she goes and finds an empty seat at the bar, not that there are many taken at the moment, and she waits for Brost to come back out front. After a minute or two, Brost comes back out of the kitchen area with a plate of steaming scrambled eggs along with some fried bacon. He slides it on over to Wynnipher before grabbing her a glass of milk. After doing that the two exchange in some small talk while Wynnipher eats the food given to her. Brost then says he's sorry that she got hurt in the attack yesterday unaware that Wynnipher gave the injuries to herself when she attacked the dead demon. She quietly nods her head in acknowledgement before slightly digging her nails into the bar table in a bit of embarrassment and frustration. After finishing the plate of food that Brost gave her, she gets up and quietly nods a goodbye to Brost before leaving the tavern clutching at the note and thinking back to the group killing the demon.

A couple days pass for Wynnipher as she keeps absentmindedly going through the stables of the Three Legged Dragon and cleaning them up so that they are ready for the next batch of customers to drop their horses off. Every so often she will walk out in front of the tavern and look down the road that Arthur and his group left on, deep down, hoping that they come back, but afraid of if they don't. After checking the roads and seeing nothing, she heads back to the stables, her head down looking at the ground, just wondering if the old man will make it back. She gets back to the stables and continues her duties as day turns to dusk. She goes and tells Brost that she is leaving as there aren't any horses in the stables right now and that they are clean for the next group. Brost bids her a good evening after handing her the money she earned for the work she did today. The money isn't too much, but Wynnipher has been saving up her money so that she could buy a bow that she saw in a display window at the Ravens Wing, the towns hunting supplies store. And with the money she acquired from working for Brost, she should be able to afford the bow, however, she still needs to buy food and other necessities for the Feywild Collective as they have taken to calling themselves. The Feywild Collective being the members who were able to escape from the Feywild with Wynnipher. And so, Wynnipher continues walking through the town to the local butcher and some farm stands to buy some meat and vegetables for her group so that they at least have something to eat. Wynnipher eventually makes it back to the Collective and drops off the food she picked up by the cooking pots and then goes to lie down for the evening. As she's laying on the ground, she once again pulls out that note, wondering what Arthur wants to talk to her about if/when he gets back.

=== The Offer: ===
The following day, Wynnipher makes her way to the Three Legged Dragon and lets Brost know that she is heading back to the stables to take care of the horses that people have taken back before she arrived, and with that, she goes about her normal duties, tending to the horses and the stable grounds. With the day going by, and her still not seeing or hearing anything about Arthur and his group, she gets her days pay from Brost and heads down to Ravens Wing to see if the display bow is still there. She sees the owner of Ravens Wing out front, cleaning the display window where the bow would normally be, and she soon comes to find that the reason the owner is cleaning the window is because he has a new display piece and that the bow was sold earlier that day. Wynnipher, emotionally shaken by the news nods her head in farewell to the owner and leaves the shop before heading back to the residence of the Feywild Collective with her head towards the ground and her feet slightly dragging as she walks. She eventually makes it back to the building where the collective is staying and oddly finds some horses tied to a post out front. Not giving it too much thought, she heads in and goes to greet everybody but stops when she hears a familiar gruff voice in the next room talking to the members of the Collective. Her ears perk up when she hears the voice and she looks outside at the horses and recognizes them as well. Putting 2 and 2 together, she knows that its Arthur and his group visiting the Collective. But then she wonders why they are here, for they shouldn't have any reason to be here. Wondering why they are here, she sneaks up to the room entrance and hides on the other side of the door, listening into their conversation.

She listens into the conversation and learns that Arthur and his companions are what could be considered mercenary adventurers who go around the continent of Pteris working for those who have gold to spare and things that need done. Arthur then lets the elders of the Collective know that should they require any assistance with their future plans of relocation, that Arthur and his group could help relocate them safely for a small fee. Arthur then also lets them know that the offer isn't the main reason they are here. At that, Wynniphers ears perk up even more wondering what the real reason they are here is. Arthur further explains that he understands that they were refugees from the Feywild due to a demon attack and that he is sorry for their losses. He also explains that he understand that people go the grief in different ways before mentioning that Wynnipher herself still caries a lot of grief and anger with her even though she holds it well. He explains what happened the day that Caftans Ridge was attacked by a demon and how Wynnipher lost herself to the rage and sadness that she holds; hearing this, Wynnipher blushes a little in embarrassment briefly remembering her actions that day. Following his explanation, he brings up his reason for being here, he would like to take Wynnipher under his wing and have her become an apprentice member of their organization. Wynnipher hearing this is absolutely shocked and her mind starts racing faster than it ever, her eyes darting to look around the room she is in questioning why it suddenly felt like a new space. The elders of the Collective start to murmur to each other hearing Arthurs proposition. The leader of the collective then sighs and looks back at Arthur and responds by saying that it would be unfair to further discuss this without Wynnipher here, and as if knowing that she had been listening in the entire time, the elder gets up and walks over to the door that Wynnipher was listening in from and opens it up. Wynnipher surprised that the elder knew she was there, falls on her face as the elder opened the door. Wynnipher is then given a light scolding from the elder about listening in to private conversations, but is then given a pass since she is the subject of said conversation. The elder then invites her into the room and offers her a chair at the table and asks Wynnipher if she has any questions for Arthur since she has already heard what that the offer was for him to take her under his wing and for her to become an apprentice adventurer. Wynnipher, still stunned by what is going on is slow to respond as she opens and closes her mouth as if she has something she wants to ask but is unsure of what words to use. Everybody sees that Wynnipher is a bit in shock with what is going on and so Arthur tells her that its alright and that no questions are off the table, to feel free to ask him or his companions anything.

After thinking it over a bit, Wynnipher starts firing some questions off rapidly about what they do, who they are, where would they be going, why her, what about the members of the Collective, what would she be doing, why her, why her, why her, when would they leave, would she be able to come back, would she get paid as if this is a job, does she need anything before hand, is it binding, and many other questions that were bouncing around her mind while she was secretly listening into the conversation earlier. Arthur, his companions, and the elders at the table all chuckle seeing her questions. The main elder then stops her before she passes out from asking so many questions and motions to Arthur to further explain and possibly answer what this offer of his would entail. The elder then gives Wynnipher a cup of water before telling her to just drink and listen with as calm of a mind as she can manage for this may be a great opportunity for her. And so with that, Arthur then goes further into detail about who him and his companions are, who they work for, the kinds of jobs they take, where they have been and where they plan to go, along with many other details with Wynnipher taking it all in. After a while Wynnipher told Arthur that she would let him know after she talked to the members of the Collective as currently she was one of the main members that brought in money for them to survive. Arthur told her to take her time, but not too much, as their group will be leaving the following evening; and once she came to a decision, she would know where to find them. With that, Arthur and his group left the building that housed the Feywild Collective and went back to the Three Legged Dragon where Brost had kept their rooms for them.

That night and into the following day, Wynnipher contemplated the decision before her that Arthur has offered. It was an offer of potential great fortune but great danger and peril as well as some of the missions Arthur and his group took up were monster hunting missions that would place them in immediate danger. Wynnipher had some thoughts after hearing Arthurs in detail explanation and shared those with the leaders of the Collective as she would need their approval if she was to join Arthur due to her being one of their main areas of income at the moment. After a night of talking, they came to a decision to allow Wynnipher to join Arthur is she so chooses on a couple conditions, she writes back to them with monthly or bi-monthly updates, she sends some coin if able or unless noted otherwise in a response letter, she introduces Brost to one of the other kids in the Collective so that they can take her job at the tavern as a stable hand, and most importantly, to be safe and happy with her decision as while her direct parents are gone, the Collective is still her family and family looks out for each other. Before even hearing their response, she had silently determined that she was going to accept Arthurs deal, and now with hearing the decision of the elders, a small smile lit her face and her eyes sparkled as she started to thank them profusely before giving them all hugs and promises to adhere to their conditions. She then gathered some of the kids who she thought would be a good replacement for her at the tavern as a stable hand. After getting them together, she took them back to the tavern which was still open and introduced them to Brost as possible replacements for her as she was going to be leaving town to become an Adventurer! She then went into the tavern and found Arthur and his companions having a meal and drinking. Her brightly shining eyes connected with Arthurs dark eyes and he smiled, beckoning her over to join them. Wynnipher went on over and told them that the Collective was okay with her joining them and that she was ready to become an adventurer. Arthur jokingly scoffed at her after looking her up and down and mentioning that she sure doesn't look like she's ready as she doesn't have any adventuring gear! Hearing this, Wynnipher blushed a little in embarrassment and looked down stating that she didn't have time to prepare anything yet. But then the group laughs at her embarrassment and lets her know that they were joking before telling her that they prepared a little welcoming gift for her. Arthur then pulled a long item that was wrapped in a blanket before sliding it over to her and nodding for her to open it. Without waiting, she removed the blanket and was surprised to find the display bow from Ravens Wing along with a small quiver of arrows and some fingerless adventuring gloves. Wynnipher was floored, as just earlier that day, she was disappointed to see that someone had bought the bow she had been saving up for and so, without warning, she started to happily cry a little before jumping into Arthurs arms and giving him a big hug. Arthur then explains to her that when they had returned to town, he noticed her stopping at Ravens Wing and staring at the display bow with unfettered determination to have that bow. Wynnipher hearing this, chuckled and shyly asked if it was that obvious she had wanted the bow. The group then laughed in response at her remark. That night was Wynniphers happiest day in a while and would continue to be her happiest day for a long time to come.

=== DANG: ===
After Wynnipher joined Arthur and his group as Arthurs apprentice adventurer, they left the town of Caftans Ridge by horseback and rode North, Arthur not saying where they were going next. And then time passed for Wynnipher as she joined the group and helped in missions, slowly, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year becoming a proper adventurer. During that time, Arthur explained and initiated Wynnipher into the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild also known as DANG. They were not a very well know guild, but their group operated under a small list of guidelines which was to A) Neutralize any demonic abominations that threaten the current peace of Pteris, B) Help those in need of helping if able, C) Care for ones own brothers and sisters, and D) Never trust anybody or anything from the Outer Planes. Wynnipher eventually became a fully fledged member of DANG after leading her own demon hunting mission where Arthur and his group followed her lead for the mission. The mission went well and the demonic appearance was taken care of with nothing major going wrong. Time continued to pass and eventually, Arthurs group disbanded when Arthur retired from being an active mission leader for DANG due to receiving a near fatal wound in a botched mission. With their group in DANG being disbanded, each member decided to go and form their own group through other members of DANG or by recruiting new members into the guild. Wynnipher however went a different path, she had heard tell of a settlement out in the western regions of Pteris where there was a coalition of unlikely partners working together to fight against the demonic invasion into the Badlands. And so, with that, she traveled there, planning to join their ranks in the fight to stop the demonic incursions.

== Languages ==
Wynnipher knows how to speak and read Common, Elvish, Infernal, and Abyssal. She took up learning how to speak Infernal and Abyssal to help with understanding those that she hunts.

== Powers and Abilities ==
Wynnipher developed herself as a Monster Slayer within DANG.

She has become an excellent tracker of fiends, being able to focus in on them with a strong desire to exterminate them. Alongside fiends, she is able to magically enhance her senses to determine if any aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, or undead are present within the local area.

With Wynnipher growing up in the deserts of the Feywild, she finds herself able more easily track creatures, navigate, and generally survive in the deserts of the material plane.

Being developed as a Monster Slayer, Wynnipher has learned some magic to help herself and her partners when hunting.

More specifically, when hunting enemies, she is able to boost her damage to targets through both skills as a Monster Slayer and through some magic that she has learned.

But that is not all she can do, naturally as an Eladrin, Wynnipher can change the season that she is in tune with; she can see in the dark as if it were dim light; she is resistant against being charmed; and can teleport in a similar fashion to the spell Misty Step; Wynnipher also doe not need to sleep and cannot be put to sleep.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
For ranged targets, Wynnipher uses her longbow to target them, and if they get in close, she uses her shortswords, one of which is the one that her parents give her

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Wynnipher Winchester

2026-03-03T21:52:06Z

Doublecheese247: finished adding history to Wynniphers page (for now lol, kinda went ham)

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (DANG),
The Feywild Collective|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=Wynnipher_Winchester_screenshot.png|caption=Wynnipher readying an arrow on her bow|playerName=Connor S / Doublecheese247|relatives=No immediate relatives alive|languages=Common, Elvish, Infernal, Abyssal|alias=Winchester|birthPlace=A village in the Feywild that is no more|species=Eladrin|gender=Female|height=7' 1"|weight=185|eyes=Gold}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a Summer Eladrin Monster Slayer ranger whose village in the Feywild was destroyed by demons and is now in Pteris to help remove the demons that threaten the continent.

== Physical Appearance ==
Wynnipher is a tall Summer Eladrin who stands at 7' 1" with a lithe build. She has wavy bleach blonde that is partially braided and goes down to her mid back. Her skin is of a sandy hue from] long stretches of time spent out in the deserts of both the Feywild and Pteris. Her attire is compatible with a desert climate, consisting mainly of lightweight and/or flowing materials in earth tones. Notably, she is never seen without her ring, inscribed with the designs of the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (also known as DANG).

== Personality ==
Wynnipher has an aggressive and gruff nature when interacting with "normal" people. But once she hears about something related to demons and fiends, she becomes focused on figuring out how to eliminate the threat by whatever means necessary. She does not hold many around her in high regards unless they are direct superiors that have proven themselves capable of doing what is necessary to rid the world of demons and other such abominations.

Even though she looks down on most, she still has a soft spot in her heart for those in times of need and will help if able for she was once in that very situation when her mentor picked her up off the ground and took her in.

== History ==

=== The Village: ===
Wynnipher was a bright child growing up. She found endless things that would fascinate and entertain her in the Feywild where she grew up. Her parents were pretty loose with her allowing her to roam outside of the village due to the immediate surroundings of the village being safe with the matriarch of the village having a pact with the local oasis queen. Wynnipher only had to promise to behave, be respectful towards anyone and anything she were to come across, and never venture too far away from the village whenever she wanted to venture outside of the village. Wynnipher always respected those three rules of her parents as she loved her parents too much to do anything that would upset them. She would go out often due to this and play with the local water spirits of the oasis along with some other kids from her village.

As she grew up, she learned more about the Feywild that she grew up in and how it closely mirrored the material plane geographically and that there were portals that allowed members of either plane to travel to another. That is when she was told another absolute rule by her parents, which was to never travel to the material plane as it is a place that is not as nice as the village in the Feywild and the people there are not as nice as the people of the village and the ruling members of the Oasis that they were in alliance with. She would also come to learn more about their village and their relationship with the local Oasis. Even as she grew up, and began to learn many new things regarding where she grew up, she continued to venture outside of the village, as she found it truly freeing to be able to run out and experience the Feywild desert. She would surf the sand waves of the Yellow Ocean of liquid sand. She would gaze into the towering crystal pillars of the nearby Crystal Plane where all of the sand had been turned into glass and crystal due to the intense heat in the area. She would run into the Endless Desert where the sand would actively work against your movement making it difficult to move from the edges.

Wynnipher one day decided to visit said endless desert as she was feeling a bit pent up doing her chores around the village and her parents were starting to nag at her to not go out as often due to her getting more responsibilities. And on this day, she decided to run and run at the edge of the Endless Desert, going nowhere, till her legs gave out on her and she collapsed onto the sand. She laid there that day, on the shores of the Endless Desert staring into the sky of the Feywild wondering about what was on the other shore of the Endless Desert as she had only ever been on this one. After laying down on the shore for a bit, she decided that she should probably head back to the village and resume her chores. However, she would never complete those chores...

=== The Scream: ===
As she was getting back into the village and letting her parents know that she was back and that she would pick up her chores where she left them, there was an alarm that started going off from the center of the village. Wynnipher was only ever told about this alarm, she had never seen or heard it be used before which caused her to stumble over her own feet and fall to the ground. And right as she was getting up, she heard another new sound that she hadn't heard before today, screams. Not the screams of kids playing and having fun, but screams of terror and pain. She glanced at where the scream originated from and saw a towering demon with red skin that caused her to feel heat from just looking at it and blazing red eyes that caused one to feel dread if looked into for too long. The demon was holding a spear that was taller than its body, and on that spear was the head of the matriarch, removed from her body and still dripping blood down the shaft of the spear. The matriarchs face still holding a look of terror from when it was savagely ripped from her body. The demon then lifted the spear and screamed in a language that Wynnipher did not understand, but she could feel her body shiver in the heat of the desert as the grating sounds coming from the demons mouth rattled in through her ears and tore through her mind. And after the scratching sound coming from the demon ended, she could see a multitude of other demons sweeping out from behind the one that killed the matriarch, for the new demons were rushing towards the other nearby villagers. Seeing this, Wynnipher panicked and felt like she was back at the Endless Desert, wanting to move but having the sand keep her from moving from her spot. She wanted to run back to her parents and make sure that they are okay. Before she was able to get up from her spot, she felt something grab the back of her shirt firmly and aggressively pull her back from her current spot. She looked to see what had grabbed her, and found her father standing there with a worried look in his eyes, he seemed to be saying something to her, but she couldn't hear him, the demons language and the sight of the matriarchs head on the spear were still running circles around her mind.

Her father seeing that Wynnipher wasn't responding to his calls, then decides to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder as he then turns to run toward their house. As Wynnipher gets picked up and thrown over her dads shoulder, she finds that her mind snaps back to the present and starts to yell at her dad wondering what is going on, where her mom is, and where he is taking her. Her dad, continues to run trough the village turning through gaps between houses while trying to answer Wynniphers question that come out at the rate of an Arch Mages magic missile. He lets her know that he doesn't know what is going on other than the alarm means that the village is under attack and that the attackers appear to be demons followed by letting her know that her mom is at the house preparing a bag for her so that she can get out of the village along with some other kids and some of the elders that are unable to fight, and that they are running to the house to meet up with her mom before getting Wynnipher out of the village. Wynniphers dad turns a final corner and runs up to the house, using Wynniphers feet to knock open the door and screams into the house asking where Wynniphers mom is. They then hear Wynniphers mom call back that she was in the main bedroom getting everything together and that shell be out in a second. That second feels like an eternity not only to Wynnipher, but to her dad as well.

After her moms joins her and her dad in the main room of the house, she shoves a overpacked backpack into Wynniphers arms and tells her to put it on before handing her father a bow and quiver full of arrows along with a shortsword. Wynnipher questions what is in the bag and why its so heavy and her mom quickly answers that it has food and water for several days worth of travel, clothes, a rolled up tent, other miscellaneous gear, and most importantly, a shortsword that she is not to get out unless necessary and to only use it in self defense. It is at that point that she looks back to her mom realizes that she is currently half-plate armor and has a large sword strapped to her back. Her mom then explains that the plan in this situation is that a small group of adults is to lead the kids and elders out of the village and head toward the Endless Desert and then use the secret method to briefly reverse the sand movement for the group before reverting it to prevent any enemies of the village to follow before returning if possible to the village to help defeat the demon invasion.

And as her mom said, the plan that was made in case of scenarios like this started to come into effect. At the border of the village, there was a gathering of kids and elderly along with some armed adults. Wynnipher was forced to join the group by her parents. Her parents briefly stayed with her while telling her to listen to the adults in the group and follow their orders. Wynnipher at this point was back in a state of shock as her village had large plumes of smoke rising from it due to the damage caused by the demon attack. There were also sounds of fighting going on inside the village along with the occasional scream of pain. Her parents noticing this, tried to calm her down saying things along the line of "its going to be okay...", "we will send the demons back before coming to get you..." and most importantly "We love you Wynn." while giving her hugs and kissing her head. After a little bit longer, the adults decided that it was best to send the group away before the demons get to this side of town. And so with that, Wynniphers parents say a tearful goodbye / see you later before looking at each other, nodding, and turning back towards the village where they would go and help fight off the demons. Wynnipher, still distraught by what was happening, stared at her parents backs as they ran back to town that was on fire and engulfed in smoke, quietly telling them to come back and stay with her. A lot of the kids around her were screaming, crying, or in various states of shock/panic just like her while the elders and adults in the group worked to get the kids moving towards the Endless Desert.

=== The Escape: ===
The escape group led by two adults from the village was able to lead the group of elders and kids to the Endless Desert where Wynnipher was not 4 hours ago. One of them then pulled out a token that appeared to be made of solid water, but not ice, that was given to the matriarch from the Oasis. They then pressed a floating rune on the solid water that caused it to fall out of its structure and onto the shore of the Endless Ocean before forming up into a large disc of water that stabilized the sand. This would allow them to actually traverse the Endless Ocean as long as they stayed in the area affected by the water. With that, everybody in the group got into the area affected by the water and the adult that had control over the water commanded it to move forward along with the group. Wynnipher absentmindedly trudged along with the group while staring down at her feet, not realizing that she was actually traveling through the Endless Desert. She did this until she bumped into the person in front of her which caused her to fall onto her butt due to the weight of the backpack that she still had with her. She looked up to see an adult standing there and looking towards the direction of the village. Following their line of sight, Wynnipher looks in the direction of the village as well and what she sees terrifies her, for what she saw will live in her mind forever. She saw the landscape of the desert being changed before her eyes as a large ball of fire grew on the horizon, climbing higher into the sky until it billowed out forming a massive cloud of sand and smoke in the shape of a mushroom. Seeing this, tears would have continued rolling down her face if she was able to cry anymore, but she was out of tears, and out of time, as centering from the large remnant explosion cloud came a fast moving wave of compressed air that travelled from the village to the Endless Desert in no time at all. The group was hit with by the wave and everybody was thrown into the surrounding Endless Desert with everybody being thrown around in different directions. By a matter of luck, Wynnipher ended up landing in the same area that the adult who controlled the water landed. She was also saved from the brunt of the impact as she landed on her butt. After making sure that she was okay, Wynnipher then looked around at the other members of the group, hoping to see that everybody was okay and together. That was not the case; for not too far away from her, another kid from the village, one that she would frequently play with in the outskirts of the village was lying there with no life left in their eyes as they had landed on the ground head first. Similarly, a lot of the elderly members of the group had their bones broken just due to the impact from the wind wall, combining that with the rough landings they experienced, not many of them lived. The adults that were escorting them started gathering what survivors there were left before continuing to painfully move through the Endless Desert to their goal. It was then explained to the group that the goal is to reach the center of the Endless Desert which is rumored to hold a portal between the Feywild and the Material Plane and that the only way to reach the center from the shores of the desert is by flying or by using some other method to prevent the sand from keeping you out, which is where the water disc from the Oasis comes into play. After traveling for a bit more, they end up reaching the center where on the ground, on could see an unending amount of sand being pushed out of a circle and flowed out towards the boundaries of the Endless Desert. This circle where the sand of the desert was being pushed out of was the portal to the material plane, one just had to jump/drop into the circle to move between the Planes. And so, with guidance and encouragement from the adults escorting the group, the kids jumped in first with Wynnipher being part of that group.

=== The Material Plane: ===
Shifting forward through time a bit, we find Wynnipher in a town in the material plane doing some light work to earn some coin to help support herself and the group she came here with. That group consisting of other kids, the two adults, and a couple elders from the Feywild village. It has been a year since they crossed over from the Feywild and escaped the damning event that occurred at their village. The adults had agreed that it was best for the group to continue traveling together as there is strength in numbers. Everybody in the group has given up hope that there are any other survivors from their village in the Feywild after the massive explosion they saw, so they moved forward, or at least physically did so. Mentally, Wynnipher and other children are still in the Endless Desert staring at the large mushroom cloud that came from the explosion in the village, stuck in the sand, unable to run away or move. And like that, time went by as the members of the group started working at various spots in the town of Caftans Ridge to try and make ends meet. But little did the group know, they weren't out of the woods yet, for their fears followed them.

One dreary morning following another sleepless night, Wynnipher was cooped up in the stable of a local tavern, The 3 Legged Dragon, helping take care of some horses that customers have put there. Wynnipher has been helping take care of the stables for a couple of months now, the tavern owners are nice enough and they pay her for her help around the stables and the tavern if needed. Wynnipher has also come to know some of the horses that have been put there as they have been there a while due to their owners having extended their stays due to whatever business they have in the town. She had come to know that most of the horses were pretty smart as they recognized her as their caretaker while they were here, and they knew how to relay the simple needs that they wanted, whether that was being brushed, being fed, taken for a small walk out of the stables, or whatever basic needs it was they wanted/needed. And this morning that she was working, she saw the horses acting strange, at least stranger than she had ever seen. They were neighing to each other in a quick and quiet manner, jostling against each other while trying to get out of the stables. But she recognized this emotion that was being shared by the horses, for it was the same emotion that she had been experiencing every time she closed her eyes, fear. She didn't know what the horses were so afraid of this morning, but their fear soon got picked up by her and she started to look around in a panic, wondering where the source of the fear was coming from. She looked up and saw a flow of birds suddenly take flight in a panic as they flew from the town as well. And in the next moment, she felt it, the inescapable heat that she felt when she gazed at the demon that killed the matriarch of the village, and in that moment, she understood, her past has chased her here.

Bells started ringing and people started running and screaming to their houses and to the taverns, towards wherever they were staying as they wanted, no, needed to escape the attack from the demons. Wynnipher stayed in the stables with the horses, not because she didn't know where to go, but because she couldn't make herself move. And what came next shook her to her core. A demon was blasted through the tavern wall that faced the stables, it had multiple arrows sticking out of it along with multiple wounds scattered along its body. Following that, a group of 4 people came out of the hole that the demon had created, and started circling around the demon, making sure it had nowhere to go. And, without a word, they all resumed fighting the demon, creating openings for each other and covering each other when the demon went on the offensive. It was a masterclass of teamwork that she was witnessing and her eyes sparkled with emotions that was long lost to her, hope, admiration, and one emotion that wasn't entirely new, but was surprising in the moment, anger. She could feel her body trembling with a long pent up rage that was directed at the demon that was being systematically taken care of by the four adventurers who had made sure that the fight between them and the demon didn't escape the stable grounds. And then she saw it, the demon took one last arrow to the chest, but this one was a better shot than the previous ones as it zipped right into the demons heart, piercing it and ending the demons life. The demon fell over onto the ground, dead, but it wouldn't remain there alone, as out from the stables Wynnipher ran at the demon screaming in pure rage at it before she leaped onto the back of the dead demon and started raining fists upon it. The adventurers were stunned, they knew that Wynnipher was in the stable with the horses, as they were their horses she was taking care of, but they never would have expected the timid and quiet girl who took care of the horses to have such an anger and rage about her for she almost looked like a barbarian in her current state. It took them a second to recover from the shock, but then they came together and helped pull off the now crying and screaming Wynnipher who was still swinging her arms and kicking her legs trying to get free so that she could hit the dead demon some more. She didn't even care that her hands were in pain from punching the demon, nor that she had small burns along her body from being on top of the dead demons body. As they carried her away while trying to calm her down, her screams and cries never slowed down, nor did her arms and legs stop thrashing about. And so, in the interest of her not hurting herself further, one of the party members knocked her out with a quick chop to the back of the neck.

=== Arthur: ===
Wynnipher woke up later that day in a room on the second floor of the tavern, she found herself tucked into a bed with the faint smell of a burnt incense still hanging in the air. She shifted her position on the bed so that she could take a better look around the room. As she was doing so, she noticed that her hands were wrapped in bandages along with parts of her legs and chest. It was then that she woke up enough to feel the aches and pain radiating from those spots where she has bandages. With the pain, the memories of what happened came rushing back as well, memories of her hiding in the stable with the horses, watching the demon get killed by the adventurers, and then everything turning red when she jumped on top of the dead demon and started raining blows on its corpse as she cried and screamed before being picked up by the adventurers and taken away from the corpse. Remembering that last bit, she then looked around the room and finally saw one of the adventurers sitting in the corner reading a note. The adventurer was an old man for all she could tell. He had deep piercing black eyes, a nose that looks like it was broken multiple times and was never healed properly, cracked lips from the desert heat and limited amounts of water, and a stubbled white beard and mustache adorning his tanned face. Noticing Wynnipher getting up and looking at him, he greets her, letting her know that she is safe while she is in this room before rolling the scroll back up and tying it up. He then thanks Wynnipher for taking care of his groups horses while they stayed here and that the horses are gonna miss her when they leave town in a couple days. The man then introduces himself as Arthur before telling her that she is free to stay here as long as she likes while him and his group are still in town, after that, he gets up and goes out of the room, closing the door behind him, before heading downstairs to presumably meet up with his group.

Wynnipher stays in the bed for a bit before getting up and wandering the room that she found herself in. She found it odd that Arthur left her here in his room unsupervised, but then again, remembering how he and his team fought the demon, she was pretty confident that they could easily take care of her as well if needed. Looking around the room, it was pretty baren and familiar as she has helped clean up the tavern rooms that are for rent before. There was a window with curtains opposite the wall with the door, a bed on the one side with a trunk at the foot of the bed. A desk and chair are along the other wall along with a standing wardrobe for customers to store their clothes and anything else that might not fit in the trunk. While looking around the room, she noticed the note that Arthur had tied up and left on the desk. Seeing this, she could feel her curiosity getting the better of her, drawing her hand towards the small rolled up note. Finally, after contemplating it some more, she decided to grab it, she quickly undid the knot and opened the note up. On the note it read <blockquote>''"I feel for you kid, I see your pain and it resonates with me for I once held the same pain in my heart. My partners and I will be out of town for the next couple of days. We will be returning briefly to wrap up our business in this town before moving on to the next. If you are still around when we get back in, come find me. ~ That's Cool, '''A'''"'' </blockquote>Wynnipher then puts the note down and feels her gaze drawn out the window, there, on the streets outside the tavern, she sees Arthur and his group on their horses riding towards the one town exit. As if he knew she had just read the note, he turns around and looks at the room she is in, a small smile appears on his face, gives her a small wave, and then turns back around to continue riding out of town. Wynnipher continues to stare out the window in the direction they went until they are out of site. Once they are out of site, she then looks around the room once more before picking up the note that he left her and then leaves the room to find Brost the tavern keeper to let him know that she is taking the day off due to her injuries from the encounter with the demon. Before she is able to leave the tavern, Brost calls out for her to take a seat then and stay for a bite to eat. Wynnipher does just that, she goes and finds an empty seat at the bar, not that there are many taken at the moment, and she waits for Brost to come back out front. After a minute or two, Brost comes back out of the kitchen area with a plate of steaming scrambled eggs along with some fried bacon. He slides it on over to Wynnipher before grabbing her a glass of milk. After doing that the two exchange in some small talk while Wynnipher eats the food given to her. Brost then says he's sorry that she got hurt in the attack yesterday unaware that Wynnipher gave the injuries to herself when she attacked the dead demon. She quietly nods her head in acknowledgement before slightly digging her nails into the bar table in a bit of embarrassment and frustration. After finishing the plate of food that Brost gave her, she gets up and quietly nods a goodbye to Brost before leaving the tavern clutching at the note and thinking back to the group killing the demon.

A couple days pass for Wynnipher as she keeps absentmindedly going through the stables of the Three Legged Dragon and cleaning them up so that they are ready for the next batch of customers to drop their horses off. Every so often she will walk out in front of the tavern and look down the road that Arthur and his group left on, deep down, hoping that they come back, but afraid of if they don't. After checking the roads and seeing nothing, she heads back to the stables, her head down looking at the ground, just wondering if the old man will make it back. She gets back to the stables and continues her duties as day turns to dusk. She goes and tells Brost that she is leaving as there aren't any horses in the stables right now and that they are clean for the next group. Brost bids her a good evening after handing her the money she earned for the work she did today. The money isn't too much, but Wynnipher has been saving up her money so that she could buy a bow that she saw in a display window at the Ravens Wing, the towns hunting supplies store. And with the money she acquired from working for Brost, she should be able to afford the bow, however, she still needs to buy food and other necessities for the Feywild Collective as they have taken to calling themselves. The Feywild Collective being the members who were able to escape from the Feywild with Wynnipher. And so, Wynnipher continues walking through the town to the local butcher and some farm stands to buy some meat and vegetables for her group so that they at least have something to eat. Wynnipher eventually makes it back to the Collective and drops off the food she picked up by the cooking pots and then goes to lie down for the evening. As she's laying on the ground, she once again pulls out that note, wondering what Arthur wants to talk to her about if/when he gets back.

=== The Offer: ===
The following day, Wynnipher makes her way to the Three Legged Dragon and lets Brost know that she is heading back to the stables to take care of the horses that people have taken back before she arrived, and with that, she goes about her normal duties, tending to the horses and the stable grounds. With the day going by, and her still not seeing or hearing anything about Arthur and his group, she gets her days pay from Brost and heads down to Ravens Wing to see if the display bow is still there. She sees the owner of Ravens Wing out front, cleaning the display window where the bow would normally be, and she soon comes to find that the reason the owner is cleaning the window is because he has a new display piece and that the bow was sold earlier that day. Wynnipher, emotionally shaken by the news nods her head in farewell to the owner and leaves the shop before heading back to the residence of the Feywild Collective with her head towards the ground and her feet slightly dragging as she walks. She eventually makes it back to the building where the collective is staying and oddly finds some horses tied to a post out front. Not giving it too much thought, she heads in and goes to greet everybody but stops when she hears a familiar gruff voice in the next room talking to the members of the Collective. Her ears perk up when she hears the voice and she looks outside at the horses and recognizes them as well. Putting 2 and 2 together, she knows that its Arthur and his group visiting the Collective. But then she wonders why they are here, for they shouldn't have any reason to be here. Wondering why they are here, she sneaks up to the room entrance and hides on the other side of the door, listening into their conversation.

She listens into the conversation and learns that Arthur and his companions are what could be considered mercenary adventurers who go around the continent of Pteris working for those who have gold to spare and things that need done. Arthur then lets the elders of the Collective know that should they require any assistance with their future plans of relocation, that Arthur and his group could help relocate them safely for a small fee. Arthur then also lets them know that the offer isn't the main reason they are here. At that, Wynniphers ears perk up even more wondering what the real reason they are here is. Arthur further explains that he understands that they were refugees from the Feywild due to a demon attack and that he is sorry for their losses. He also explains that he understand that people go the grief in different ways before mentioning that Wynnipher herself still caries a lot of grief and anger with her even though she holds it well. He explains what happened the day that Caftans Ridge was attacked by a demon and how Wynnipher lost herself to the rage and sadness that she holds; hearing this, Wynnipher blushes a little in embarrassment briefly remembering her actions that day. Following his explanation, he brings up his reason for being here, he would like to take Wynnipher under his wing and have her become an apprentice member of their organization. Wynnipher hearing this is absolutely shocked and her mind starts racing faster than it ever, her eyes darting to look around the room she is in questioning why it suddenly felt like a new space. The elders of the Collective start to murmur to each other hearing Arthurs proposition. The leader of the collective then sighs and looks back at Arthur and responds by saying that it would be unfair to further discuss this without Wynnipher here, and as if knowing that she had been listening in the entire time, the elder gets up and walks over to the door that Wynnipher was listening in from and opens it up. Wynnipher surprised that the elder knew she was there, falls on her face as the elder opened the door. Wynnipher is then given a light scolding from the elder about listening in to private conversations, but is then given a pass since she is the subject of said conversation. The elder then invites her into the room and offers her a chair at the table and asks Wynnipher if she has any questions for Arthur since she has already heard what that the offer was for him to take her under his wing and for her to become an apprentice adventurer. Wynnipher, still stunned by what is going on is slow to respond as she opens and closes her mouth as if she has something she wants to ask but is unsure of what words to use. Everybody sees that Wynnipher is a bit in shock with what is going on and so Arthur tells her that its alright and that no questions are off the table, to feel free to ask him or his companions anything.

After thinking it over a bit, Wynnipher starts firing some questions off rapidly about what they do, who they are, where would they be going, why her, what about the members of the Collective, what would she be doing, why her, why her, why her, when would they leave, would she be able to come back, would she get paid as if this is a job, does she need anything before hand, is it binding, and many other questions that were bouncing around her mind while she was secretly listening into the conversation earlier. Arthur, his companions, and the elders at the table all chuckle seeing her questions. The main elder then stops her before she passes out from asking so many questions and motions to Arthur to further explain and possibly answer what this offer of his would entail. The elder then gives Wynnipher a cup of water before telling her to just drink and listen with as calm of a mind as she can manage for this may be a great opportunity for her. And so with that, Arthur then goes further into detail about who him and his companions are, who they work for, the kinds of jobs they take, where they have been and where they plan to go, along with many other details with Wynnipher taking it all in. After a while Wynnipher told Arthur that she would let him know after she talked to the members of the Collective as currently she was one of the main members that brought in money for them to survive. Arthur told her to take her time, but not too much, as their group will be leaving the following evening; and once she came to a decision, she would know where to find them. With that, Arthur and his group left the building that housed the Feywild Collective and went back to the Three Legged Dragon where Brost had kept their rooms for them.

That night and into the following day, Wynnipher contemplated the decision before her that Arthur has offered. It was an offer of potential great fortune but great danger and peril as well as some of the missions Arthur and his group took up were monster hunting missions that would place them in immediate danger. Wynnipher had some thoughts after hearing Arthurs in detail explanation and shared those with the leaders of the Collective as she would need their approval if she was to join Arthur due to her being one of their main areas of income at the moment. After a night of talking, they came to a decision to allow Wynnipher to join Arthur is she so chooses on a couple conditions, she writes back to them with monthly or bi-monthly updates, she sends some coin if able or unless noted otherwise in a response letter, she introduces Brost to one of the other kids in the Collective so that they can take her job at the tavern as a stable hand, and most importantly, to be safe and happy with her decision as while her direct parents are gone, the Collective is still her family and family looks out for each other. Before even hearing their response, she had silently determined that she was going to accept Arthurs deal, and now with hearing the decision of the elders, a small smile lit her face and her eyes sparkled as she started to thank them profusely before giving them all hugs and promises to adhere to their conditions. She then gathered some of the kids who she thought would be a good replacement for her at the tavern as a stable hand. After getting them together, she took them back to the tavern which was still open and introduced them to Brost as possible replacements for her as she was going to be leaving town to become an Adventurer! She then went into the tavern and found Arthur and his companions having a meal and drinking. Her brightly shining eyes connected with Arthurs dark eyes and he smiled, beckoning her over to join them. Wynnipher went on over and told them that the Collective was okay with her joining them and that she was ready to become an adventurer. Arthur jokingly scoffed at her after looking her up and down and mentioning that she sure doesn't look like she's ready as she doesn't have any adventuring gear! Hearing this, Wynnipher blushed a little in embarrassment and looked down stating that she didn't have time to prepare anything yet. But then the group laughs at her embarrassment and lets her know that they were joking before telling her that they prepared a little welcoming gift for her. Arthur then pulled a long item that was wrapped in a blanket before sliding it over to her and nodding for her to open it. Without waiting, she removed the blanket and was surprised to find the display bow from Ravens Wing along with a small quiver of arrows and some fingerless adventuring gloves. Wynnipher was floored, as just earlier that day, she was disappointed to see that someone had bought the bow she had been saving up for and so, without warning, she started to happily cry a little before jumping into Arthurs arms and giving him a big hug. Arthur then explains to her that when they had returned to town, he noticed her stopping at Ravens Wing and staring at the display bow with unfettered determination to have that bow. Wynnipher hearing this, chuckled and shyly asked if it was that obvious she had wanted the bow. The group then laughed in response at her remark. That night was Wynniphers happiest day in a while and would continue to be her happiest day for a long time to come.

=== DANG: ===
After Wynnipher joined Arthur and his group as Arthurs apprentice adventurer, they left the town of Caftans Ridge by horseback and rode North, Arthur not saying where they were going next. And then time passed for Wynnipher as she joined the group and helped in missions, slowly, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year becoming a proper adventurer. During that time, Arthur explained and initiated Wynnipher into the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild also known as DANG. They were not a very well know guild, but their group operated under a small list of guidelines which was to A) Neutralize any demonic abominations that threaten the current peace of Pteris, B) Help those in need of helping if able, C) Care for ones own brothers and sisters, and D) Never trust anybody or anything from the Outer Planes. Wynnipher eventually became a fully fledged member of DANG after leading her own demon hunting mission where Arthur and his group followed her lead for the mission. The mission went well and the demonic appearance was taken care of with nothing major going wrong. Time continued to pass and eventually, Arthurs group disbanded when Arthur retired from being an active mission leader for DANG due to receiving a near fatal wound in a botched mission. With their group in DANG being disbanded, each member decided to go and form their own group through other members of DANG or by recruiting new members into the guild. Wynnipher however went a different path, she had heard tell of a settlement out in the western regions of Pteris where there was a coalition of unlikely partners working together to fight against the demonic invasion into the Badlands. And so, with that, she traveled there, planning to join their ranks in the fight to stop the demonic incursions.

== Languages ==
Wynnipher knows how to speak and read Common, Elvish, Infernal, and Abyssal. She took up learning how to speak Infernal and Abyssal to help with understanding those that she hunts.

== Powers and Abilities ==
Wynnipher developed herself as a Monster Slayer within DANG.

She has become an excellent tracker of fiends, being able to focus in on them with a strong desire to exterminate them. Alongside fiends, she is able to magically enhance her senses to determine if any aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, or undead are present within the local area.

With Wynnipher growing up in the deserts of the Feywild, she finds herself able more easily track creatures, navigate, and generally survive in the deserts of the material plane.

Being developed as a Monster Slayer, Wynnipher has learned some magic to help herself and her partners when hunting.

More specifically, when hunting enemies, she is able to boost her damage to targets through both skills as a Monster Slayer and through some magic that she has learned.

But that is not all she can do, naturally as an Eladrin, Wynnipher can change the season that she is in tune with; she can see in the dark as if it were dim light; she is resistant against being charmed; and can teleport in a similar fashion to the spell Misty Step; Wynnipher also doe not need to sleep and cannot be put to sleep.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
For ranged targets, Wynnipher uses her longbow to target them, and if they get in close, she uses her shortswords, one of which is the one that her parents give her

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Wynnipher Winchester

2026-03-03T00:09:10Z

Doublecheese247: added history to Wynnipher

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (DANG)|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=Wynnipher_Winchester_screenshot.png|caption=Wynnipher readying an arrow on her bow|playerName=Connor S / Doublecheese247|relatives=No immediate relatives alive|languages=Common, Elvish, Infernal, Abyssal|alias=Winchester|birthPlace=A village in the Feywild that is no more|species=Eladrin|gender=Female|height=7' 1"|weight=185|eyes=Gold}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a Summer Eladrin Monster Slayer ranger whose village in the Feywild was destroyed by demons and is now in Pteris to help remove the demons that threaten the continent.

== Physical Appearance ==
Wynnipher is a tall Summer Eladrin who stands at 7' 1" with a lithe build. She has wavy bleach blonde that is partially braided and goes down to her mid back. Her skin is of a sandy hue from] long stretches of time spent out in the deserts of both the Feywild and Pteris. Her attire is compatible with a desert climate, consisting mainly of lightweight and/or flowing materials in earth tones. Notably, she is never seen without her ring, inscribed with the designs of the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (also known as DANG).

== Personality ==
Wynnipher has an aggressive and gruff nature when interacting with "normal" people. But once she hears about something related to demons and fiends, she becomes focused on figuring out how to eliminate the threat by whatever means necessary. She does not hold many around her in high regards unless they are direct superiors that have proven themselves capable of doing what is necessary to rid the world of demons and other such abominations.

Even though she looks down on most, she still has a soft spot in her heart for those in times of need and will help if able for she was once in that very situation when her mentor picked her up off the ground and took her in.

== History ==

=== The Village: ===
Wynnipher was a bright child growing up. She found endless things that would fascinate and entertain her in the Feywild where she grew up. Her parents were pretty loose with her allowing her to roam outside of the village due to the immediate surroundings of the village being safe with the matriarch of the village having a pact with the local oasis queen. Wynnipher only had to promise to behave, be respectful towards anyone and anything she were to come across, and never venture too far away from the village whenever she wanted to venture outside of the village. Wynnipher always respected those three rules of her parents as she loved her parents too much to do anything that would upset them. She would go out often due to this and play with the local water spirits of the oasis along with some other kids from her village.

As she grew up, she learned more about the Feywild that she grew up in and how it closely mirrored the material plane geographically and that there were portals that allowed members of either plane to travel to another. That is when she was told another absolute rule by her parents, which was to never travel to the material plane as it is a place that is not as nice as the village in the Feywild and the people there are not as nice as the people of the village and the ruling members of the Oasis that they were in alliance with. She would also come to learn more about their village and their relationship with the local Oasis. Even as she grew up, and began to learn many new things regarding where she grew up, she continued to venture outside of the village, as she found it truly freeing to be able to run out and experience the Feywild desert. She would surf the sand waves of the Yellow Ocean of liquid sand. She would gaze into the towering crystal pillars of the nearby Crystal Plane where all of the sand had been turned into glass and crystal due to the intense heat in the area. She would run into the Endless Desert where the sand would actively work against your movement making it difficult to move from the edges.

Wynnipher one day decided to visit said endless desert as she was feeling a bit pent up doing her chores around the village and her parents were starting to nag at her to not go out as often due to her getting more responsibilities. And on this day, she decided to run and run at the edge of the Endless Desert, going nowhere, till her legs gave out on her and she collapsed onto the sand. She laid there that day, on the shores of the Endless Desert staring into the sky of the Feywild wondering about what was on the other shore of the Endless Desert as she had only ever been on this one. After laying down on the shore for a bit, she decided that she should probably head back to the village and resume her chores. However, she would never complete those chores...

=== The Scream: ===
As she was getting back into the village and letting her parents know that she was back and that she would pick up her chores where she left them, there was an alarm that started going off from the center of the village. Wynnipher was only ever told about this alarm, she had never seen or heard it be used before which caused her to stumble over her own feet and fall to the ground. And right as she was getting up, she heard another new sound that she hadn't heard before today, screams. Not the screams of kids playing and having fun, but screams of terror and pain. She glanced at where the scream originated from and saw a towering demon with red skin that caused her to feel heat from just looking at it and blazing red eyes that caused one to feel dread if looked into for too long. The demon was holding a spear that was taller than its body, and on that spear was the head of the matriarch, removed from her body and still dripping blood down the shaft of the spear. The matriarchs face still holding a look of terror from when it was savagely ripped from her body. The demon then lifted the spear and screamed in a language that Wynnipher did not understand, but she could feel her body shiver in the heat of the desert as the grating sounds coming from the demons mouth rattled in through her ears and tore through her mind. And after the scratching sound coming from the demon ended, she could see a multitude of other demons sweeping out from behind the one that killed the matriarch, for the new demons were rushing towards the other nearby villagers. Seeing this, Wynnipher panicked and felt like she was back at the Endless Desert, wanting to move but having the sand keep her from moving from her spot. She wanted to run back to her parents and make sure that they are okay. Before she was able to get up from her spot, she felt something grab the back of her shirt firmly and aggressively pull her back from her current spot. She looked to see what had grabbed her, and found her father standing there with a worried look in his eyes, he seemed to be saying something to her, but she couldn't hear him, the demons language and the sight of the matriarchs head on the spear were still running circles around her mind.

Her father seeing that Wynnipher wasn't responding to his calls, then decides to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder as he then turns to run toward their house. As Wynnipher gets picked up and thrown over her dads shoulder, she finds that her mind snaps back to the present and starts to yell at her dad wondering what is going on, where her mom is, and where he is taking her. Her dad, continues to run trough the village turning through gaps between houses while trying to answer Wynniphers question that come out at the rate of an Arch Mages magic missile. He lets her know that he doesn't know what is going on other than the alarm means that the village is under attack and that the attackers appear to be demons followed by letting her know that her mom is at the house preparing a bag for her so that she can get out of the village along with some other kids and some of the elders that are unable to fight, and that they are running to the house to meet up with her mom before getting Wynnipher out of the village. Wynniphers dad turns a final corner and runs up to the house, using Wynniphers feet to knock open the door and screams into the house asking where Wynniphers mom is. They then hear Wynniphers mom call back that she was in the main bedroom getting everything together and that shell be out in a second. That second feels like an eternity not only to Wynnipher, but to her dad as well.

After her moms joins her and her dad in the main room of the house, she shoves a overpacked backpack into Wynniphers arms and tells her to put it on before handing her father a bow and quiver full of arrows along with a shortsword. Wynnipher questions what is in the bag and why its so heavy and her mom quickly answers that it has food and water for several days worth of travel, clothes, a rolled up tent, other miscellaneous gear, and most importantly, a shortsword that she is not to get out unless necessary and to only use it in self defense. It is at that point that she looks back to her mom realizes that she is currently half-plate armor and has a large sword strapped to her back. Her mom then explains that the plan in this situation is that a small group of adults is to lead the kids and elders out of the village and head toward the Endless Desert and then use the secret method to briefly reverse the sand movement for the group before reverting it to prevent any enemies of the village to follow before returning if possible to the village to help defeat the demon invasion.

And as her mom said, the plan that was made in case of scenarios like this started to come into effect. At the border of the village, there was a gathering of kids and elderly along with some armed adults. Wynnipher was forced to join the group by her parents. Her parents briefly stayed with her while telling her to listen to the adults in the group and follow their orders. Wynnipher at this point was back in a state of shock as her village had large plumes of smoke rising from it due to the damage caused by the demon attack. There were also sounds of fighting going on inside the village along with the occasional scream of pain. Her parents noticing this, tried to calm her down saying things along the line of "its going to be okay...", "we will send the demons back before coming to get you..." and most importantly "We love you Wynn." while giving her hugs and kissing her head. After a little bit longer, the adults decided that it was best to send the group away before the demons get to this side of town. And so with that, Wynniphers parents say a tearful goodbye / see you later before looking at each other, nodding, and turning back towards the village where they would go and help fight off the demons. Wynnipher, still distraught by what was happening, stared at her parents backs as they ran back to town that was on fire and engulfed in smoke, quietly telling them to come back and stay with her. A lot of the kids around her were screaming, crying, or in various states of shock/panic just like her while the elders and adults in the group worked to get the kids moving towards the Endless Desert.

=== The Escape: ===
The escape group led by two adults from the village was able to lead the group of elders and kids to the Endless Desert where Wynnipher was not 4 hours ago. One of them then pulled out a token that appeared to be made of solid water, but not ice, that was given to the matriarch from the Oasis. They then pressed a floating rune on the solid water that caused it to fall out of its structure and onto the shore of the Endless Ocean before forming up into a large disc of water that stabilized the sand. This would allow them to actually traverse the Endless Ocean as long as they stayed in the area affected by the water. With that, everybody in the group got into the area affected by the water and the adult that had control over the water commanded it to move forward along with the group. Wynnipher absentmindedly trudged along with the group while staring down at her feet, not realizing that she was actually traveling through the Endless Desert. She did this until she bumped into the person in front of her which caused her to fall onto her butt due to the weight of the backpack that she still had with her. She looked up to see an adult standing there and looking towards the direction of the village. Following their line of sight, Wynnipher looks in the direction of the village as well and what she sees terrifies her, for what she saw will live in her mind forever. She saw the landscape of the desert being changed before her eyes as a large ball of fire grew on the horizon, climbing higher into the sky until it billowed out forming a massive cloud of sand and smoke in the shape of a mushroom. Seeing this, tears would have continued rolling down her face if she was able to cry anymore, but she was out of tears, and out of time, as centering from the large remnant explosion cloud came a fast moving wave of compressed air that travelled from the village to the Endless Desert in no time at all. The group was hit with by the wave and everybody was thrown into the surrounding Endless Desert with everybody being thrown around in different directions. By a matter of luck, Wynnipher ended up landing in the same area that the adult who controlled the water landed. She was also saved from the brunt of the impact as she landed on her butt. After making sure that she was okay, Wynnipher then looked around at the other members of the group, hoping to see that everybody was okay and together. That was not the case; for not too far away from her, another kid from the village, one that she would frequently play with in the outskirts of the village was lying there with no life left in their eyes as they had landed on the ground head first. Similarly, a lot of the elderly members of the group had their bones broken just due to the impact from the wind wall, combining that with the rough landings they experienced, not many of them lived. The adults that were escorting them started gathering what survivors there were left before continuing to painfully move through the Endless Desert to their goal. It was then explained to the group that the goal is to reach the center of the Endless Desert which is rumored to hold a portal between the Feywild and the Material Plane and that the only way to reach the center from the shores of the desert is by flying or by using some other method to prevent the sand from keeping you out, which is where the water disc from the Oasis comes into play. After traveling for a bit more, they end up reaching the center where on the ground, on could see an unending amount of sand being pushed out of a circle and flowed out towards the boundaries of the Endless Desert. This circle where the sand of the desert was being pushed out of was the portal to the material plane, one just had to jump/drop into the circle to move between the Planes. And so, with guidance and encouragement from the adults escorting the group, the kids jumped in first with Wynnipher being part of that group.

=== The Material Plane: ===
Shifting forward through time a bit, we find Wynnipher in a town in the material plane doing some light work to earn some coin to help support herself and the group she came here with. That group consisting of other kids, the two adults, and a couple elders from the Feywild village. It has been a year since they crossed over from the Feywild and escaped the damning event that occurred at their village. The adults had agreed that it was best for the group to continue traveling together as there is strength in numbers. Everybody in the group has given up hope that there are any other survivors from their village in the Feywild after the massive explosion they saw, so they moved forward, or at least physically did so. Mentally, Wynnipher and other children are still in the Endless Desert staring at the large mushroom cloud that came from the explosion in the village, stuck in the sand, unable to run away or move. And like that, time went by as the members of the group started working at various spots in the city to try and make ends meet. But little did the group know, they weren't out of the woods yet, for their fears followed them.

One dreary morning following another sleepless night, Wynnipher was cooped up in the stable of a local tavern, The 3 Legged Dragon, helping take care of some horses that customers have put there. Wynnipher has been helping take care of the stables for a couple of months now, the tavern owners are nice enough and they pay her for her help around the stables and the tavern if needed. Wynnipher has also come to know some of the horses that have been put there as they have been there a while due to their owners having extended their stays due to whatever business they have in the town. She had come to know that most of the horses were pretty smart as they recognized her as their caretaker while they were here, and they knew how to relay the simple needs that they wanted, whether that was being brushed, being fed, taken for a small walk out of the stables, or whatever basic needs it was they wanted/needed. And this morning that she was working, she saw the horses acting strange, at least stranger than she had ever seen. They were neighing to each other in a quick and quiet manner, jostling against each other while trying to get out of the stables. But she recognized this emotion that was being shared by the horses, for it was the same emotion that she had been experiencing every time she closed her eyes, fear. She didn't know what the horses were so afraid of this morning, but their fear soon got picked up by her and she started to look around in a panic, wondering where the source of the fear was coming from. She looked up and saw a flow of birds suddenly take flight in a panic as they flew from the town as well. And in the next moment, she felt it, the inescapable heat that she felt when she gazed at the demon that killed the matriarch of the village, and in that moment, she understood, her past has chased her here.

Bells started ringing and people started running and screaming to their houses and to the taverns, towards wherever they were staying as they wanted, no, needed to escape the attack from the demons. Wynnipher stayed in the stables with the horses, not because she didn't know where to go, but because she couldn't make herself move. And what came next shook her to her core. A demon was blasted through the tavern wall that faced the stables, it had multiple arrows sticking out of it along with multiple wounds scattered along its body. Following that, a group of 4 people came out of the hole that the demon had created, and started circling around the demon, making sure it had nowhere to go. And, without a word, they all resumed fighting the demon, creating openings for each other and covering each other when the demon went on the offensive. It was a masterclass of teamwork that she was witnessing and her eyes sparkled with emotions that was long lost to her, hope, admiration, and one emotion that wasn't entirely new, but was surprising in the moment, anger. She could feel her body trembling with a long pent up rage that was directed at the demon that was being systematically taken care of by the four adventurers who had made sure that the fight between them and the demon didn't escape the stable grounds. And then she saw it, the demon took one last arrow to the chest, but this one was a better shot than the previous ones as it zipped right into the demons heart, piercing it and ending the demons life. The demon fell over onto the ground, dead, but it wouldn't remain there alone, as out from the stables Wynnipher ran at the demon screaming in pure rage at it before she leaped onto the back of the dead demon and started raining fists upon it. The adventurers were stunned, they knew that Wynnipher was in the stable with the horses, as they were their horses she was taking care of, but they never would have expected the timid and quiet girl who took care of the horses to have such an anger and rage about her for she almost looked like a barbarian in her current state. It took them a second to recover from the shock, but then they came together and helped pull off the now crying and screaming Wynnipher who was still swinging her arms and kicking her legs trying to get free so that she could hit the dead demon some more. She didn't even care that her hands were in pain from punching the demon, nor that she had small burns along her body from being on top of the dead demons body. As they carried her away while trying to calm her down, her screams and cries never slowed down, nor did her arms and legs stop thrashing about. And so, in the interest of her not hurting herself further, one of the party members knocked her out with a quick chop to the back of the neck.

=== DANG: ===
Wynnipher woke up later that day in a room on the second floor of the tavern, she found herself tucked into a bed with the faint smell of a burnt incense still hanging in the air. She shifted her position on the bed so that she could take a better look around the room. As she was doing so, she noticed that her hands were wrapped in bandages along with parts of her legs and chest. It was then that she woke up enough to feel the aches and pain radiating from those spots where she has bandages. With the pain, the memories of what happened came rushing back as well, memories of her hiding in the stable with the horses, watching the demon get killed by the adventurers, and then everything turning red when she jumped on top of the dead demon and started raining blows on its corpse as she cried and screamed before being picked up by the adventurers and taken away from the corpse. Remembering that last bit, she then looked around the room and finally saw one of the adventurers sitting in the corner reading a note. The adventurer was an old man for all she could tell. He had deep piercing black eyes, a nose that looks like it was broken multiple times and was never healed properly, cracked lips from the desert heat and limited amounts of water, and a stubbled white beard and mustache adorning his tanned face. Noticing Wynnipher getting up and looking at him, he greets her, letting her know that she is safe while she is in this room before rolling the scroll back up and tying it up. He then thanks Wynnipher for taking care of his groups horses while they stayed here and that the horses are gonna miss her when they leave town in a couple days. The man then introduces himself as Arthur before telling her that she is free to stay here as long as she likes while him and his group are still in town, after that, he gets up and goes out of the room, closing the door behind him, before heading downstairs to presumably meet up with his group.

Wynnipher stays in the bed for a bit before getting up and wandering the room that she found herself in. She found it odd that Arthur left her here in his room unsupervised, but then again, remembering how he and his team fought the demon, she was pretty confident that they could easily take care of her as well if needed. Looking around the room, it was pretty baren and familiar as she has helped clean up the tavern rooms that are for rent before. There was a window with curtains opposite the wall with the door, a bed on the one side with a trunk at the foot of the bed. A desk and chair are along the other wall along with a standing wardrobe for customers to store their clothes and anything else that might not fit in the trunk. While looking around the room, she noticed the note that Arthur had tied up and left on the desk. Seeing this, she could feel her curiosity getting the better of her, drawing her hand towards the small rolled up note. Finally, after contemplating it some more, she decided to grab it, she quickly undid the knot and opened the note up. On the note it read <blockquote>''"I feel for you kid, I see your pain and it resonates with me for I once held the same pain in my heart. My partners and I will be out of town for the next couple of days. We will be returning briefly to wrap up our business in this town before moving on to the next. If you are still around when we get back in, come find me. ~ That's Cool, '''A'''"'' </blockquote>Wynnipher then puts the note down and feels her gaze drawn out the window, there, on the streets outside the tavern, she sees Arthur and his group on their horses riding towards the one town exit. As if he knew she had just read the note, he turns around and looks at the room she is in, a small smile appears on his face, gives her a small wave, and then turns back around to continue riding out of town. Wynnipher continues to stare out the window in the direction they went until they are out of site. Once they are out of site, she then looks around the room once more before picking up the note that he left her and then leaves the room to find Brost the tavern keeper to let him know that she is taking the day off due to her injuries from the encounter with the demon. Before she is able to leave the tavern, Brost calls out for her to take a seat then and stay for a bite to eat. Wynnipher does just that, she goes and finds an empty seat at the bar, not that there are many taken at the moment, and she waits for Brost to come back out front. After a minute or two, Brost comes back out of the kitchen area with a plate of steaming scrambled eggs along with some fried bacon. He slides it on over to Wynnipher before grabbing her a glass of milk. After doing that the two exchange in some small talk while Wynnipher eats the food given to her. Brost then says he's sorry that she got hurt in the attack yesterday unaware that Wynnipher gave the injuries to herself when she attacked the dead demon. She quietly nods her head in acknowledgement before slightly digging her nails into the bar table in a bit of embarrassment and frustration.

rough ideas: with nothing else to her name Wynnipher joins DANG, learns how to hunt demons and those that work with demons and other such abominations, years go by, after a while she gets sent to Arboretum after DANG hears about demon things happening.

== Languages ==
Wynnipher knows how to speak and read Common, Elvish, Infernal, and Abyssal. She took up learning how to speak Infernal and Abyssal to help with understanding those that she hunts.

== Powers and Abilities ==
Wynnipher developed herself as a Monster Slayer within DANG.

She has become an excellent tracker of fiends, being able to focus in on them with a strong desire to exterminate them. Alongside fiends, she is able to magically enhance her senses to determine if any aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, or undead are present within the local area.

With Wynnipher growing up in the deserts of the Feywild, she finds herself able more easily track creatures, navigate, and generally survive in the deserts of the material plane.

Being developed as a Monster Slayer, Wynnipher has learned some magic to help herself and her partners when hunting.

More specifically, when hunting enemies, she is able to boost her damage to targets through both skills as a Monster Slayer and through some magic that she has learned.

But that is not all she can do, naturally as an Eladrin, Wynnipher can change the season that she is in tune with; she can see in the dark as if it were dim light; she is resistant against being charmed; and can teleport in a similar fashion to the spell Misty Step; Wynnipher also doe not need to sleep and cannot be put to sleep.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
For ranged targets, Wynnipher uses her longbow to target them, and if they get in close, she uses her shortswords, one of which is the one that her parents give her

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Wynnipher Winchester

2026-03-02T22:29:12Z

Doublecheese247: added history to Wynnipher

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (DANG)|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=Wynnipher_Winchester_screenshot.png|caption=Wynnipher readying an arrow on her bow|playerName=Connor S / Doublecheese247|relatives=No immediate relatives alive|languages=Common, Elvish, Infernal, Abyssal|alias=Winchester|birthPlace=A village in the Feywild that is no more|species=Eladrin|gender=Female|height=7' 1"|weight=185|eyes=Gold}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a Summer Eladrin Monster Slayer ranger whose village in the Feywild was destroyed by demons and is now in Pteris to help remove the demons that threaten the continent.

== Physical Appearance ==
Wynnipher is a tall Summer Eladrin who stands at 7' 1" with a lithe build. She has wavy bleach blonde that is partially braided and goes down to her mid back. Her skin is of a sandy hue from] long stretches of time spent out in the deserts of both the Feywild and Pteris. Her attire is compatible with a desert climate, consisting mainly of lightweight and/or flowing materials in earth tones. Notably, she is never seen without her ring, inscribed with the designs of the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (also known as DANG).

== Personality ==
Wynnipher has an aggressive and gruff nature when interacting with "normal" people. But once she hears about something related to demons and fiends, she becomes focused on figuring out how to eliminate the threat by whatever means necessary. She does not hold many around her in high regards unless they are direct superiors that have proven themselves capable of doing what is necessary to rid the world of demons and other such abominations.

Even though she looks down on most, she still has a soft spot in her heart for those in times of need and will help if able for she was once in that very situation when her mentor picked her up off the ground and took her in.

== History ==

=== The Village: ===
Wynnipher was a bright child growing up. She found endless things that would fascinate and entertain her in the Feywild where she grew up. Her parents were pretty loose with her allowing her to roam outside of the village due to the immediate surroundings of the village being safe with the matriarch of the village having a pact with the local oasis queen. Wynnipher only had to promise to behave, be respectful towards anyone and anything she were to come across, and never venture too far away from the village whenever she wanted to venture outside of the village. Wynnipher always respected those three rules of her parents as she loved her parents too much to do anything that would upset them. She would go out often due to this and play with the local water spirits of the oasis along with some other kids from her village.

As she grew up, she learned more about the Feywild that she grew up in and how it closely mirrored the material plane geographically and that there were portals that allowed members of either plane to travel to another. That is when she was told another absolute rule by her parents, which was to never travel to the material plane as it is a place that is not as nice as the village in the Feywild and the people there are not as nice as the people of the village and the ruling members of the Oasis that they were in alliance with. She would also come to learn more about their village and their relationship with the local Oasis. Even as she grew up, and began to learn many new things regarding where she grew up, she continued to venture outside of the village, as she found it truly freeing to be able to run out and experience the Feywild desert. She would surf the sand waves of the Yellow Ocean of liquid sand. She would gaze into the towering crystal pillars of the nearby Crystal Plane where all of the sand had been turned into glass and crystal due to the intense heat in the area. She would run into the Endless Desert where the sand would actively work against your movement making it difficult to move from the edges.

Wynnipher one day decided to visit said endless desert as she was feeling a bit pent up doing her chores around the village and her parents were starting to nag at her to not go out as often due to her getting more responsibilities. And on this day, she decided to run and run at the edge of the Endless Desert, going nowhere, till her legs gave out on her and she collapsed onto the sand. She laid there that day, on the shores of the Endless Desert staring into the sky of the Feywild wondering about what was on the other shore of the Endless Desert as she had only ever been on this one. After laying down on the shore for a bit, she decided that she should probably head back to the village and resume her chores. However, she would never complete those chores...

=== The Scream: ===
As she was getting back into the village and letting her parents know that she was back and that she would pick up her chores where she left them, there was an alarm that started going off from the center of the village. Wynnipher was only ever told about this alarm, she had never seen or heard it be used before which caused her to stumble over her own feet and fall to the ground. And right as she was getting up, she heard another new sound that she hadn't heard before today, screams. Not the screams of kids playing and having fun, but screams of terror and pain. She glanced at where the scream originated from and saw a towering demon with red skin that caused her to feel heat from just looking at it and blazing red eyes that caused one to feel dread if looked into for too long. The demon was holding a spear that was taller than its body, and on that spear was the head of the matriarch, removed from her body and still dripping blood down the shaft of the spear. The matriarchs face still holding a look of terror from when it was savagely ripped from her body. The demon then lifted the spear and screamed in a language that Wynnipher did not understand, but she could feel her body shiver in the heat of the desert as the grating sounds coming from the demons mouth rattled in through her ears and tore through her mind. And after the scratching sound coming from the demon ended, she could see a multitude of other demons sweeping out from behind the one that killed the matriarch, for the new demons were rushing towards the other nearby villagers. Seeing this, Wynnipher panicked and felt like she was back at the Endless Desert, wanting to move but having the sand keep her from moving from her spot. She wanted to run back to her parents and make sure that they are okay. Before she was able to get up from her spot, she felt something grab the back of her shirt firmly and aggressively pull her back from her current spot. She looked to see what had grabbed her, and found her father standing there with a worried look in his eyes, he seemed to be saying something to her, but she couldn't hear him, the demons language and the sight of the matriarchs head on the spear were still running circles around her mind.

Her father seeing that Wynnipher wasn't responding to his calls, then decides to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder as he then turns to run toward their house. As Wynnipher gets picked up and thrown over her dads shoulder, she finds that her mind snaps back to the present and starts to yell at her dad wondering what is going on, where her mom is, and where he is taking her. Her dad, continues to run trough the village turning through gaps between houses while trying to answer Wynniphers question that come out at the rate of an Arch Mages magic missile. He lets her know that he doesn't know what is going on other than the alarm means that the village is under attack and that the attackers appear to be demons followed by letting her know that her mom is at the house preparing a bag for her so that she can get out of the village along with some other kids and some of the elders that are unable to fight, and that they are running to the house to meet up with her mom before getting Wynnipher out of the village. Wynniphers dad turns a final corner and runs up to the house, using Wynniphers feet to knock open the door and screams into the house asking where Wynniphers mom is. They then hear Wynniphers mom call back that she was in the main bedroom getting everything together and that shell be out in a second. That second feels like an eternity not only to Wynnipher, but to her dad as well.

After her moms joins her and her dad in the main room of the house, she shoves a overpacked backpack into Wynniphers arms and tells her to put it on before handing her father a bow and quiver full of arrows along with a shortsword. Wynnipher questions what is in the bag and why its so heavy and her mom quickly answers that it has food and water for several days worth of travel, clothes, a rolled up tent, other miscellaneous gear, and most importantly, a shortsword that she is not to get out unless necessary and to only use it in self defense. It is at that point that she looks back to her mom realizes that she is currently half-plate armor and has a large sword strapped to her back. Her mom then explains that the plan in this situation is that a small group of adults is to lead the kids and elders out of the village and head toward the Endless Desert and then use the secret method to briefly reverse the sand movement for the group before reverting it to prevent any enemies of the village to follow before returning if possible to the village to help defeat the demon invasion.

And as her mom said, the plan that was made in case of scenarios like this started to come into effect. At the border of the village, there was a gathering of kids and elderly along with some armed adults. Wynnipher was forced to join the group by her parents. Her parents briefly stayed with her while telling her to listen to the adults in the group and follow their orders. Wynnipher at this point was back in a state of shock as her village had large plumes of smoke rising from it due to the damage caused by the demon attack. There were also sounds of fighting going on inside the village along with the occasional scream of pain. Her parents noticing this, tried to calm her down saying things along the line of "its going to be okay...", "we will send the demons back before coming to get you..." and most importantly "We love you Wynn." while giving her hugs and kissing her head. After a little bit longer, the adults decided that it was best to send the group away before the demons get to this side of town. And so with that, Wynniphers parents say a tearful goodbye / see you later before looking at each other, nodding, and turning back towards the village where they would go and help fight off the demons. Wynnipher, still distraught by what was happening, stared at her parents backs as they ran back to town that was on fire and engulfed in smoke, quietly telling them to come back and stay with her. A lot of the kids around her were screaming, crying, or in various states of shock/panic just like her while the elders and adults in the group worked to get the kids moving towards the Endless Desert.

=== The Escape: ===
The escape group led by two adults from the village was able to lead the group of elders and kids to the Endless Desert where Wynnipher was not 4 hours ago. One of them then pulled out a token that appeared to be made of solid water, but not ice, that was given to the matriarch from the Oasis. They then pressed a floating rune on the solid water that caused it to fall out of its structure and onto the shore of the Endless Ocean before forming up into a large disc of water that stabilized the sand. This would allow them to actually traverse the Endless Ocean as long as they stayed in the area affected by the water. With that, everybody in the group got into the area affected by the water and the adult that had control over the water commanded it to move forward along with the group. Wynnipher absentmindedly trudged along with the group while staring down at her feet, not realizing that she was actually traveling through the Endless Desert. She did this until she bumped into the person in front of her which caused her to fall onto her butt due to the weight of the backpack that she still had with her. She looked up to see an adult standing there and looking towards the direction of the village. Following their line of sight, Wynnipher looks in the direction of the village as well and what she sees terrifies her, for what she saw will live in her mind forever. She saw the landscape of the desert being changed before her eyes as a large ball of fire grew on the horizon, climbing higher into the sky until it billowed out forming a massive cloud of sand and smoke in the shape of a mushroom. Seeing this, tears would have continued rolling down her face if she was able to cry anymore, but she was out of tears, and out of time, as centering from the large remnant explosion cloud came a fast moving wave of compressed air that travelled from the village to the Endless Desert in no time at all. The group was hit with by the wave and everybody was thrown into the surrounding Endless Desert with everybody being thrown around in different directions. By a matter of luck, Wynnipher ended up landing in the same area that the adult who controlled the water landed. She was also saved from the brunt of the impact as she landed on her butt. After making sure that she was okay, Wynnipher then looked around at the other members of the group, hoping to see that everybody was okay and together. That was not the case; for not too far away from her, another kid from the village, one that she would frequently play with in the outskirts of the village was lying there with no life left in their eyes as they had landed on the ground head first. Similarly, a lot of the elderly members of the group had their bones broken just due to the impact from the wind wall, combining that with the rough landings they experienced, not many of them lived. The adults that were escorting them started gathering what survivors there were left before continuing to painfully move through the Endless Desert to their goal. It was then explained to the group that the goal is to reach the center of the Endless Desert which is rumored to hold a portal between the Feywild and the Material Plane and that the only way to reach the center from the shores of the desert is by flying or by using some other method to prevent the sand from keeping you out, which is where the water disc from the Oasis comes into play. After traveling for a bit more, they end up reaching the center where on the ground, on could see an unending amount of sand being pushed out of a circle and flowed out towards the boundaries of the Endless Desert. This circle where the sand of the desert was being pushed out of was the portal to the material plane, one just had to jump/drop into the circle to move between the Planes. And so, with guidance and encouragement from the adults escorting the group, the kids jumped in first with Wynnipher being part of that group.

=== The Material Plane: ===
Shifting forward through time a bit, we find Wynnipher in a town in the material plane doing some light work to earn some coin to help support herself and the group she came here with. That group consisting of other kids, the two adults, and a couple elders from the Feywild village. It has been a year since they crossed over from the Feywild and escaped the damning event that occurred at their village. The adults had agreed that it was best for the group to continue traveling together as there is strength in numbers. Everybody in the group has given up hope that there are any other survivors from their village in the Feywild after the massive explosion they saw, so they moved forward, or at least physically did so. Mentally, Wynnipher and other children are still in the Endless Desert staring at the large mushroom cloud that came from the explosion in the village, stuck in the sand, unable to run away or move. And like that, time went by as the members of the group started working at various spots in the city to try and make ends meet. But little did the group know, they weren't out of the woods yet, for their fears followed them.

One dreary morning following another sleepless night, Wynnipher was cooped up in the stable of a local tavern, The 3 Legged Dragon, helping take care of some horses that customers have put there. Wynnipher has been helping take care of the stables for a couple of months now, the tavern owners are nice enough and they pay her for her help around the stables and the tavern if needed. Wynnipher has also come to know some of the horses that have been put there as they have been there a while due to their owners having extended their stays due to whatever business they have in the town. She had come to know that most of the horses were pretty smart as they recognized her as their caretaker while they were here, and they knew how to relay the simple needs that they wanted, whether that was being brushed, being fed, taken for a small walk out of the stables, or whatever basic needs it was they wanted/needed. And this morning that she was working, she saw the horses acting strange, at least stranger than she had ever seen. They were neighing to each other in a quick and quiet manner, jostling against each other while trying to get out of the stables. But she recognized this emotion that was being shared by the horses, for it was the same emotion that she had been experiencing every time she closed her eyes, fear. She didn't know what the horses were so afraid of this morning, but their fear soon got picked up by her and she started to look around in a panic, wondering where the source of the fear was coming from. She looked up and saw a flow of birds suddenly take flight in a panic as they flew from the town as well. And in the next moment, she felt it, the inescapable heat that she felt when she gazed at the demon that killed the matriarch of the village, and in that moment, she understood, her past has chased her here.

Bells started ringing and people started running and screaming to their houses and to the taverns, towards wherever they were staying as they wanted, no, needed to escape the attack from the demons. Wynnipher stayed in the stables with the horses, not because she didn't know where to go, but because she couldn't make herself move. And what came next shook her to her core. A demon was blasted through the tavern wall that faced the stables, it had multiple arrows sticking out of it along with multiple wounds scattered along its body. Following that, a group of 4 people came out of the hole that the demon had created, and started circling around the demon, making sure it had nowhere to go. And, without a word, they all resumed fighting the demon, creating openings for each other and covering each other when the demon went on the offensive. It was a masterclass of teamwork that she was witnessing and her eyes sparkled with emotions that was long lost to her, hope, admiration, and one emotion that wasn't entirely new, but was surprising in the moment, anger. She could feel her body trembling with a long pent up rage that was directed at the demon that was being systematically taken care of by the four adventurers who had made sure that the fight between them and the demon didn't escape the stable grounds. And then she saw it, the demon took one last arrow to the chest, but this one was a better shot than the previous ones as it zipped right into the demons heart, piercing it and ending the demons life. The demon fell over onto the ground, dead, but it wouldn't remain there alone, as out from the stables Wynnipher ran at the demon screaming in pure rage at it before she leaped onto the back of the dead demon and started raining fists upon it. The adventurers were stunned, they knew that Wynnipher was in the stable with the horses, as they were their horses she was taking care of, but they never would have expected the timid and quiet girl who took care of the horses to have such an anger and rage about her for she almost looked like a barbarian in her current state. It took them a second to recover from the shock, but then they came together and helped pull off the now crying and screaming Wynnipher who was still swinging her arms and kicking her legs trying to get free so that she could hit the dead demon some more. She didn't even care that her hands were in pain from punching the demon, nor that she had small burns along her body from being on top of the dead demons body. As they carried her away while trying to calm her down, her screams and cries never slowed down, nor did her arms and legs stop thrashing about. And so, in the interest of her not hurting herself further, one of the party members knocked her out with a quick chop to the back of the neck.

=== DANG: ===
Wynnipher woke up later that day in a room on the second floor of the tavern, she found herself tucked into a bed with the faint smell of a burnt incense still hanging in the air. She shifted her position on the bed so that she could take a better look around the room. As she was doing so, she noticed that her hands were wrapped in bandages along with parts of her legs and chest. And it was then that she woke up enough to feel the aches and pain radiating from those spots where she has bandages.

rough ideas: with nothing else to her name Wynnipher joins DANG, learns how to hunt demons and those that work with demons and other such abominations, years go by, after a while she gets sent to Arboretum after DANG hears about demon things happening.

== Languages ==
Wynnipher knows how to speak and read Common, Elvish, Infernal, and Abyssal. She took up learning how to speak Infernal and Abyssal to help with understanding those that she hunts.

== Powers and Abilities ==
Wynnipher developed herself as a Monster Slayer within DANG.

She has become an excellent tracker of fiends, being able to focus in on them with a strong desire to exterminate them. Alongside fiends, she is able to magically enhance her senses to determine if any aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, or undead are present within the local area.

With Wynnipher growing up in the deserts of the Feywild, she finds herself able more easily track creatures, navigate, and generally survive in the deserts of the material plane.

Being developed as a Monster Slayer, Wynnipher has learned some magic to help herself and her partners when hunting.

More specifically, when hunting enemies, she is able to boost her damage to targets through both skills as a Monster Slayer and through some magic that she has learned.

But that is not all she can do, naturally as an Eladrin, Wynnipher can change the season that she is in tune with; she can see in the dark as if it were dim light; she is resistant against being charmed; and can teleport in a similar fashion to the spell Misty Step; Wynnipher also doe not need to sleep and cannot be put to sleep.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
For ranged targets, Wynnipher uses her longbow to target them, and if they get in close, she uses her shortswords, one of which is the one that her parents give her

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Wynnipher Winchester

2026-03-02T19:51:09Z

Doublecheese247: added history and skills/abilities to Wynnipher

Wynnipher Winchester

2026-03-02T00:51:29Z

Doublecheese247: adding history to Wynnipher page

File:Wynnipher Winchester screenshot.png

2026-03-01T22:20:49Z

Doublecheese247: Image of Wynnipher Winchester from HeroForge.

== Summary ==
Image of Wynnipher Winchester from HeroForge.
== Licensing ==
{{self-lic|free=yes}}

Wynnipher Winchester

2026-03-01T19:01:52Z

Doublecheese247: created page, will be adding additional items later

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=affiliation|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=image.jpg|caption=Wynnipher readying an arrow on her bow|playerName=Connor S / Doublecheese247|relatives=No immediate relatives alive|languages=Common, Elvish, Infernal, Abyssal|alias=Winchester|birthPlace=birthplace|species=Eladrin|gender=Female|height=7' 1"|weight=185|eyes=Gold}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a Summer Eladrin Monster Slayer ranger who has left her home in the Feywilds to help fight back against the demon invasion happening in Pteris.

== Physical Appearance ==
Wynnipher is a tall Summer Eladrin who stands at 7' 1" with a lithe build. She has wavy bleach blonde that is partially braided and goes down to her mid back. Her skin is of a sandy hue from] long stretches of time spent out in the deserts of both the Feywild and Pteris. Her attire is compatible with a desert climate, consisting mainly of lightweight and/or flowing materials in earth tones. Notably, she is never seen without her ring, inscribed with the designs of the Demonic Abomination Neutralizers Guild (also known as DANG).

== Personality ==
Wynnipher has an aggressive and gruff nature when interacting with "normal" people. But once she hears about something related to demons and fiends, she becomes focused on figuring out how to eliminate the threat by whatever means necessary.

== History ==
A brief history of your character's life.

== Languages ==
Wynnipher knows how to speak and read Common, Elvish, Infernal, and Abyssal. She took up learning how to speak Infernal and Abyssal to help with understanding those that she hunts.

== Powers and Abilities ==
You don't have to give it all away. Just let us know what you're known to do in battle.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
Your favorite weapons.

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Steady (Dee) Wind

2025-11-12T18:26:15Z

Doublecheese247: 11.08.25 journal entry

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Shepherds|name=Steady (Dee) Wind|image=Steady Wind.jpg|caption=Dee preparing to grapple.|relatives=|languages=Common, Giant, Primordial, Draconic|birthPlace=Ruins of Inegros|deathDate=Not Yet|deathPlace=Not Here|species=Tabaxi|gender=Male|height=6' 4"|weight=150 lbs|eyes=Green}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a Tabaxi Rune Knight Fighter

== Physical Appearance ==
Dee is a Tabaxi standing tall at a height of 6'4". His body is slender but well defined. The short fur on his body is a mix of dark yellows, tans, and browns along with rosette spots of black that have him resemble a common leopard. Though you cannot see much of his fur behind his armor and clothing. . His eyes are green and have a vertical pupil that is commonly found in feline races.

== Personality ==
Dee is an inquisitive person by nature. His recent obsession led him to travelling to Mek to learn more about the Giants and their use of Runes. As such, his ears instantly perk up when there is talks of runes and will do almost anything to learn more. Outside of learning about Giants and their Runes, Dee is pretty respectful, but reserved until he picks up a new interest/obsession. He doesn't put too much value towards money and gold unless it is to be used to increase his chances of survival and/or to barter for more information.

== History ==
Dee grew up in southern Isonhound in the ruins of the port city of Inergos. There he learned about the old events and horrors that took place in Inergos that lead to its destruction. He was also able to learn more about Pteris as Inergos was used as a stopping point for people traveling into Isonhound from Pteris with a lot of those travelers coming from Mek in particular.

After coming into travelers and hearing their stories of the Giants in and around Mek, Dee became very interested in traveling to Mek to see these Giants in person. Dee wanted to be able to use their Runes. And so, after saving up enough money for food, some gear, and a ticket, Dee joined a return voyage to the Pteris port city of Mek.

Once there, Dee spent the majority of his time working at a dock to earn enough money for room and board at the local tavern. On his time off, he would try and find a local Giant that he could talk to.

After working the dock for a while, Dee was approached by an associate of the Shepherds and asked him to join their operations after observing him and learning that he is from the old ruins of Inergos. Dee and the associate came to an agreement that Dee would join the Shepherds after he was done learning what he could from the Giants of Mek. With that, the associate left after leaving Dee a note stating where he could find them.

Dee spent the next two years continuing to learn the history of the Giants that live in and around Mek along with the history of the Pteris continent. As time passed, Dee started becoming more proficient with the use of runes and even became able to embrace the might of the Giants that allowed him to grow in size and strength. Once he felt satisfied with the information and understanding of runes that he possessed, Dee decided to fulfill his promise and left Mek in search of the Shepherds.

Dee joined up with the Shepherds and started working with them to support the people living in the Northern Badlands. During his travels and work with the Shepherds, Dee started becoming more proficient with his abilities to use Runes and his ability to embrace the Giant's Might.

When Dee got back from a separate convoy mission, he heard the request for reinforcements from Duke Solon after the Shepherds, Scrappers, and Federation banned together to fend off a demonic raid at the Arboretum. With that, Dee packed up his things and started making his way to the Arboretum...

== Languages ==
Dee knows how to read/write/speak Common, Giant, Primordial, and Draconic.

== Powers and Abilities ==
After studying under the Giants of Mek, Dee gained enough understanding of their runes to allow him to tap into their power during fights. Currently Dee is only able to use two runes with those being the Fire Rune and the Stone Rune.

The Fire Rune allows Dee to summon fiery shackles after landing a hit on a creature. The creature takes some fire damage and must succeed a strength save or be restrained for 1 minute. While restrained, the creature takes some fire damage at the start of each of its turns while it attempts to escape the shackles. While having the Fire Rune inscribed onto an object, Dee becomes more proficient with his ability checks related to what the Fire Rune is inscribed onto.

The Stone Rune allows Dee to charm a nearby creature for 1 minute unless they succeed a wisdom saving throw. While charmed, the creature cannot move and descends into a dreamy stupor. Dee does this by embracing his inner little cat and gives the target a pleading/cute eyed look (think Puss in Boots). If successful, the target enters a dreamy stupor where all they can think about is how cute Dee was. While having the Stone Rune inscribed on an object, Dee has advantage on Insight checks along with an extended darkvision of 120 ft.

During his studies, Dee also became able to imbue himself with the power and might of the giants. This allows him to grow in size along with whatever he is wearing. This gives Dee an advantage when competing with strength. He is also able to channel this increase in size to strike harder when attacking.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
Dee is well versed in the use of martial weapons, but overall, he prefers using his fists and his claws, as to him, nothing is better than beating an opponent using raw strength and ability compared to using powerful weapons. When he does use weapons, he prefers to use his trusty halberd and throwing axes.

== Adventure Journal Entries ==
'''09.24.25 Bugs and Bats, Bats and Bugs. Birds?'''

Dee arrived at the Arboretum the morning of this mission after finishing a long trek through the desert. Upon arriving, he checked in with the Shepherds who were already there to get caught up on what events have occurred that lead to the call for reinforcements. Dee learned that there were multiple missions going on at the same time that resulted in the Shepherds, Scrappers, and Federation joining together at the Arboretum. However, in the end, the Conservatory was destroyed in the process. Now, the three groups are using the time to complete some other missions while rebuilding the Conservatory and the Arboretum as a whole.

After getting filled in, Dee was put right to work and was assigned to an escort mission. Once assigned, Dee went to the casino where the briefing would be taking place. There, he met Suki, she runs the casino for the Federation. Dee was also introduced to his team members: Delaia, the Tiefling artificer, [[Stix]], the [[The Stitched (Player Race)|Stiched]] warlock, [[Davin Dunefoot|Davin]], the Halfling ranger, Razzadrog, the Goblin artificer, and Leonard, the Half-elf bard.

Suki then leads our group into one of the private side rooms inside the casino. There we get told that the mission we have been assigned to is an escort mission of a Federation member that was rescued from a Shend slave camp. The escorts name is Brandran, and Dee finds that he is not right in the head as Brandran keeps repeating "Watch out for the bugs, watch out for the bats, they're coming for me." or something along those lines. But, according to Suki, Hektor, the Federation boss, wants Brandran escorted back to Federation HQ. Suki then let us know that there are two carts with horses waiting for us outside the casino. One with enough water for the journey, and the other to carry Brandran. She also gives us a map with the route we are supposed to take marked out as apparently, the route we will be using is one of the lesser known Federation routes which should help us avoid the majority of the roaming demonic creatures.

With that, our group sets out to escort Brandran to the Federation HQ. The first two days of travel pass by with nothing important happening. However in the morning of the third day, we find that there are two vultures that appear to be following us as we travel. We argue over whether to leave the vultures alone, get them to go away, or just kill them. Delaia then makes a good point that if the vultures are following us, and they are up in the clear sky, possible raiders might see them as well and guess that they are following something. After that point is made, we quickly come to the decision to shoot the vultures down. Davin takes care of that with a couple nicely placed long bow shots. We then continue traveling for the rest of the day before camping during the night.

In the morning, I wake up after being alerted that there are more vultures in the sky along with there being movement in the sand surrounding our small camp. I quickly don my armor and grab my halberd and get ready to defend Brandran and the group. Out of the sand pop out these little demonic looking rats appear, and the first thing that I notice is that they have a very repulsive smell to them. The vultures also start diving towards us, and that's when we notice that two of the vultures look different compared to the rest. Right as the fighting starts, Stix does something that none of us expected or even really understood. They took their locket off, opened it up, and then "ate" Brandran before closing the locket and putting it back around their neck. Unfortunately for us, all of the enemies also saw that and started speaking some language that Dee couldn't understand, but didn't really need to as all of the enemies were staring at Stix's locket. The fighting then begins in earnest and it is soon found out that the little stinky bug creatures dissolve into this black ichor that then seeps into the ground. It would also be absorbed by the two strange looking vultures if the ichor landed on them. During the fight, Stix gets swarmed by both of the strange looking vultures, some regular vultures, and some of the bugs. This results in them getting taken down which forces Brandran out of the locket. Brandran eventually gets clawed by one of the strange vultures, this causes him to start seizing before being grabbed by a strange vulture that starts trying to fly away. Before it could get too far with Brandran, Davin grabs a hold of the vulture to prevent it from flying away. The other strange vulture then starts morphing into this hobgoblin/vulture hybrid and starts speaking to our group saying something along the lines of "Brandran isn't worth this fight, he's one of us and belongs to us, and that we cannot save him." And then to prove his point, Brandran suddenly stopped seizing, and asked the other vulture to let him go, and the vulture let him go. Brandran then transformed into a vulture as well before starting to fly away. As he was flying away, Davin shot him with an ensnaring arrow, causing him to fall to the ground and revert back to his normal deep gnome form. After Brandran falls to the ground, the rest of the group proceeds to wrap up the fight, knocking the two weird vultures unconscious as we couldn't seem to kill them, and finishing off the last of the regular vultures. Unfortunately, during the fight, one of the horses died, and the other ran away.

After tying up the two vultures and Brandran, we went and retrieved the horse that ran away and tied it back up to its wagon. We also used Razzadrogs metal creature thingy to pull the wagon with the water barrels in it. And with that, we continued our journey to the Federation HQ with no major events occurring besides knocking out the two vultures and Brandran as they would keep trying to escape when able to.

At the Federation HQ, we got to meet Hektor, the leader of the Federation. He was glad we were able to bring Brandran, but was surprised to hear that he is either an undercover agent of Shend or has been corrupted into being an agent of Shend. Hektor also lets us know that the Federation will work on extracting information from the vulture-kin and work on breaking Brandran to figure out his motives. He also believes that this whole mess is part of something bigger and the Federation will only act once it has more concrete information.

Hektor then dismisses us after informing us that he will be sending us back to the Arboretum with a caravan of his own men to ensure that nothing goes awry. And so, the following morning comes, and we begin the seven day trek back to the Arboretum after "successfully" completing our escort mission.

'''10.13.25 Tracking a Demon, Lesson 102:'''

Outside of the Junkyard, a small group of us gathered as we all opted to join the mission that was posted by Baftzmyr. The mission, to track and hunt down a demon nearby. The group consisted of myself, [[Stix]], [[Ozmir Nightshade|Ozmir]], [[Koro]], [[Himo Nilo]], and Razzdrog. I have worked alongside Stix and Razzadrog in his prior mission, but this was his first time working with Ozmir, Koro, and Himo Nilo. After waiting for a minute or two, Baftzmyr comes out with and briefly explains the mission to us, she explains that we will be tracking and hunting down a large demon that might be stuck in the surrounding area. She then pulls out what appears to be a large bomb that will be used to help expose/destroy said large demon.

With that, our group started our trek out into the desert. We all hop on horses provided to us by the Scrappers and follow Baftzmyr. We travel to the east for about two hours before noticing that the sand around us is behaving strangely. Baftzmyr stops the group and we start to follow the movement in the sand before it suddenly stops, turns around, and jumps out at us. It turns out to be a Dretch, I remember seeing the creature that jumps out at us as Stix, Razzdrog, and myself fought some of these in our prior mission. However this one looks different compared to the ones we fought previously. This one is larger compared to the ones I encountered prior, and we could confirm it was different after seeing a fire bolt hit it and do less than nothing to it. The Dretch instead looked like it enjoyed the fire that it was hit with. After seeing that, Koro makes quick work of the demonic creature while Stix and Razzdrog spot more movement in the sand, continuing east.

Now with Stix in the lead, we continue following the other Dretch's. We eventually follow the demonic creatures to a large and unnatural looking depression in the sand. We sneak up to the depression and move towards the crest in the sand right before the depression. There, Baftzmyr confirms that we have found our target and proceeds to pull out a giant origami pig bomb. Stix decides to take the bomb and carry it to the center, lights it, and then runs back to us. As soon as Stix lights the bomb, Baftzmyr starts moving back, and the rest of the group follows. The origami pig bomb then explodes causing the already large depression in the sand to become an even more pronounced hole in the ground with a couple of banks forming due to the explosion as well. We then sneak up to the banks of sand before the hole in the sand and peer inside. There we see a large demonic creature that appears to have a large lantern looking thing in the center of its chest, it also appeared to still be half buried in the sand and struggling to get out. After confirming the target, we then begin the attack on the creature. After the attack begins, the Dretch's that we followed earlier come back and pop out of the sand to start attacking us. I contribute to the fight by throwing the couple of throwing weapons that I had with me at the large demonic creature. I eventually got poisoned by one of the Dretch's before getting pulled into the hole with the large demonic creature. I get knocked out after being brought within melee distance of the large demon creature. Baftzmyr and Koro work together to help get me back up. After recovering for a little, I go back down into the hole to try and deal some more damage to the large demonic creature. Koro also gets knocked out after going down into the hole. Koro is able to get healed and back up out of the pit. I then start to get pulled into the sand while being down in the pit with the creature. Himo Nilo also starts getting pulled down into the sand after coming down into the pit. I get knocked out again after getting focused by the large demonic creature. Razzadrog then kills the large demonic creature by chucking his trident at its glowing lantern like core. The core starts to waver with its glow while also emitting little sparks of lightning. While that is happening, I get brought back up and I try to help Himo get out of the sand using my halberd. The core of the demonic creature then explodes, knocking a couple of us that weren't able to get further away out. After getting everybody back up and in reasonable shape, we finish fighting the last of the Dretch creatures before we start scrapping the leftovers of the demonic creature who we learn is/was the Baron of Filth. After that, we pack everything back up, get back to our horses, and ride back to the Arboretum.

'''Fighting style practice at the Arboretum:'''

I did not feel good after coming back to the Arboretum, disappointed with my results while fighting the demonic creatures. Due to this I decide to spend my downtime while hanging out in the Arboretum by participating in the local fighting ring wanting to practice my unarmed fighting and wrestling. I also wanted to transfer and/or adapt my regular fighting style to my large form fighting style when I use my Giants Might as I am used to wrestling and fighting using my natural dexterous build as a Tabaxi, but that doesn't transfer too well when I activate my Giants Might and become a much larger Tabaxi with a lot more weight to me.

'''11.08.25: Operation Snake Den:'''

News rolled into the Arboretum that on a mission prior, Stix, Cilvdzwucta, and Jitvwal were taken by a group named the Shabby Scales, apparently lead by some Yu'anti named Sandra Sanderson... if that's even their real name. Koro, Syl, and Himo went out scouting for where they could have been taken. They came back with valuable information regarding where the rendezvous point is located. With that information being brought back to us, a mission is set up to go and rescue Stix, Cilvdzwucta, and Jitvwal. I sign up for the mission along with [[Koro]], [[Gobbo Greenskin|Gobbo]], Razzadrog, Diana, and Demir.

Upon meeting with the group, I notice that Koro has a new lantern on his belt, and it looks similar to the lantern that was in the chest of the Baron of Filth, as Koro hasn't brought it up, I see no reason to pry into how he got it or what it is. Using the information that Koro brought back from his scouting mission with Syl and Himo, we venture out into the desert. We head east on horses loaned to us from the Scrappers as we are on a mission to rescue Scrapper people.

We arrive at an oasis named Triton's Terrace out in the desert, east of the Arboretum. We all get off our horses and slowly start to approach the oasis when we see a tall Yu'anti out in front of a cave. Unfortunately, he spots us when we spot him and he asks what we are here for and if its not business, then we should leave immediately. Immediately after the dialog between our group and the Yu'anti ends, Koro opens fire on the guard, launching two arrows at him. Following Koros lead, I rush in and grapple the guard, hoping to drag him away and muffle him before he can alert anybody inside the cave. I am able to start dragging him away, but he is able to release a sound resulting in more Yu'anti, a weird demon creature, some smaller demonic creatures, "Sandra Sanderson", and some elf lady that is working with "Sandra". Upon exiting the cave, "Sandra" sees the lantern that is on Koro's belt and proceeds to claim that it is theirs and that Koro should give it back. Upon getting no as an answer, Sandra goes and fights Koro. We all engage in combat with the Yu'anti and demons. We do not attack the elf lady as she has done anything besides look at our group. As the fight goes on, Koro ends up beating Sandra up to the point where she and the elven lady teleport out of the oasis using a dimension door. This leaves us with the Yu'anti guard I have grappled, the other Yu'anti guards, and the demonic creatures. Annoyed at still being contained by me, the Yu'anti guard knocks me out before moving on to attack my mission members. The guard also eats his Yu'anti lessers in order to heal himself and prolong the fight. While I am down, I get targeted by the demonic creature that is nearby as it starts to look at me as if I am a tasty meal. Gobbo's steel defender Froggy hops in the way and stops him from getting me. With that, I am able to get back up and help finish off the demon creature before getting targeted by the Yu'anti guard. We end up killing him and the remaining small demonic creatures.

After finishing the fight, Koro goes off to one side of the cave entrance and proceeds to cut his belt loop that is holding the strange lantern item. The lantern falls to the ground and Koro proceeds to back away. Koro then explains that its some kind of demonic lantern that was putting thoughts into his head while we were in the fight. Upon realizing that it is a dangerous item that shouldn't be touched or allowed to fall back into "Sandra's" hands, we decide that Froggy should try and pick it up. This does not go well as when Froggy touches the lantern, it reacts and pretty much vaporizes Froggy. After seeing that, we decide to cover it up with a tarp/blanket and leave Raptor, Diana's steel defender out to watch over the lantern while the rest of the group goes into the cave to find Stix, Cilvdzwucta, and Jitvwal.

We slowly enter the cave with Koro and Gobbo taking the lead. I stay towards the cave entrance due to still being hurt from the fight. The cave turns out to be pretty empty with our voices echoing around us as we enter. As we walk further into the cave, we hear some voices coming from further ahead. Koro, Gobbo, and Diana go into the area where we hear the voices coming from, accidentally setting off a pressure plate trap on their way further in. They reach the room where they hear the voices and peak inside to find Stix, Cilvdzwucta, and Jitvwal inside a large cage that appears to be blocking magic. While Koro, Gobbo, Diana, and eventually Razzadrog work to free Stix, Cilvdzwucta, and Jitvwal from the cage, I poke around the rest of the cave and find a chest full of gold, water, food, and wine. Razzadrog also finds a stack of papers that includes wanted flyers with Koro's, Razzadrog's, Himo's, Stix's, Ozmir's, and my faces on them along with a note from the "Baroness of Filth" stating that the people on the flyers along with any members of the Scrappers faction are wanted and are to brought back to her location. After getting Stix, Cilvdzwucta, and Jitvwal. out of the cage and taking everything else of note, we leave the cave and find that the lantern that Koro cut loose was missing from under the blanket, as if it just teleported away as there were no signs of anybody sneaking up on Raptor. We then get back to our horses, and ride back west towards the Arboretum, successful in our rescue mission along with finding out the location of the "Baroness of Filth".
[[Category:Player Characters]]
[[Category:Bedlam in the Badlands]]

Steady (Dee) Wind

2025-09-25T14:09:14Z

Doublecheese247: Adventure Journal Entry for Steady Wind

Steady (Dee) Wind

2025-09-23T18:33:54Z

Doublecheese247: Creating character page for Steady (Dee) Wind

File:Steady Wind.jpg

2025-09-23T13:37:10Z

Doublecheese247: Steady Wind made in HeroForge preparing to grapple.

== Summary ==
Steady Wind made in HeroForge preparing to grapple.

Steady (Dee) Wind

2025-09-23T13:32:25Z

Doublecheese247: added changes to Steady Wind

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Shepherds|name=Steady (Dee) Wind|image=image.jpg|caption=caption|relatives=|languages=Common, Giant, Primordial, Draconic|birthPlace=Ruins of Inegros|deathDate=Not Yet|deathPlace=Not Here|species=Tabaxi|gender=Male|height=6' 4"|weight=150 lbs|eyes=Green}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a Tabaxi Rune Knight Fighter

== Physical Appearance ==
Describe your appearance. Eye color, height, weight, hair color, particular clothing items, scars, tattoos, etc.

Dee is a Tabaxi standing tall at a height of 6'4". His body is slender but well defined. The short fur on his body is a mix of light yellows and tans along with solid spots of brown that have him resemble a common leopard. Though you cannot see much of his fur behind his armor and clothing. His armor is showing signs of rusting due to his time near the seas. His eyes are green and have a vertical pupil that is commonly found in feline races.

== Personality ==
Is your character social? A drunk? Laid back?

Dee is an inquisitive person by nature. His recent obsession led him to travelling to Mek to learn more about the Giants and their use of Runes. As such, his ears instantly perk up when there is talks of runes and will do almost anything to learn more. Outside of learning about Giants and their Runes, Dee is pretty respectful, but reserved until he picks up a new interest/obsession. He doesn't put too much value towards money and gold unless it is to be used to increase his chances of survival and/or to barter for more information.

== History ==
A brief history of your character's life.

Dee grew up in southern Isonhound in the ruins of the port city of Inergos. There he learned about the old events and horrors that took place in Inergos that lead to its destruction. He was also able to learn more about Pteris as Inergos was used as a stopping point for people traveling into Isonhound from Pteris with a lot of those travelers coming from Mek in particular.

After coming into travelers and hearing their stories of the Giants in and around Mek, Dee became very interested in traveling to Mek to see these Giants in person. Dee wanted to be able to use their Runes. And so, after saving up enough money for food, some gear, and a ticket, Dee joined a return voyage to the Pteris port city of Mek.

Once there, Dee spent the majority of his time working at a dock to earn enough money for room and board at the local tavern. On his time off, he would try and find a local Giant that he could talk to.

== Languages ==
Dee knows how to read/write/speak Common, Giant, Primordial, and Draconic.

== Powers and Abilities ==
After studying under the Giants of Mek, Dee gained enough understanding of their runes to allow him to tap into their power during fights. Currently Dee is only able to use two runes with those being the Fire Rune and the Stone Rune.

The Fire Rune allows Dee to summon fiery shackles after landing a hit on a creature. The creature takes some fire damage and must succeed a strength save or be restrained for 1 minute. While restrained, the creature takes some fire damage at the start of each of its turns while it attempts to escape the shackles. While having the Fire Rune inscribed onto an object, Dee becomes more proficient with his ability checks related to what the Fire Rune is inscribed onto.

The Stone Rune allows Dee to charm a nearby creature for 1 minute unless they succeed a wisdom saving throw. While charmed, the creature cannot move and descends into a dreamy stupor. Dee does this by embracing his inner little cat and gives the target a pleading/cute eyed look (think Puss in Boots). If successful, the target enters a dreamy stupor where all they can think about is how cute Dee was. While having the Stone Rune inscribed on an object, Dee has advantage on Insight checks along with an extended darkvision of 120 ft.

During his studies, Dee also became able to imbue himself with the power and might of the giants. This allows him to grow in size along with whatever he is wearing. This gives Dee an advantage when competing with strength. He is also able to channel this increase in size to strike harder when attacking.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
Dee is well versed in the use of martial weapons, but overall, he prefers using his fists and his claws, as to him, nothing is better than beating an opponent using raw strength and ability compared to using powerful weapons. When he does use weapons, he prefers to use his trusty halberd and throwing axes.

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Steady (Dee) Wind

2025-09-22T21:13:45Z

Doublecheese247: Creating character page for Steady (Dee) Wind

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=affiliation|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=image.jpg|caption=caption|relatives=relatives|languages=languages|alias=alias|marital=marital status|birthPlace=birthplace|deathDate=deathdate|deathPlace=deathplace|species=species|gender=gender|height=height|weight=weight|eyes=eyes}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a Tabaxi Rune Knight Fighter

== Physical Appearance ==
Describe your appearance. Eye color, height, weight, hair color, particular clothing items, scars, tattoos, etc.

Dee is a Tabaxi standing tall at a height of 6'4". His body is slender but well defined. The short fur on his body is a mix of light yellows and tans along with solid spots of brown that have him resemble a common leopard. Though you cannot see much of his fur behind his armor and clothing. His armor is showing signs of rusting due to his time near the seas. His eyes are green and have a vertical pupil that is commonly found in feline races.

== Personality ==
Is your character social? A drunk? Laid back?

Dee is an inquisitive person by nature. His recent obsession led him to travelling to Mek to learn more about the Giants and their use of Runes. As such, his ears instantly perk up when there is talks of runes and will do almost anything to learn more. Outside of learning about Giants and their Runes, Dee is pretty respectful, but reserved until he picks up a new interest/obsession. He doesn't put too much value towards money and gold unless it is to be used to increase his chances of survival and/or to barter for more information.

== History ==
A brief history of your character's life.

Dee grew up in southern Isonhound in the ruins of the port city of Inergos. There he learned about the old events and horrors that took place in Inergos that lead to its destruction. He was also able to learn more about Pteris as Inergos was used as a stopping point for people traveling into Isonhound from Pteris with a lot of those travelers coming from Mek in particular.

After coming into travelers and hearing their stories of the Giants in and around Mek, Dee became very interested in traveling to Mek to see these Giants in person. Dee wanted to be able to use their Runes. And so, after saving up enough money for food, some gear, and a ticket, Dee joined a return voyage to the Pteris port city of Mek.

Once there, Dee spent the majority of his time working at a dock to earn enough money for room and board at the local tavern. On his time off, he would try and find a local Giant that he could talk to.

== Languages ==
Dee knows how to read/write/speak Common, Giant, Primordial, and Draconic.

== Powers and Abilities ==
After studying under the Giants of Mek, Dee gained enough understanding of their runes to allow him to tap into their power during fights. Currently Dee is only able to use two runes with those being the Fire Rune and the Stone Rune.

The Fire Rune allows Dee to summon fiery shackles after landing a hit on a creature. The creature takes some fire damage and must succeed a strength save or be restrained for 1 minute. While restrained, the creature takes some fire damage at the start of each of its turns while it attempts to escape the shackles. While having the Fire Rune inscribed onto an object, Dee becomes more proficient with his ability checks related to what the Fire Rune is inscribed onto.

The Stone Rune allows Dee to charm a nearby creature for 1 minute unless they succeed a wisdom saving throw. While charmed, the creature cannot move and descends into a dreamy stupor. Dee does this by embracing his inner little cat and gives the target a pleading/cute eyed look (think Puss in Boots)

== Attacks and Weapons ==
Your favorite weapons.

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Valdos

2024-11-19T21:06:37Z

Doublecheese247: Added write up of two session (Mayor of Dimmadome) (Hallows Eve Festival) to Valdos page

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=N/A|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=Image 2024-07-01 145826313.png|caption=Valdos|playerName=Connor Schroll / doublecheese247|languages=Abyssal, Common, Deep Speech, Infernal|marital=Single|species=Tiefling|gender=Male|height=5' 10"|weight=167 lbs.|eyes=Purple}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a [[tiefling]] researcher/investigator on events pertaining to the eldritch nature. He has recently become a [[warlock]] himself after following a rumor that led him to an eldritch contract with an unknown [[Old One]] patron.

== Physical Appearance ==
Valdos is 5'10" tall, 6' if you include his horns that curl above his head. Valdos has a smaller frame and is rather skinny and doesn't have a lot to him with his weight coming in at 167 lbs. He has an inquisitive set of purple eyes that are shielded by his black frame glasses that have been hastily repaired many times with adhesives (tape). He wears his longer length hair back in a pony tail to keep it out of his face while performing research and now performing battle. His hair is black with purple tips that all converge at the end of the pony tail. Similar to his hair, his horns are also mainly black with some purple accents. His horns go up and back after coming out of his forehead. You will find him wearing his standard set of leather adventuring gear under his lab coat. His lab coat is torn and dirty in some places while clean and fresh in others due to recently learning the mending cantrip after becoming a warlock. You will also see him carrying around a book everywhere he goes. The book has a dark red color face and back, and is bound by a black cord that wraps around the book multiple times ending in a simple clasp.

== Personality ==
Valdos enjoys spending his time in libraries a little too much as he is always trying to find more/new information regarding eldritch powers that are entirely unnatural.

== History ==
In the works.

== [[List of Languages|Languages]] ==
[[Abyssal]], Common, [[Deep Speech]], Infernal, (has Comprehend Language as a spell)

== Powers and Abilities ==
Valdos has a pretty simple combat [[session]].

Step 1: Move outside of melee range. Step 2: Hex a target. Step 3: Eldritch Blast said target. Step 4: Repeat Steps 1 and 3 until target is taken care of. Step 5: Select new target and repeat Steps 1-4.

Disclaimer for fellow [[adventurers]]: Valdos's actions may vary depending on circumstance. Valdos is not guaranteed to hit targets and may require assistance.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
Preferred method of self defense includes but is not limited to eldritch blasting a hexed target while outside of melee range.

[[Category:Player Characters]]
[[Category:Wicked Wilds]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

== Hopes and Goals ==
Valdos is hoping that his time helping the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company|Tempest Brothers]] group will allow him to eventually open avenues for him to become a legitimate researcher in all things eldritch as he has always been interested in the powers and beings that are not natural for [[Quelmar]].

== Adventures ==

=== Markster Farmstead Investigation: ===
Valdos was selected with five others to go and investigate the Markster Farmstead as they have reported some strange happenings in the area. Valdos along with [[Nokori Naru|Nokori]], [[Coryn Alaeth|Coryn]], [[Ghargux]], Hummer, and [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler|Finny]] went and traveled to the Farmstead with the two gentlemen that run the farm. The two farmers told us that there have been cases of finding dead animals in the forest and that some of their animals have gone missing. They also reported that their barn was broken into and some goats were eaten.

We arrive at the farmstead and meet the two families. In particular, we meet a little girl who has a very active imagination according to the parents. The little girl keeps mentioning this "imaginary friend" that she calls "Hopper". In the evening, Hummer talks to the little girl and discovers that she possesses a shield guardian. The shield guardian was in the shape of a dog and would stay in the forest unless told otherwise. Hopper also apparently delivered himself to the little girl.

Hummer and I took first watch, I was posted up on top of the barn, I heard some howls from the forest, but nothing else of note happened. During second watch, Coryn and Ghargux saw some floating blue orbs in the forest. They thought it could have been the guardian. [[Nokori]] and [[Finny]] took the last watch. They found some weird indentations in the ground out in the farm field. They also noticed three figures moving through the farm field, Finny shot one of them with an eldritch blast, they then ran away into the forest.

The following morning, our group then went and followed the tracks into the forest to try and track down the three things that were going through the field. After a while, we came across a stone building with a locked door that had no visible way of opening it. We found that it had an arcane lock on it, requiring us to use the "knock" spell to open it, none of us had the spell, so we physically knocked on the door.

We were eventually greeted by a voice asking why we were there, we explained, and the person opened the door. The man turned out to be an [[artificer]] of sorts who enjoys living alone and just wants to help the local farmers. He has been making these automs (scarecrows and harvest reapers) and has been sending them over to the farmers property in secret to help them out. This could likely explain the dead creatures in the forest. It also explains the weird tracks and indents in the ground that our group followed to his house. We also found out that he could be allergic to magic as when Finny casted prestidigitation to clean the guy up, he accidentally released a blinding light in all directions. He is either allergic, or gets spooked very easily and is part wild magic [[sorcerer]].

We talk to the artificer and explain what is going on and then convince him to begin communications with the family to explain that the automs will not harm them, but help them with security and farming and will follow their commands. He also offers the family shelter if anything goes wrong. With that, we left his place and went back to the farm with the scarecrows and harvest reapers in tow. We deliver them to the farmers and explain the situation to them before leaving back for the waystation.

=== Lost in Transit: ===
Valdos was recruited with five others to go and investigate some missing cargo that was being delivered from the town of [[Ymbtrymman]]. Valdos, [[Esperanza]], Karma, [[Lysvan]], [[Twilsby Pendergras|Twilsby]], and Slog The Bonk all set out together and took a teleportation circle to arrive at [[Ymbtrymman]]. There we talked to the town leader who explained the situation and that they stopped receiving sending's from the caravan group the other day and that they are worried about the town leaders son who was leading the caravan. We then met Gumptor Flynn who was going to guide us on the path that the caravan took.

Gumptor Flynn then lead us on an extended forced march through the jungle until we happened across a broken caravan wagon. We found some trails left by what we could only assume were some large jungle cats. We followed the tracks until we got ambushed by 10 jaguars. Karma tried speaking with the jaguars and was hit with a hivemind answer of "food...". Combat then ensued, however, these jaguars were not normal as when some of them died, they dissipated and their essence was fed into the remaining jaguars making them stronger. The fight ended after our group killed the remaining two jaguars in rapid succession. Immediately after killing the last of the jaguars, Valdos went over to where they died and casted [https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2065-detect-magic Detect Magic] to try and figure out what was going on. Valdos could not accurately pick up what the magic was, but it had traces of transmutation magic.

After that, we continued following the tracks after a short rest. We eventually came across a tunnel going into the bottom of a cliff face. [[Twilsby]]'s grandfather spirit scouted the tunnels for us and relayed the layout. (tunnel went forward and split into a left and right tunnel. Right tunnel lead to a storage room of sorts with what appeared to be the caravan supplies and then a metal door at the back of the room. In that room, there were a bunch of prison cells. Down the left tunnel, was what appeared to be a lab of some kind with a couple tables surrounding a teleportation circle in the middle of the room, at the far end of the room, there was a curtain that was blocking a small tunnel that lead to a door. Behind the door, there was the residents abode.

Slog and Karma went ahead and scouted the room more thoroughly than Twilsby's grandfather. The rest of the group then followed. After entering the room, Valdos went and casted detect magic again to see if he found any of the same magic that was found earlier. Instead of that happening though, a Mindflayer was discovered to be hiding at the ceiling invisibly. After being discovered, the Mindflayer blasted all of us with a stunning psychic/psionic blast. It then floated down and grabbed a metal clock in the shape of a heart and then vanished. We were unsure of how it got away, but we swiftly destroyed the teleportation circle so that it couldn't teleport back in and surprise us again. We then went and looted the place. Valdos grabbed hold of a magic compass of some kind (tbd). After clearing the lab and the living space, we went to the storage area and then into the cell chamber. In the last cell, we found the son of the town leader and one other. We freed them and then left the tunnel system and began the march back to [[Ymbtrymman]].

=== Search for the Well of Souls: ===
Darian Tempest gathers myself, [[Ghargux]], Zarrial, Karma, and Bardek together in the morning and takes us to the office where we find an elven lady sitting there waiting for us. Darian introduces her as Elowen Thistledown, a researcher from the Grand Library of [[Warukami]] who has come to the [[The Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company|Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]] (TBEC) to borrow the use of an [[airship]] to try and find a rumored Well of [[Souls]]. Elowen has long braided silver hair, piercing green eyes that strike us as wise, she is an elf of years, hard to say how old. She possesses an aura of knowledge and wisdom that surrounds her from her many years spent as a researcher. After introducing Elowen and explaining what the mission is and what to expect, he leads us out the back door to where the airship we will be taking is docked.

Darian then introduces us to the airship that we will be using for the mission, the Windrunner. The airship looks shiny and new, it has its wings folded back and appears to be sitting roughly 15ft off the ground on a makeshift docking structure. He explains that this airship was dragged here when they moved into the Waystation and that this will be her maiden voyage. He also informs us that the ship has no mounted weapons and that we will be in charge of ensuring that little to no damage happens to the new ship. Darian also warns us that due to it being her maiden voyage, he wants us to keep the stresses applied to the airship to a minimal and wants it back by nightfall. Our group then gets introduced to [[Skippy]], the [[Halfling]] captain of the airship and his two crewmates, [[Charlie]] and Reggie.

Elowen and our group then climb abord the airship while Darian wishes us luck and then leaves back towards the office. Once we are all on the airship, Skippy starts the airship up, and begins to take us into the air. Elowen asks Skippy to take us in a Southwestern direction from the Waystation. Elowen then gathers our group together and explains in more detail what she is looking to find on this adventure. She also goes into more detail about what a Well of Souls is, explaining that they are areas where the veil between the living and the dead is extremely thin due to its location near or on Ley Lines. She also explains that there are usually strange phenomenon in the areas surrounding a Well of Souls due to powerful arcane sources allowing for the Wells to occur. Elowen also presents us her evidence that points to there being a Well of Souls in the area as around 60 years ago, a group of [[druid]] messengars came out and relayed that they destroyed a [[cult]] that was trying to occupy a Well of Souls. The druid group then warned that those without cause should not venture in search of any Well of Souls. Elowen then brings up her cause for searching for the Well of Souls to ease our hearts due to the warning left by the druid messengars. She explains that she hopes for knowlegable alchemists to use any resources that are born in the area of a Well of Souls to try and create new life saving/extending potions.

Our group then continues flying in a Southwestern direction while looking for any signs that could lead us to a Well of Souls for around 2 hours. We cannot see much in terms of details on the ground due to the thick forest canopy. Eventually, our group sees three different points of interest. We see two clearings in the jungle, and then we see a large area of fog that is higher than the tree tops themselves. Our group decides to continue travelling towards the foggy area. As we get closer to the foggy area, we eventually see six black birds flying from around the fog and heading towards us. As they are flying towards us, Karma enacts a physchic connection with three of the birds to communicate with them. Doing so results in her hearing them chanting things along the lines of doom and death. Valdos blasts two warning shots at the birds but they kept approaching the airship. The birds eventually reach the ship and land on the railing of the ship. There, we recognize the birds as Doom Sayer [[Crows]]. They are birds that enjoy staying in areas where death and disease are present, such as blood battlefields. Karma keeps communicating with three of the crows and they keep saying that death is awaiting us and that they will feast on our corpses. The crows seem to get more and more excited as we get closer to the fog. Due to this we decide to try and stop the airship and put it in reverse so that we don't enter the fog. However, the airship had too much speed previously and we enter the fog while Skippy is throwing the ship into reverse. As soon as we enter the fog, we are hit with a wave of dread and misery so powerful that it corrupts our minds and gets Valdos to the point where he is trying to throw himself overboard, however the rest of the group is there to grab him and drag him back onto the deck of the ship. Twelve more Doom Sayer Crows approach the ship while we are inside the fog. Another wave of dread hits our ship shortly after the first wave and again, Valdos finds himself halfway over the railing of the ship with Karma and Zarrial coming to the rescue. Skippy is able to get the ship to then back out of the fog and we are free from the dread fog for now.

After that, Zarrial reveals that the fog is a physical manifestation of necrotic energy and that something very wrong is happening here. We also come to the conclusion that this very well might be the Well of Souls that Elowen is looking for. However, with the necrotic fog covering the area, there is no way to venture forth and find the central point of the Well of Souls. With that information, we decide to try and investigate the area on the ground. We tie a bunch of rope together and tie it to Zarrials living sword Mal. Zarrial then throws Mal overboard and has it get to the forest floor and relay back what it sees. Shortly after Mal gets to the floor, it is attacked by two creatures that it cannot really describe other than large and green. The rope that Mal is tied to is crushed to the point of it breaking. Mal then tries to fight the large green creature that is attacking it, with little to show. Zarrial then calls his sword back to him and decides to climb down the rope and fight whatever is down there with Karma following. Valdos and Ghargux follow them down with Bardek coming down last. What happens next on the forest floor is an absolute shitshow of a fight. Zarrial gets down there first and finds that we are fighting a corrupted Treant and a Bark Warden.

Zarrial gets down to the forest floor first and gets absolutley hammered by the two creatures to the point where he goes down. Karma follows him down and starts hitting the two creatures with some fire magic. Valdos tires to jump onto a branch thats about 20ft into the air, but misses horribly and hits the ground which has spike growth coming out of it due to the Bark Warden. Ghargux gets down to the floor and starts smiting the Bark Warden. At this point, Zarrial was able to get himself back up from being down and dimension doors back to the ship while Bardek is climbing down the rope. Karma then starts flying in the air using an arifact that she has and is throwing some alchemists fire at the Treant. Valdos goes down shortly after as the Treant crushes him in his grasp. Ghargux is then able to finish off the Bark Warden. Bardek tries to jump off the rope and land on the Treant, but fails to hit the mark and then goes down after being attacked by the Treant. Zarrial sends down the manifestation of Mal to distract and attack the Treant. A Haregon comes out of hiding and drags my crushed body under a camoflauge blanket to hid me and then stabilizes my body. A whistle was then heard from the forest and a bunch of flaming arrows were shot from the surrounding forest at the corrupted Treant. Immediately after, a group of Haregons also run out of the forest to try and attack the corrupted Treant. Zarrial then has Mal lead the Treant away from the area as the Treant seemed intent on trying to harm Mal.

The haregons then get us all together and start ushering us to leave while getting excited about the dead Bark Warden. Elowen also comes down once combat ended. Bardek and myself get brought back up by Ghargux and then we each take some health potions. The haregons call themselves the Guardians of the Well of Souls. They let us know that something happened to the Well of Souls a couple of moons ago and that they are now unable to approach the Well of Souls since then. Elowyn and the Haregons take some pieces of the dead Bark Warden for research purposes. The Haregons also want us to return and talk with the druid elders and help figure out what is happening with the Well of Souls. Afterwards, we then pack our stuff up and head back to the Waystation.

=== Why are there so many Baby Silver Dragons here? ===
It has been getting colder in Eastern [[Amusa]], colder than it should be. That is when two letters arrive in the middle of the waystation at around similar times. The first of the letters has some crudely written handwriting addressing the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]] for some aid and is asking for "those who do not die easily". This letter also arrived with a bundle of meat that has been seasoned. The other letter appears to be a more formal invitation of sorts and asks for the TBEC to send some members to "enjoy the spoils of a recent hunt" and is signed by the Venator Syndicate.

Following the arrival of the two letters, a scrawny halfling named [[Tulie Maplelip]] walks out of the main office with a list of names, the two letters, and a map. She then proceeds to call over the group that was picked to investigate the two letters. Mark, [[Wiggler]], [[Coryn Alaeth|Coryn]], [[Eavan Ice-Eye|Eavan]], and myself all get called over to where Tulie is standing. Tulie then proceeds to read the first letter regarding "those who do not die easily" and then produces the meat package that came with the letter. [[Eavan]] and I investigate the meat and find that it comes from a type of bear that we are unsure about and that it is seasoned with frostbell which is a very rare flower found in and around the Iceback Mountains in [[Breme]]. This immediatley alerts Eavan as she is from Breme being that she is a [[witchwolf]]. We also investigate the letter and find that the writing is very crude in that it appears to be somebodys first attempt at writing bermish common. Tulie then goes to read the second letter that was sent by the Venator Syndicate regarding a party of some kind to celebrate a recent hunt. After we go through the letter, I remember that the Venator Syndicate is a group of poachers that tend to hunt, capture, and then experiment on wild magical creatures. There is also a seal at the bottom of the letter depicting a flame that is encased in ice, Eavan recognizes it as the symbol for House Coldflame, a noble house located in Breme. Our group then looks at the two maps that came with the two letters. The map that came with the crudley written letter shows us going to the Northeast of the Waystation while the map attached to the Syndicate invitation leads us to the Northwest of the Waystation. After talking amongst ourselves, our group decides to investigate the crudely written letter first as they are asking for help and should be responded to immediatlely. As such, we gather our things and start the 2 day travel to the marked location on the map.

As our group is travelling, we begin to notice that the weather is getting more frigid and "heavier" in a sense. The cold seems to want to penetrate us and weigh us down, but we are able to shake it off and keep travelling. While we travel, I try to use Detect Magic to try and see if the weather is natural or is carrying traces of magic. I come to find that the cold is not natural and that it carries a feeling of magic that I am not entirely familiar with, but it resembles a mixture of abjuration and evocation schools of magic. The cold also does not appear to carry any traces of malevolence, but it is all surrounding and ever present. It also appears to get stronger as we continue travelling. We eventually make it to a clearing to rest for the night.

Mark and Coryn take first watch and find that nothing of note happens. However, during the second watch, Wiggler and I notice that there are some dragonoid looking eyes peering into our camp. We wake up Mark and Coryn incase we are attacked, but the two creatures run away. While they run away, we catch faint glimpses of silver scales. After that, Coryn and Mark go to lay back down to finish resting. A little after Coryn and Mark lay back down, our camp is rushed on by 3 direwolves who appear to see us as their food. Our group then proceeds to kill two of the direwolves while knocking out the third one after Mark talks to it and finds that it is not acting naturally. After we knock it out, we investigate the direwolf and find that it had traces of a red powder that was later identified as Frenzy Powder. Upon Mark remembering that an "overdose" of Frenzy Powder can lead to death. Our group then proceeds to stabilize the dying direwolf. After the direwolf was stabilized, two baby silver [[dragons]] come running out of the woods, one more shy than the other. We proceed to talk to the baby dragons (Kalda and Oinoq) about why they are here and we find out that their older sister was the one that sent the letter to the camp with the meat. We also find out that their mom (Isrun) is missing. Eavan is extremely worried about that as Isrun is/was the guardian [[dragon]] of the Iceback Mountains and is an Ancient [[Silver Dragon]]. While we are talking to the two baby dragons, a third dragon that is a little larger comes out and scolds the two younger dragons for exploring in the night and engaging the Venator Syndicate. The third dragon introduces themself as Isfrid, the third oldest dragon in their group of silver dragons born from Isrun. Isfrid and the two younger dragons then lead us to their camp. We also take the unconcious direwolf with us to their camp. Our group arrives at the dragons camp and we meet Kelrynne a [[dragonborn]] and the eldest of Isrun's children. After she approaches our group, I find that the cold that I detected earlier appears to be originating from her and that she seems to be unaware of it. The cold appears to be surrounding her and then spreading out, almost acting as a barrier of sorts. That night Kelrynne explains to us the situration that they require help with as the Venator Syndicate has taken one of the younger baby dragons captive and Kelrynne requires our help to rescue their sibling due to wards and barriers set up against dragons invading their base. We then reveal that we were invited to the Venator Syndicate base that Kelrynne identifies. Kelrynne also explains that this branch of the Syndicate is being led by Alos Coldflame from House Coldflame. Upon hearing his name I remember seeing somewhere that Alos is the current heir to the family after he "bested" his sister (Risna Coldflame) in a duel. Kelrynne also explains that their friend witchwolf friend Brynhild was also captured. Kelrynne informs us that there are also multiple witchwolfs that are acting as members in the Syndicate base under Alos Coldflame. After discussing our plans, we all decide to finish our rest before setting off tomorrow to rescue the youngest dragon.

In the morning, we are greeted by the small of meat being cooked. We walk over and find that Kelrynne is preparring breakfast which is some cubed meat seasoned similarly to what was sent to camp. Kelyrnne explains that she has taught herself how to cook the meat as it can be comforting to eat a prepared meal instead of eating the meat raw. We each take a portion and go about eating our meals, we find that the meat is hot, but at the same time, it carries a chill to it that balances on the meat very nicely. The meat itself is gamey and chewy, but is very good. Kelrynne then explains that she is going to be going and taking care of another Syndicate base while we go and rescue their sibling. Before we separate, I have her write her name in my Book of Shadows so that we can communicate when we find their sibling and what the situation is. Our group then leaves for the Syndicate base.

After travelling for a while, we come across the Syndicate base. It appears to be an old bandit hideout and there is no one outside the building besides a slush elemental patrolling the grounds. We proceed to walk up to the front door and knock, but we get no response. With that, we just decide to enter with Eavan leading us in as she is more familiar with the Coldflame family and the witchwolfs that are working under the Syndicate. After entering, we introduce ourselves as the group from the Tempest Brothers. Alos welcomes us in as he is sitting at the head of the table with some witchwolfs and a ice [[genasi]] sitting on the sides. They are all drinking some Bremish Coffee. While we are talking to Alos, Risna walks in with another bowl of coffee for the group. She then proceeds to "trip" and hand Wiggler a note stating that theres some bad stuff going on here and that she is only here to "watch over" Alos. Risna then goes back into the kitchen area with Wiggler then following her in to "talk about coffee". They actually talk about whats going on and Risna explains that there is a baby [[silver dragon]] upstairs in a room guarded by her direwolf, but the direwolf should let us pass. Wiggler then telepathically relays that to our group and we ask for a distraction to be made so that Eavan and I can sneak upstairs. For the distraction, Mark decides to chug some of the Bremish Coffee and starts singing some songs with the witchwolfs as they are drunk on the coffee after having a bunch already. Risna also then "accidentally" spills some coffee on Alos and takes him into the kitchen to clean off the coffee spill. Eavan and I are able to sneak upstairs, but the door to the room that we need to get into is locked. We end up ramming the door open quietly so as to not disturb the people downstairs. In the room, we find the youngest baby dragon, a small Cosmic Bear, and a female witchwolf that is laying on a bed passed out and appears to be suffering from a poison. We quickly ask why they havent left through the window in the room to find that it is trapped by a spell casted by Alos. I also contact Kelrynne through my book of shadows letting her know that we found their sibbling and are working to get them out of here. She responds that she has already taken care of the other Syndicate base and is now on her way over. Wiggler then proceeds to cast Dispel Magic on Alos to disrupt the alarm spell on the window, but doing this starts a fight with the members of the Syndicate. We eventually beat the Syndicate members except for Alos who was able to escape with a Dimension Door. Eavan and I go over to the Genasis body and look for any potions that might help with the poisoned witchwolf upstairs. We are able to successfully get the witchwolf (Brynhild) back up and let her know that Kelrynne is on her way over. She thanks us and we go back down into the main room where everybody is. We all then loot the building before leaving. Kelrynne comes and picks up the youngest dragon, the small Cosmic Bear travels with us back to the Waystation, and we invite both Risna and Brynhild to come and join us at the Waystation.

Later on, we then receive another letter from Kelrynne with the following written on it:

“White Dragon. Ysildra.

Among first white dragons in legend.

Mother of hundreds of white dragons.

Mother in Ivory.

Long ago, Isrun and other good dragons banished her to the Ice [[Plane]]. Her eggs were destroyed. Maybe not all of them. Ysildra is back.

Run.”

=== Thats no ordinary worm... ===
The [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company|TBEC]] received a call for help from the [[Kobold|Kobolds]] as their work crew has started to be attacked by nighttime assaults that they believe originate from the [[Wyvern]]'s Nest Crater. The TBEC rapidly gets group together consisting of myself, [[22]], [[Thordon Akieye|Thordun]], and new recruits to the TBEC [[Caelum Vesper|Caelum]], Loc, and Khimnis. We all group up and gather any equipment we deem necessary before quickly leaving Waystation and travelling towards the air ship village of the [[Kobolds]] using a map that was created on a previous excursion.

We travel through the jungle rapidly so that we can help as quickly as possible. It is dark out as we begin to get closer to where the Kobolds are working on the road that is being built between their village and the waystation, we encounter the sounds of conflict up ahead. Using [[Caelum]]'s owl familiar, we scout the conflict up ahead and his familiar finds that there is a group of [https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Kuo-toa Kuo-toa] fighting the [[Kobold]] workers. Before the familiar returns, Loc slips away from the group without the majority of us noticing and sneaks up to join the conflict and help the Kobolds. Shortly after Loc leaves the group, the rest of us go up the road and join the combat as well, fighting off the Kuo-toa. We quickly tell the Kobold work crew to leave the area and leave the fighting to us. The Kuo-toa seemed to be following the orders of a priest and appear to be trying to capture some of the Kobolds alive. The priest ends up teleporting away with another Kuo-toa and a captured Kobold after we defeat the majority of the Kuo-toa.

After fighting the Kuo-toa and forcing them to flee, we all reconvene and interogate the one Kuo-toa that we left alive. Interrogating the Kuo-toa with the aid of some [https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2277-thaumaturgy Thamaturgy], [https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/718568-mind-sliver Mind Sliver], and [https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2067-detect-thoughts Detect Thoughts] action, we are able to get vague hints of the being that the Kuo-toa are worshipping. We get vibes of tentacles, acid, and the [[underdark]]. We do not receive any concrete information from the Kuo-toa as it is more affraid of its being of worship compared to our group of adventurers. Using the clues given to us, we believe that the Kuo-toa are working for a [[Black Dragon]] or a Purple Worm. After interrogating the Kuo-toa and not getting any more information, we kill the creature to put it out of its misery. We then investigate the area to try and figure out where the Kuo-toa group came from and how they got there. We end up finding that the Kuo-toa left no tracks in the ground as they normally would with us being in a forest. This along with a casting of [https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2065-detect-magic Detect Magic], we deduce that the Kuo-toa group got to the area using [https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2201-pass-without-trace Pass Without Trace]. We then follow the trail of magic left by Pass Without Trace that leads us towards the Wyvern's Nest Crater. After reaching the crater, we are stuck with the dilema that we have no easy way to get down to the bottom of the crater. Loc desides to take this matter into his own hands and just jumps down into the crater, planning to cast [https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2095-feather-fall Feather Fall] when required. The rest of the group then follows with 22 casting Feather Fall for the rest of us. Once we are down at the bottom of the crater, we sneak around so as to not draw any unwanted Wyvern attention and we look for any crevices that would possibly lead us underground. We eventually find a cave entrance in one of the crater walls. We sneak through the cave until we come across a room with large hole in the middle that appears to have been burrowed. We then repeat our jumping down with Feather Fall to get to the bottom of the hole.

Once down at the bottom of the hole. Thordun and Loc sneak ahead of the group to scout the tunnels ahead. They eventually report back that they hear voices up ahead and then we regroup before we continue sneaking towards the voices. We then come across a more open cavern with the Kuo-toa and the priest communicating, something about readying defenses. We did not hear much before Khimnis desides to enter her Form of Dread and sneak attack the Kuo-toa group with a [https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2339-hunger-of-hadar Hunger of Hadar]. The rest of us then move forward out of the cave and into the cavern and prepare to attack the Kuo-toas' after they leave the sphere of darkness and dread. Right after the Kuo-toa exit the Hunger of Hadar area, a giant [https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Neothelid Neothelid] falls from the ceiling where it was hovering and joins the fight. Putting two and two together, we come to the conclusion that this ''thing'' is what they were worshiping and capturing Kobolds for. The battle continues with us eventually killing the Neothelid and majority of the Kuo-toa. The Priest was able to escape again after entering an offshoot cave at the back of the cavern.

After combat ended, our party explored the rest of the cavern area. We found several captives that were taken by the Kuo-toa, including Gumptor Flynn and several Kobolds from the road crew. We also find a bunch of simple rooms in the branch caves from the shrine area in the cavern that the Kuo-toa used as living quarters. We found a couple items of value including a Dagger of Venom, a Watchful [[Helm]], a couple different healing potions, some gold, and a scroll of Word of Recall. We then pack up the things and begin the trek out of the Wyvern's Nest Crater with the former captives and lead them back to their work camp before heading back to the Waystation.

=== Meet the Xandrians ===
The [[The Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company|TBEC]] recently received a letter from a group of Xandrians that have set up camp in [[Amusa]]. The letter is from the Commander of the expedition and the contents of said letter explain that their group has recently lost a package after a group of theirs was attacked by the Venator Syndicate. With their current forces, they are unable to form the necessary search party to find the lost package. Due to this, they are reaching out to the TBEC asking for help in finding the lost package. They are proposing a mutual cooperation agreement between the Xandrians and the TBEC in return for helping recover the lost package.

The TBEC gathers myself, [[Wiggler]], [[Ghargux]], [[Tryska Bjorndottyr|Tryska]], [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]], and [[Ren Atherton]] together as the search party. We get collected in front of the main office and get debriefed on the mission received and the information that has been provided. We are then led behind the main building to the air ship doc. As we get back there, we see an airship coming down, the airship has markings that are unfamiliar to our group. Once the ship docs, a guard from the ship comes down and logs our group down on a notepad that he then hands to the ship captain. We then all load onto the airship and take off for the Xandrian camp.

We set down at the edge of the camp outside of the main gate to said camp. After getting off the airship, the group is then lead to the center of the camp where the Commanders tent is located. As we are being lead there, our group notices a confrontation is occuring outside the Commanders quarters. The confrontation appears to be between a dwarven man and a more regal looking figure, they appear to be arguing about the missing package and some lost/captured researchers. The confrontation ends with the dwarven man walking away mad. The regal looking figure then greets us, he turns out to be Artorious Ranglan, the younger brother to the Commander, Lancellas Ranglan. Artorious then leads us into Lancellas's tent to discuss the mission in more private quarters.

Lancellas then proceeds to explain the mission. Our objective is to retreive the package(s) at any cost and return to the camp immediately. One of the scholars that was in the group transporting the package(s) will travel with us to the location where the package was lost. We then confirm that there are two packages that are lost. We then strike a deal with Commander Ranglan that we will retrieve the packages in exchange for some gold along with helping the TBEC with smaller issues in the immediate area. With that situated, we are then lead to the scholars area where we are introduced to a couple of the scholars, mainly, Dr. Morgan Frostbeard, Kyle Lane, and Ariel. There, we here the story of the ambush from the Venator Syndicate and the losing of the packages from their perspective. We then crash for the night so that we are ready to travel in the moring to search for the packages. Dr. Frostbeard will be the one guiding us on our travels.

The group then leaves the Xandrian camp in the morning, following Dr. Frostbeard to roughly where the packages were lost. As we approach the area where the packages should be, we notice some people up ahead of us. Wiggler and I notice that they are wearing gear that has the Venator Syndicate symbol. We inform the group of this information and that we should be ready for a fight; and without warning, Dr. Weedus immediately charges the Venator Syndicate group swinging at the guy who looked to be in charge. The rest of the group then follows Dr. Weedus into battle while Dr. Frostbeard stays back to not interfere.

Our group quickly handles the members of the Venator Syndicate while leaving one person alive to interogate. We eventually find out that there is a Venator Sydicate camp a small hike away and that there are captured Xandrian scholars being held at the camp. Learning that information, we kill the Syndicate member. After that, Dr. Frostbeard comes into the area and proceeds to dig up two boxes. We take the boxes from him as they will be safer with us compared to with him. Our group then inspects the boxes and find that there are small air holes on the boxes and that we can feel something moving around inside. I then send a Sending to Commander Ranglan letting him know that we have the packages in our possession. He tells us to return immediately, but instead of doing that, our group decides to go and rescue the hostages without informing the Commander.

We eventually make it to the Venator Syndicate camp. We sneak inside the camp posing as new recruits and are brought to the camp boss. The camp boss eventually recognizes Wiggler. Our group then enters a fight with the camp boss who takes a potion, which causes his muscles to bulge and for his general size to increase, allowing him to weild a larger than normal morningstar. We eventually take down the camp boss and tie him up. Ren and myself then find the captured scholars. As we are leaving the Syndicate base, Dr. Weedus sets it ablaze.

Our group then escorts them and the two packages back to the Xandrian camp along with the knocked out Syndicate leader. We hand over the two packages and the knocked out Syndicate leader to Commander Ranglan. Lancellas asks us what took so long in returning, and we explain that we felt like doing a little extra work to rescue the captured scholars. We then convince Lancellas to let us know what we were retreiving, and he opens the boxes revealling some pitch black snakes. He introduces them as Black Marilas snakes and that they are some of the most venomous snakes in Amusa. He also informs us that he plans on weaponizing their venom for Xandrian use. He then also informs us to take some scholars with us back to our camp as a method to keep in touch.

We then leave their camp with Kyle Lane in tow. Kyle seemed excited to come with us as he is very familiar with our one companion Eavan.

=== Journey to the Center of the Dragons Lair? ===
With [[Prince Ulftiir]] and the [[Ysildra|Ancient Dragon Ysildra]] dead, their treasures are ripe to be picked. However, said treasures are located in Ysildra's lair which is located on the [[Plane of Ice]] which is situated between the [[Plane of Water]] and the [[Plane of Wind]]. The [[The Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company|TBEC]] has come up with a way to use the recovered Ring of Winter's Wrath (RoWW) to open a portal to the Plane of Ice and allow a group of plunderers to make their way to the lair and obtain the treasures. But the group will not be going alone, the TBEC called in a favor that they have with (In)famous adventurer and explorer Oliver Vincent Bartholemew who was recently freed from being chased by an [[Lupine Aspect of Death]].

With this, [[Darian Tempest]] himself gathered the group that would be raiding the Ancient Dragons treasure hoard. The group he gathered together consisted of myself, [[Ren Atherton]], [[Wiggler]], [[Selene]], [[Eavan Ice-Eye|Eavan]], and [[Iris]]. After gathering our group together, he then explained what the mission would be and that we would be receiving help from Oliver in that he would be leading us to the lair once we are in the Plane of Ice. Before we met Oliver, Darian dismissed the group so that we could gather whatever we believed we would need to undertake this mission. Knowing that the Plane of Ice is constantly freezinig cold and presents many dangers, both natural and un-natural, I went ahead and purchased the Angel Bone Circlet and Dragon Pin from [[Bulio]] to help improve my own survivability. I also went and borrowed a Rope of Climbing and a Leather Armor of Cold Resistance along with some scrolls of Feather Fall from the Waystations Weapons Rack. Our group then gathers back up with Darian while we wait for Oliver to arrive. While waiting, Darian pulls out both a bag of holding, that we will use to package up all of the treasures we find, as well as the RoWW. Oliver then arrives shortly after, cutting his way through the dense jungle that is surrounding the Waystation. He appears to be wearing a tan safari shirt with more pockets than reasonably necessary on a shirt, some very VERY short tan shorts (some would probably arrest him for public indecency), a pair of brown hiking boots, and a hard bucket safari hat. He is also rocking a perfectly groomed and curled mustache. Our group looks at him and wonders if he is even prepared to venture into the Plane of Ice where the temperatures will be freezing at all times. Regardless, he confirms that he is ready for an exciting adventure to the dragons lair.

Seeing that everybody is ready, Darian proceeds to activate the RoWW. This causes the surrounding area to drop in temperature very rapidly. After a little bit, a crack in the area in front of the group opens up and then widens to reveal the Plane of Ice on the other side. With the portal open, Darian hands Iris the RoWW, to which, she stores in her body. Doing this, we are able to see that her body starts to crystilize, but not to the point where she is uncomfortable and unable to move thankfully. With that, our group goes through the Portal, which we then close after entering to save the Waystation from the freezing temperatures in the Plane of Ice. We take a second to get ourselves oriented, noticing that no matter where we look, everything is covered in snow and ice and that there are everpresent storm clouds everywhere in the sky, permanently casting a gray light over the Plane. While standing there, Iris pulls out a matchstick, that we quickly light for a little bit a repreive from the biting cold. Oliver then gathers everyones attention and states that we should be around 10 days of travel away from where the lair should be and that we should start moving immediately unless we want to die. And as if waiting for him to say that, we hear an ever-echoing roar from what must be the all the Yetis in the surrounding area as they instantly took notice that there are now humanoids present in the Plane of Ice.

The group instantly starts following Olivers lead in running towards where the lair should be. We travel uninterupted for two days before we encounter our first and definitley not last setback of the journey. On the third day, we find an Obelisk made entirely out of ice. The obelisk stands around 20 ft tall and is balancing at a point. The obelisk is covered in the language of the Giants. If we had more time to spare, we could have investigated it more, but unfortunatley, we were still being chased by the pack of Yetis. We continue traveling, and on day four, we encounter a ravine that we cross with the help of Wiggler wild-shaping into a Giant Eagle and carrying us over. We continue traveling while the Yetis continue getting closer to our group. On the fifth day of travel towards the lair, we encounter a hand that is sticking out of the ever present ice on the ground. The hand is attached to a frozen humanonid who died being frozen whlie screaming. That night, we receive our first attack from the Yetis that are chasing us. With that, we were unable to rest as we fought them off and were forced to continue the trek to the lair unless we wanted to die. We encounter no setbacks on day six, but we are attacked yet again by the Yetis that night. On day seven, a blizzard hits the group after an earth(ice)quake rocks the Plane of Ice. We again fight the Yetis that night and are forced to continue moving instead of being able to rest. Continuing to travel on day eight, we are hit with another avalanche that we survive. However, as if they were aware that the avalanche would have killed some creatures, a small patrol of Ice Giants walks right past our group as we hide in a Major Image that was cast by Wiggler. We once again are forced to fight the Yetis and keep moving on night eight. Travel on day nine was especially long as we had multiple setbacks that were encountered. We encountered a mountain face that we had to climb, an earthquake, and then while looking for a place of possible rest, we found a cave that ended up having an Ice Spider nest inside of it. At the end of that long day, our group determines that we are unable to go another night of fighting Yetis and continuing the forced march. With that, we try to brainstorm how we can avoid being attacked. In the end, Selene proposses that we all try and enter her Genie space that she has from her warlock pact. Being that normally, only she is able to go inside of it, since she is not powerful enough to take us all inside, our group spends a bunch of our resources to help boost her power so that we are all able to enter. However, we are only able to enter after I sacrafice my Book of Shadows and transfer that energy to Selene that she gets enough arcane energy to boost herself temporarily so that we all can enter her Genie space. That is the first night we were able to get a good nights rest since the day we entered the Plane of Ice. On the following day ten, we all exit the Genie space and continue our travels towards the dragons lair. We eventually get to where Oliver tells us that the dragons lair is, and we are faced with a massive cliff face that we will have to climb. We rapidly get ourselves tied together and with the help of Oliver and the Rope of Climbing, we begin our ascent to the top. Not long after we start climbing, we hear the Yetis arrive at the base of the cliff face and just stop, as they know that we will come to them if we fall off the cliff.

As we are climbing, it took a little bit to notice, but I eventually notice that some of the areas on the cliff face that we passed were unnatural, and not a second after, that is proven true as they begin to extrude from the cliff face revealing that they are heads to a cryo-hydra that is hidden within the cliff face. With this, our group begins flying/climbing up rapidly while fighting off the Cryo-Hydra. Iris proved to be invaluable during this fight as she kept summoning firey meteors to keep the Cryo-Hydra away. However, as we were climbing/flying up the cliff face while fighting the Cryo-Hydra, we found that we were also being attacked from the top of the cliff by a Cyclopes that was throwing boulders at our group. The climb up the cliff face was very tough and strenuous, with myself and Eavan being knocked out at one point from either getting hit by the Cryo-Hydra, the boulders being thrown by the Cyclopes, or just slipping on the icy cliff face and falling a little. Wiggler helped in getting our group up the cliff face by healing the group as we went up, I helped Iris in dealing with the Cryo-Hydra heads when I could, and Selene took care of the Cyclopes by charming it and pushing it off the edge of the cliff with the help of Iris, sending it all the way down to the pack of Yetis that were still waiting at the bottom of the cliff face. With all of that, we eventaully get to the top of the cliff and regroup ourselves before spotting a massive cavern entrance.

However, before we are able to enter the cavern, Iris reveals with the help of a Lantern of Revealing that was borrowed from the Weapons Rack, the ghost of a massive Frost Giant. The spirit then speaks to us stating that he is Lord Hulfgar the spirit of the mountain and that he was captured and forced into an alliance with the White Dragon and is the father of [[Prince Ulftiir]] before Ysildra murdered him and froze his body in ice. He says that he will grant us access to the the dragons treasures if we free his spirit. We eventually agree before entering the cavern. Upon entering, we see an alluring pile of treasures in the center of the lair that is covered and surrounded in ice. We also spot several silhouettes in the ice on the walls of the lair. Ren and I go around inspecting the figures in the ice while the rest of the group inspects the ice surrounding the treasures. There end up being nine figures frozen in the icy walls of the lair. They end up being a young blue dragon, a blue skinned humanoid with white feathery wings and a halo (Planetar), a large beholder, a large blue salamander that is identified as a Behir (a creature created by giants to hunt dragons), a dwarf with a bushy red beard and bushy red eyebrows that also has a lions tail, a large skeletal bird, a humanoid with deep red skin and a lower body that is made of smoke that is leading into a lantern (efritti), a mass of green tentacles, and a large Frost Giant.

The group then decides to free the body of the Frost Giant to hopefully fulfill the promise to the Spirit of the Mountain (Lord Hulfgar). His body falls limp to the grond after we melt the ice and his spirit reappears to the group. He thanks us for freeing his body and spirit as his body is engulfed in flames and dissipates into nothingness. With the corpse of the Frost Giant gone, the magical seals that were found on the ice surrounding the hoard, break. We then proceed to discuss if we should free any of the other creatures that are frozen in the ice.

We end up deciding to free the angel looking being first. He greets us and introduces himself as Samiael, he has sky blue skin with white feathery wings and if inspeced closely, one can see that his halo has a small crack in it. He mentions that he used to server Temorah before being sent away after the death of Temorahs sister. We then ask him if he recognizes any of the other beings that are trapped in the ice. He mentions that the mass of tendrils is something very old and not of the realm. He also mentions that the dwarf was "always thinking".

Following that, we decide to visit the mass of tendrils next as I received a feeling of familiarity with the tendrils similar to how my pact with my unknown patron feels. I go over with Iris and we melt the ice holding the mass of tendrils. They slop onto the floor infront of us, before they start squirming around. I then begin to hear it speak to me, saying that I too serve the Weeping One, and that I am "one of them" and should join "them" and "sing her song". The tendrils beckon me to be baptized ny "her tears" and that i will be shown my history and my future. I try my best to politley decline the invitation, but the mass of tendrils does not like that and aggresifly states that "they: will be back for me, whether I am ready or not, before it dissapears.

Our group then discusses what to do next, and we decide to melt the ice surrounding the loot first before going and freeing any other beings. In the pile of shiny and magical loot, Iris spots an annomoly in a chess board that is missing a piece, specifically a white pawn. Iris reveals that she was once sparred from dying by a member of The Seven that told her that she was just a pawn, and Iris then reveals that she has a white pawn. However, after we study the chess board, we see where the white pawn piece was and that the white pawn piece is the only piece that can be moved. And unfortunately, anywhere the white pawn can be moved, puts it in immediate danger. Iris, not one to always play by the rules, decides to take "fate" into her own hand and "cheat" the game by knocking over the black queen piece and placing her white pawn where the black queen was, effectively taking the black queen as a white pawn. This causes a change to occur to the pawn. The white pawn piece that Iris had is then transformed into a mixed black/white queen piece. Iris goes and picks up the new chess piece that was her former white pawn piece, unsure of what to make of it.

Our group then decieds to free the Efritti next with Selene taking the lead on this one as she has a Warlock pact with a Genie. After being freed, the Efritti grants Selene a wish and gives her two minutes to think it over and declare the wish before the opportunity vanishes. Selene eventually wishes for material that will alow her to make a weapon. The Efritti grants this wish by causing the beholder to break out of the ice that was trapping it, and killing it. After the beholder dies, all of its eyes get plucked out and then float over to Selene. After fulfilling the wish, the Efritti then makes a copy of its lamp and then hands it to Selene saying that if she ever grows tired of her current patron, that she can find help with him.

The last being we free has turned out to be one of the more immediately troublesome creatures as the Dwarven figure has started telepathically speaking to us before we even approached him. The Dwarven figure introduced himself as Humphery, and states that he is a "normal dwarf". Eventually we free him, probably against our better judgement as he dissapears into a poof of abyssal magic after being freed.

We decide to then leave the blue dragon, the skeletal bird, and the Behir frozen in the ice as they would probably be bad news for our group.

Our group then goes and separates the rest of the magic items and whatnot in the treasure hoard. From it, I pick up a set of Elven Chainmail, a pair of Boots of Levitation, a couple different potions, and whatever spell scrolls the rest of the group did not want, along with a good amount of gold.

And with that, our group decides its probably for the best that we leave the Plane of Ice and return to the Waystation. Iris then brings out the RoWW and opens up a portal back to the Waystation. We then go and deliver some of the gold we received from the dragons hoard to the members of the groups that took down the Frost Giants and Ysildra. Oliver also takes this chance to thank our group for being wonderful travelling companions and leaves the Waystation with his frostbitten body and cuts his way back into the jungle that surrounds the Waystation.

=== The Mayor of Dimadome is a Big Pumpkin? ===
Some travellers entered the Waystation and informed them that there is something troubling going on down in a town by the Mist of Sotchala. They reported that there were very little townspeople out and about when they went through the town. Due to this, they asked the TBEC to send a group of their adventurers to the town to investigate. Damian gathers myself, [[Karma Runes|Karma]], [[Garvey Tiller|Gravy]], [[Ghargux]], [[Rosin]], and [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler|Finny]] together and introduces us to the three people who came to report the weird happenings in the town they visited.

After meeting the three people (a Vulpine, a Half-elf, and a Faerie) we learn that the towns name is Dimmadome and that it is a town that is situated near the Mists of Sotchala. They also reported to us that the area has a very tense aura to it and that they felt like they were being watched at all times even though they couldn't spot who was watching them. We also learned that the townspeople annually offer a multitude of pumpkins to a "The Watcher Under the Hill". It was also found out that the townspeople were too afraid to state "The Watchers" true name.

With that, our group leaves the Waystation and starts our travel towards Dimmadome. As we get near the town, the air starts to become foggy and we get the sense that we are being watched. We also start coming across some pretty realistic "statues" of a variety of creatures who all appear to have a scared expression carved onto their faces. Our group stops for a little giving me time to cast Detect Magic on the statues to see if they are natural or not. The results are a mix of different schools of magic including Evocation, Transmutation, and Abjuration.

After not finding anything else that might indicate what could have made the statues, we continue heading to the town. We enter the town and find that it feels empty, rundown, and almost abandoned. We come across a public water well as we enter town. There Finny spots a weird trinket that was floating above the well opening, I try to grab the trinket, however, it dissapears from Finny's ability to see things that are invisible, as if it wasnt there to begin with. With that, we continue travelling through town, discovering that most of the houses are indeed vacated. However, there is one house up on the hill that has its lights inside on along with a lantern outside that is lit. With it being the only house in the area that appears to be lived in, our group cautiously approaches. There we find a sign reading "If the lights are on, come on in!" With that, Gravy, Ghargux, and Rosin enter the house along with Finnys familiar Whisper. Finny, myself, and Karma stay outside in the event that something happens.

Inside the house, Gravy, Ghargux, and Rosin encounter a man who introduces himself as Shaggy along with his bloodhound pup named Scrappy. The group inside then starts asking him questions regarding the "Watcher" and the town. We find out from Shaggy that the town has to give any pumpkins they grow to the "Watcher", even though it is hard to grow the pumpkins due to the Mist, or else bad things happen. The townspeople also consider the "Watcher" their mayor, but they have never seen them. We also find out that this has been going on for around 66 years. We also find out that a Frost Giant went to talk to the Mayor, but never returned. The statues that were spotted in and around town have also been popping up since the Watcher moved in.

After learning all of that from Shaggy, the group decides that we should go figure out who and or what the Mayor/Watcher is. So, we head up to the hill where the townspeople drop off their grown pumpkins and we find a large tree at the top that has a large hole at its base. Using a bunch of different methods, our group eventually goes down the hole. At the bottom, we find that the ground is littered with bodies, statues, stalactites, and stalagmites. The statues are mainly of people that appear to be adventurers as they are geared up and have facial expressions that one would have when going through a tough fight. Our group then continues exploring the cavern, finding other holes and tunnels that lead in different directions. We go down the one hole that was covered by a boulder, at the bottom of that one, we find a statue of the Frost Giant that supposedly visited the Mayor and dissapeared. With that along with the environment, the tunnels, the other statues, our group comes together and determines that this is most likely the lair of a Beholder. After figuring that out, we determine that the Observer is most likely playing the part of the "Mayor" of Dimmadome. We continue exploring the lair, comming across other tunnels and holes that lead to other chambers. Our group splits up into two groups so that we can explore the lair more quickly. Finny and Karma go together while I go with Gravy, Ghargux, and Rosin. I am unsure of what rooms Karma and Finny find, but the group that I am in finds a statue of another Observer in a room with magical items and other things.

Eventually, both of our groups stumble upon the same room, but from different sides, where we encounter the "Mayor". The mayor turns out to be a Pumpkin Beholder whos name is Jack, the King of Pumpkins. We find out Jack really doesnt like our visit and kindly asks us to stay as corpses and statues. Hearing this, we start fighting the Pumpkin King Jack. Gravy sadly gets turned to stone during the fight, but we end up killing Jack. After killing Jack and retrieving Gravy's statue, we go back to the room with the other Beholder statue and find that its gone. But with one of our group turned to stone, we decide to loot the lair before leaving and starting our trek back to the Waystation so that we can get Gravy turned back to normal.

=== Hallows Eve Festival Turned Dead ===
It's [[Ymbtrymman|Ymbtrymman's]] All Hallow's Eve Festival! And the TBEC is sending a group out to enjoy the festivities while aslo following up on a lead on [[Dorian Shroud]]. Damian gathers together myself, [[Ren Atherton|Ren]], [[Rosin]], and [[Garvey Tiller|Gravy]]. We are also informed that Dorian is in the possession of a piece of the [[Aestorian Codex]] and that should we meet Dorian, we should do our utmost to take his piece of the Codex.

With our group gathered and informed of the possible mission at hand, we head out to Ymbtrymman to enjoy the festivities. For the event, as it was the towns Hallow's Eve Festival, I decided to change my wardrobe a little and embrace the guise of a mad alchemist! I switched my standard light purple lab coat with a newer white lab coat that i proceeded to spill some green dye on and burn a couple holes in. I also wore a set of lab goggles that I wore in front of my horns, it was a little uncomfortable, but it was worth it. And to pull it all together, i took my hair out of my ponytial and frizzed it up. And with that, I was dressed up for the festival!

After we all got our costumes together, our group started our travel to Ymbtrymman. We arrive with the festival in full swing as people are going around dressed in different hero, monster, and creature costumes! There are vendors lining the sides of the streets handing out food and drinks to those willing to pay along with candy for the little ones. Gravy and I get some of the festivals hard cider as we walk through the festival. And initially, everything seems to be normal and there are no signs of Dorian. However, we eventually hear the voice of an imp talking from the roof of a nearby building. Ren and I climb up a ladder in the alley next to the building. The imp notices us right away as the ladder broke after Ren climbed it. He trys to fly away, but is quickly brought down by Ren. Ren then starts interogating the imp for any information it has as it was drawing a necrotic sigil on the roof of the building. We are unable to get much information from the Imp as right after the imp is taken down, the central clocktower in town goes off, afterwards, it starts going in reverse while the sigils get activated.

Our group is unsure of what is happeneing at first as everyone is just staring at the clocktowers clock that is spinning in the wrong direction. But then, some people start shuffling awkwardly towards others. And thats when the first scream happens as one of the shuffling townspeople bites out at the person next to them revealing that the townspeople are being turned into zombies! We instantly start fighting off the zombies while trying to get the unturned people out of harms way. During this fight, the imp that Ren captured got away and Gravy got bit by a zombie, however, Ren was able to hand Gravy an amulet that allowed him to resist the zombie bite. We all eventually end up on the roof as the zombies start to overwhelm our position. We quickly converse, deciding what our best course of action should be. We come to the conclusion that the clocktower seems to be the source for all of this as the magic in the sigil we found that was drawn by the imp has faded. The group then starts jumping from roof to roof, making our way towards the center of town where the clocktower is.

As we make our way there, we see some torchlight on another roof. We decide to move that way in case there are people that need our help. And we do indeed find some people, however, they appear to be safe for now as all of them are clear of bites. We ask them if they know how to get into the clocktower, and that is when we find out that the clocktower was locked up last night so that no drunk people are able to enter and accidentally climb the tower just to fall off/out and die. They inform us that the clocksmith should have the key to the clocktower and that his house is close to the clocktower itself. With that, after ensuring that the group of civilians is safe, we start making our way across some more roofs until we get to the clocksmiths house. All the while we were travelling, the clock on the clocktower kept spinning in reverse.

The team reaches a building rooftop that is across the road from the clocksmiths house. The house is 3 stories tall and has alley ways on the sides and back of the house. The road between the roof we are on and the house is also full of zombies. This made just going through the front door practially impossible. It was also noticed that the windows were barred for some reason, so we couldnt easily go through the windows to gain entry either. While we inspected the building from across the street, Rosin stealthily flew over and peeked inside the windows to see if the clocksmith was in his house or not. She could not find the clocksmith, but instead found three (3) devils populating the top floor. After reporting back about the devils along with some zombies on the lower floors, we decided the best course of action was for some remodelling of the clocksmiths house. With that decided, I casted Shatter on the third story wall by the window, which killed one of the devils and opened up the wall so that we could fly/climb over and in. There we killed the rest of the devils and guarded the ladder in case a zombie tried to climb up while we searched for the key. I eventually found the clocktower key on top of a paper from the mayor that was addressed to the clocksmith.

After obtaining the key, we left the house and proceeded to continue across the rooftops towards the clocktower. We arrived at the last set of houses before the clocktower, however, we were still a good bit away, and there was still the sea of zombies on the streets. So, with that, we decided to use a distraction made by Ren and myself to lure the zombies away from the clocktower and then rush the tower so that we can get in before the zombies return. We were able to safely make it to the tower, unlock the door, and get in without being attacked by the zombies. We then locked the door behind us to make sure that the zombies wouldnt accidentally open it.

We then climbed the spiral staircase to the top of the clocktower to find Dorian Shroud watching over the town of zombies from a window. He then turned to greet us and started his villain monologue by congratulated us for getting here without being turned to a zombie and then proceeded to explain that he figured it would be better and faster to amass an army of zombies to look for the remaining Codex pieces rather than looking for them by himself and that they will all remain as zombies once the clock rewound all the way back to both hands pointing at 12. He then finished his monologue by telling us that he'll be glad to add us to his zombie army. Dorian then summoned a hag, an animated suit of armor, and a zombie hulk along with some regular zombies to fight our group off. We managed to fight off all of his summoned undead, take his codex piece, and stop the ritual; this then returned all the zombies back to normal. Shortly after we dispelled his magic that was causing the townspeople to become zombies, a couple imps teleported into the clocktower and Dorians infernal master, [[Kalzivach]], told him that he has failed one too many times and proceeded to take him back to the Hells for punishment.

With the fight ending, our group left the clocktower and returned the key to the clocksmiths house before dipping out of town to return to the Waystation.

Elyssa Aetas

2024-10-30T20:19:33Z

Doublecheese247:

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Court of Blossoms|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=-ai-Elyssa_Mix_Oasis.jpeg|caption=Elyssa Aetas embracing all four seasons|playerName=Connor Schroll|relatives=Grandfather: Lower Court Herald Bo Aetas
Father: Jorreth Aetas
Mother: Sahanna Aetas|languages=Common, Elvish, Sylvan|marital=Single|birthPlace=Court of Blossoms|species=Elidran|gender=Female|height=5' 4"|weight=111 lbs}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a young Eladrin who has recently discovered her talent with Wild Magic Sorcery.

== Physical Appearance ==
Elyssa is a young female Eladrin. She normally keeps her hair in a long single braid that will go down her back. Her skin, hair, and eye colors all change with whatever season she is embracing. In Spring, her skin will be a pale green, her eyes are a deep emerald, and her hair is a mix of light and dark greens that look similar to the color of freshly cut grass. In Summer, her skin turns to a pale yellow color, her eyes turn a deep yellow, and her hair takes on the shine of a piece of gold under then sun. In Fall, her yellow colors turn darker and settle down into a mix of reds, oranges, and browns. Her skin becomes a pale orange red color, her eyes shine like freshly found amber, and her hair takes on the color of falling leaves. In winter all of her color change into cooling shades of blue, black, and white. Her skin becomes a pale blue to the point where you would think she has frostbite, her eyes become a dark, deep blue that would remind one of looking down an endless well, and her hair becomes a mix of white and grey that would result in the look of a fresh layer of snow on a calm winters day.

Elyssa also cares about her appearances and has multiple sets of clothing in the different colors of the season so that she is always matching. You will also always find Elyssa carrying a wooden quarterstaff with her. The quarterstaff was a present from her grandfather for awakening her talent with Wild Magic. The quarterstaff is simple overall and only has a couple gemstones going around the ends of the quarterstaff in the colors of Elyssa's seasons.

== Pictures/AI Art/Models ==

== Personality ==
Elyssa's personality will change with the seasons she is embracing at the time. However, there are common threads that remain rooted in who she is. She has always been adventurous and enjoys having fun, while also being compassionate and caring. While in Spring, you can find Elyssa being more energetic and rebellious, often playing pranks on her grandfather. In the Summer, she embraces the suns heat and strives to perform her trainings and duties up to her grandfathers standards. When Fall approaches, Elyssa slows herself down and lets herself take in everything that is happening around her in the Court of Blossoms. She becomes more easy going and tries to maintain a sense of peace wherever she goes. When Winter hits, Elyssa often keeps more to herself and becomes more thoughtful of her sense of self and how she interacts with others. This is the season that Elyssa spends the least amount of time in while Spring is her favorite season to embrace due to its blooming life.

== History ==
Elyssa was born to her mother Sahanna Aetas and her father Jorreth Aetas, son of Herald Bo Aetas. Her parents met in an adventuring party and they fell in love with each other during their many adventures through both the material plane and the Feylands. They returned to the Court of Blossoms when Sahanna got pregnant with Elyssa and they stayed there while raising her. Once Elyssa was old enough, they both decided to go on another adventure with a couple of their previous companions. Jorreth enlisted Bo to watch over Elyssa while they were away from the Court, this way, they could ensure that Elyssa would be safe. They would always either write and send letters back to the Court for Elyssa to read, or they would send her grandfather Sending's if the details were too violent in nature as they raised Elyssa in the safety of the Court where she has only had experience with some entry level martial combat training. During this time, Bo would take care of Elyssa and started introducing her to how the Court of Blossoms functioned and what he took care of as Herald of the Lower Court. He also helped in teaching her the ways of the Feylands. Elyssa enjoyed spending time with her Grandpa, eventually copying his seasons and picking up on some of his habits. She also enjoyed pranking her grandfather while he was at work as she always found his fake anger towards her entertaining as long as she didn't take her pranks too far. Bo was a doting grandfather towards Elyssa during this time.

However, the letters and the Sending's stopped after they mentioned that they were leaving the Feylands for the Material Plane. After a while, Bo sent a group from the Court to try and find Jorreth and Sahanna as he was getting worried. He did not tell Elyssa at the time though that they had stopped sending messages, and told her some lies, such as that they were doing fine and having some issues with sending messages, to keep Elyssa happy. However, those lies were only bandages, and bandages have to come off eventually. The group that Bo sent eventually returned without finding anything. They went to the last know location of the Aetas's adventuring group, but found no signs of anything, almost like they just up and disappeared.

Bo continued to keep this a secret from Elyssa, and over time, Elyssa started to catch on that something wasn't right with what her grandfather was saying and what she observed and overheard from his meetings with his colleagues. Elyssa eventually confronted her grandfather and demanded that he explain what is going on with her parents. Elyssa kept on confronting her grandfather whenever she found him alone. Eventually, Bo sat Elyssa down one evening and let her know that they stopped receiving messages from her parents a while back and that people have tried searching for them, but they could not be found. Elyssa then fell into a spiral of emotions, trying to process what her grandfather had just revealed to her. She went from confusion to rage to sadness to betrayal, and then back to the beginning. Her whole world was coming crashing down around her. And in this process, without realizing what she was doing, her seasons started changing rapidly from the heat and anger of the summer sun to the cold depths of sadness in the winter snow. This was being caused by her tapping into a source of Wild Magic that was previously unfamiliar to her. Caught up in her flashing seasons and emotions, she snapped and sent a punch towards her grandfather, who through all of this, was sitting across from her with a sad look in his eyes and a frown on his face. The punch however was no normal punch, but was a very elementary version of what would later become Elyssa's personal spell "Season's Greetings", and the punch carried a mix of fire and ice energy from the seasons she was flashing between. The punch hit Bo, but did not do much besides emit a small puff of smoke. However, Bo saw this as something else entirely, as he had never witnessed somebody tapping into the Wild Magic for the first time, nor has he seen an Eladrin rapidly flash between seasons so quickly. And so, in an attempt to protect Elyssa from possibly harming herself, he quickly knocked her out which stopped her seasons from rapidly changing and allowing them to settle down into Winter. This also caused her connection to Wild Magic to weaken and settle down so nothing crazy happened.

Elyssa was down for the next couple of days and woke finding Bo sitting next to her bed. She immediatley began trying to remember what happened only to remember hearing that her parents are gone, possibly for good. Bo notices that Elyssa wakes up and goes to comfort her as he saw that she was about to start crying again, but Elyssa slaps his hand away and fey steps out of the room and runs out of Bo's home, running away blindly due to her tears that are rapidly forming. She eventually runs back to her home with her parents and hides away in her parents closet. This was where she would always hide whenever she and her parents would play hide and seek while growing up. Subconciously, she probably hid there in the hopes that her parents would be the ones to open the door and find her there; however, that wouldn't be happening. And unbeknownst to her, Bo followed her after waiting for a little and was sitting on the floor in the main living area of the house. Elyssa remained in the closet crying and hugging her legs in a fetal possition until she eventually passed out due to emotional exhaustion. When she woke up, she found that she was still in her parents closet, but there was a plate of food and some water set in front of her with a note that read:

"Elyssa, I am truly sorry about your parents, I feel like I have failed them as well as you for not being able to rectify this and be there them in their time of need. However, I will not let that repeat, which is why I want to let you know that I am here for you in this time of need. I want you to know that keeping this from you was one of the hardest things that I have ever done and that I apologize for hiding it from you for so long. I understand if you are upset and angry with me and dont want to talk to me. That is why I am letting you know that you can stay here for as long as you need, and there is no rush. Things like this take time and space to process and everyone goes through this differently. I have left you some extra clothes, plenty of preserved meals, and some barrels of water for your use. So please, take your time and understand how you feel, you know where to find me if you would like to talk. Love, Grandpa Bo."

After reading the note, Elyssa crumpled the note into a ball and then threw it along with the tray of food and water at a wall of the closet. She then began venting her emotions, crying, screaming, punching walls, tearing at her own clothes. This went on for another day or two before she physically ran out of energy and needed some food and water. She then found the clothing, preserved food, and water that Bo left her along with another letter and a wooden quarter staff that had a couple of colored gemstones resting in its wood at the one end. She glared at the note and the staff, not wanting anything more than the essentials that was related to Bo. So, without even reading the letter, she crumpled it up, threw it away, and ignored the staff. She then reluctantly ate some food, drank some water, and changed her clothes. Afterwards, Elyssa spent the next couple of days just exhisting in her parents home. She didnt talk, she didn't scream, she didn't even cry, cause frankly she was afraid to because she didn't know if she would be able to stop. It should also be mentioned that she has been in her Winter form since she woke up in her parents closet. She would occasionally walk around their home, but would never enter her parents room, nor would she go outside. After a couple more days of doing this, she eventually ran out of the preserved food and water that Bo had left for her. With nothing else to do, and with being bored of just exhisting, Elyssa went and retreieved the unread, crumpled up letter that she threw away days ago. This letter read:

"Elyssa, I know you probably wont read this right away, and thats okay. Please, take your time. I just thought that I should inform you of something that I am unsure if you are aware of or not. The other day, when I informed you of your parents being missing, I noticed that there was a strange occurance in the natural arcane energy that is everpresent around us. The arcane energy felt like it was moving like it would when one casts a spell, but not as organized and predictable as what I would expect. I don't fully expect you to understand what I am saying and that is okay. But if my suspicions are correct, I think, that during your time of emotional turmoil, you awakened a talent within yourself related to Wild Magic. It is a classification of magic that falls under sorcerery where the caster is drawing in raw, untamed arcane energy to fuel their spells. This use of "unfiltered" arcane energy can lead to what is commonly referred to as Wild Magic Surges. These surges are unpredictable and can lead to random magical effects. I understand that you may not listen to my warnings, but I recommend not trying to perform any magic without a seniors supervision. I have left a beginners focus staff for you, please keep it with you at all times, '''especially''' if you try and tap into your arcane connection. Love Grandpa Bo.

P.S. if you have run out of food and water before feeling like you are ready to see me, I have told the local vendor to expect a visit from you and that I will cover anything you ask him for."

Reading this letter, Elyssa couldn't help but drop her jaw in realizing that she has access to magic! She regains control of her jaw and closes it into a faint smile. The first one in a week since she found out about her parents from her grandpa. However, that thought immediatley shuts her mood down and she glares at the letter again before putting it down and walking away. She doesnt get far before her stomach growls to her stating that she still hasn't resolved her issue of being out of food. And so, she walks over to the table, and grabs the staff left for her by Bo and walks out the house, also for the first time in a while. She puts the hood on her shawl over her head to protect herself from the beating sun that is high in the sky. Quickly blinking and squinting her eyes to try and acclimate to being outside during the day, she begins to walk down the street to the vendor that her grandpa informed her about. She was familiar with this vendor as she would go on trips to visit him with her parents whenever they needed to pick up supplies.

Elyssa eventually gets to the vendors building.She did notice a couple of people looking in her direction, but never for long as she would always glare right back at them as if they had done something wrong by looking at her, or in her direction. What she didnt notice however, was the shadow that was jumping across the rooftops following her progress as she walked down the street. Having seen her reach the vendors building, the shadow eventually stopped and sent a Sendings to Herald Bo, letting him know that Elyssa left the house with her staff and went to the vendor. Bo responded shortly after, confirming that he got the message and asked for him to stay watching and guarding Elyssa from the shadows, and to not allow himself to be discovered by her. With that, the he dropped the spell and went back to watching the vendors store. *Elsewhere, we can see Bo sitting at his office desk, with a small sad smile on his face as he continued writing a message for the rest of the members of the Lower Court.* Eventually, Elyssa came out of the vendors building with a small wagon that had a barrel of water, and a bunch of preserved foods, along with a bunch of other non-essential items. The vendor then followed her out with another wagon that had even more items on it becasue if Elyssa was one thing at this moment, she was pety and since her grandpa was covering her spendings at the vendors, she would make him feel it. Elyssa and the vendor took the loaded up wagons back to her parents house, unknowingly still being followed by her grandpas scout, where they unloaded everything. The vendor then left after confirming that she would be okay by herself and that he would be billing the Herald the following day. Elyssa then spent the following couple of days organizing the stuff she got from the vendor and getting the house back into a presentable shape as it was still in a bit of disarray from before she left for the vendor. Elyssa still kept the staff from Bo with her, or at least nearby while cleaning the house up. Bo kept on receiving updates on his granddaughter through the following week and would smile when he was informed that Elyssa seems to have dug herself out of her emotional hole that was formed by the knowledge that her parents are missing and possibly dead. However, things changed when he was informed that she might be starting to tap into her arcane source.

== Languages ==
Elyssa knows how to speak Common, Elvish, and Sylvan

== Powers and Abilities ==
Elyssa is a Wild Magic Sorcerer, so with her present in battle, anything can happen at any time.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Disclaimer: Elyssa Aetas's Wild Magic can often lead to extraordinary and unpredictable magical events. While under control, they can be an asset, they also come with the risk of Wild Magic surges which can result in unexpected and uncontrollable magical effects.*

Key Points to Remember:

# Unpredictability: Wild magic surges can occur at any time, often triggered by Elyssa’s spellcasting. The effects are random and can range from beneficial to chaotic.
# Stay Alert: Always be prepared for the unexpected. Keep a safe distance when Elyssa is casting spells, and be ready to adapt to any sudden changes in the environment or circumstances.
# Support and Understanding: Elyssa is doing her best to control her powers. Your patience, support, and understanding are crucial. Encourage her and help manage any unintended consequences of her magic.
# Safety First: In the event of a wild magic surge, prioritize the safety of the party. Work together to mitigate any negative effects and protect each other.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
Elyssa will frequently rely on her connection to the Wild Magic to spell cast. Her current favorite spells are Mage Hand (for pranks) and Season's Greetings, a cantrip that she made with the help of her grandfather, Bo Aetas.

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Elyssa Aetas

2024-10-15T20:59:42Z

Doublecheese247: Added more character history to Elyssa's page. (this is fun lol and im bored at work)

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Court of Blossoms|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=-ai-Elyssa_Mix_Oasis.jpeg|caption=Elyssa Aetas embracing all four seasons|playerName=Connor Schroll|relatives=Grandfather: Lower Court Herald Bo Aetas
Father: Jorreth Aetas
Mother: Sahanna Aetas|languages=Common, Elvish, Sylvan|marital=Single|birthPlace=Court of Blossoms|species=Elidran|gender=Female|height=5' 4"|weight=80 lbs}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a young Eladrin who has recently discovered her talent with Wild Magic Sorcery.

== Physical Appearance ==
Elyssa is a young female Eladrin. She normally keeps her hair in a long single braid that will go down her back. Her skin, hair, and eye colors all change with whatever season she is embracing. In Spring, her skin will be a pale green, her eyes are a deep emerald, and her hair is a mix of light and dark greens that look similar to the color of freshly cut grass. In Summer, her skin turns to a pale yellow color, her eyes turn a deep yellow, and her hair takes on the shine of a piece of gold under then sun. In Fall, her yellow colors turn darker and settle down into a mix of reds, oranges, and browns. Her skin becomes a pale orange red color, her eyes shine like freshly found amber, and her hair takes on the color of falling leaves. In winter all of her color change into cooling shades of blue, black, and white. Her skin becomes a pale blue to the point where you would think she has frostbite, her eyes become a dark, deep blue that would remind one of looking down an endless well, and her hair becomes a mix of white and grey that would result in the look of a fresh layer of snow on a calm winters day.

Elyssa also cares about her appearances and has multiple sets of clothing in the different colors of the season so that she is always matching. You will also always find Elyssa carrying a wooden quarterstaff with her. The quarterstaff was a present from her grandfather for awakening her talent with Wild Magic. The quarterstaff is simple overall and only has a couple gemstones going around the ends of the quarterstaff in the colors of Elyssa's seasons.

== Pictures/AI Art/Models ==

== Personality ==
Elyssa's personality will change with the seasons she is embracing at the time. However, there are common threads that remain rooted in who she is. She has always been adventurous and enjoys having fun, while also being compassionate and caring. While in Spring, you can find Elyssa being more energetic and rebellious, often playing pranks on her grandfather. In the Summer, she embraces the suns heat and strives to perform her trainings and duties up to her grandfathers standards. When Fall approaches, Elyssa slows herself down and lets herself take in everything that is happening around her in the Court of Blossoms. She becomes more easy going and tries to maintain a sense of peace wherever she goes. When Winter hits, Elyssa often keeps more to herself and becomes more thoughtful of her sense of self and how she interacts with others. This is the season that Elyssa spends the least amount of time in while Spring is her favorite season to embrace due to its blooming life.

== History ==
Elyssa was born to her mother Sahanna Aetas and her father Jorreth Aetas, son of Herald Bo Aetas. Her parents met in an adventuring party and they fell in love with each other during their many adventures through both the material plane and the Feylands. They returned to the Court of Blossoms when Sahanna got pregnant with Elyssa and they stayed there while raising her. Once Elyssa was old enough, they both decided to go on another adventure with a couple of their previous companions. Jorreth enlisted Bo to watch over Elyssa while they were away from the Court, this way, they could ensure that Elyssa would be safe. They would always either write and send letters back to the Court for Elyssa to read, or they would send her grandfather Sending's if the details were too violent in nature as they raised Elyssa in the safety of the Court where she has only had experience with some entry level martial combat training. During this time, Bo would take care of Elyssa and started introducing her to how the Court of Blossoms functioned and what he took care of as Herald of the Lower Court. He also helped in teaching her the ways of the Feylands. Elyssa enjoyed spending time with her Grandpa, eventually copying his seasons and picking up on some of his habits. She also enjoyed pranking her grandfather while he was at work as she always found his fake anger towards her entertaining as long as she didn't take her pranks too far. Bo was a doting grandfather towards Elyssa during this time.

However, the letters and the Sending's stopped after they mentioned that they were leaving the Feylands for the Material Plane. After a while, Bo sent a group from the Court to try and find Jorreth and Sahanna as he was getting worried. He did not tell Elyssa at the time though that they had stopped sending messages, and told her some lies, such as that they were doing fine and having some issues with sending messages, to keep Elyssa happy. However, those lies were only bandages, and bandages have to come off eventually. The group that Bo sent eventually returned without finding anything. They went to the last know location of the Aetas's adventuring group, but found no signs of anything, almost like they just up and disappeared.

Bo continued to keep this a secret from Elyssa, and over time, Elyssa started to catch on that something wasn't right with what her grandfather was saying and what she observed and overheard from his meetings with his colleagues. Elyssa eventually confronted her grandfather and demanded that he explain what is going on with her parents. Elyssa kept on confronting her grandfather whenever she found him alone. Eventually, Bo sat Elyssa down one evening and let her know that they stopped receiving messages from her parents a while back and that people have tried searching for them, but they could not be found. Elyssa then fell into a spiral of emotions, trying to process what her grandfather had just revealed to her. She went from confusion to rage to sadness to betrayal, and then back to the beginning. Her whole world was coming crashing down around her. And in this process, without realizing what she was doing, her seasons started changing rapidly from the heat and anger of the summer sun to the cold depths of sadness in the winter snow. This was being caused by her tapping into a source of Wild Magic that was previously unfamiliar to her. Caught up in her flashing seasons and emotions, she snapped and sent a punch towards her grandfather, who through all of this, was sitting across from her with a sad look in his eyes and a frown on his face. The punch however was no normal punch, but was a very elementary version of what would later become Elyssa's personal spell "Season's Greetings", and the punch carried a mix of fire and ice energy from the seasons she was flashing between. The punch hit Bo, but did not do much besides emit a small puff of smoke. However, Bo saw this as something else entirely, as he had never witnessed somebody tapping into the Wild Magic for the first time, nor has he seen an Eladrin rapidly flash between seasons so quickly. And so, in an attempt to protect Elyssa from possibly harming herself, he quickly knocked her out which stopped her seasons from rapidly changing and allowing them to settle down into Winter. This also caused her connection to Wild Magic to weaken and settle down so nothing crazy happened.

Elyssa was down for the next couple of days and woke finding Bo sitting next to her bed. She immediatley began trying to remember what happened only to remember hearing that her parents are gone, possibly for good. Bo notices that Elyssa wakes up and goes to comfort her as he saw that she was about to start crying again, but Elyssa slaps his hand away and fey steps out of the room and runs out of Bo's home, running away blindly due to her tears that are rapidly forming. She eventually runs back to her home with her parents and hides away in her parents closet. This was where she would always hide whenever she and her parents would play hide and seek while growing up. Subconciously, she probably hid there in the hopes that her parents would be the ones to open the door and find her there; however, that wouldn't be happening. And unbeknownst to her, Bo followed her after waiting for a little and was sitting on the floor in the main living area of the house. Elyssa remained in the closet crying and hugging her legs in a fetal possition until she eventually passed out due to emotional exhaustion. When she woke up, she found that she was still in her parents closet, but there was a plate of food and some water set in front of her with a note that read:

"Elyssa, I am truly sorry about your parents, I feel like I have failed them as well as you for not being able to rectify this and be there them in their time of need. However, I will not let that repeat, which is why I want to let you know that I am here for you in this time of need. I want you to know that keeping this from you was one of the hardest things that I have ever done and that I apologize for hiding it from you for so long. I understand if you are upset and angry with me and dont want to talk to me. That is why I am letting you know that you can stay here for as long as you need, and there is no rush. Things like this take time and space to process and everyone goes through this differently. I have left you some extra clothes, plenty of preserved meals, and some barrels of water for your use. So please, take your time and understand how you feel, you know where to find me if you would like to talk. Love, Grandpa Bo."

After reading the note, Elyssa crumpled the note into a ball and then threw it along with the tray of food and water at a wall of the closet. She then began venting her emotions, crying, screaming, punching walls, tearing at her own clothes. This went on for another day or two before she physically ran out of energy and needed some food and water. She then found the clothing, preserved food, and water that Bo left her along with another letter and a wooden quarter staff that had a couple of colored gemstones resting in its wood at the one end. She glared at the note and the staff, not wanting anything more than the essentials that was related to Bo. So, without even reading the letter, she crumpled it up, threw it away, and ignored the staff. She then reluctantly ate some food, drank some water, and changed her clothes. Afterwards, Elyssa spent the next couple of days just exhisting in her parents home. She didnt talk, she didn't scream, she didn't even cry, cause frankly she was afraid to because she didn't know if she would be able to stop. It should also be mentioned that she has been in her Winter form since she woke up in her parents closet. She would occasionally walk around their home, but would never enter her parents room, nor would she go outside. After a couple more days of doing this, she eventually ran out of the preserved food and water that Bo had left for her. With nothing else to do, and with being bored of just exhisting, Elyssa went and retreieved the unread, crumpled up letter that she threw away days ago. This letter read:

"Elyssa, I know you probably wont read this right away, and thats okay. Please, take your time. I just thought that I should inform you of something that I am unsure if you are aware of or not. The other day, when I informed you of your parents being missing, I noticed that there was a strange occurance in the natural arcane energy that is everpresent around us. The arcane energy felt like it was moving like it would when one casts a spell, but not as organized and predictable as what I would expect. I don't fully expect you to understand what I am saying and that is okay. But if my suspicions are correct, I think, that during your time of emotional turmoil, you awakened a talent within yourself related to Wild Magic. It is a classification of magic that falls under sorcerery where the caster is drawing in raw, untamed arcane energy to fuel their spells. This use of "unfiltered" arcane energy can lead to what is commonly referred to as Wild Magic Surges. These surges are unpredictable and can lead to random magical effects. I understand that you may not listen to my warnings, but I recommend not trying to perform any magic without a seniors supervision. I have left a beginners focus staff for you, please keep it with you at all times, '''especially''' if you try and tap into your arcane connection. Love Grandpa Bo.

P.S. if you have run out of food and water before feeling like you are ready to see me, I have told the local vendor to expect a visit from you and that I will cover anything you ask him for."

Reading this letter, Elyssa couldn't help but drop her jaw in realizing that she has access to magic! She regains control of her jaw and closes it into a faint smile. The first one in a week since she found out about her parents from her grandpa. However, that thought immediatley shuts her mood down and she glares at the letter again before putting it down and walking away. She doesnt get far before her stomach growls to her stating that she still hasn't resolved her issue of being out of food. And so, she walks over to the table, and grabs the staff left for her by Bo and walks out the house, also for the first time in a while. She puts the hood on her shawl over her head to protect herself from the beating sun that is high in the sky. Quickly blinking and squinting her eyes to try and acclimate to being outside during the day, she begins to walk down the street to the vendor that her grandpa informed her about. She was familiar with this vendor as she would go on trips to visit him with her parents whenever they needed to pick up supplies.

Elyssa eventually gets to the vendors building.She did notice a couple of people looking in her direction, but never for long as she would always glare right back at them as if they had done something wrong by looking at her, or in her direction. What she didnt notice however, was the shadow that was jumping across the rooftops following her progress as she walked down the street. Having seen her reach the vendors building, the shadow eventually stopped and sent a Sendings to Herald Bo, letting him know that Elyssa left the house with her staff and went to the vendor. Bo responded shortly after, confirming that he got the message and asked for him to stay watching and guarding Elyssa from the shadows, and to not allow himself to be discovered by her. With that, the he dropped the spell and went back to watching the vendors store. *Elsewhere, we can see Bo sitting at his office desk, with a small sad smile on his face as he continued writing a message for the rest of the members of the Lower Court.* Eventually, Elyssa came out of the vendors building with a small wagon that had a barrel of water, and a bunch of preserved foods, along with a bunch of other non-essential items. The vendor then followed her out with another wagon that had even more items on it becasue if Elyssa was one thing at this moment, she was pety and since her grandpa was covering her spendings at the vendors, she would make him feel it. Elyssa and the vendor took the loaded up wagons back to her parents house, unknowingly still being followed by her grandpas scout, where they unloaded everything. The vendor then left after confirming that she would be okay by herself and that he would be billing the Herald the following day. Elyssa then spent the following couple of days organizing the stuff she got from the vendor and getting the house back into a presentable shape as it was still in a bit of disarray from before she left for the vendor. Elyssa still kept the staff from Bo with her, or at least nearby while cleaning the house up. Bo kept on receiving updates on his granddaughter through the following week and would smile when he was informed that Elyssa seems to have dug herself out of her emotional hole that was formed by the knowledge that her parents are missing and possibly dead. However, things changed when he was informed that she might be starting to tap into her arcane source.

== Languages ==
Elyssa knows how to speak Common, Elvish, and Sylvan

== Powers and Abilities ==
Elyssa is a Wild Magic Sorcerer, so with her present in battle, anything can happen at any time.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Disclaimer: Elyssa Aetas's Wild Magic can often lead to extraordinary and unpredictable magical events. While under control, they can be an asset, they also come with the risk of Wild Magic surges which can result in unexpected and uncontrollable magical effects.*

Key Points to Remember:

# Unpredictability: Wild magic surges can occur at any time, often triggered by Elyssa’s spellcasting. The effects are random and can range from beneficial to chaotic.
# Stay Alert: Always be prepared for the unexpected. Keep a safe distance when Elyssa is casting spells, and be ready to adapt to any sudden changes in the environment or circumstances.
# Support and Understanding: Elyssa is doing her best to control her powers. Your patience, support, and understanding are crucial. Encourage her and help manage any unintended consequences of her magic.
# Safety First: In the event of a wild magic surge, prioritize the safety of the party. Work together to mitigate any negative effects and protect each other.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
Elyssa will frequently rely on her connection to the Wild Magic to spell cast. Her current favorite spells are Mage Hand (for pranks) and Season's Greetings, a cantrip that she made with the help of her grandfather, Bo Aetas.

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Elyssa Aetas

2024-10-15T12:17:24Z

Doublecheese247: Added seciton for Pictures, Added parents to Relatives section

File:-ai-Elyssa Mix Oasis.jpeg

2024-10-15T12:13:24Z

Doublecheese247:

== Licensing ==
{{ai-lic}}

Elyssa Aetas

2024-10-15T09:19:39Z

Doublecheese247: grammatical/spelling fixes

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Court of Blossoms|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=Elyssa_Mix_Oasis.jpeg|caption=Elyssa Aetas embracing all four seasons|playerName=Connor Schroll|relatives=Grandfather: Lower Court Herald Bo Aetas|languages=Common, Elvish, Sylvan|marital=Single|birthPlace=Court of Blossoms|species=Elidran|gender=Female|height=5' 4"|weight=80 lbs}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a young Eladrin who has recently discovered her talent with Wild Magic Sorcery.

== Physical Appearance ==
Elyssa is a young female Eladrin. She normally keeps her hair in a long single braid that will go down her back. Her skin, hair, and eye colors all change with whatever season she is embracing. In Spring, her skin will be a pale green, her eyes are a deep emerald, and her hair is a mix of light and dark greens that look similar to the color of freshly cut grass. In Summer, her skin turns to a pale yellow color, her eyes turn a deep yellow, and her hair takes on the shine of a piece of gold under then sun. In Fall, her yellow colors turn darker and settle down into a mix of reds, oranges, and browns. Her skin becomes a pale orange red color, her eyes shine like freshly found amber, and her hair takes on the color of falling leaves. In winter all of her color change into cooling shades of blue, black, and white. Her skin becomes a pale blue to the point where you would think she has frostbite, her eyes become a dark, deep blue that would remind one of looking down an endless well, and her hair becomes a mix of white and grey that would result in the look of a fresh layer of snow on a calm winters day.

Elyssa also cares about her appearances and has multiple sets of clothing in the different colors of the season so that she is always matching. You will also always find Elyssa carrying a wooden quarterstaff with her. The quarterstaff was a present from her grandfather for awakening her talent with Wild Magic. The quarterstaff is simple overall and only has a couple gemstones going around the ends of the quarterstaff in the colors of Elyssa's seasons.

== Personality ==
Elyssa's personality will change with the seasons she is embracing at the time. However, there are common threads that remain rooted in who she is. She has always been adventurous and enjoys having fun, while also being compassionate and caring. While in Spring, you can find Elyssa being more energetic and rebellious, often playing pranks on her grandfather. In the Summer, she embraces the suns heat and strives to perform her trainings and duties up to her grandfathers standards. When Fall approaches, Elyssa slows herself down and lets herself take in everything that is happening around her in the Court of Blossoms. She becomes more easy going and tries to maintain a sense of peace wherever she goes. When Winter hits, Elyssa often keeps more to herself and becomes more thoughtful of her sense of self and how she interacts with others. This is the season that Elyssa spends the least amount of time in while Spring is her favorite season to embrace due to its blooming life.

== History ==
Elyssa was born to her mother Sahanna Aetas and her father Jorreth Aetas, son of Herald Bo Aetas. Her parents met in an adventuring party and they fell in love with each other during their many adventures through both the material plane and the Feylands. They returned to the Court of Blossoms when Sahanna got pregnant with Elyssa and they stayed there while raising her. Once Elyssa was old enough, they both decided to go on another adventure with a couple of their previous companions. Jorreth enlisted Bo to watch over Elyssa while they were away from the Court, this way, they could ensure that Elyssa would be safe. They would always either write and send letters back to the Court for Elyssa to read, or they would send her grandfather Sending's if the details were too violent in nature as they raised Elyssa in the safety of the Court where she has only had experience with some entry level martial combat training. During this time, Bo would take care of Elyssa and started introducing her to how the Court of Blossoms functioned and what he took care of as Herald of the Lower Court. He also helped in teaching her the ways of the Feylands. Elyssa enjoyed spending time with her Grandpa, eventually copying his seasons and picking up on some of his habits. She also enjoyed pranking her grandfather while he was at work as she always found his fake anger towards her entertaining as long as she didn't take her pranks too far. Bo was a doting grandfather towards Elyssa during this time.

However, the letters and the Sending's stopped after they mentioned that they were leaving the Feylands for the Material Plane. After a while, Bo sent a group from the Court to try and find Jorreth and Sahanna as he was getting worried. He did not tell Elyssa at the time though that they had stopped sending messages, and told her some lies, such as that they were doing fine and having some issues with sending messages, to keep Elyssa happy. However, those lies were only bandages, and bandages have to come off eventually. The group that Bo sent eventually returned without finding anything. They went to the last know location of the Aetas's adventuring group, but found no signs of anything, almost like they just up and disappeared.

Bo continued to keep this a secret from Elyssa, and over time, Elyssa started to catch on that something wasn't right with what her grandfather was saying and what she observed and overheard from his meetings with his colleagues. Elyssa eventually confronted her grandfather and demanded that he explain what is going on with her parents. Elyssa kept on confronting her grandfather whenever she found him alone. Eventually, Bo sat Elyssa down one evening and let her know that they stopped receiving messages from her parents a while back and that people have tried searching for them, but they could not be found. Elyssa then fell into a spiral of emotions, trying to process what her grandfather had just revealed to her. She went from confusion to rage to sadness to betrayal, and then back to the beginning. Her whole world was coming crashing down around her. And in this process, without realizing what she was doing, her seasons started changing rapidly from the heat and anger of the summer sun to the cold depths of sadness in the winter snow. This was being caused by her tapping into a source of Wild Magic that was previously unfamiliar to her. Caught up in her flashing seasons and emotions, she snapped and sent a punch towards her grandfather, who through all of this, was sitting across from her with a sad look in his eyes and a frown on his face. The punch however was no normal punch, but was a very elementary version of what would later become Elyssa's personal spell "Season's Greetings", and the punch carried a mix of fire and ice energy from the seasons she was flashing between. The punch hit Bo, but did not do much besides emit a small puff of smoke. However, Bo saw this as something else entirely, as he had never witnessed somebody tapping into the Wild Magic for the first time, nor has he seen an Eladrin rapidly flash between seasons so quickly. And so, in an attempt to protect Elyssa from possibly harming herself, he quickly knocked her out which stopped her seasons from rapidly changing and allowing them to settle down into Winter. This also caused her connection to Wild Magic to weaken and settle down so nothing crazy happened.

== Languages ==
Elyssa knows how to speak Common, Elvish, and Sylvan

== Powers and Abilities ==
Elyssa is a Wild Magic Sorcerer, so with her present in battle, anything can happen at any time.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Disclaimer: Elyssa Aetas's Wild Magic can often lead to extraordinary and unpredictable magical events. While under control, they can be an asset, they also come with the risk of Wild Magic surges which can result in unexpected and uncontrollable magical effects.*

Key Points to Remember:

# Unpredictability: Wild magic surges can occur at any time, often triggered by Elyssa’s spellcasting. The effects are random and can range from beneficial to chaotic.
# Stay Alert: Always be prepared for the unexpected. Keep a safe distance when Elyssa is casting spells, and be ready to adapt to any sudden changes in the environment or circumstances.
# Support and Understanding: Elyssa is doing her best to control her powers. Your patience, support, and understanding are crucial. Encourage her and help manage any unintended consequences of her magic.
# Safety First: In the event of a wild magic surge, prioritize the safety of the party. Work together to mitigate any negative effects and protect each other.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
Elyssa will frequently rely on her connection to the Wild Magic to spell cast. Her current favorite spells are Mage Hand (for pranks) and Season's Greetings, a cantrip that she made with the help of her grandfather, Bo Aetas.

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

The Court of Bloom and Blade/Player Characters

2024-10-14T20:32:21Z

Doublecheese247: added link to character page for Elyssa

== The Court of Bloom and Blade Character Roster ==
~*Please do not edit or alter this table*~
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Player Name
!Discord Username
!Character Name
!Race
!Class
!Background
!Oasis/Desert
!WikiWords
|-
|Anna
|SilvariaSpitfyre
|Olara Estrel
|Firbolg
|Cleric
|
|Oasis
|
|-
|Jonathan R
|jontheteach
|Olneya
|Ironwood Piney
|Circle of the Land Druid
|
|Oasis
|
|-
|Aerin
|AerinKuroska
|[[Akari]]
|High Elf
|Paladin
|
|Oasis
|
|-
|Julia
|Lunadix
|Larkspur
|Haregon
|Barbarian
|Soldier
|Oasis
|
|-
|Connor S
|Doublecheese247
|[[Elyssa Aetas]]
|Eladrin
|Wild Magic Sorcerer
|Child of the Feywild
|Oasis
|
|-
|Keller M
|K-dawg12
|Oman “Squish”
|Tortle
|Warlock
|Courtier
|Oasis
|
|-
|Nin
|SilentDarknes
|Machi
|Water Genasi
|Bard
|Entertainer
|Oasis
|
|}

Elyssa Aetas

2024-10-14T20:30:56Z

Doublecheese247: Created Elyssa Aetas character page for Court of Bloom and Blade campaign

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Court of Blossoms|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=Elyssa_Mix_Oasis.jpeg|caption=Elyssa Aetas embracing all four seasons|playerName=Connor Schroll|relatives=Grandfather: Lower Court Herald Bo Aetas|languages=Common, Elvish, Sylvan|marital=Single|birthPlace=Court of Blossoms|species=Elidran|gender=Female|height=5' 4"|weight=80 lbs}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is a young Eladrin who has recently discovered her talent with Wild Magic Sorcery.

== Physical Appearance ==
Describe your appearance. Eye color, height, weight, hair color, particular clothing items, scars, tattoos, etc.

Elyssa is a young female Eladrin. She normally keeps her hair in a long single braid that will go down her back. Her skin, hair, and eye colors all change with whatever season she is embracing. In Spring, her skin will be a pale green, her eyes are a deep emerald, and her hair is a mix of light and dark greens that look similar to the color of freshly cut grass. In Summer, her skin turns to a pale yellow color, her eyes turn a deep yellow, and her hair takes on the shine of a piece of gold under then sun. In Fall, her yellow colors turn darker and settle down into a mix of reds, oranges, and browns. Her skin becomes a pale orange red color, her eyes shine like freshly found amber, and her hair takes on the color of falling leaves. In winter all of her color change into cooling shades of blue, black, and white. Her skin becomes a pale blue to the point where you would think she has frostbite, her eyes become a dark, deep blue that would remind one of looking down an endless well, and her hair becomes a mix of white and grey that would result in the look of a fresh layer of snow on a calm winters day.

Elyssa also cares about her appearances and has multiple sets of clothing in the different colors of the season so that she is always matching. You will also always find Elyssa carrying a wooden quarterstaff with her. The quarterstaff was a present from her grandfather for awakening her talent with Wild Magic. The quarterstaff is simple overall and only has a couple gemstones going around the ends of the quarterstaff in the colors of Elyssa's seasons.

== Personality ==
Elyssas personality will change with the seasons she is embracing at the time. However, there are common threads that remain rooted in who she is. She has always been adventurous and enjoys having fun, while also being compassionate and caring. While in Spring, you can find Elyssa being more energetic and rebellious, often playing pranks on her grandfather. In the Summer, she embraces the suns heat and strives to perform her trainings and duties up to her grandfathers standards. When Fall approaches, Elyssa slows herself down and lets herself take in everything that is happening around her in the Court of Blossoms. She becomes more easy going and tries to maintain a sense of peace wherever she goes. When Winter hits, Elyssa often keeps more to herself and becomes more thoughtful of her sense of self and how she interacts with others. This is the season that Elyssa spends the least amout of time in while Spring is her favorite season to embrace due to its blooming life.

== History ==
Elyssa was born to her mother Sahanna Aetas and her father Jorreth Aetas, son of Herald Bo Aetas. Her parents met in an adventuring party and they fell in love with each other during their many adventrues through both the material plane and the feylands. They returned to the Court of Blossoms when Sahanna got pregnant with Elyssa and they stayed there while raising her. Once Elyssa was old enough, they both decided to go on another adventure with a couple of their previous companions. Jorreth enlisted Bo to watch over Elyssa while they were away from the Court, this way, they could ensure that Elyssa would be safe. They would always either write and send letters back to the Court for Elyssa to read, or they would send her grandfather Sendings if the details were too violent in nature as they raised Elyssa in the safety of the Court where she has only had experience with some entry level martial combat training. During this time, Bo would take care of Elyssa and started introducing her to how the Court of Blossoms functioned and what he took care of as Herald of the Lower Court. He also helped in teaching her the ways of the Feyland. Elyssa enjoyed spending time with her Grandpa, eventually copying his seasons and picking up on some of his habits. She also enjoyed pranking her grandfather while he was at work as she always found his fake anger towards her entertaining as long as she didnt take her pranks too far. Bo was a doting grandfather towards Elyssa during this time.

However, the letters and the Sendings stopped after they mentioned that they were leaving the Feywilds for the Material Plane. After a while, Bo sent a group from the Court to try and find Jorreth and Sahanna as he was getting worried. He did not tell Elyssa at the time though that they had stopped sending messages, and told her some lies, such as that they were doing fine and having some issues with sending messages, to keep Elyssa happy. However, those lies were only bandaids, and bandaids have to come off eventually. The group that Bo sent evenually returned without finding anything. They went to the last know location of the Aetas's adventuring group, but found no signs of anything, almost like they just up and dissapeared.

Bo continued to keep this a secret from Elyssa, and over time, Elyssa started to catch on that something wasnt right with what her grandfather was saying and what she observed and overheard from his meetings with his colleagues. Elyssa eventually confronted her grandfather and demanded that he explain what is going on with her parents. Elyssa kept on confronting her grandfather whenever she found him alone. Eventually, Bo sat Elyssa down one evening and let her know that they stopped receiving messages from her parents a while back and that people have tried searching for them, but they could not be found. Elyssa then fell into a spiral of emotions, trying to process what her grandfather had just revealed to her. She went from confusion to rage to sadness to betrayal, and then back to the beginning. Her whole world was coming crashing down around her. And in this process, without realizing what she was doing, her seasons started changing rapidly from the heat and anger of the summer sun to the cold depths of saddness in the winter snow. This was being caused by her tapping into a source of Wild Magic that was previously unfamiliar to her. Caught up in her flashing seasons and emotions, she snapped and sent a punch towards her grandfather, who through all of this, was sitting across from her with a sad look in his eyes and a frown on his face. The punch however was no normal punch, but was a very elementary version of what would later become Elyssa's personal spell "Season's Greetings", and the punch carried a mix of fire and ice energy from the seasons she was flashing between. The punch hit Bo, but did not do much besides emit a small puff of smoke. However, Bo saw this as something else entirely, as he had never witnessed somebody tapping into the Wild Magic for the first time, nor has he seen an Eladrin rapidly flash between seasons so quickly. And so, in an attempt to protect Elyssa from possibly harming herself, he quickly knocked her out which stopped her seasons from rapidly changing and allowing them to settle down into Winter. This also caused her connection to Wild Magic to weaken and settle down so nothing crazy happened.

== Languages ==
Elyssa knows how to speak Common, Elvish, and Sylvan

== Powers and Abilities ==
Elyssa is a Wild Magic Sorcerer, so with her present in battle, anything can happen at any time.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Disclaimer: Elyssa Aetas's Wild Magic can often lead to extraordinary and unpredictable magical events. While under control, they can be an asset, they also come with the risk of Wild Magic surges which can result in unexxpected and uncontrollable magical effects.*

Key Points to Remember:

# Unpredictability: Wild magic surges can occur at any time, often triggered by Elyssa’s spellcasting. The effects are random and can range from beneficial to chaotic.
# Stay Alert: Always be prepared for the unexpected. Keep a safe distance when Elyssa is casting spells, and be ready to adapt to any sudden changes in the environment or circumstances.
# Support and Understanding: Elyssa is doing her best to control her powers. Your patience, support, and understanding are crucial. Encourage her and help manage any unintended consequences of her magic.
# Safety First: In the event of a wild magic surge, prioritize the safety of the party. Work together to mitigate any negative effects and protect each other.

== Attacks and Weapons ==
Elyssa will frequently rely on her connection to the Wild Magic to spellcast. Her current favorite spells are Mage Hand (for pranks) and Season's Greetings, a cantrip that she made with the help of her grandfather, Bo Aetas.

[[Category:Player Characters]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

The Court of Bloom and Blade/Player Characters

2024-10-14T15:43:12Z

Doublecheese247: Added Elyssa's last name

== The Court of Bloom and Blade Character Roster ==
~*Please do not edit or alter this table*~
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Player Name
!Discord Username
!Character Name
!Race
!Class
!Background
!Oasis/Desert
!WikiWords
|-
|Anna
|SilvariaSpitfyre
|Olara Estrel
|Firbolg
|Cleric
|
|Oasis
|
|-
|Jonathan R
|jontheteach
|Olneya
|Ironwood Piney
|Circle of the Land Druid
|
|Oasis
|
|-
|Aerin
|AerinKuroska
|[[Akari]]
|High Elf
|Paladin
|
|Oasis
|
|-
|Julia
|Lunadix
|Larkspur
|Haregon
|Barbarian
|Soldier
|Oasis
|
|-
|Connor S
|Doublecheese247
|Elyssa Aetas
|Eladrin
|Sorcerer
|Child of the Feywild
|Oasis
|
|}

The Court of Blossoms

2024-10-14T11:49:44Z

Doublecheese247: Added last name to Herald Bo of the Lower Court in the Court of Blossoms

== The Archfey ==
'''Queen Cherise''' (she/her) is the archfey and leader of the Court of Blossoms. She maintains a primarily cheery mode and spreads flowers and the scent of spring with her every step. Since her time as just a mere fairy, she grew in wisdom and kindness, but never lost her chaotic spark. She carefully chose and raised her court by hand to maintain the Oasis and bring relief to weary travelers in the Pterran Desert. She is suspicious of anything infernal or abyssal in nature and tends to keep away from those with inherited firey traits.

== The High Court ==
'''Chamberlain Bella''' (she/her), a satyr

'''Chancellor Galeb''' (they/them), a joshua tree piney

'''Chaplain Draco''' (he/him), a firbolg

== The Low Court ==
'''Cofferer Paeonia''' (she/her), a pixie

'''Herald Bo Aetas''' (he/him), a summer eladrin

'''Keeper of the Seal''' '''Rhyza''' (she/her)''',''' a naiad

'''Master of the Horse Apocynae''' (he/him), a centaur

'''Master of the Hunt Wolfsbane''' (he/him)''',''' a jackalope haregon

'''Standard Bearer Flora''' (she/her), a chinkara alseid

== The Attendants ==
'''Durward''' '''Buttercup''' (she/her), a desert adjusted drow

'''Falconer Helika''' (they/them), a lampad

'''Ladies-In-Waiting Erica, Rae, Fergie''', a trio of gnomish sisters

'''Page Phylla''' (she/her), a sprite

'''Royal Fool Jaqmanie''' (he/him), a bison minotaur

== The Knights ==
A mix of Fairie Dragons and Dryads, they are:

* Sir Pommelo, Fairie Dragon
* Dame Celementine, Fairie Dragon
* Sir Tangelo, Dryad
* Ser Loquat, Dryad
* Dame Nance, Dryad
* Dame Persimmon, Dryad
* Sir Rambutan, Fairie Dragon

Valdos

2024-09-24T18:35:09Z

Doublecheese247: Added write up of session for Valdos Page

Valdos

2024-09-23T20:57:05Z

Doublecheese247: Added write up of session for Valdos Page

List of Quelmar Spells

2024-08-29T19:25:24Z

Doublecheese247: Added Season's Greetings Cantrip

{{Worldbuilders}}{{Quelmar Specifc}}{{Expand list}}
This is a list of magical spells invented or otherwise engineered by [[Quelmar]] natives.

== [[Onomancy|Read Name]] ==
Divination Cantrip

'''Casting Time:''' 1 action

'''Range:''' 60 feet

'''Components:''' S

'''Duration:''' Instantaneous

You learn the given name of 1 creature within range.

== [[Onomancy|Read Titles]] ==
3rd-Level Divination

'''Casting Time:''' 1 minute

'''Range:''' 60 feet

'''Components:''' S

'''Duration:''' Instantaneous

You learn 1d12 titles, achievements, nicknames, military ranks, and other important names given to a creature within range over their course of their past history.

'''At Higher Levels: '''You learn an additional 1d12 titles for each additional level this spell is cast at.

== Spell-Storage from Memories ==
9th''-Level Enchantment''

'''Casting Time:''' 24 Hours

'''Range:''' Self

'''Components:''' V, S, M (a memory and a magically chargeable item)

'''Duration:''' Instantaneous

''Invented by Archmage [[Nimz]]''

This spell is capable of converting chronologically recorded instances of magical events, such as watching someone cast a spell, and interpreting those memories in the form of an item. This spell allows the caster to imbue one scroll, wand, staff, or other item with 1d4 charges of a spell that the caster has personally witnessed before. Once imbued, the caster forgets that immediate memory, and the item is charged.

In addition, if the caster instead uses memories of non-magical events, such as a campfire or a flood, the spell can map the memories to a relatable charging at the DM's discretion. (More often than not, the memory will be interpreted wrong, so instead of a spell hoping to recreate the boulder attacks of giants, it becomes instead a spell of "Enhanced Strength", mapping the giant's strength and not the boulder attack itself.)

== [[Elza|Elzanque-El]]'s Glyph of Debitas ==
''6th-level abjuration''

'''Casting Time''': 1 hour

'''Range''': Touch

'''Components''': V, S, M (ink or pigment for the inscription, 1 ounce of magnetized iron and 200 powdered gold pieces, which the spell consumes)

'''Duration''': Until dispelled

''Invented by [[Elza]]''

As you cast this spell, you inscribe a glyph of debitas on or within an object you are holding, similarly to the symbol spell. The object should be one which can be easily stowed or hidden, such as a small card or plaque, a blank page in a book, or a piece of jewelry. If you attempt to cast this spell on an object that already has magical properties of any kind(including a curse or another spell such as symbol or glyph of warding) it fails with a puff of silver smoke, and does not consume the materials required. A glyph of debitas can be no more than 6 inches in diameter, and may be any symbol, inscription, or unique character that links to or identifies an individual with an Intelligence score of 7 or higher, who is then treated as the owner of the glyph. The glyph is nearly invisible to any creature or construct other than the owner, requiring a DC 20Intelligence (Investigation) check to see it, and a successful DC 20 Intelligence (Arcana) check once found to discern the function of the glyph. Creatures who know of this spell or the debidraw spell and have seen either of their effects before do not need to make the Intelligence (Arcana) check to discern the glyph's function. The glyph acts as a miniature gateway to a micro-[[plane]] under the jurisdiction of [[Garl Glittergold]], Gnomish god of protection, trickery, and most importantly, wealth. The gateway will only accept objects smaller than 1 foot in diameter, and it will only accept objects that can be considered forms of wealth (coins, gemstones with monetary value, etc). These may be "deposited" into the micro-plane by touching the glyph in one hand, holding the object or objects in another hand, and reciting the command word debitas.(This may be done one at a time or in lump sums by using mundane containers like small pouches or boxes.) The objects "deposited" into the micro-plane retain full value while inside. By linking themselves to a glyph of debitas, the owner enters into a contract of sorts with Garl Glittergold, who, in exchange for securing the micro-plane from thieves and other hazards, exacts a small fee every time wealth is extracted from this glyph using the debidraw spell. The glyph cannot be removed and the object it is inscribed on cannot be destroyed by non-magical means, except by the owner. Any attempt by a creature that is not the owner to non-magically remove the glyph or destroy the object it is inscribed on incurs 1 psychic damage (per attempt). This damage cannot be resisted or prevented in any way. If targeted by a dispel magic spell cast using a spell slot of 5th-level or lower, glyph of debitas also adds the owner of the glyph's proficiency modifier to the spellcasting ability check DC of dispel magic.

== [[Elza|Elzanque-El]]'s Debidraw ==
''conjuration cantrip''

'''Casting Time''': 1 action

'''Range''': Touch

'''Components''': V, S

'''Duration''': Instantaneous

''Invented by [[Elza]]''

You touch a glyph of debitas that you own and speak the command word debidraw while visualizing in your mind the exact amount and type of [[currency]] you [[wish]] to "withdraw" from the micro-plane. As long as the micro-plane inside your glyph contains the equivalent of the amount and type of currency you have visualized while casting this spell, the amount will be spoken out loud as a "confirmation" in a cackling whisper that only you can hear. Within seconds, invoking the contract between yourself and Garl Glittergold, Gnomish god of protection and wealth, the amount and type of currency appears in an appropriately-sized magical container in front of you marked with the glyph you used to cast this spell, and the equivalent of the "withdrawal" disappears from your micro-plane. The magical container is only visible to you, since it only partially exists on the [[material plane]], and disappears when emptied. If you do not empty the container within 1 minute, the glyph will disappear and the container will become non-magical and visible to all. If this happens, it still disappears when emptied. In exchange for securing the micro-plane from thieves and other hazards, Garl Glittergold's contract with you exacts a small fee every time wealth is extracted from the glyph using this spell. As this spell is cast, after the "confirmation" is heard aloud, an additional 2% of the expected "withdrawn" wealth is removed from your micro-plane, and enters into Garl's Glittering hold.

== Vision of Destiny ==
''9th-level Divination''

'''Casting Time''': 12 Hours

'''Range''': Unlimited

'''Components''': V, S, M (Something of the head, something of the thread, something of the body, and something of the dead from the target)

'''Duration''': Instantaneous

''Invented by mages at [[The Shadowfell]] for [[The Hunt for Zugs]]''

Drawing from the timeless matter of the [[Astral Plane]], the caster may open a window in the life of a target from which they have collected a variety of material components. Once the components are gathered and the ritual has been completed, the window shows the life of the target, played out in fast motion, as if their life was "flashing before" the caster's eyes. The visions consist of the moment the target was born, all the way until the target's death, only hindered by areas and enchantments of nondetection, which prevent that moment in time from being viewed.

== Swarm of Monkeys ==
''Invented by [[Doraleous]] after being begged by [[Anema E. Core|Anema ]]to tamper with summoning magics (a favorite of the [[bard]]).''

== Summon Greater Devil ==
''4th level conjuration (ritual)''

'''Casting time:''' 1 hour

'''Range''': 10 feet

'''Components:''' V, S, M''' '''(a vial of blood from a great hero
killed within the past 24 hours)

'''Duration:''' 1 hour

''Used to summon [[Belial the Devourer]] during Sparklesmas in 1251 PR.''

You utter foul words, summoning one [[devil]] by name from the [[Ten Hells]]. The devil appears in an unoccupied space you can see within range, and the devil disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.

As part of casting the spell, you can form a 5-foot-radius circle on the ground with the blood used as a material component. Using the material component in this manner consumes it when the spell ends. The circle affects the devil in the following ways: The devil can’t willingly exit the cylinder by nonmagical means. If the devil tries to use teleportation or interplanar travel to do so, it must first succeed on a Charisma saving throw. While in the circle, the devil has disadvantage on attack rolls against targets outside the circle. Targets outside the circle can’t be charmed, frightened, or possessed by the devil while it is in the circle.
== Brown Note ==
''1st level transmutation (ritual)''

'''Casting time:''' 1 action

'''Range''': 15 feet

'''Components:''' V

'''Duration:''' Instantaneous

''A special spell devised by students and faculty at [[Laergul]], where it was known as the Nota Marrone composition.''

A sudden low and dull note, painfully intense, erupts from a point of your choice within 15 feet. Each creature in a 15-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Constitution saving throw. A creature takes 1d6 force damage on a failed save and becomes poisoned until the end of its next turn. The creature takes half as much damage and no poison effect on a successful save. A creature without bowels or an intestinal tract is unaffected by this spell.

== Istishia's Sphere ==
''An aquatic spell which was a specialty of [[The Paladin]] when he was in possession of [[The Wand of the Spout]].''

''6th level transmutation (ritual)''

'''DURATION:''' 1 Minute

'''CASTING TIME:''' 1 Action

'''SCHOOL:''' Evocation

'''RANGE:''' Self

You conjure up a shimmering sphere of water and force with a 10-foot radius that surrounds you. The sphere can hover no
more than 10 feet off the ground. The sphere remains for the spell's duration.
Any creature who enters the sphere's space must make a Strength saving throw. On a successful save, a creature is
ejected from that space to the nearest unoccupied space of the creature's choice outside the sphere. A Huge or larger
creature succeeds on the saving throw automatically, and a Large or smaller creature can choose to fail it. On a failed
save, the caster can choose to restrain the creature or push it out of the sphere. At the end of each of its turns, a
restrained target can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success.
As a bonus action, the sphere can be hardened into resilient magical ice. While frozen in the ice ball, nothing—not physical
objects, energy, or other spell effects—can pass through the ice, in or out, though a creature in the sphere can breathe
there. The sphere is immune to all damage, and a creature or object inside cant be damaged by attacks or effects
originating from outside, nor can a creature inside the sphere damage anything outside it.
While in ice form, you can move the sphere up to 120 feet in a straight line as an action. If it moves over a pit, a cliff, or
other drop-off, it safely descends until it is hovering 10 feet above the ground. Any creature restrained by the sphere
moves with it. You can ram the sphere into creatures, forcing them to make a dexterity saving throw (DC 21) against
taking 4d10 bludgeoning damage, which is halved on a successful save.
The globe can be picked up and moved by other creatures.
A disintegrate spell targeting the globe destroys it without harming anything inside it.

== Tristram's Flash in the Pan ==
''Conjuration cantrip''

'''Casting time''': 1 action

'''Range''': 30 feet

'''Components''': V, S

'''Duration''': 1 round

You create a burst of powder that explodes, confusing and harming a creature within range. The target must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d4 force damage and suffer disadvantage on the first attack roll it makes before the end of your next turn. Causes Light obscurement for the square you are standing in due to the smoke puff.

This spell's damage increases by 1d4 when you reach 5th level (2d4), 11th level (3d4), and 17th level (4d4).

== Tristram's Glitter Bomb ==
''Evocation cantrip''

'''Casting time:''' 1 Action

'''Range:''' 30 feet

'''Components:''' V, S, M (a handful of glitter)

'''Duration:''' Instantaneous

You point at a creature within range, and they are assailed with a magical storm of glitter. They must make an Intelligence save or take 1d6 psychic damage and be confused, unable to take reactions until the start of their next turn. Surviving targets of this spell will find a piece or two of glitter at random intervals in random locations on themselves for the rest of their life.

At Higher Levels. The spells damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).

== Tristram's Ire ==
''Enchantment cantrip''

'''Casting time:''' 1 action

'''Range:''' 120 feet

'''Components''': V, S

'''Duration:''' Up to 1 minute

You cast a minor spell to slightly inconvenience a single creature that you can see. When you cast this spell, one of the following happens.

- You make the creature stumble – not enough that they trip or are slowed, but enough that others notice.

- You make the creature accidentally bite their tongue or the inside of their cheek.

- You make the creature temporarily forget one word and have it be on the tip of their tongue. They will remember it after one minute.

- If the creature is eating or drinking, you make them get their food or drink on their clothes.

- You make a small rock appear in their shoe.

- You magically summon a harmless fly to buzz around the creature’s head. No matter how hard the creature tries, it cannot kill the fly. After one minute, the fly disappears.

== Choke ==
''3rd-level evocation''

'''Casting time:''' 1 action

'''Range:''' 60 feet

'''Components''': V, S

'''Duration''': Concentration, up to 1 minute

You raise your hand and forcefully choke up to six creatures of your choice within range, elevating them several inches off the ground. A creature targeted by this spell must make a Constitution saving throw or take 4d6 force damage and at the beginning of your next turns and be restrained until the spell ends. On successful save, a targeted creature takes half as much damage and is not restrained. A creature may repeat this saving throw at the end of their turn to end the spell on themselves.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, its damage increases by 2d6 and you can target one more creature for each level above 3th.

== Naxxradormu's Expeditious Brewing ==
''2nd-level transmutation''

'''Casting Time:''' 10 minutes

'''Range:''' Touch

'''Components:''' V, S, M (a vial of bronze dragon’s blood which the spell consumes)

'''Duration:''' Until Dispelled

You imbue a sealed container of size medium or smaller with the time manipulating abilities of the bronze dragonflight. As long as that container remains sealed, food and drink within the container ages at twice its normal rate.

'''At Higher Levels.''' When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the rate of aging doubles for each slot level above 2nd.

== Spawn Hellfire ==
''Evocation cantrip''

'''Casting Time:''' 1 action

'''Range:''' 60 feet

'''Components:''' V, S

'''Duration:''' Instantaneous

Hellish flames reeking of sulfur sprout up at a creature that you can see within range. The scent is strong enough to be detected by creatures within 60ft, and the flames flicker and dance with an eagerness to consume. The target must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d8 fire damage. The target gains no benefit from cover for this saving throw.

'''At Higher Levels.''' The spells damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).

== Ymbtry's Blackened Hallmarks ==
''10th-Level Epic Spell''

Details are lost to history, it is known to have been invented and practiced by [[Ymbtry]], and used to send [[gods]] and [[demons]] alike to an imprisoned demiplane which would later be known as [[The BackHalls]].

It was said that creatures could still be banished to The BackHalls by incorrectly casting Imprisonment or Banishment, accidentally sending them to the wrong place...THIS wrong place.
[[Category:JAMathon 2022]]
[[Category:JAMathon]]

== Season's Greetings ==
''Evocation cantrip''

'''Casting time''': 1 action

'''Range''': 60 feet

'''Components''': V, S

'''Duration''': Instantaneous

'''Restriction''': [[Race]]/Species: [[Eladrin]]

You embrace the seasons that you are represnting as an Eladrin and the [[Feywild]] responds. You interact with nature and an elemental representation of your season affects one creature that you can see within range. The target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes 1d8 (Necrotic/Cold/Thunder/Fire) damage depending on the season you are embracing.

Autumn: Necrotic, Winter: Cold, Spring: Thunder, Summer: Fire

The spell’s damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).

Valdos

2024-08-29T19:14:17Z

Doublecheese247: added write up for 8-25 session

Valdos

2024-07-29T20:02:08Z

Doublecheese247: Added write up of session for Valdos Page

Valdos

2024-07-11T15:16:46Z

Doublecheese247: adding in notes from previous sessions

Within the Wicked Wilds/The Story So Far

2024-07-09T11:33:09Z

Doublecheese247: Correcting character name and link

{{Worldbuilders}}<center>
'''<big>This page is the campaign synopsis as told by the DMs. To read a more detailed, fun, and lengthy synopsis of the campaign, see '''[[Within the Wicked Wilds/Player Recaps]]</big>
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blqFdAneb9k&t=1s|350|right|Wicked Wilds Campaign Trailer|frame}}
{{#ev:youtube|https://youtu.be/LCUX2LjHXsU?si=CcLbmSvw02rgjEkL|350|right|Book 1 Recap|frame}}

</center>

==Book 1==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
===Book 1 Summary===
Our heroes journey out into the wild jungles of [[Amusa]] with [[The Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]] to explore and travel where no mortal has gone before. But quickly they find more then they expected: Kobold villages, massive unusual dragons, strange oozes, rabid [[gnolls]], and a fungal [[demon]] conspiracy that ties to the roots of the very continent. The first expedition of the company concludes with a massive raid on the company's camp by gnolls, Demons, and fungal cultists as the company returns to the great city of [[Galik]] with more questions than answers.

'''Notable Tags:''' [[Gnolls]], [[Thinwhistle]], [[Ooze|Oozes]], [[Old Alkinimic]], [[Xevriss]], Cultists, Mushrooms

'''Major Events:''' Establishment of the Basecamp, The Trial of the [[Sphinx|Sphinxes]], The Kidnapping at the Basecamp, The Return of [[Xevriss]], [[The Raid on the Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]]

===Session 1a: Kickoff Megagame - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Bog ===

Session Tags: Warden of the Wilds, Oblex

Characters: [[Tassa Brightfox|Tassa]] (First Session), [[Wiggler]] (First Session), [[Kamakuras]] (First Session), [[Cinder Ashtalon]] (First Session), [[Joylee]] (First Session)

DM: Dave (4/29/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Adrian Tempest]], [[The Warden of the Wilds]]

XP Gained: 4300 (990 at Level 3, 861 at Level 4, 732 at Level 5)

Important Things that Happened:

* Players left base camp and set out into a swampy region west of the base camp. No known threats were identified so it was assumed that this excursion would most likely result in an uneventful stroll through the area.
* Adrian Tempest led the group into the swamp.
* The travel was uneventful until they saw a large 15' tall figure standing in an open swamp area.
* As three of the party approached to investigate, two were attacked by large green tentacle-like creatures. The whole group engaged and began fighting the "tentacles" back. A third "tentacle" appeared as one of the first two was cut away. As the second "tentacle" was cut down a massive "head" like structure appeared and engaged the party.
* It was about this time that a cloaked figure was seen observing the party while perched on top of a toppled tree 30 feet above the swamp.
* The figure did nothing but observe as the group fought bitterly to gain the upper hand against the creature(s).
* When victory was had and the battle finished, the group looked over to see the figure now standing on the far shore of the swamp. The figure raised their hands and magical fire ignited, lighting a path out and away from the swamp. The figure then disappeared.
* Three of the group followed the lights while three stayed behind to rest and recover from the fight.
* The lights led to a small round stone cottage that looked as though it had been around for decades. It was simple, sturdy and serviceable. Light and smoke from a fire escaped from the chimney and the windows. The first group approached and knocked. They were invited in to find the individual sitting, still hooded, in front of the lit fire.
* After pleasantries were shared the individual introduced themselves as a Warden of the Wilds. They were blessed of a nature deity that had tasked them with caring for the natural order of things in this wild place. The Warden had forsaken a life among the mortal races and embraced the task given to them by their god.
* Soon enough the other three of the party made their way to the cottage. The Warden then informed the group that what they had encountered was an [[Oblex]]. These creatures are ooze like but have a special affinity of feeding on creatures memories and, if given enough time, can consume enough of a creatures memories to develop a sort of mimic of that creature. The Oblex the group defeated was one that the Warden had been battling for some time. The first sightings of Oblex in the Wardens space was some 20 years prior.
* After discussion, the group took their leave of the Warden but asked how they could contact them if need be. Though the Warden did not have an answer they said they would give it some thought. Some days later, individually wrapped gifts arrived at base camp for the group the Warden met.

===Session 1b: Kickoff Megagame - Ruins of Maddening Dreams===

Session Tags: The Green Knight, [[Perseus Company]], [[Gnolls]]

Characters: [[Lysvan]] (First Session), [[Obsidian]] (First Session), [[Amaris Luanach]] (First Session), [[Chrysaor|Chrysaor Purosis]] (First Session), [[Deralickt Dadwarf, Low Priest of the Order of Cucullin, of the Reformed Church of Bajayzus, Hisself.|Deralickt Dadwarf]] (First Session)

DM: Keller (4/29/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Lucinda Grimfold]], [[Lyowyn Mossbringer]], [[Cookie]], [[The Green Knight]], [[Bulio]]

XP Gained: 4015 (803 at Level 4, 923 at Level 3)

Important Things that Happened:
*The players depart with fellow Tempest Brother Expeditionary employees to visit the basecamp of another expeditionary group, [[Perseus Company]].
*The players soon discover a destroyed Perseus Company watchtower and deduce that the site was attack by [[Gnolls]]. They also discover a body in the tower seller full of mysterious black feathers which suddenly bursts into flames.
*When camping for the night the players on watch encounter some strange occurrences, such as the trees around them appearing to move, and strange entities watching them from beyond the tree line.
*The players arrive at the Perseus Basecamp to find it had been raided by Gnolls the day before. They discover that the camp was plagued with madness and find some of the bodies deceased due to strange unnatural causes.
*The players encounter Bulio who had concealed his cart and shop, "Bulio's Bobbles and Boons," under a large tarp. In exchange for informing Bulio of the location of the Tempest Brother's basecamp, he gifts the players with some magic items before taking his leave.
*Investigating the camp center inside a large temple, they discover survivors being held at the mercy of a band of Gnolls, all being overseen by a strange Green Knight
*The players defeat the Gnolls while the Green Knight is able to escape. The players also come into possession of the [[The Zephyr Blade|Zephyr Blade]], the strange and magical weapon of Perseus Camp's now deceased leader

===Session 1c: Kickoff Megagame - Spiders and Ichor and Ruins....oh my!===

Session Tags: Paul Fletcher, Lolth, Spiders

Characters: [[Redemption Core|Reedy]] (First Session), [[Therrin Flare]] (First Session), [[Sabbatical (character)|Sabbaticle]] (First Session), [[Paris Hilton]] (First Session), [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]] (First Session)

DM: Julia (4/29/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Paul Fletcher]]

XP Gained: 4250 (Lvl 3- 978, Lvl 4- 850, Lvl 5- 723)

Important Things that Happened:

* Paul greets all the adventurers who arrived at basecamp, and acquires the team assigned to him to clear out the southern area of the wilds near camp and to explore some proposed ruins that were claimed to be there.
* Once there, they began clearing out the rooms. The first room was fairly empty, aside from a handful of normal wolf spiders. The second room was the main chamber of the temple, with a large statue of [[Lolth]]. The statue was dusty and run down, save for her outstretched palm, which was distinctly un-dusty. Paul informs them that typically sculptures like this has a gem or tribute in her hand.
* The hallways leading off of this room was covered in webs and a dark ichor. Magical sentinel goopey spider legs manifested from the ichor and hit the players if they ran past. After fighting through, they arrive to a small room, still with the ichor, and a large nest. The party then fought the patriarch spider that resided there, the Haunter of the Night.
* After disposing of the spider, the party cut open the nest to find various dead bodies of adventurers past. The party also found a large deep red gem, which Paul took back and placed in the hand of Lolth, which causes a secret door to open, revealing a steep staircase going down. When the gem is removed, the door closes. The party took the gem, and left the temple otherwise alone.

===Session 1d: Kickoff Megagame - Kobold Khaos===

Session Tags: [[Kobold|Kobolds]], [[Thinwhistle]], [[Thelrya]]

Characters: [[22]], [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda]], [[Nassir Tycho]], [[Neru]], [[Rina]]

DM: Aaron (4/29/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Bjorn Shattershield]], [[Chief Thrax]], [[Hunk]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 1058, XP at level 4: 920

Important Things that Happened:
*[[Bjorn Shattershield]] sends the group to the west of the basecamp to investigate what seems to be a village of [[Kobold|Kobolds]]. The group arrive at the village, named [[Thinwhistle]], and are greeted by the guards of the village. The group talks their way in civilly and meet with the leader, [[Chief Thrax]].
*They are lead by Thrax through the village that was recently attacked. Thrax explains their has been a new ravenous apex predator that has moved into the area and has started a turf war with the existing apex. The group gets the location of the nest of the current Apex and sets out with some Kobolds from Thinwistle as backup. After inspection of the nesting grounds the group is attacked by scavenger guard drakes. During the combat the Apex dinosaur Anjanath comes back to its nest. The group fights valiantly against the monster and all the kobolds except one is killed. The surviving kobold named [[Hunk]] stood his own against two of the guard drakes and is carried off to safety and healed by the group. As they leave, another dinosaur, the Deviljho, attacks Anjanath and begins to devour it.
*The group heads back to Thinwhistle and reports the events. Thrax takes them down to the hatchery to show the adventurers what they helped save. On the hatchery wall is a faded mural of what appears to be Kobolds depicted as kings ruling above other races....the Kobolds ancestral home of [[Thelrya]].

===Session 2: Curious Company ===

Session Tags: The Collector, Jack of Hearts

Characters: [[Black Jack]] (First Session), [[Nester Spitemore]] (First Session), [[Kompi]] (First Session), [[Dragonett]] (First Session), [[Marion Ette]] (First Session), [[Juno]] (First Session), [[Dothand Raki]] (First Session),

DM: Keller (5/1/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Cookie]], [[Velemar Decrye]], [[The Collector]], [[Jack of Hearts]]

XP Gained: 5040 (911 at Level 3, 792 at Level 4, 673 at Level 5)

Important Things that Happened:
*The Tempest Brother's Expeditionary Company is contacted by a powerful and mysterious aristocrat by the name of the Collector to recover a specific tome for him out in the wilds, a First Edition copy of ''[[A Cosmos Compendium: An Academic's Guide to Quelmar Starcharting]]''. He meets with the players and provides them with a map and a key to the cavern where it is held.
*The players depart into the jungle and continue their trek into the night, where they spot a small campfire in the distance. While some players remaining in hiding, the rest of the party meet the charismatic Jack of Hearts and his band of adventurers. Jack of Hearts' crew included the individuals going by the names of [[Malakar the Maleficent|Malakar]], [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Theta|Theta]], [[Yellana Eedryll]], [[Titan]], [[Tini]], and [[Wren]], along with two of the Pentulven Brothers.
*After the players leave, they discover that some of them were dosed with a sleeping poison and that Jack of Hearts had stolen the map and the key. Rushing to the cavern where the book is said to be, the player's find that Jack of Hearts and his team had already completed most of the dungeon themselves.
*The party pursues the thieves to the final room where the book is held and engage them in combat, only for the tome's guardian, a massive blue [[Behir]] by the name of Grimlight, to attack. The beast entered combat by consuming one of the Penulven Brothers and casting Greater Invisibility on themselves.
*The players came to a soft truce with Jack of Hearts and his team to defeat the Behir, and eventually came to the deal that the players could take the book as long as Jack of Hearts got to keep the treasure from the cave.
*On their way back to camp the player's discovered that the book had strange vertigo-inducing effects before handing it over to the Collector. Before he left the Collector revealed that he had also been responsible for hiring Jack of Hearts to retrieve the book.

=== Session 3: All That Glitters... ===
Session Tags: Dinosaurs, Magic, Arc

Characters: [[Helli Aliosh|Helli]], [[Sabbatical (character)|Sabbatical]], [[Marion Ette|Marion]], [[Hermes Purrnes|Hermes]], Neru, [[p'Rahp]]

DM: Julia (5/10/23)

Important NPCs: [[Arc]]

XP Gained: 4,370 (lvl 3- 838, lvl 4- 728, lvl 5- 619)

Important Things that Happened:
*Arc summoned several of the hired adventurers to discuss their current mission. They previously sent three teams of their personal research assistants also employed by the Tempest Brothers over the last few weeks. They have not returned, thus they're now sending more capable adventurers.
*Their research showed that the base came and surrounding areas are on a prominent area of a ley line. The local wildlife and animals can be affected by it. Arc wanted to note the effects that this could have.
*The party started exploring the jungle, looking for any sign of the teams, or anything that may be useful to Arc's research. Eventually the party splits in two, with Sabbatical, Helli, and p'Rahp started looking for bodies in the general area, while Hermes, Neru, and Marion investigated a clearing up ahead.
*The group looking for (non) survivors found several bodies, some of which had interesting damage marks on them, such as branching fractal patterns and burn marks. they looted the bodies for money, notebooks, and took the partial plate armor off of one of them.
*The other group entered a clearing with quartz crystalline gravel. In the middle of the clearing was a strange glowing tree, with unknown flowers and fruit. The group decided to harvest some of the flowers and fruit. Marion decided to saw off a branch of the tree, causing the glowing to pulsate.
*The pulsing summoned an arcane dinosaur who could shoot poison quills. The other half of the party came back and decided to fight. As the fighting went on, another arcane creature appeared, this one being able to summon and call lightning. Once they killed the poison dinosaur, a flying fire engulfed one came to the fight, and started attacking both the party and the remaining lightning dinosaur.
*Hermes decided to run back to camp. Eventually, the party fled away from the clearing, waited for the fire dinosaur to fly away, and then went back to the clearing to harvest the dinosaur parts. they took a short rest before making it back to camp.

=== Session 4: River Me Timbers ===
Session Tags: River, Crocodiles

Characters: [[Dickweedus]], [[Lysvan]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler|Finny]], [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll|Yewvane]], [[Twilsby Pendergras|Twilsby]], [[Millar]]

DM: Julia (5/20/23)

Important NPCs: Billiam

XP Gained: 4700 ( lvl 3 -976 lvl 4 -848 lvl 5 -721 )

Important Things that Happened:
*Players were enlisted in the camp by [[Lyowyn Mossbringer|Lyowyn's]] assistant, Billiam. He informs the players that much of the leadership was busy with their own tasks and he was tasked with investigating this problem.
*One of the main rivers that provided fresh water to camp was highly polluted with half eaten fish, chum, and bones. The party was assigned with going up river and finding the cause, and solving it.
*Along the bank of the river, some of the players observe orangey-red glowing mushrooms along the bank. Finny flies off and gathers some in his pack. The mushrooms are extremely warm to touch. Lysvan used their innate knowledge of the wilds to note that they may be connected with Hellfire in some way.
*The players eventually row up to a large, wide, still water area. They pull the boat ashore, and notice some creatures in the water. They throw pebbles and two mutant sea snakes with humanoid faces pop up and attack them. Two normal crocodiles come soon after, attracted by the noise and commotion.
*After contending with both the snakes and the crocodiles, the patriarch of the clan, a large crocodile with humanoid arms. It attempts to grapple several members of the party, before getting a steady hold on Ratchet and tries to drag him into the water. Lysvan uses their fire spirit to teleport Rachet out of the gators mouth and onto the boat, where Millar was waiting. The Gator makes a lunge at Millar, while its tail smacks Ratchet, ultimately killing him.
*They players do remain triumphant, killing all the creatures and resetting the river back to its natural state.

=== Session 5: Slim Pickins' ===
Session Tags: Adeline Hatchic, The Red Macaw

Characters: [[Chrysaor]], [[Nassir Tycho]], [[Obsidian]], [[Felix Francis Fitzgerald]] (First Session), [[Amaris Luanach]], [[Lowkey]] (First Session)

DM: Keller (5/21/23)

Important NPCs: [[Adeline Hatchic]]

XP Gained: 4,000 (lvl 3- 767, lvl 4- 667, lvl 5- 567)

Important Things that Happened:
*The players are called together by the Head of Mechanics at the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]], [[Adeline Hatchic]], to interview potential applicants to serve as the crew of The Red Macaw, one of the company's two main airships. In return for vouchers at Nettle's Soup Stand, the players would have to interview all potential applicants for each position, and decide on a Captain, First Mate, Engineer, navigator, and a Cook for the ship.
*As the player's met with the applicants at a location outside the basecamp, they were met with an array of colorful, quirky, and strange individuals all interested in working for the company. This included such strange individuals as a blind ship captain with two eyepatches, two hook hands, and two peg legs, a [[Nothic]] who carried with them a bag of magical trinkets, a snooty and angry world class chef, and a blue octopus king who had a immense hatred of any creatures wearing pants...
*After long interviews and much deliberation, the players decided on a crew.
**For the cook they hired Bob, a large and clumsy [[Ogre]] chef with a heart of gold.
**For the navigator they hired Bink, a curious and bright [[Kenku]] whose only limitation was the fact that she could only speak by mimicking words and voices she had recently heard.
**For the engineer they hired David who was a down on his luck depressed and divorced dad who had lost his job in Galik and had his home repossessed.
**For the First mate they hired Tiki-Ti, a strange telepathic [[Thri-Kreen]] who was was kind and understanding, with both great experience as a leader and warrior.
**For the captain, they hired none other then Hawthorne Voss, famed high seas captain and experienced airship piolet with a charismatic demeanor and a face that made even married women swoon. Hawthorne was then murdered by his former first mate who had also applied to be captain, and who was also promptly murdered. The players promoted Tiki-Ti to ship captain and hired Polly the Seagull [[Aarakocra]] with an unnatural obsession with food to first mate.
**In general hires they also hired Klerica, a young an naïve recent college graduate dragonborn, [[Rome Holiday]], the heir to a large tavern empire, and Snoot, a [[Kobold]] with a gun.

=== Session 6: A Penguins Problem ===
Session Tags: Pennysworth, [[Demon|Demons]]

Characters: [[Kompi]], [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda|Lambda]], [[Therrin Flare|Therrin]], [[Nester Spitemore]], [[Paris Hilton]], [[Sabbatical (character)|Sabbatical]]

DM: Aaron (5/24/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Pennysworth]], [[Bjorn Shattershield]], [[Hunk]], [[Jim Stacy]]?!

XP Gained: 11,625 (lvl 3 1671, lvl4 1453, lvl 5 1235)

Important things that happened:
*The players were tasked by Bjorn with finding Cpt Pennyworth's downed air ship to the east and help him and his crew get to base camp. After a searching they found the ship billowing smoke and the crew attempting to fix it.
*Pennysworth fired a warning shot at the players as they arrived and explained the area was dangerous and they were already attacked and suffered a casualty. As the players got close to the airship they realized the ground seemed to be covered in a thick spongey layer of moss and all the trees were covered in strange fungal growths. Pennyworth asked for their help in repairing the ships engine and mast so that they could leave. The ship got damaged when several of the crew began to fight one another in an attempt to kill the other as they flew over the scar of [[Amusa]].
*Not long after the conversation began humanoid monsters began to appear from the ground as well as the trees. These monsters were covered in fungal growths as well as pustules and sores. These monsters also were speaking a guttural language and chanting different things. Sabbatical was able to recognize the language as Abyssal. The chants were of some menacing Mothers love and of her embrace.
*During the combat Sabbatical was able to hear what seemed like Jim Stacy's voice amongst the throng of enemies. This voice voice seemed to state that it would be back for revenge. After this comment was made a giant four armed monster appeared from the ground as well. This beast almost ripped Kompi to pieces. eventually the players were able to kill off the monsters and repair the ship. As the remaining monsters were wiped out a shrill voice was heard screaming in Abyssal "MY CHILDREN!" The players immediately left the area

=== Session 7: Winds of Change ===
Session Tags:

Characters:

DM: Julia (5/26/2023)

Important NPCs: [[The Thistlebrook Conclave|Thistlebrook Conclave]], Billiam

XP Gained: 4100

Important Things that Happened: [TBD]

=== Session 8: The Loss of Tassa ===
Session Tags: Bad icky things and a blood red swamp

Characters: [[Millar]], [[p'Rahp]], [[Tassa Brightfox]], [[Lowkey]], [[Neru]], [[Dragonett]], [[Deralickt Dadwarf]]

DM: Aaron (5/30/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Matilda Shattershield]], [[Mother]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 1144, XP at Level 4: 880, XP at Level 5: 748

Important Things that Happened:
* The group was asked by Matilda, the camp's lead cleric, to go and find the ''eyebright'' plant. This was needed to fix the issue several members of the camp were having from an effect of a monster. To do this they had to enter the swamp that surrounds the Scar.
* As the party enters the swamp they had a brief conversation with the being known as "[[Mother]]". She wanted to know why they were disturbing her children. The group waded through the blood-red swamp and found a tree that looked like it had a face on it, and in this face were large shaped fruits. Once they got close they got ambushed by several monsters which the group manages to defeat.
* After the battle was over, Mother spoke to them again and made them an offer. Tassa conversed with her when she heard she could get some gifts. Mother promised she could give her the things she wanted and Tassa accepted willingly and was sucked down into the muck and mire of the swamp. The rest returned with the trees eyes and the issue of going blind from the spores was fixed.

=== Session 9: Oblex Infestation Investigation ===
Session Tags: [[Oblex]], [[Juiblex]]

Characters: [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]], [[Rina]], [[Millar]], [[Dochas]], [[Dickweedus]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Balmer the Boulder]]

DM: Dave (5/31/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Adrian Tempest]]

XP Gained: Level 3: 1120, Level 4: 975, Level 5: 828

Important Things that Happened:
*[[Adrian Tempest]] recruited members of the expedition to follow up on investigating the area around the [[Oblex]]. A team of scouts located a cluster of ooze in the near vicinity of the swamp where the Oblex were first encountered. He requested that the group follow up on where the grouping was located and determine if they are Oblex. If possible, eliminate them.
*After a slow travel with some distractions, they arrived at the area they were told about. The group found themselves outside the hollow base of a huge tree, opening into the interior of the base. Giant roots spread out from the base and stretched in varying directions.
*The group worked quickly and efficiently to eliminate the oozes. The group determined that the oozes were living in a sort of community with the more mature ones protecting the hatchlings and the Ooze Hatcher.
*With further inspection, the group found that there was a malevolent magic about the area, finding that the entire tree stump had been enchanted with Conjuration Magic to act as a sort of homing beacon. The magic invoked the Demon Juiblex Demon of Lord of Slimes and Oozes.
* As the group was investigating the finer points of this magic, Yewvane cast his paladin blessing into the homing beacon. The area reacted violently to the action and armored ooze/slime creatures erupted from the ground in the middle of the tree stump ready to attack the PCs. Sludges also erupted from the area and began indiscriminately fire bombing the entire area.
*The group made the excellent decision to vacate the area quickly.

=== Session 10: Heart of Stone ===
Session Tags: The Green Knight, Kavanmort, Galidant

Characters: [[Sabbatical (character)|Sabbatical]], [[Wiggler]], [[Frankie]], [[Dragonett]], [[Amaris Luanach]], [[Joylee (Jo) Seraphim-Belphegor]]

DM: Keller (6/03/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Lucinda Grimfold]], [[Galidant|Galidant, the Exaltant of Kavanmort]], [[The Green Knight]]

XP Gained: 9462 (lvl 4 1813, lvl 5 1577, lvl 6 1340)

Important Things that Happened:
*The players are called together by [[Lucinda Grimfold]] to investigate the appearances of a number of dinosaur carcasses north of the camp and to discover what may be the cause behind these strange killings. The players board a skiff with a young halfling Skiff Strider named Skippy and depart over the jungle.
*After a few hours of flying the skiff is beset by the creature behind the dinosaur killings, a massive and terrifying [[Roc]]. The players engage the Roc in combat but crash to the jungle floor after it damages the skiff’s arcane core.
*When the skiff crashes it falls through the floor of the jungle and into a large open ruin filled with mysterious draconic imagery. After some investigating, including the solving of a statue puzzle and the disarming of a makeshift trap to retrieve a magical dagger, the party advances deeper into the ruin.
*Venturing on, the players enter a room full of strange lifeline statues with a magnificent golden sarcophagus in the back. The players move forward with caution as now and again, it seems that the statues may not be as still as they seem. The players discover that this was formerly a temple dedicated to the great dragon [[Kavanmort|Kavanmort, the Twin Doom]], and that years ago some unknown tragedy sunk the temple into the earth.
*Soon after making these discoveries though, the players are ambushed by the temple’s current resident, a monstrous and mutated [[Medusa]] who is able to animate nearby statues to fight on her behalf After a long and drawn out battle the players are successfully able to slay the creature, almost themselves getting turned to stone in the process.
*The players open the sarcophagus to discover a strange humanoid creature, a dragonborn with bleach white scales, dark robes, red eyes, and sharp fangs who lunges at the players, only to be blocked by a temporary magical barrier. The being reveals themselves to be [[Galidant|Galidant, the Exaltant of Kavanmort]], and thanks the players for freeing him.
*The players escape the ruin through a secret tunnel only to be surprised again. Crashing from the sky onto the earth is the Roc, bloody and defeated, and standing atop them is [[The Green Knight]]. The Green Knight places a collar around the Roc's neck teleporting the beast to a place unknown before engaging the players in combat, claiming that now having spoken to Galidant, they know so much and must be destroyed. The players barely managed to escape back to the camp on a rescue skiff along with Skippy the Skiff Strider, returning home with more questions than answers.

=== Session 11: Return to the Underdark ===
Session Tags: Underdark, Mushrooms

Characters: [[Paul Fletcher]]

DM: Julia (6/4/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Therrin Flare]], [[Nix]], [[Lysvan]], [[Paris Hilton]], [[Redemption Core]], [[Dochas]] (Deceased)

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 1843, XP at Level 5: 1362 XP

Important Things that Happened:
*Accompanying [[Paul Fletcher]], the party descended into the deep caverns of the [[Underdark]]. Within they encountered a large number of Underdark beasts, including Ropers, Mushrooms Monsters, Cloakers, and even Mind Flayers! The party also found evidence of nearby [[Drow]] civilization before departing the caves to return to the surface.

=== Session 12: Quelmar Con 2023 Game: Trials of the Sphinxes ===
Session Tags: [[The Thistlebrook Conclave]]

Characters: [[Twilsby Pendergras]], [[Neru]], [[p'Rahp]], [[Balder the Bald Boulder]], [[Dothand Raki]], [[Zimper]], [[Helli Aliosh]], [[Wiggler]], [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda]], [[22]], [[Redemption Core]]

DM: Julia and Aaron (6/10/2023)

Important NPCs: [[The Thistlebrook Conclave]], The Sphinxes

XP Gained: 2000 XP each

Important Things that Happened:
*The party join the druids of [[The Thistlebrook Conclave]] for a grand celebration. During the celebration the character are transported to he end of time by the great Sphinxes the druids revere who seek to challenge the heroes. Fighting against beast and riddles he heroes come out on top and are gifted items of great magical power before they are sent back to the celebration.

=== Session 13: The Shifting Scales of Mount Alkinimic ===
Session Tags: [[Old Alkinimic]], the Collector, [[The Philosopher's Stone]]

Characters: [[Radion The Forged]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Dickweedus]], [[Lowkey]], [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]], [[Sabbatical (character)|Sabbatical]]

DM: Keller (6/11/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Velemar Decrye]], [[Lorrie Haslo]], [[The Collector]]

XP Gained: 8952 (Level 3: 1939, Level 4: 1715, Level 5: 1492, Level 6: 1268)

Important Things that Happened:
*The rumor was that the Red Dragon Old Alkinimic was dead, passed of old age. Velemar Decrye sent the party out to the dragon's mountain lair to investigate and to see if they can claim any amount of his legendary hoard.
*Upon reaching the mountain on a skiff with Skiff Strider Skippy, the party discovers a small camp owned by Lorrie Haslo of Haslo's Historical Expedition Company. She reveals she was hired by the Collector to retrieve a magical statue inside the mountain. The Collector offers the party to join them, but the party declines.
*The Party splits with one approaching the mountain sensing a strange magical disturbance while the other half remains at the camp. The party approaching the mountain are beset by strange illusions before being attack by strange mutated Gnolls and a pack of mutated Kobolds.
*The party fends off the creatures before regrouping and entering the mountain where they again encounter Lorrie and the Collector. The party comes across an abandoned Kobold Warren and a small kobold named Yosh. Yosh tells the party that a strange figure "made of great flesh" came to the mountain and transformed all his friends.
*The party leave Yosh behind and discover a vault room full of treasure along with the statue. The vault is a trap and what was once gold and treasure reveals itself to be a powerful mimic which attacks the party with other mutated Kobolds. The party defeat the mimic monsters and claim the statue, refusing to give it to the Collector.
*The party choose to continue to descend rather then leave and discover a strange lair and the corpses of Old Alkinimic. The corpse then reveals itself to be a mimic monster and the party barely escapes with their lives, returning to the camp with the statue.

=== Session 14: Nature Finds a Way ===
Session Tags: [[The Thistlebrook Conclave]], Blight

Characters: [[Marion Ette]], [[Nassir Tycho]], [[Hermes Purrnes]], [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Juno]]

DM: Julia (6/16/2023)

Important NPCs: Billiam, [[The Thistlebrook Conclave]]

XP Gained: lvl 3- 1367, lvl 4- 1188, lvl 5- 1010, lvl 6- 832

Important Things that Happened:
*At the behest of [[The Thistlebrook Conclave]] the party journeyed out into the wilds to investigate a mysterious blight. Delving deep into the wilds they encountered a strange creature made of roots, bone, and ash, seemingly the source of the blight. as it died the creature whispered about its creator, the Wild Desolation, a being that was once a protector burned by those it served.

=== Session 15: Off the Rails ===
Session Tags: Jack of Hearts, The Red Macaw

Characters: [[Sabbatical (character)|Sabbatical]], [[Redemption Core]], [[Wiggler]], [[Frankie]], [[Chrysaor|Chrysaor Purosis]], [[Radion The Forged]], [[Cealion]] (First Session)

DM: Keller (6/25/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Cookie]], [[Jack of Hearts]]

XP Gained: Level 3: 1319, Level 4: 1166, Level 5: 1014, Level 6: 862

Important Things that Happened:
*The party is sent by Cookie to help transport ancient tablets to the edge of the Galik domain on the Bronze Hawk Railway.
*The party arrives to the station on the Red Macaw and prepares for the long journey, posting up in different train cars.
*The party is suddenly attacked by Jack of Hearts and his crew who furiously battles the party with the help of a charmed Wyvern in order to steal the tablets.
*In a last ditch effort to distract the party and to steal the tablets Jack of Hearts sets off a bomb on an upcoming bridge.
*The party defends the tablets while Jack of Hearts and his crew abandon the soon to crash train. With some quick thinking though the party manages to stop the train before it goes over the broken bridge.

=== Session 16: A New Hire ===
Session Tags: More bad icky, Tassa with Topi, and mind-controlling spiders

Characters: [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Therrin Flare]], [[Nix]], [[Twilsby Pendergras]], [[Bellix Braveheart]], [[Deralickt]], [[Nester Spitemore]], [[Aine]]

DM: Aaron (6/27/2023)

Important NPCs: Lily the Researcher from the College in Galik, [[Chief Thrax]] Chief of [[Thinwhistle]], [[Hunk]] the Swolbod (Kobold)

XP Gained:

Important Things that Happened:
*[[Hunk]] leads the group to [[Thinwhistle]] where the gang meets up with Lily, a violet [[Tiefling]] woman. She is a researcher from [[Galik]] looking for info on [[Thelrya]] and believes the Kobolds of Thinwhistle might have some clues. She tells the party of a cave she found not long ago, and [[Chief Thrax]] tells them he sent some riders out to investigate and they have not come back in over a week. Hunk leads the group to the area and the group is met by a very large T-rex like monster. This hulking beast chases them into a cave and unleashes a devasting breath attack on them that they barely escape. The group goes further into the cave and they hear the voice of Tassa "You're early its not time for the party yet."
*The group explores the cave with caution, but they are taken by surprise by several spider-like creatures, 3 kobolds, and 3 very large lizards. Combat breaks out and they find out these spiders can control the minds of their enemies. Eventually the party overcomes this, and they save 2 of the 3 kobolds that turn out to be some of the riders Thrax sent out. Tassa, Topi and a demon covered in lesions and poxes appear on the other side of the ravine. Tassa tells them they are way too early, and the demon tells them they must leave. Topi smashes the rock bridge that crosses the cavern, and they head deeper into the cave. The group sends a familiar after them and as it heads deeper into the cave it is swallowed up by different fungi and the cave is sealed off.

=== Session 17: Smoke Signals ===
Session Tags: [[Gnolls]], [[Demon|Demons]]

Characters: [[Redemption Core]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Dickweedus]], [[Wiggler]], [[Amaris Luanach]], [[Radion The Forged]]

DM: Keller (7/1/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Lucinda Grimfold]], [[Lyowyn Mossbringer]], [[Ripjaw]], [[Skippy]], Scournia

XP Gained: 1208 XP for level 4, 1050 XP for level 5, 893 XP for level 6

Important Things that Happened:
*The party is sent by Lucinda Grimfold and Lyowyn Mossbringer to investigate strange Gnoll activity to the west of camp.
*The party rides out over the jungle with Skippy the Skiff Strider and arrive at a desolate stretch of jungle where massive plumes of smoke rise from holes in the earth. Here the party kills a Gnoll patrol and discovers a Gnoll with a strange Infernal bullet in it's head.
*The party descends past the smoke into one of the holes and discovers a massive underground Gnoll Warcamp.
*The party sneaks inside and finds a group of prisoners and a workshop where Warforged were being scraped and used to make stronger Gnoll warriors. Here they find records of Gnoll tribes working together, including a pack known as the Gearheads, led by a Gnoll named Ripjaw who is famous for attacking settlements near Galik.
*The party continues on and finds a large work yard where the Gnolls are constructing massive war machines.
*Deeper into the camp the party finds a massive forge where the Gnolls are forging weapons and engine cores infused with Abyssal energies, all powered by a captured Efreeti. The party creates a diversion and frees the elemental who reveals themselves as Scournia.
*The party escapes with the prisoners, but not before spotting Ripjaw who had modified himself with Warforged parts along with a strange Myconid creature.
*The party flees the underground camp and return to the airskiff.

=== Session 18: Fossils and Fools ===
Session Tags: Thinwhistle, Vampire

Characters: [[Nester Spitemore]] (Deceased), [[Dragonett]], [[Cealion]], [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Amaris Luanach]], [[Dickweedus]]

DM: Keller (7/7/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Lyowyn Mossbringer]], [[Chief Thrax]], [[Skippy]]

XP Gained: Level 3 1473, Level 4 1303, Level 5 1134

Important Things that Happened:
*The players are brought together by Lyowyn Mossbringer who brings the troubling news that Kobolds are disappearing at the small village of [[Thinwhistle]].
*The players travel to the village and meet with the chief who worries that whatever is taking his people in the night was drawn in due to recent adventurer activity. The players interview the only known survivor, a Kobold named Hangoon, and set up an ambush.
*The players find strange Kobolds sneaking into camp and discover they are in fact the missing kobolds, transformed into Vampire Spawn. After killing a few of the spawn, their master arrives, a large monstrous vampiric dinosaur, the Draculadon.
*The players fight hard and manage to slay the beast, in the process though learning that the original vampire that created the Draculadon is still somewhere out in the wilds.

=== Session 19: TBD ===
Session Tags:

Characters: [[Nassir Tycho]], [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]], [[Felix Francis Fitzgerald]], [[Rina]], [[Nātchko the Third]]

DM: Julia (7/9/2023)

Important NPCs:

XP Gained: lvl 3- 1160, lvl 4- 1008, lvl 5- 857, lvl 6- 706

Important Things that Happened: [TBD]

=== Session 20: Road Rage ===
Session Tags: Gnolls, The Collector

Characters: [[Lowkey]] (Deceased), [[Dragonett]], [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Radion The Forged]], [[22]]

DM: Keller (7/14/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Lorrie Haslo]], [[The Collector]], [[Ripjaw]], [[Lucinda Grimfold]]

XP Gained: Level 4 1663, Level 5 1446, Level 6 1229

Important Things that Happened:
*The players are called together suddenly by Lucinda Grimfold and Lorrie Haslo of Haslo's Historical Expdedition Company. Lorrie's transport to Galik was attacked by [[Gnolls]] made desperate by the destruction of their forge, stealing some "precocious cargo" in the process. Lucinda warns the party that this cargo must be recovered quickly as the [[Galik]] military has caught wind of these raiders and plans to blow up the patrol with the cargo.
*Riding on an airskiff the players discover the roving patrol, riding massive metal Gnoll war machines. The players engage the Gnolls in combat on the back of these machines and begin to fight the leader of the Gnoll Gearhead Tribe, Ripjaw, who modified his own body with vehicle and Warforged parts.
*The players rescue the cargo which is in fact the Collector, Lorrie's mysterious benefactor.
*The patrol is then fired upon by Galik [[Beetler|Beetlers]], massive beetle like artillery, and Ripjaw escapes with two associates. A [[Myconid]] referred to as the Colonel, and a strange Galik noble bard referred to as the Music Man. Before the final war machine is destroyed the players board the air skiff and escape.

=== Session 21: Cabin Fever ===
Session Tags: Ghosts

Characters: [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda]], [[Deralickt Dadwarf]], [[Helli Aliosh]], [[Bellix Braveheart]], [[Heli Moltenshield]] (First Session), [[Prof. Mann (and Chester Iros)]]

DM: Julia (7/15/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Paul Fletcher]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 1286, XP at Level 4: 1118, XP at Level 5: 951

Important Things that Happened: [TBD]
*[[Paul Fletcher]] gathers the party to investigate a small abandoned cabin discovered deep in the wilds. Upon arriving the party find that the region is full of magical traps which they carefully navigate.
*Entering the cabin they find it is populated by undead specters. entering the basement, the party discover a powerful banshee which they defeat. In the basement the party discover the remnants of an old ritual.

=== Session 22: Church Attendance ===
Session Tags: [[Gnolls]], [[Demon|Demons]], [[Jim Stacy]]

Characters: [[Radion The Forged]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[Kompi]], [[Cealion]], [[Dickweedus|Weedus]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Nassir Tycho]]

DM: Aaron (7/28/2023)

Important NPCs: Lily the Researcher, [[Jim Stacy]]

XP Gained: Lvl 5: 800, lvl: 920, and lvl 3: 1040
[[File:Emblem.jpg|right|frameless|300x300px]]
Important Things that Happened:
*The players are tasked with investigating the ruins of a temple to North of camp that Hermes found a little while back during their downtime.
*Upon arrival there is an electricity in the air. The players can feel the power surging in the area as pulse of energy is released and a set of stairs is revealed. The players also see the statues of The Mistress, The Unformed King, and Malice. The second statue is now ceremoniously desecrated and covered in fungus and molds.
*The players descend the stairs and enter the basement. Weedus goes to open the door that is covered in fungus and spores. Weedus becomes infected by the spores and 'enslaved,' told to go all out and attack Nassir. The party fight him off and knock him out of it. They eventually enter the door and encounter some Gnolls and a fungus spider. Once combat is over the group investigates the room. A few more pulses of energy erupt as this transpires.
*The groups finds the secret chamber with the mages notes and books on summoning demons. This room also has a small summoning circle where lesser demons were summoned.
*The group wanders down some hallways with traps and enters yet another room with more Gnolls and multiple demons.
*During the fight another pulse goes off and Jim Stacy's voice is heard through the door "Do not let them into the summoning chamber". Combat finishes and Kompi sneaks a peak into the summoning chamber and sees everything inside. Kompi warns the group they need to leave and that they are in major trouble. In the chamber is more demons, Gnolls, Jim Stacy, and a greater demon being summoned. Jimmy is successful if summoning the greater demon and the parry escapes.
*The recovered details how ley lines are powerful and intersecting ley lines are massive fonts of power. These sources of power if tapped into the wielder can do massive feats of power. The boom also had a rough design of the summoning circle used. The took the book back to Lily and she noticed a water mark of a family crest of sorts that she believes is from a Galik.

=== Session 23: Slow and Steady ===
Session Tags: Leylines, [[Xevriss]], [[Old Alkinimic]]

Characters: [[22]], [[Wiggler]], [[Timothar Marek]], [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]], [[Heli Moltenshield]], [[Thordon Akieye]]

DM: Keller (7/29/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Cookie]], [[Skippy]], [[Talyth]], [[Dynia]]

XP Gained: Level 3: 1269, Level 4: 1122, Level 5: 976, Level 6: 829

Important Things that Happened:
*The players are called together by Cookie the Otter. Using research gathered from the discovery of the previously discovered ley line, Cookie believed they had pinpointed another location where another exposed ley line could be located. The players along with Skippy the Skiff Strider journey out into the wild.
*The players arrive at their location and discover a strange species of snail-folk known as [[Gastrosapien|Gastrosapiens]]. A Gastrosapien farmer named Moob leads the party to their cave city of [[Escargotia]], centered around an ley line. The ley line itself is fed on by the creator of the Gatrosapiens, a massive multi-headed snail known as the Hydrail.
*The players meet the advisor to the Hydrail, a fey Kenku Druid known as Talyth, the same druid who awakened Wiggler. Talyth informs the party that many others are also interested in gaining access to the ley line, which includes Dynia, a pumpkin headed member of the Gourdheart Disciples, a cult that worships the long passed Xevriss and food, along with Oobu, a strange mimic-like Kobold who serves the dragon Old Alkinimic.
*Talyth challenges all interested parties to a race and the players are off, traveling through the jungle, completing multiple trials of strength, will, and character. Eventually they make it to the end and win the race, narrowly beating Dynia.
*Oobu forsakes the rules of the race and like a parasite possesses the Hydrail and attacks the party with many of his Kobold allies. The party frees the Hydrail from Oobu's control, but not before Oobu declares that Old Alkinimic will rise and move on Galik.

=== Session 24: Alkinimic's End ===
Session Tags: [[Old Alkinimic]], [[The Philosopher's Stone]], Allard's Revenge

Characters: [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]], [[Heli Moltenshield]], [[Radion The Forged]], [[Nix]], [[Rina]], [[Redemption Core]], [[Dragonett]]

DM: Keller (8/5/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Lucinda Grimfold]]

XP Gained: Level 4 2136, Level 5 1857, Level 6 1579

Important Things that Happened:
* Aboard the Allard's Revenge Airship, the players approach the living Mount Alkinimic alongside Lucinda Grimfold. Armed with Rings of Feather Falling the players jump off the airship while the ship's cannons bombard the mountains.
* After avoiding attacks of tendrils, teeth, and acidic gas, the players enter the mountain and approach the aberrant dragons lair.
* Surprised from behind the players fight the ferocious dragon and all nearly lose their lives in the process.
* With a final blow Radion finally puts the dragon to rest, but not before the dragon warns them that even greater evils hide in the wilds and the players catch a vision of a strange figure in possession of an artifact known as the Philosopher's Stone.

=== Session 25: TBD ===
Session Tags:

Characters: [[Therrin Flare]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Balder the Bald Boulder]], [[Neru]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[Radion]]

DM: Julia (8/8/2023)

Important NPCs:

XP Gained: XP at Level 3:1025, XP at level 4: 907, XP at Level 5: 789, XP at Level 6: 670

Important Things that Happened: TBD

=== Session 26: Tassa's Demise ===
Session Tags: [[Mother]], [[Thelrya]]

Characters: [[Ainz Kageno]] (Deceased), [[Kompi]], [[Dragonett]], [[22]], [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]], [[Nassir Tycho]]

DM: Aaron (8/17/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Tassa Brightfox]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 4: 1396, XP at Level 5: 1214, XP at Level 6: 1032

Important Things that Happened:
*[[Tassa Brightfox]], now taken by the demoness [[Mother]] has attacked the camp with [[Jim Stacy]] and taunted those within. At the end of the attack she steals [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda]] away and Jim steals [[Matilda Shattershield]]. A few days later 2 different groups head out to recover those who were stolen.
*The group that heads after Lambda is able to track Tassa as she continues to taunt them. They are lead to a cave system and follow it under ground. They follow the cave system for a few miles till the reach a large opening with glowing crystals. Ahead of them is the body of Lambda near the edge of a cliff. The group cautiously enters and is very quickly attacked by Tassa and her now giant plant Topi. Tassa and Topi are eventually killed and Lambdas body recovered, though the group realizes he missing a very important part of him. A piece of his head they functions as his mind. Over the edge of the cliff the group sees a large city kingdom mostly covered in demonic mushrooms.....the Kingdom of [[Thelrya]].

=== Session 27: Recovery and Loss ===
Session Tags: [[Demon]], [[Mother]]

Characters: [[Radion the Forged]], [[Dickweedus]], [[Otto von Gerwig]], [[Twilsby Pendergras]], [[Cealion]], [[Redemption Core]] (Deceased), [[Sneeze]] (Deceased)

DM: Aaron (8/26/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Jim Stacy]], [[Matilda Shattershield]], [[Bjorn Shattershield]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 4: 1879, XP at Level 5: 1634, XP at Level 6 1389

Important Things that Happened:
*After the attack on camp [[Bjorn Shattershield]] leaves a note he is heading into the western swamp to recover his wife, [[Matilda Shattershield]], from the clutches of [[Jim Stacy]]. A group headed out to find the source of the attack on the camp as another group heads off to find their friend [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda]].
*Another group heads after Bjorn has taken off to the west of camp to find Jim Stacy and recover his beloved wife. As the group gets to the swamp they are lead by a trail of water the color and thickness of blood to a set of ruins. Chaos ensues and members of the party are infected with mind-controlling spores. Jim transforms into a monstrous beast and attacks the group. All hell breaks loose and multiple members of the party are downed and killed. After the dust settles Bjorn and Matilda are rescued and the grouped finds the robotic mind of Lambda was separated from his body. Jim and [[Mother]] were trying to break his mind through torture and manipulation.

=== Session 28: Doing Hard Time in Thinwhistle ===
Session Tags: [[Gnolls]], Thinwhistle, [[The Green Knight]], Dinosaurs, [[Jack of Hearts]]

Characters: [[Amaris Luanach]], [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Heli Moltenshield]], [[Marion Ette]], [[Black Jack]]

DM: Keller (9/2/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Hunk]], [[Chief Thrax]] (deceased), [[Jack of Hearts]], [[Ripjaw]], [[The Green Knight]], [[Ramskull Ancient]]

XP Gained: Level 4: 1214, Level 5: 1056

Important Things that Happened:
* The party all wake up in a barren prison cell with no memories of how they got there, with low health and resources, and missing all of their equipment. They also find they are wearing strange arcane collars around their necks.
* The party discover they are in an underground prison run by [[Gnolls]] along with many other prisoners. They get into a short scuffle with other prisoners who are revealed to be [[Jack of Hearts]] and his fellow party members [[Titan]] and [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Theta|Theta]] who were also captured by Gnolls. The party also discovers the purpose to the collars as the Gnoll prison guards can activate them to electrocute prisoners.
* Also held in the prison are many dinosaurs along with other wild beasts that were captured, including the infamous [[Deviljho]], the World Eater.
* Jack of Hearts reveals all he knows about the prison and with his help the party forms a plan to escape. The party splits up, some creating a diversion, some sneaking off to where the equipment is stored, and some going to the warden's office where the key to their collars are. After making a suitable distraction one player gets dragged to the interrogation room where their mind is scanned by a mushroom creature.
* As the players are executing their plan, new arrivals came to the prison including [[The Green Knight]], [[Colonel Cordyceps]], and the previously identified "Music Man" revealed to be [[Ferdinand Core]] who arrives to speak with the warden, [[Ripjaw]]. The Green Knight orders the closing of the prison and the transferring of all of the beasts to his personal domain, along with the executions of all of the prisoners. Watching the conversation is a strange figure in a red cloak with a ram skull for a head.
* The players manage to retrieve their equipment, get the key to their collars, and send out a distress beacon to nearby skiffs as they make their escape, and all hell breaks loose as dinosaurs are released to slaughter the prisoners. The players also manage to rescue the Kobold warrior [[Hunk]] and the Kobold Chieftain Thrax who were also in the prison.
* The players manage to escape, only to realize the horrifying truth that the prison is in Thinwhistle, which was devasted by Ripjaw using controlled dinosaurs after the Tempest Brother's Expeditionary Company failed to intervene. The Ram-skull figure appears, dubbed [[Ramskull Ancient]] by the party, and tells them that this is all their fault and that mortals were a mistake.
* The party narrowly escapes the Green Knight's mount, a giant Roc, and escape on a skiff piloted by allies of Jack of Hearts. Believing that Chief Thrax was corrupted by the fungus, the party burns him to a crips and throws him off the skiff.

=== Session 29: Ice To Meet You ===
Session Tags: Ice Dragon, Gnolls

Characters: [[Radion]], [[Dickweedus]], [[Amaris Luanach]], [[Marion Ette]], [[Wiggler]], [[Chrysaor]], [[Fchlya 80]]

DM: Julia (9/3/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Talon]]

XP Gained: XP at level 3: 1491, XP at level 4: 1319, XP at Level 5: 1147, XP at Level 6: 975

Important Things that Happened: TBD
*The company received reports of a an ice cave spotted in the jungle and sent a group to investigate. Upon arriving, the party found a group of [[Gnolls]] led by the Gnoll hunter [[Talon]] trying to wrangle/collar a young white [[dragon]].
*The party engaged the Gnolls in battle, killing Talon and forcing the others to retreat. Though some how even after death Talon rose again, only to retreat as well. As the Gnolls fled, the white dragon ended up attacking the party, nearly wiping out several members with its ice breath. After a long battle the party was able to slay the young dragon with powerful fire magic.

=== Session 30: Work for the Warden ===
Session Tags: The Warden, Gnolls, Oozes

Characters: [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[Neru]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Danke Schön]], [[p'Rahp]], [[Therrin Flare]]

DM: Dave (9/14/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Adrian Tempest]], [[The Warden of the Wilds]], [[Gary the Slime King]]

XP Gained: Level 3: 1533, Level 4: 1333, Level 5: 1133

Important Things that Happened:
*[[Adrian Tempest]] brought the group together and thanked them for undertaking the request of [[The Warden of the Wilds|the Warden]]. They were directed to head in the direction of the swamp where the Warden was first encountered. They headed out and met the Warden as they come to the far side of the swamp. The Warden thanked them for their help and directed them to areas on the edge of their domain where they suspect the [[Gnolls|gnoll]] activity. The Warden does not have specifics but they know the gnolls are riling up the oozes and slimes that live out in those areas. The Warden leaves it up to the group to determine the best way to search them out.
*The group traveled west and their searches end up finding the ruins of a walled keep on the top of a plateau with a huge hoard of gnolls assaulting the keep, all being resisted by a wide assortment of slimes and oozes. The largest of which is apparently a dragon. They telepathically reached out to the dragon and asked if the group could help fight the gnolls. The question was met with a cacophony of voices at first but one quickly pushed the rest aside and responds politely that they did not need help and the group would be best to stay out of the situation.
*The group ignored the dragons answer and jumped into the fray. After some combat a [[Gary the Slime King|green slime]] appeared took on the detailed appearance of a male and with a touch of jest, thanked them for their help, but he informed them that their help was not needed. The slime then asked how much it would cost to get the party to leave and the party retreated, but not before being given a small pouch.
*The party decided to sneak around the far side of the plateau and looked for a way into what may be lower levels. They found what was probably an old drain pipe. They cleared out the rubble and found a green slime waiting for them. It rose up in to the same defined male visage that addressed them earlier. It told them they were not welcome, thanked them for their help with the gnolls, gave them a similar pouch, and told them to clear out and not come back.
*The group made their way back to the Warden and the Warden thanked them for their effort and awarded the group a Druidic Staff of Protection When planted in the ground, it would offer protection for the area. In this case, the encampment. The staff must be left in the ground once placed. The power contained within is finite. An abundance of protection will eventually burn it out. If it is removed while still active, the power would discharge.

=== Session 31: We're Going in Circles! ===
Session Tags: Thelrya, Thinwhistle

Characters: [[Billium Teddly]], [[Twilsby Pendergras]], [[Dragonett]], [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]], [[22]]

DM: Keller (9/16/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Cookie]], [[Lorrie Haslo]], [[Oliver Vincent Bartholemew]], [[Skippy]], [[Tertha’volf]]

XP Gained: Level 3: 1794, Level 5: 1380, Level 6: 1173

Important Things that Happened:
*The party is called to the tent of [[Cookie|Cookie the Otter]], master abjurist for the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]]. Alongside Cookie, the party meets with [[Lorrie Haslo]], looking worse for where since beginning to work for [[The Collector|the Collector]]. She informs them that in his good will the Collector has offered to help the company find one of the other lost Kobold villages, since [[Thinwhistle]] had been destroyed and was taken by [[Gnoll]]s. they claim that they can connect the party with an explorer who can lead them to this village.
*With Lorrie's help the party calls upon the aid of [[Oliver "Olly" Vincent Bartholemew]], an eccentric explorer who is summoned through a strange ritual and who appears from the mists outside of camp, followed closely by his two assistants. The adventurer offers to lead them on a hard and dangerous trek through the jungle, but the players say they can take an airship instead. Olly is bewildered by the airship and the players realize that the adventurer may have been disconnected from time for some while.
*With [[Skippy]] the Skiff Strider as their pilot, the party flies out over the jungle while being followed by a strange fog. Upon landing to camp for the night, a few members of the party are drawn out deeper into the jungle and encounter a strange wolf-like beast that seems to create illusionary constructs based of the greatest moments of loss in the party-members lives. The party quickly reconvenes and after resting return to the air.
*After flying for some time Olly forces them to land and the player complete a strange door puzzle that Olly claims is necessary to "continue the journey." When they rest again they are once again accosted by the wolf-like beast, a large creature of rotting fur and dark smog. The players continue their journey and are forced to land the skiff to avoid a pack of wyverns nearby. they continued on foot and are attacked by the creature. They manage to fend it off one last time and finally arrive at the village, [[Drakemire Hollow]], a village left empty and deserted long ago by a volcanic disaster.
*The players question Olly on what has been going on and under a Zone of Truth spell he admits the truth. Hundred of years ago he led an expedition where his ignorance caused the deaths of 46 of his fellow expeditionaries. From then on the gods cursed him to continue his expedition forever, now chased by this wolf-like creature, the pure embodiment of death and entropy, now dubbed [[Tertha’volf]] or “the wolf that consumes," by the party.
*Olly and his team leave the village, disappearing back into the fog and the party investigates the destroyed village, discovering a strange underground tunnel which they sense contains a strange magical energy. The party calls an airship to retrieve them from camp and the party returns in hopes to rest up, regroup, and return to Drakemire Hollow to see what secrets it may hold.

=== Session 32: Hop to It ===
Session Tags: Gnolls, Leylines

Characters: [[Dickweedus]], [[Wiggler]], [[Dragonett]], [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Heli Moltenshield]], [[Pash|p'Ash'r'Ohn]], [[Ahriman Zestari]]

DM: Julia (9/23/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Nettle]], [[Ripjaw]], [[Talon]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 1513, XP at Level 4: 1296, XP at Level 5: 864, XP at Level 6: 735

Important Things that Happened:
*[[Nettle]] had an idea of harnessing fruit from leyline trees to create better magical soups for the company, and asked for some people to harvest some for them. The party went to a previous site and found [[Gnolls]] led by [[Ripjaw]] and [[Talon]] attempting to harvest the leyline tree.
*The group rushed up to attack and Ripjaw called down a flying fire dinosaur, called Pyroquatzal, with his dinosaur controlling gauntlet. During the fight, the party was able to defeat the gnolls and break Ripjaw's control over the Pyroquatzal. Ripjaw and Talon were able to escape, and the party burned away any other fungal spores that were dropped during the fight.
*The party collected some of the remaining fruit and brought them back to Nettle, who provided them with improved healing soups as a reward.

=== Session 33: What Lies Beneath ===
Session Tags: Dungeon, [[Kobold|Kobolds]], [[Gnolls]], [[Thelyra|Thelrya]]

Characters: [[Prof. Mann (and Chester Iros)]], [[Dragonett]], [[Dickweedus]], [[Paris Hilton]], [[Marion Ette]], [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]]

DM: Keller (9/24/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Skippy]]

XP Gained: Level 4: 3748, Level 5: 3213, Level 6: 2142

Important Things that Happened:
*The party flew out over the jungles to return to the lost Kobold village of Drakemire Hollow and to the strange entryway that led to the tunnels beneath the village.
*After exterminating a pack of elemental Mephits leftover from when the village was destroyed, the party began to navigate the dangerous traps and puzzles of the ancient catacombs, solving a strange door puzzle to enter into the center ritual chambers of the catacombs.
*During their expedition they encountered many dangers in the dungeon including trapped pits, a Basilisk, Kobold Zombies, and a Gnoll scouting party which had also been investigating the catacombs.
*The party reached the final chamber of the catacombs where they found a large drill pod which they believed was how the Kobolds of Drakemire Hollow escaped the fall of the ancient city of Thelrya. After defeating some ancient constructs that had been forgotten down in the tomb, the party excavated the drill's core and returned to camp.

=== Session 34: Gotta Getta Grung ===
Session Tags: [[Gnolls]], [[The Warden of the Wilds]], [[Grung]]

Characters: [[Radion The Forged]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[p'Rahp]], [[Tommy]], [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Neru]]

DM: Dave (9/24/2023)

Important NPCs: [[The Warden of the Wilds]], [[Adrian Tempest]], [[Oma]]

XP Gained: Level 3: 1444, Level 4: 1238, Level 5: 825, Level 6: 701

Important Things that Happened:
*Three of the group that went to assist [[The Warden of the Wilds]] in the previous expedition were tracked down by [[Adrian Tempest]] during morning chow to deal with the [[Grung]] situation that the camp became notified of. Three others who were sitting with them were recruited to go also. The party was told that The Warden still had the grung alive if they wished to inspect it or had also sent the whereabouts of the grung village if they wanted to go directly there.
*The group chose to visit The Warden. After meeting up with The Warden at the swamp near their hut, they brought to see a grung, tied by vines to a tree. They did not learn too much more than they had been told or assumed but in visiting the warden, the party asked for a way to quickly and efficiently get to the grung village. The Warden just happened to have what they needed, presenting the party with a simple bronze amulet necklace on a leather thong that gave them the ability to cast and maintain the druid 6th circle spell Find the Path.
*The group, using the spell was able to make quick travel to the village. Upon reaching the village, there is no sign of life. After some searching the group finds a child grung that they offer some food to and gain his trust. The child told them that there are no adults left, only younglings and Oma, the elder matriarch. She is the one protecting the younglings.
*The child grung leads the group to see Oma. The Oma meets them outside their hut/tent and tells the group that [[Gnolls]] attacked the village but were driven off by the grungs. The grungs began patrolling outside their village and the gnolls began picking them off and apparently taking them. Search groups were formed but did not return. Soon, there were no more adults left in the village.
*Oma gave a rough direction of where the gnolls came from and the party headed out that way. Through searching they came across gnoll weapons as well as scraps of clothing, fur and even a pouch. Tracks in the area gave the group a direction to go. The group at one point overheard gnoll voices on the other side of a low hill. The party snuck up on the gnolls and made quick work of them. The gnolls were relieving themselves in a well used makeshift latrine.
*The group followed where the gnolls came from and found the remains of a run down village. In the middle of the village, a group of grung, commanded by gnolls, were being used to dig ~10 ft wide and 40 ft long trenches. They were in the process of filling in the third trench when the party arrived. In addition to grungs and gnolls there was a collection of 9 humanoids that were covered head to toe in fungal growth. The party made quick work of most of the gnolls. Two gnolls, one identified as the leader, order everyone to attack. Then they ran away. As the last gnoll still fighting fell, the grungs and fungal creatures began acting erratically and chaotically. The party incapacitate and tied up the grungs to save them. They looted the bodies of the gnolls and found that the trenches had the fungal growth bodies laid side by side tight like sardines. The party proceeded to burn everything. The party returned the grungs to the Warden and attempted to convince Oma to join, but Oma decided to remain in the village.
*On one of the Fungus people, the party found a strange letter:
<blockquote>To the attention of Aftren Calpeth,

On behalf of the Masters of the Coopers Guild of the great city of Galik, we are pleased to offer you an apprenticeship in our prestigious Guild. The results of your testing have shown great talent in your abilities and the Guild looks forward to assisting you in honing your skills. Please reply at your earliest convenience.

Best Regards,
Grentha Falasir, Coopers Guild Clerk</blockquote>

=== Session 35: Honey, I Shrunk the Adventurers ===
Session Tags: Halloween, [[The Collector]], [[Xevriss]]

Characters: [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Danke Schön]], [[Amaris Luanach]], [[Twilsby Pendergras]], [[Rina]], [[Amelie Luxaeterna]]

DM: Keller (10/1/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Lucinda Grimfold]], [[Lyowyn Mossbringer]], [[Velemar Decrye]], [[Skippy]], [[Bulio]], [[The Collector]], [[Lorrie Haslo]], [[Dynia]], Big Tony, Don Rat'ilion

XP Gained: Level 3: 3208 XP, Level 4:2750 XP, Level 5: 1833 XP, Level 6: 1558 XP

Important Things that Happened:
*The party is called to the tent of [[Lucinda Grimfold]] and [[Lyowyn Mossbringer]]. They along with [[Velemar Decrye]] debrief the party on their mission: [[The Collector]] is holding a Hallow's Eve celebration at his countryside estate and has invited the company. The company plans to attend but asks the players to try and investigate the Collector while there, hoping to learn about the Collector's true intentions regarding his work with the company.
*After dressing up in costumes made with materials purchased by [[Bulio]], the party boards the Red Macaw alongside Lucinda Grimfold, Lyowyn Mossbringer, and [[Skippy]] who joined as it was his day off and he wanted to go to a party. The party arrives at [[Amberville]] and meet the Collector at his party, along with his strange attendant dressed as an [[Autom]]. Soon into the festivities the party is crashed by [[Dynia]], a pumpkin headed humanoid who uses his magic to liven up the party, as well as bringing in cloth golem attendants known as [[Rag-o-Doll|Rag-o-Dolls]] and a massive pumpkin.
*As the party begin to investigate the Collector's countryside estate, Dynia sets off his trap. The massive pumpkin turns into a pumpkin-like beast and transforms the guests into the creatures their costumes depict. The party is saved from this spell when they are given strange abjurative amulets by the autom-dressed attendant.
*The party wake up in a small vial and it is revealed that Dynia cast a spell that shrunk them all to one-inch tall. Dynia gives the artifact that held the power of the spell, a magic hourglass to a Rag-o-Doll, before heading off. Using the help of the house cat, the party free themselves from the bottle, but then are forced to escape and scare the cat away when it gets hungry. Fleeing into the walls, the party spot the autom-dressed attendant of the Collector kill another attendant before breaking into the Collector's records room.
*In the walls of the manor, the party encounter a roving gang of rat gangsters led by Big Tony. Big Tony leads them to Don Rat'ilion who is at the celebration of his daughter's wedding. The Don agrees to allow the party into "the family" if they can best some of his strongest men. Against all odds members of the party are able to defeat some of the Don's muscle in a series of Boxing matches. With the Rat Mafia's help the party reach the top tower of the manner, find the Rag-o-Doll with the hourglass, and destroy the hourglass returning to normal size.
*The party returns to the great hall and engages the pumpkin beast in combat along with the remaining Rag-o-Dolls. They manage to defeat the beast and free the party guests from the transformation spell. Dynia applauds them for their heroics, but reveals he completed his ritual and returned the orange dragon [[Xevriss]], the Devourer of Gourds, to Amusa. He wishes them a happy Hallow's Eve and disappears. The autom-dress attendant is also revealed to be [[Lorrie Haslo]]. Knowing that tough times are to come, the party celebrates the remainder of the evening.

=== Session 36: Harvest Hoedown ===
Session Tags: Halloween, [[Xevriss]], [[The Warden of the Wilds]]

Characters: [[Cealion]], [[22]], [[Tommy]], [[Juno of Galik]], [[Nassir Tycho]], [[Therrin Flare]]

DM: Keller (10/15/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Adrian Tempest]]. [[The Warden of the Wilds]], [[Dynia]], [[Chadwick Sagemoore]], [[The Pumpkin King]], Sam the Door

XP Gained: Level 3: 3208, Level 4: 2750 XP, Level 5: 1833, Level 6: 1558

Important Things that Happened:
*All of the food across Western [[Amusa]] from [[Galik]] all the way to [[Nestle]] mysteriously disappeared! The militaries and governments of the region approach [[Adrian Tempest]] who they know can contact [[The Warden of the Wilds]] who they hope can find the culprit to this horrid act, [[Dynia]], a Hallow's Eve spirit who recently summoned the Orange Dragon [[Xevriss]], the Devourer of Gourds, back into the realm. Adrian tempest calls the party together to meet with him and informs them of the continents plight. After Adrian Tempest contacts the Warden, the Warden reveals that they may know a way to find the trickster Dynia, by traveling to the fey court of his origin, [[The Court of Hallow's Eve]] in the [[Feywild]].
*The party travels with the Warden into the Feywild along with the captain of the Gourd Guard Chadwick, an order who in ages past satiated the hunger of the orange dragon Xevriss, who is free once more in Amusa. With the Warden's blessing the party arrives in the Court of Hallow's Eve and receives an audience with the court's ruler, the Pumpkin King. The party are invited to a feast in the king's court and here they discover that Dynia is the head chef of the court.
*The party attempts to inform the Pumpkin King about Dynia's past actions, but the Pumpkin King tells them he cannot pass judgement without proof and offers them until the end of the feast to find the proof they need. Investigating the court between courses of the feast, the party encounters many strange oddities in the court, including a pair of scarecrows named the Scare Pair, a pumpkin Minotaur, and a door named Sam.
*They find Dynia's kitchen where it is revealed he as a number of copies and clones of himself operating all across the court. They also find strange totems which they believe may have been the tool Dynia used to steal all of the food. In addition they search Dynia's home where they discover the clockwork contraption he used to break into the Collector's vault as well as a letter from an unknown sender. The party finds that the seal of the letter beared the same owl-like crest that members of the party had encountered before when fighting [[Demon|demons]].
*At the last course of the feast the party reveals Dynia's deceit to the King. Dynia activates a failsafe which incapacitates the king and begins his final ritual to send all of the food to Xevriss so he may devour it all. The party destroy the totems and manage to defeat Dynia, sending all the food back to it's rightful owners. In the end the party rejoices. The Pumpkin King rewards them for their heroism, one of Dynia's clones take up his spot as head chef, and Sam the Door can now be human again once a year.

=== Session 37: A Hunting We Will Go! ===
Session Tags: [[The Warden of the Wilds]], [[Grung]], [[Yuan-Ti]]

Characters: [[Heli Moltenshield]], [[Tommy]], [[Balder the Bald Boulder]], [[Dickweedus]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[Danke Schön]]

DM: Dave (10/17/2023)

Important NPCs: [[The Warden of the Wilds]]

XP Gained: Lvl 4: 1238 Lvl 5:825 Lvl 6: 701

Important Things that Happened:
*The adventurers were sent out quickly to [[The Warden of the Wilds]] who had asked for help. They came upon the Warden fighting off Infected [[Gnolls]] and Witherlings. The party jumped in and turned the tide of the fight and killed the Gnolls.
*The Warden thanked them and told the group that they think they may have found a break through in curing the infected adult [[Grung]] that she had in her care. She needed the party to retrieve a plant called a '''Neem Plant'''. It has natural antifungal properties and can live in environments were [[Myconid|Myconids]] thrive while most plants cant. The Warden directed them to look south of their swamp. Neem plant is not known to grow in cluster anywhere but at the thresholds of caves. The Warden says they need at least 12 whole plants to be able to experiment on the gnolls and hopefully develop a poultice strong enough to cure them. If the group could bring back more than 12, the Warden will use the extra to try to help the encampment.
*After much traveling, the party decided to take a rest. But during their rest they spotted a creature, very well hidden, spying on them. When the creature realized it was discovered it bolted through the underbrush and away from the group.
*The group managed to hunt down the creature and finished it off. The party, coming into the opening realized that the creature was a [[Yuan-Ti]] guarding a large hole in the ground cave entrance. In the cave there were raised gardening beds built out of stone all around the cave, all blooming with edible and medicinal plantings.
*The party kept quiet and searched for Neem plant. They ended up finding 15 plants scattered in the opening as well as in the beds. They uprooted all of them and took them back to the Warden. The group decided NOT to enter the Yuan-ti cave to see if there was more Neem down there.

=== Session 38: Disrupting Demons' Designs ===
Session Tags: Demons, Artifacts, Swamp, Ruins

Characters: [[Thordon Akieye|Thordon]], [[Heli Moltenshield|Heli Moltonshield]], [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda|Lambda]], [[Amaris Luanach|Amaris]], [[Wiggler]]

DM: '''Guest DM Talia''' (10/21/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Lucinda Grimfold]], [[Alkiir Scalesborn]]

XP Gained: Level 5: 2723, Level 6: 1815

Important Things that Happened:
* The Tempest Brother’s company was requested to assist a white dragonborn named [[Alkiir Scalesborn]] in retrieving an artifact from the wilds before [[demon|demonic forces]] could obtain it. The party took an air skiff to the far side of a swamp from which they traveled for an hour on foot in order to avoid detection. Outside the ruin, they battled a patrol force of [[Gnolls]] accompanied by a demonic centaur creature and fungal demons. They then encountered a magical barrier that prevented any [[dragon|dragon-kin]] creatures from actually entering the ruin.
* Inside the ruin the party discovered murals and iconography of ancient dragon battles and fought a demon that was transforming gnoll corpses into ghouls that it would then use to overwhelm the protections of the ruined vault. They then provided proof of having defeated a dragon themselves in order to dismiss a celestial guardian which had been preventing the demonic forces from entering earlier. This led to the relic chamber, which contained an empty pedestal. Digging through the collapsed rear of the chamber revealed the artifact: [[List_of_Magic_Items#D|an obsidian statuette of a dragon with several black opals embedded into it]] within the nest of a giant lizard. They convinced the lizard to part with the object peacefully and failed at an attempt to convince it to follow them back to the camp.
* With the artifact successfully acquired, they returned to Alkiir waiting on the surface and hesitated to give it to him, as they suspect it contains the soul of a black dragon. After Amaris cast Sending to a former ally, the party felt more confident that Alkiir could be trusted with the item. The party accepted their payment and gave the artifact to Alkiir who then disappeared by using a Plane Shift spell.

=== Session 39: In the Sewers ===
Session Tags: [[Demon|Demons]], [[Galik]]

Characters: [[Winter]], [[Lupine Lucas]], [[Tinkerton Tinklebottom]]

DM: Keller (10/22/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Lucinda Grimfold]], One Eye'd Jack, Tinkle Tinklebottom, Bugbear John, Bugbear Jim

XP Gained: XP Level 3: 767

Important Things that Happened:
*The party meets together in the city of [[Galik]] at the headquarters for the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]]. There they meet [[Lucinda Grimfold]] who wishes to test the new adventurers before sending them out into the wilds of [[Amusa]]. She informs them that there have been a sting of disappearances down by the seaside docks and asks the party to investigate and report back.
*In their investigations the party interview an old dock worker by the name of One Eye'd Jack who warns them of white specters haunting the docks. Continuing their search the party goes to the Two Toed Troat Inn and Tavern, a location that the most recently kidnapped victim frequented. After a short encounter with an angry [[Bugbear]], the party learns that the most recent victim was with a worker of Bartholomew's Weapons and Provisions the night they disappeared.
*Following this lead the party meets with Tinkle Tinklebottom who informs the party that the halfling he was with on the night of the disappearance was dragged into the sewer by strange white figures that appeared out of nowhere.
*Investigating the sewers the party encounter camouflaging [[Troglodyte|Troglodytes]] who had been kidnapping dock workers. The party also encounters and defeats two Bugbear brothers who had summoned a frilled lizard [[demon]] in the sewer depths, which the party also defeats.
*The party manage to save the kidnapped dock workers, and with their test completed, they board and airship to the Tempest Brother's Expeditionary Company Basecamp.

=== Session 40: Operation Gnoll Tank ===
Session Tags: [[Gnolls]], Cultists, [[Grung]], Oozes, [[The Warden of the Wilds]]

Characters: [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]], [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]], [[Therrin Flare]]

DM: Dave (10/26/2023)

Important NPCs: [[The Warden of the Wilds]], [[Gary the Slime King]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 5: 2277, XP at Level 6: 1590

Important Things that Happened:
*The party had just completed a supply delivery to [[The Warden of the Wilds]], and as they played with the [[Grung]] babies in the Warden's domain, the were approached by a strange figure. It turned out to be the mysterious [[Gary the Slime King|Slime King]], projecting through a yellow slime. He said he had information about [[Gnolls|Gnoll]] and cultist activities and he needed the help of the entire group that was with him in order to deal with it. The party recognized the figure as the same figure they encountered in the ruins battle between oozes and Gnolls.
*The Slime King told them the Gnolls and cultists had recently managed to gather parts and assemble a new Arcane Forge to replace the one that the company had previously destroyed. They had used the forge to create an armored machine in their underground encampment that they were about to send out to over land and down into [[Thelrya]]. The party needed to intercept the tank, disable it and destroy the power source inside that was apparently called a Throbotic Resonator
*The party asked him what his name was and he responded by identifying himself as "Gary," Gary the Green
*He told them he would reward them handsomely and asked what items they would like in payment. He studied what he had in his stashes and negotiated with them, offering payment once the mission was completed. The party, finding the payment and mission suitable, set out and found what they believed to be the prepared path through the jungle for the machine and set an ambush.
*Using illusions and magical potions the party attacked the cultists and the Gnoll tank, quickly disabling the tank's weapons. During the fight some of the cultists displayed powerful warlock abilities that none of the party had seen before. The party moved quick to remove and deactivating the Thrombotic Resonator.
*As soon as it was out, a hoard of slimes and oozes seeped up out of the ground. The Slime King appeared, thanked them, and insisted the device be destroyed. The group found a pile of the promised items along with a "care package" of potions, scrolls, gems and coin as well as a crudely written thank you note.

=== Session 41: For Gourds and Glory ===
Session Tags: Halloween, [[Xevriss]]

Characters: [[Amelie Luxaeterna]], [[Juno of Galik]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Black Jack]], [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Radion The Forged]], [[Heli Moltenshield]]

DM: Keller (10/28/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Lucinda Grimfold]], [[Chadwick Sagemoore]], [[Ureena Alleeves]], [[The Bogge]], [[Elrdrous]], [[Project Daena]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 4: 4714, XP at Level 5: 3143 XP at Level 6: 2671

Important Things that Happened:
*The party are called together by [[Lucinda Grimfold]] to join her in observing and assisting in the raid on the lair of the Orange Dragon [[Xevriss]], the Devourer of Gourds by the military forces of Western [[Amusa]]. In in meeting up with these forces, the party spent time reconvening with both old friends, and old enemies.
*The party soon discovered that [[Chadwick Sagemoore]], the captain of the Gourd Guard informed the Cult of the Dragon of the incoming raid in order to save his family, and as they warned everybody about the leak of their plan, they were suddenly attacked by Xevriss and his forces. Such forces included large Pumpkin Giants, [[dragon]] cultists, and multiple adult dragons including the fearsome [[Jatil Jivelg]]. After a long battle and felling one of the Pumpkin Giants, the party got caught up in a Blue Dragon's breath weapon and were sent crashing into Xevriss' underground lair.
*In his lair the party found a mural depicting Xevriss alongside other notable dragons of the region, including [[Old Alkinimic]], [[Kavanmort]] the Twin Doom, and one only referred to as "The Dragon Lost to the Underground."
*The party located the hoard of the orange dragon and soon engaged it in combat when it entered it's lair to flee from the war aboveground. After a long and difficult combat, the party successful managed to defeat the terrible dragon and but an end to its gluttonous reign of terror. After it perished, the spectral form of the [[Pumpkin King]], ruler of [[The Court of Hallow's Eve]] came to take the spirit of Xevriss away, to return to the [[Feywild]].
*For slaying the dragon the party was blessed with a dragonmark from Xevriss' spirit and were free to claim his hoard for their own. The party returned victorious from their battle to the basecamp, now with more food then they can shake a stick at.

=== Session 42: He Who Watches Over the Wilds ===
Session Tags: [[The Green Knight]], [[Gnolls]], Dinosaurs

Characters: [[Lupine Lucas]], [[Winter]], [[Paris Hilton]], [[Marion Ette]], [[Nassir Tycho]], [[Amaris Luanach]]

DM: Keller (11/04/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Cookie]], [[The Green Knight]], [[Skippy]], [[Ferdinand Core]], [[Talon]], [[Deviljo]], Melldriana

XP Gained: XP for Level 3: 3660, XP for Level 5: 2092, XP for Level 6: 1778

Important Things that Happened:
*The party is called to the office of [[Cookie|Cookie the Otter]] to discuss the discovery of ancient ruins out in the jungle. Before the party sets of though, Cookie warns them that a figure fitting the description of the infamous [[The Green Knight|Green Knight]] has been seen nearby. The party then departs on an air skiff piloted by [[Skippy]] the Skiff Strider.
*Upon arriving at the ruins, the party is greeted by researchers Zeek, Shela, and Bobby who came in advance to assist the party. Investigating the strange ruins, the party discovered that the structure had a number of magical traps that mysteriously appeared to be deactivated. Traveling further the party found a large coliseum like structure with a large fighting fit at it's center, its purpose unknown. Around the arena were seven statues depicting strange primordial beings whose motive's were still unknown.
*The party eventually discovered a chamber with six trees chained in cold iron. The party learned that these trees were actually [[Dryad|Dryads]] who had been forcefully bound to the structure to power it's many magics. The party freed the Dryads, including the Dryad Melldriana.
*Moving on, the party discovered a child's bedroom, an armory, a trophy room full of prizes taken from powerful monsters, and a locked room holding the recently missing [[Ferdinand Core]] who was last seen working with the Green Knight. Ferdinand Core explained that after his funds for the [[Demon|Demons]] dried up and his willingness to work with them fading after the death of his daughter, he was locked away for purposes he was unaware off.
*The party then came upon a chamber full of many statues depicting different figures in the dress of the Green Knight, revealing that the Green Knight wasn't just one man, but rather a titled passed down by generations of warriors, and that this wasn't just any ruin, but his lair. The party also came across an oculus Orb which allowed them to scry at any point in the structure. Using the orb to look into the bowels of the arena, the party saw that there were trapped and locked away dinosaurs, all with familiar [[Gnoll]] control collars.
*At this moment the Green Knight returned to his domain riding his [[Roc]] mount. Discovering that all his defenses were turned off, he released two of his monstrous pets to hunt down any would be intruders. After engaging with the beasts, the party using the orb saw that the Gnoll Captain [[Talon]] had also arrived at the structure, seemingly there for a meeting with the knight. Before moving forward the party with the dryad's helped trapped the Roc to prevent it from pursuing them on their airskiff.
*The party moved to intercept the Green Knight who met them at his arena. At this point the party had pieced together the knight's identity as Lord Bellaphon, and that he was the father to the most recent Green Knight, his son who had tragically passed. he told the party that he was sick of taming the wilds and that it was time for the wilds to run free. The party engaged him along with an arriving Talon and a dinosaur released from his dungeon, the monstrous [[Deviljo]].
*After a long and heated battle party sundered the Green Knight, freed Deviljo from his control, and fed Talon to the dinosaur. The party took the Green Knight's helmet which seemed to continue to attempt to reconstitute his body. To prevent this the party would go onto leave his helmet in the bonfire in the camp's center.
*'''[[The Seven]]'''
**The Twilight Phoenix
**The Endless Expanse
**The Lord of the Beneath
**The God Ravager
**The Mother of the Lost Parade
**The Great Reclaimer
**He who watches alone

=== Session 43: Man Made Flesh ===
Session Tags: [[The Collector]], Undead, [[The Philosopher's Stone]]

Characters: [[Wiggler]], [[Chrysaor Purosis]], [[22]], [[Heli Moltenshield]], [[Pash|p'Ash'r'Ohn]], [[Mirth]]

DM: Keller (11/12/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Paul Fletcher]], [[Skippy]], [[Lorrie Haslo]]

XP Gained: XP for Level 3: 2310, XP for Level 4: 1980, XP for Level 5: 1320, XP for Level 6: 1122

Important Things that Happened:
*The party is called together by [[Paul Fletcher]] to go and investigate the disappearance of one of their survey teams. He informs the party that [[Lorrie Haslo]] was on this expedition as well to look into the disappearance of a strange artifact on the behalf of [[The Collector]]. The party prepare to depart with [[Skippy]] the Skiff Strider before Paul out of breath rushes over and joins them. The party seeing Paul's behavior as strange make sure to keep in close contact with the camp.
*The party find the missing survey team who informs them that at some point during their expedition their airskiff was damaged by what thy believe to have been an animal. When the party investigates this they find that the damage may have in fact been intentional.
*Discussing with Lorrie Haslo she reveals she is on the search for [[The Philosopher's Stone]], a powerful artifact last known to be in the possession of Perseus Company before it was stolen. She tracked it down to some ruins in the wilds with the help of the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]], but has run into trouble with the undead infesting the ruins.
*The party agrees to assist in dispatching the undead, discovering in the process that someone was using the ruins to hide out. After they finish up in the ruins though, they exit to find Paul's body with a knife in the back of his head. The party still suspicious if this is actually Paul examine the body and discover it to be a fake amalgamation of aberrant flesh. they return to the survey team and question them on recent events, discovering that one of the survey teams members is also one of these strange doppelgangers.
*Using magical detection, the party discovers a powerful source of transmutation energy under the camp, Digging away the earth they find a strange flesh monstrosity holding the Philosopher's Stone and wearing Paul's face. The creature taunts the party and engages them in combat, attempting to transmute their very flesh. The party defeats the creature and even prevents its escape, retrieving the stone. The only questions the party has left, is how did the Paul doppelganger get into camp, and what will they do when and if the creature returns to get back the stone?

=== Session 44: The Node at the End of the Leyline ===
Session Tags: [[Thelrya]], [[Gnolls]], Leyline

Characters: [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[Danke Schön]], [[p'Rahp]], [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]], [[Therrin Flare]]

DM: Dave (11/15/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Bjorn Shattershield]], [[Skippy]]

XP Gained: XP for Level 5: 2033, XP for Level 6: 1362, XP for Level 7: 1180

Important Things that Happened:
*The party is all mustered together quickly by [[Bjorn Shattershield]] onto the waiting Skiff of [[Skippy]] the Skiff Strider. Bjorn informs the party that they are going out in response to recent [[Gnolls|Gnoll]] activities and he has reason to believe that where they are searching, there will be found some sort of ancient [[Kobold]] technology in an underground location that the Gnolls are making a move on it. Bjorn tells the party to investigate the area, and if here is some powerful Kobold tech, to do whatever is in their power to stop the Gnolls from getting it.
*The group started a ways away from the area they would need to investigate. It took them only moments to idetify the location. The noises made by a large group of Witherlings led them to a clearing. The group efficiently dispatched the creatures and moved into the clearing to find a finely crafted and unweathered stone archway with stone double doors in it. They discover ancient magical writing on the door which read as so:
<blockquote>Brawn and brains, wit and wisdom
Those worthy of entry shall need them all.

The spaces within are vast and hidden

Their challenges many will enthrall.

Move ever forward and should you succeed, access to you will be granted.

If the tests be too hard use the doorway in reverse and to this entrance you will be decanted

Lay your hands together upon the stone and ask for passage

But be forewarned that those that pass within may perhaps never again see the light of day.</blockquote>
*Upon touching the doorway the party was teleported into a strange room. From here the party engaged in a series of puzzles, including invisible changing mazes, magical guardian statues, scarabs, and musical instruments.
*Upon completing this gauntlet of puzzles, the party came across the final room. This room was the Experimental Arcane Forge created by the Kobolds away from [[Thelrya]] to allow for dangerous creation and experimentation while protecting the city populace. The room was massive with the thrumming of a large arcane crafting alter in the center of the room. The party investigated the room and discovered many unique and powerful magical items.
*Two cultist showed up bloody and bruised and were quickly dispatched off. The party decided to leave and tried to collapse some of the forge to stop access but not necessarily destroy it. The damage they did collapsed the ceiling and created a pile of rubble between the entrance and the forge. Though with time, maybe the forge could be rediscovered.

=== Session 45: Pixie Pilfering ===
Session Tags: [[Fey]], [[The Warden of the Wilds]]

Characters: [[Wiggler]], [[Rina]], [[Otto von Gerwig]], [[Radion The Forged]], [[Cealion]], [[Pash|p'Ash'r'Ohn]]

DM: Keller (11/25/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Adrian Tempest]], [[Skippy]], [[The Warden of the Wilds]], [[Princess Alyara Everlilly]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 4: 2444, XP at Level 5: 1629, XP at Level 6: 1385

Important Things that Happened:
*The party meets up with [[Adrian Tempest]] who informs them that [[The Warden of the Wilds]] has called upon them with a request for assistance. The Warden has made great progress in developing a fungal cure using Neem Plants but has hit a recent roadblock in their progress.
*To continue the work they need to acquire a very rare flower known as the Shimmering Sundew, a flower that grows only once every thousand years. The only flower of its kind that they know of in [[Amusa]] is in the care of the [[Fair Folk]] of [[Fairyflower Mountain]], a domain inhabited by [[Pixie|Pixies]], [[Sprite|Sprites]], [[Quickling|Quicklings]], [[Brownie|Brownies]], and more.
*The Warden has been unable to acquire the flower from the Fair Folk and requests the party's help to instead steal it. To assist in this effort the Warden calls upon a favor from a former member of the Court of Fairy Flower Mountain, a Sprite named Teedles. Teedles informs the party of the many obstacles between them and the flower and even provides the party with Fair Folk disguises, shrinking them down and allowing the party to infiltrate the court.
*The party forms a plan and infiltrates the court which is hosting a massive ball where the court's ruler, [[Princess Alyara Everlilly]] will pick out a suitor to marry. The party begins to execute their plan, navigating curious guards, spying spiders, magical doors, prismatic lasers, and desperate to marry fairies. Even with some complications along the way, the party manage to steal away with the Shimmering Sundew, returning it safe to the Warden who rewards the party for their assistance.

=== Session 46: Hunk's Vengence ===
Session Tags: [[Thinwhistle]], [[Gnolls, Cultists]], [[Jack of Hearts]]

Characters: [[Danke Schön]], [[Dickweedus]], [[Lupine Lucas]], [[Ren Atherton]], [[Mariar]], [[22]], [[Heli Moltenshield]]

DM: Aaron (11/28/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Hunk]], [[Bjorn Shattershield]], [[Yellana Eedryll]]

XP Gained: 2338 XP at Level 3, 2004 XP at Level 4, 1336 XP at Level 5, and 1135 XP at Level 6

Important Things that Happened:
*The group was woken up at camp by [[Hunk]] and [[Bjorn Shattershield]] arguing over the state of things. Once things calmed down Hunk told them he needed the expeditionaries help to hold of some Cultists that were looking for the body of Thrax, the former and deceased chief of Thinwhistle. Hunk took them out of camp a few miles before his raptor riders surrounded the party with weapons drawn on them. The party realized that Hunk's demeanor had drastically changed, and Hunk told them that they will be a diversion for him and his little war band so that they could search for the body to get it before the Cultists do.
*Hunk led them to where the main force was. There the party encountered a few zombies, Cultists, [[Yellana Eedryll|one of Jack of Hearts crew]], and 2 biotanks. While the group was planning a strategy the Cultists sent out some gnolls to find the body and scout. The gnolls were able to reach the body at the same time as Hunk. The Cultists got word of this and retreated from the battle, and in the end the Cultists were able to claim the body. Though Hunk was still thankful for party's help, his attitude toward the company had soured. He blames the adventurers for the death of his village and left on uncertain terms.

=== Session 47: Fundraiser Megasession ===
Session Tags: Gnolls, Demons, Cultists, Oozes, The Warden of the Wilds

Characters: [[22]], [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Heli Moltenshield]], [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]], [[Radion The Forged]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Therrin Flare]], [[Arthur]], [[Lupine Lucas]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[Ren Atherton]]

DM: Aaron, Dave, Keller (12/03/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Darian Tempest]], [[Adrian Tempest]], [[Cookie]], [[Pennysworth]], [[Bjorn Shattershield]], [[Lucinda Grimfold]], [[Lyowyn Mossbringer]], [[The Slime King]], [[The Warden of the Wilds]], [[Ripjaw]], [[The Green Knight]], [[The Gnoll King]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 4: 3200, XP at Level 5: 2910, XP at Level 6: 2640, XP at Level 7: 2400

Important Things that Happened:
*It was another quiet day at the Tempest brothers Expeditionary Company's camp when the attack came. [[Gnolls]], cultists, and [[Demon|Demons]] in greater numbers then ever seen before descended on the basecamp with the goal of wiping it from the face of the realm. Using the Staff of the Warden, the company called on the powers of the forest to hold the hordes of for a time, giving members of the company an opportunity to act.
*Members of the company were able to disassemble and save the newly built arcane forge as well as protect the staff under the onslaught. The company was able to defeat many of their longstanding enemies for good including the Gnoll Hunter [[Talon]], the artificer [[Ripjaw]], and the terrifying [[Lord Bellephon]]. Though new threats began to rear their ugly heads, as [[The Gnoll King]] finally revealed themselves from the shadows ready to lead their armies in full.
*The company managed to load the airships with as much supplies as possible and made their return to the city of [[Galik]]. The Gnolls could not have organized this mission on their own, and now the company began their search to see who the real masterminds of the attack were, those hiding someone in Galik.
*For more information check out [[The Raid on the Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]]
</div>

==Book 2==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
===Book 2 Summary===
Recovering from the [[Gnolls|Gnoll]] horde [[The Raid on the Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company|attack on the company's basecamp]], [[The Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company and its many heroic adventurer expeditionaries return to the city of [[Galik]], the largest city in [[Amusa]]. The company learns that the corruption in the wilds stems all the way out to even the city and come to the understanding that if they are to return to the wilds, the evil fungal influence in Galik must be dealt with first. The company learns that all this evil stems from a powerful demoness known as [[Mother]], a being with great power over fungus and rot. Her two leading cultists in the city are [[Alistair Hearthorne|Alistair]] and [[Lenore Hearthorne]], otherwise known as the Bride and Groom.

The company and its members deal with many threats in the city, including criminal cultists, sewer dwelling [[Lycanthrope|werecreatures]], and mysterious statues that channel the power of Mother. After expelling the cult of Mother from the city of Galik and scattering the gnoll hordes at [[The Gnoll Counter-Offensive]], the company prepared to put an end to Mother's evil plans once and for all. Hidden within the wilds was an ancient city known as [[Thelrya]] which hid a major leyline node. Mother hoped to use this node to achieve godhood and so the company moved to stop her. Even after using the remaining statues she had left to raise a fungal army, the company and its heroes were able [[The Thelryan Restoration|to enter Thelrya, kill her greatest servants, and banish her influence from Amusa once and for all]]. Afterward the company gained great fame and rewards and prepared for their next expedition on the eastern half of the continent.

After the [[The Thelryan Restoration|Thelryan Restoration]] megasession was run, a few epilogue sessions were played to wrap up remaining plots in Year 1 of Wicked Wilds and to set up some new ones for Year 2.

'''Notable Tags:''' [[Galik]], [[Thelrya]], Cultists, [[Mother]], Sly, Circus, Mystery, [[Lycanthrope|Lycanthropes]], Bounty, [[Zombie|Zombiess]]

'''Major Events:''' The Return to Galik, The Bounty on the Company, The Circus Comes to Galik, The Fungal Cult's Expulsion From Galik, The First Expedition into [[The Scar of Amusa]], [[The Gnoll Counter-Offensive]], [[The Thelryan Restoration]]

=== Session 48: Unpaid Debts: The Musical ===
Session Tags: Galik, Bounty, [[Jack of Hearts]]

Characters: [[Pash|p'Ash'r'Ohn]], [[Chrysaor Purosis]], [[Coryn Alaeth]], [[Amaris Luanach]], [[Juno]]

DM: Keller (12/17/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Velemar Decrye]], [[Widgit Wizzlepop]], Ser Charles, [[Jack of Hearts]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 2415, XP at Level 4: 2070, XP at Level 5: 1380, XP at Level 6: 1173.

Important Things that Happened:
*Now operating in the city of [[Galik]], a party of [[The Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company|Tempest Brother Expeditionary Company]] members are called upon by [[Velemar Decrye]] to assist in the hiring of a Gnome artificer named Widgit Wizzlepop who has recently designed a suit that can allow its wearer to survive the harsh environment of the Scar.
*Visiting Widgit's apartment above [[Sugersprinkle's Wonderland Confections]], the party finds that Widgit had been kidnapped by criminals for failing to pay back his loans. Furthering their investigation they track the Gnome back to the [[Boltward Syndicate]], a criminal organization that deals in loans.
*They meet with a high ranking member of the syndicate operating out of the Belching Brew Inn and tavern by the name of Ser Charles. The crime lord agrees to hand over Widgit in return for the party accomplishing some odd jobs for him.
*After completing these tasks the party returns only for Ser Charles to betray them, revealing that a bounty had been placed on them and all company members. The party fight against Ser Charles and his men, including a recently arrived [[Jack of Hearts]], and manage to escape with Widgit Wizzlepop. In the process they capture the man who had delivered the bounty to Ser Charles and interrogate him at the company headquarters. The man claims to work for powerful people in Galik who seek to wipe the company from the face of the realm before exploding in a blast of acidic fungus.

=== Session 49: Into the Cursed Collection ===
Session Tags: Galik, The Collector, Cultists

Characters: [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Amelie Luxaeterna]], [[Mirth]], [[22]], [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]], [[Rina]]

DM: Keller (1/6/2024)

Important NPCs: [[The Collector]]

XP Gained: 2567 XP at Level 4, 2200 XP at Level 5, 1467 XP at Level 6, 1247 XP at Level 7

Important Things that Happened:

* The company was approached by [[The Collector]] who offered some of his vast information to assist the company in return for the company sending out members to help him with an issue.
* It seems that an outside power had taken notice of the Collector's work and sent him a magic item to serve as a Trojan horse trap. This item, a simple mannequin, once in the collection began to free some of his items which now threatened to break loose into [[Galik]]. The Collector wanted assistance in sealing away these artifacts once more and destroying this meddlesome mannequin.
* The party accompanied by the Collector descended into his underground compound and encountered many strange and esoteric items, including a gravestone that teleported you six feet underground, a mask that would flay your skin, and a painting inhabited by a terrifying spirit.
* As the party began to seal away the items they were attacked by the mannequin which had turned into a massive monster. After defeating the creature, the Collector gave his thanks, gifting the party some magic items as well as some of his knowledge of the wilds.

=== Session 50: Day at the Circus ===
Session Tags: Galik, Circus, [[Hearthorne]]

Characters: [[Heli Moltenshield]], [[22]], [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Gurmyr Argrour]], [[Ren Atherton]]

DM: Aaron (1/13/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Benjamin Hearthorne]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 2415, XP at Level 5: 2070, XP at Level 7: 1173

Important Things that Happened:
*Members of the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]] got invitations to go the The Traveling Fools Circus that is just outside [[Galik]]. The party were greeted by [[Benjamin Hearthorne]], the circus' ringleader, and as soon as the entered the Circus, things started to seem strange. In a quick flash one of the party members caught a glimpse of a starved, gaunt figure in the crowd with a large toothy smile which then suddenly disappeared. Benjamin mentioned all the attractions in the Circus, including a dart toss game, a pie eating contest, a fortune teller, a test your strength machine and more!
*As night fell, each member of the party was thrown into a horrific nightmare of their worst fears, forced to fight against their deepest fears and regrets. After escaping the circus though, their memory of the horrid events that transpired within seemingly faded away as if nothing had really happened.

=== Session 51: The Curious Case of Aftren Calpeth ===
Session Tags: Galik, Cultists, Cooper's Guild, [[Sylvester Harper|Sly]]

Characters: [[Lupine Lucas]], [[Dragonett]], [[Dickweedus]], [[Kh'jan]], [[Balder the Bald Boulder]]

DM: Dave (1/19/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Adrian Tempest]], [[Master Idryel Il’lylune]], Smokey, Alric, [[Sylvester Harper|Sly]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 2640, XP at Level 4: 2310, XP at Level 5: 1320, XP at Level 6: 1122, XP at Level 7: 924

Important Things that Happened:
*The party is collected by [[Adrian Tempest]] who informs the group that he and other company people had tried using their connections to learn more about the two individuals on the note that was [[Within_the_Wicked_Wilds/The_Story_So_Far#Session_34:_Gotta_Getta_Grung|found on the body]].
*They hit dead ends going through above bar channels. What some snooping did uncover is that the Cooper Guild Master Roderick Sampsel is suspected of having some connections to underground pit fighting in the district where his guild hall is located. The party creates a plan to infiltrate one of these fighting rings as they locate a bar, Smokey's, in the district that would likely know about the fight pits and how to get into them. After some heavy palm greasing, Smokey told them how to get into the pit fights.
*The party pays Smokey to find out information on Grentha the Guild Hall Clerk. Smokey offers to collect the info but requests for two hours to find info. Suspicious that Smokey may rat them out, the party tail him. Smokey goes to a warehouse, speaks to someone inside, pays some of the money the party gave him, then leaves and goes to a house in the residential district of the district. Smokey then becomes wide eyed and spooked when he approaches the door before hurrying back to the bar. Investigating the door the party finds a mark from an assassin named The Shadowblade, marking the home's resident for death.
*The party makes their way down to the fight pits using the password that Smokey gave them. They arrive before the fights actually started and realize that they have come through the spectator entrance. They meet Alric, a large man who runs the place. They negotiate with him for an opportunity to fight in the pit. It's rough going but eventually they come to an agreement.
*The party joins the fighting ring, engaging a pair of minotaurs and a number of goblins. During the fights, they find a high elf named Master Idryel Il’lylune who is there to watch the fights. The party observes Alric speaking to a man he determined was named [[Sylvester Harper|Sly]]. They are arguing about the commodities shipments not being enough. At some point in the conversation Alric drops the word bodies and Sly quickly hushes him.
*The party after their victory goes to dinner with Master Idryel and engage in conversation. He knows about Sly but says nothing about WHAT he knew. He knows about Roderick Sampsel and that says that he is a silent partner in the underground fighting ring. Ultimately Idryel convinces the group to let him be their manager. They tell Alric to arrange them another fight. Idryel is going to firm up the negotiations. Idryel tells the group that they can leave a message for him at the Grand Meridian Hotel, a posh, upscale hotel on the coast.
*The group ultimately brings all their information back to Adrian who takes it all in and will work on deciding how to proceed with the investigation.

=== Session 52: Night at the Moonsea Museum ===
Session Tags: Galik, Kavanmort, Cultists, [[Hearthorne]]

Characters: [[Marion Ette]], [[Juno]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Chrysaor Purosis]], [[Coryn Alaeth]], [[22]]

DM: Keller (1/20/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Shelmlock Dolmes]], [[Jaqueline Hearthorne]], Clarence

XP Gained: XP at Level 4: 2348, XP at Level 5: 2013, XP at Level 6: 1342, XP at Level 7: 1140

Important Things that Happened:
*The company is contacted by the famed [[Tortle]] reporter [[Shelmlock Dolmes]] who believes he has a lead on the cult activity in [[Galik]]. Recently contacts of his in the poorer districts of Galik have been going missing, with the only through line in that each claimed to have spotted [[Gnolls]] in the sewers before they disappeared. Following this lead Shelmlock discovered there was a conspiracy to steal the Heart of [[Kavanmort]], the heart of an ancient long dead two headed dragon, now on display in the Moonsea Museum. What's worse is that he discovered that the museum itself was in on the theft, helping the cultists to steal the heart for their nefarious plans.
*After agreeing to help him, Shelmlock Dolmes got the party tickets to a Midnight Gala at the museum when he believes the heist will go down. After investigating the museum, making friends with a guard named Clarence, and getting horrible fashion makeovers, the party arrives at the Gala.
*As midnight strikes the party learns about the true magic of the museum, in that in comes alive at night. Moving amongst the gala and the back hallway, the party encounters a woman named [[Jaqueline Hearthorne]], a daughter of a rick aristocratic family in Galik who claims she is also there to help stop the hearts theft, though she gives little reason as to why.
*The party arrives at the heart's exhibit just in time as cultists partnered with Gnolls break into the museum, led by a family of three mobster assassins named the Torchelli's. The party manage to defeat the Gnolls and cultists with Jaqueline's help, and make a deal with the museum for the party to steal the heart in return for letting the museum collect on the heart's insurance. The party end up giving the heart over to the Collector after the heist and mutually part ways with Jaqueline who says she may be by again in the future to help the company.

=== Session 53: Restart My Hearth ===
Session Tags:

Characters: [[Black Jack]], [[Billium Teddly]], [[Heli Moltenshield]], [[Twilsby Pendergras]], [[22]], [[Laurence Awrkright]]

DM: '''Guest DM Mercedes''' (1/21/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Malakar the Maleficent]], the [[Bollezzi]] family, [[Snowdrop]], [[Tanis]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 2013, XP at Level 4: 1725, XP at Level 5: 1150, XP at Level 6: 978, XP at Level 7: 805

Important Things that Happened:
*At the behest of [[Adeline Hatchic]], head of mechanics for the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]], those who were available in the lobby of the expedition company’s headquarters hurried to help Adeline’s friend and the company’s source of glass for paneling and tools, [[Snowdrop]] of Galik Glass Emporium.
*Upon arriving at the Emporium, the party were greeted by disarray, cats in every corner of the floor, brooms and bags organizing themselves, and one Snowdrop. A [[Tabaxi]] wild magic sorceress, who is distraught at the kidnapping of her forge master, [[Tanis]], who keeps the furnaces for the glass blowing hot.
*Down in the hearth, the party finds the furnace, a tunnel, and what seems to be Tanis’ quarters which resembles something like a nest or a horde. The party finds evidence that it is the [[Bozzelli]] crime family who took the forge master and dug a tunnel to the hearth of the Emporium. They overcome a trap at the front of the tunnel and travel through to find themselves at the docks. When exiting, they trigger a trap that collapses the tunnel, but everyone makes it out. At the docks, they see the forge master in a cage, waiting to be taken away, with evil mercenary [[Malakar the Maleficent]] and several dock hands, thugs, and wolves keeping watch to defend their prize.
*Using some charm and intimidation, the party sends away three of the thugs, warning them that things are about to get ugly, but one of them refers to Tanis in her cage as a dragon! They release Tanis from her bonds and battle against Malakar and his minions, but Malakar fights back, summoning a water elemental. Tanis is able to use her fire breath once and Malakar loses control of the elemental! The party corners Malakar until he is consumed by his own summon.
*They finish off the elemental and free Tanis from her prison, escorting her back to the forge and reuniting her with her best friend, Snowdrop. The party is paid handsomely and given some magical items from Snowdrop’s collection and Tanis’ horde.

=== Session 54: End of the Line ===
Session Tags: [[Galik]], Cultists, [[Hearthorne]]

Characters: [[Juno]], [[Heli Moltenshield]], [[22]], [[Ren Atherton]], [[Marion Ette]]

DM: Keller (1/27/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Jaqueline Hearthorne]], Benny Thistlewick, Sid

XP Gained: XP at Level 5: 1898, XP at Level 6: 1265, XP at level 7: 1075

Important Things that Happened:
*The company is informed by [[Jaqueline Hearthorn]]e that a high ranking member of the fungal cult, an individual part of an order known as the groomsman, will be riding the [[Galik]] City Railway. A party of the expeditionaries board the railway in an attempt to find the Groomsman and get caught in a web of conspiracies and lies including a murdered conductor, stolen money, and evil enchantment spellbooks.
*The party manage to solve the mystery of the murdered train conductor and trace it back to a kind Gnomish man named Benny Thistlewick, identifying him as the Groomsman and as a powerful spellcaster. In order to save the lives of the rest of the passengers and their own, they party engage Benny in a game of high stakes poker, where they bet chips and their own lives. Eventually they manage to beat the Groomsman after he loses a hand where he bets his own life, and thereby ending it. The party depart the train with secrets they pulled from the Groomsman during the game as well as a briefcase of stolen gold.

=== Session 55: A Pile o' Bodies ===
Session Tags: Galik, Bounty Hunters, Jack of Hearts

Characters: [[Wiggler]], [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda]], [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]], [[Amaris Luanach]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[Pash|p'Ash'r'Ohn]]

DM: Keller (2/3/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Skippy]], [[Jack of Hearts]], [[Ripjaw]], [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Theta]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 5: 3594, XP at Level 6: 2396, XP at Level 7: 2036

Important Things that Happened:
*On a quiet day at the Tempest Brother's Expeditionary Company headquarters while most members were out and about, the party met with [[Skippy]] the Skiff Strider. Since being in [[Galik]] and his Skiff pilot services being in less demand, Skippy was tasked to look into the bounty that had been placed on the company.
*He discovered that the bounty had been placed through the [[Red Blades]], an order of assassins and mercenaries. He discovered that the bounty was bound by a spell cast upon the person who took out the bounty in the first place and if that spell is broken, the bounty will disappear. Working with Cookie, Skippy was able to design a magical tool that could break the spell and with Cookie's help divined that the one who took out the bounty was someone who ran in Galik's aristocratic circles.
*Before the party could move on this information, an arrow was shot through the window with a letter tied to it, only informing the party that "'''They're Coming'''." Without warning scores of bounty hunters descended on the headquarters and the party valiantly defended their home.
*The criminal and mercenary [[Jack of Hearts]] arrived as well but in a twist began to help the party fight off the attackers, even helping to fight against his previous adventuring party.
*After the fighting concluded, the party received help from the [[Lyreguard]] to clean up the mess, only to discover that Jack of Hearts had disappeared. The party found he had snuck into the headquarters basement and stolen the head of the Mad Gnoll Artificer [[Ripjaw]].

=== Session 56: Carnival of Chaos ===
Session Tags: Galik, Circus, [[Hearthorne]]

Characters: [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Mirth]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[Marion Ette]], [[Coryn Alaeth]], [[22]]

DM: Aaron (2/9/2024)

Important NPCs: Nifty the Goblin, [[Benjamin Hearthorne]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 5: 3364, XP at Level 6: 2243, XP at Level 7: 1906

Important Things that Happened:
*The party, members of the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]], were met by a [[goblin]] named Nifty. Nifty came to the Tempest Brothers looking for help find someone important to her she couldn't remember, her brother.
*She was questioned about who she is and she explained she used to work for the [[Hearthorne]] family, an old aristocratic family at the heart of [[Galik]] society. After the death of the family's heir, Lucius Hearthorne, Nifty was sent to the circus by the new head of the family, [[Alistair Hearthone]]. This was so she could follow [[Benjamin Hearthorne]], who was believed to have murdered his brother. The party was able to confirm from Nifty that [[Jaqueline Hearthorne]] was a member of this same family.
*Nifty said they had to go to circus after nightfall, as that was when the true circus was able to be seen. The party went around the circus visiting each booth and getting thrust into horrid nightmares.
*Eventually the Big Top in the center lit up and Benjamin Hearthorne, the circus' ringleader, welcomed them in. Some smack talk was exchanged and battle ensued. The battle was tense and brutal.
*As the party defeated Benjamin, the true master of the circus was revealed, a horrid nightmarish [[False Hydra]], a creature with many long necks and silently singing humanoid faces. Any creature it devoured would have their identity stricken from everyone's memory. The party fled the circus with the body of Benjamin in tow.

=== Session 57: The Search for Sly ===
Session Tags: [[Galik]], Cultists, Cooper's Guild, [[Sylvester Harper|Sly]]

Characters: [[Kh'jan]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]], [[Dragonett]], [[Therrin Flare]]

DM: Dave (2/15/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Lucinda Grimfold]], [[Master Idryel Il’lylune]], [[Sylvester Harper|Sly]]

XP Gained: TBD

Important Things that Happened:
*The party was assembled by [[Lucinda Grimfold]] to help follow up [[Within_the_Wicked_Wilds/The_Story_So_Far#Session_51:_The_Curious_Case_of_Aftren_Calpeth|the previous investigation regarding strange fungal bodies and missing persons]]. Lucinda used a contact she had from her days with the [[Lyreguard]] to gain information about missing persons in the docks district where the Coopers guild hall and fighting arena are located. For this matter Lucinda was able to obtain a missing persons list from the Disrict Sherrif as well as a Temporary Investigators License for the company on this matter only. For further investigation, Lucinda in points an individual known as [[Sylvester Harper|Sly]] who is believed to be involved with the movement of humanoid bodies in the city.
*Members of the party meet with [[Master Idryel Il’lylune]], a man who operates within Galik's underground fighting rings and who had previously sponsored members of the company in the fighting pit. They request the elf's help with drawing out Sly to which Idryel aggrees.
*Other members of the party go to meet with a bartender contact named Smokey, but find they are followed by a group of three men that they recognize from the fighting pits. They ambush the men who reveal that they were sent by Mr. "Sly" Sylvester to follow them.
*The party then set their ambush for Sly at the docks. With cunning, trickery, and some brute force they manage to draw Sly out into the open and capture him to bring back to the company headquarters for further questioning.

=== Session 58: Blood, Sweat, and Gears ===
Session Tags: Galik, Theta

Characters: [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]], [[Ronin (Wicked Wilds)|Ronin]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[Ren Atherton]], [[Heli Moltenshield]], [[Chrysaor Purosis]]

DM: '''Guest DM Jon''' (2/16/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Theta]], Commando Reconnaissance Unit Iota

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 4258, XP at Level 5: 3650, XP at Level 6: 2433, XP at Level 7: 2068

Important Things that Happened:
*The party are gathered to help fundraise for the company by attending an event where many of Galik's richest investors would be attending to help gather funds for a return to the wilds.
*At first, their efforts seemed to garner some support, with investors liking what they were hearing from the adventurers and what their goals were in the wilds. As the party made their rounds, it seemed that they were getting some mixed signals, almost two different stories were being shared. They soon discovered a figure that appeared to be their friend an ally [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda]] at the event as well.
*They quickly discovered that this Lambda was an imposter and a fight broke out between the party and the false Lambda who fought alongside a band of rogue [[Warforged]]. The fake Lambda, revealed to be one of Lambda's brother, a Warforged named Iota was destroyed with the second brother, Commando Reconnaissance Unit Theta]], escaping.
*Even after the chaos investors still wanted to back the company and the party received large investments of gold to return to the wilds.

=== Session 59: Lost and Found ===
Session Tags: Galik, Nobles, Fungus

Characters: [[Danke Schön]], [[Ren Atherton]], [[Paris Hilton]], [[Marion Ette]], [[Amaris Luanach]], [[Therrin Flare]], [[Spurs]] (First Session)

DM: Julia (2/21/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Lucinda Grimfold]], [[Captian Gharol Kharzog]], [[Tamlin Elkreak]] (mentioned), [[Zyler Elkreak]] (mentioned), Marycane

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 2070, XP at Level 5: 1183, XP at Level 6: 1005, XP at Level 7: 828

Important Things that Happened:
*[[Lucinda Grimfold]] calls the party together to lend assistance to an old ally of hers, the current commander of the [[Lyreguard]], [[Captian Gharol Kharzog]]. Captain Kharzog reveals the High Burger himself [[Tamlin Elkreak]] has sent a request for a covert mission to help him find his nephew, [[Zyler Elkreak]], who has been missing for several months. With the upcoming political campaign, he doesn’t want his house to appear in disarray, thus using the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]] Resources. This is the first election that they’re worried about losing, and that there’s a new comer who seems to have a way with the people.
*Captain Kharzog gives the party a letter sealed with the seal of the High Burger which will open previously locked doors and grant them special access to more private material in the archive. The party makes it to Zyler’s home and are greeted by his housekeeper, an elderly halfling woman named Marycane. She tells them about Zyler and that he had not been home in several months. A few months ago, Zyler came home all excited, saying that he made new friends that made him feel like he belonged. The next day, three very people came to pick him up and after that he was gone. Marycane says he also noticed, in the evening that day, some mushrooms growing in the cracks in the doorway. Investigating Zyler's room the party found many journals and paintings depicting flora from [[Isonhound]] and using [[Feywild]] mushroom based paints.
*The players then make their way to the archives and access the private material. They learn of the Elkreak family's history and find where Zyler's parents are buried.
*At Zyler's parents crypt they find a strange letter that seems to have been written by Zyler in front of a statue of his mother:
<blockquote>Mother,

I miss you. I often feel as if I should have been in the house that night. Uncle Tamlin means well, but it feels as if I am a marionette that he controls, pulling the strings while I perform as he wishes. He rarely understands that I am my own person with my own interests and desires. I felt adrift, completely on my own. That was, until I met my new friends. I was skeptical, at first, but they kept talking…and it all made sense. We all belong together, like a big network of a family. You don’t have to worry about me, I’ll be alright. I have a new Mother to take care of me now.</blockquote>
*After the letter is read the old nobles rise as zombies and attack with strange fungal powers. After defeating the zombies the party returns to Captain Kharzog who rewards them for their discoveries.

=== Session 60: The Bride and Groom Reveal Themselves ===
Session Tags: Galik, Bounty, Cultists

Characters: [[Ronin]], [[Helli Moltenshield]], [[Twilsby Pendergras]], [[22]], [[Ren Atherton]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]]

DM: Keller (2/24/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Skippy]], [[Shelmlock Dolmes]], [[Jaqueline Hearthorne]], [[Alistair Hearthorne]], [[Lenore Hearthorne]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 4: 2588, XP at Level 5: 2218, XP at Level 6: 1479, XP at Level 7: 1257

Important Things that Happened:
*The party are called together by [[Skippy]] the Skiff Strider and [[Shelmlock Dolmes]] who believe they have found a way to get rid of the bounty on the company's head. With the bounty contract being magical in nature, they ere able to create two daggers which when stabbed into the one who placed the bounty, will void it in its entirety. In addition Shelmlock Dolmes believed he has tracked the source of who placed the bounty to the [[Hearthorne]] family, an aristocratic family in the city who is one of [[Galik|Galik's]] oldest families.
*The party head off to meet with the first Hearthorne they are familiar with, [[Jaqueline Hearthorne]] and arrange a meeting with her. They also discover that [[Alistair Hearthorne]], Jaqueline's only surviving sibling and the head of the Hearthorne family is running to be the next High Burgher of Galik. The party splits up, one half to meet with Jaqueline and one half to check up on Alistair as a political debate.
*When meeting with Jaqueline they are able to prove she is not who set the bounty in return for some information. Before she leaves she warns the party to stay away from the Hearthorne's and allow her to keep the issues "in the family."
*At the political debate the party find Alistair is a very likeable candidate with a large portion of the populace supporting him. At the time he had a large contingent of Lyreguard soldiers protecting him after Alistair recently surviving an assassination attack by an unknown masked assailant. At the debate the party also see's Alistair's wife, [[Lenore Hearthorne]].
*After some complications the party follow Alistair and Lenore to his next speech and attack Lenore with the dagger, revealing she was who set the contract and voiding the bounty. In the fray both Alistair and Lenore reveal themselves to be the mysterious and terrifying bride and Groom, the leaders of the fungal cult in Galik. After a scuffle where they transform multiple Lyreguard warriors into fungal monsters they escape to campaign another day.

=== Session 61: Slithering into Sly's Secrets ===
Session Tags: [[Galik]], Cultists, [[Sylvester Harper|Sly]]

Characters: [[Dragonett]], [[Ren Atherton]], [[Kh'jan]], [[Twilsby Pendergras]], [[Heli Moltenshield]]

DM: Dave (2/25/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Sylvester Harper|Sly]], [[Lucinda Grimfold]], The Bride [[Lenore Hearthorne]] (mentioned)

XP Gained: XP at Level 5: 2070,XP at Level 6: 1380, XP at Level 7: 1173

Important Things that Happened:
*The group gathered at the request of [[Lucinda Grimfold]]. Through interrogation of the criminal named [[Sylvester Harper|Sly]], it was revealed he was a member of the fungal demoness, [[Mother]], and a member of the cult dedicated to her in [[Galik]], working under the mysterious Bride and Groom. He revealed the location of his lair, a sewer by the dockyard slums. He also revealed that [[Lenore Hearthorne]], the Bride's, maiden name was [[Bozelli]], a name tied to the Galik mob. Through this Lucinda and the party were able to piece together the mystery of the cult's heraldry, in that it was a combination of the icons of both the Hearthorne and Bozelli households.
*From here the group decided to continue their investigation at Sly's lair. They search the Sewer Slums area of the lower coastal area of the city and find a sewer out drain whose grate had been strangley altered to be more fortified. They find a number of guards outside the entrance who the group quickly dispatches of.
*Inside they find many cultists dedicated to Mother. They find themselves in a massive cavern space carved out of the earth and covered in mushrooms of all types and sizes. Upon investigation they see fungal creatures emerge from coffin size raised planters that have fallen over. The party engage these creatures in battle, finding that these fungal humanoids have control over powerful mind controlling spores.
*The cave is searched and they find a ledger containing information on goods movements. The information is incomplete as to where and what was moved. In the ledger is a collection of correspondence. They are letters from Lenore Hearthorne to Sly outlining the events that have happened over the last year regarding the cult, activity in the wilds, interactions with the Tempest Brothers and finally, the gift given to them from the Mother, a statue they find in the cave that can infuse fungal creatures with powerful abilities. These creatures are being prepped for "the second phase" of Mother's plan to deal with Galik.

=== Session 62: Chittering in the Sewers ===
Session Tags: [[Galik]], Sewer

Characters: [[Thordon Akieye]], [[22]], [[Amelie Luxaeterna]], [[Twilsby Pendergras]], [[Therrin Flare]], [[Heli Moltenshield]]

DM: Julia (3/3/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Paul Fletcher]], [[Eldrous]] (mentioned), Granir and Gruc

XP Gained: XP at Level 6: 2180, XP at Level 7: 1454, XP at Level 8: 1236

Important Things that Happened:
*The party was gathered by [[Paul Fletcher]] to investigate some strange going ons in the sewers that may be connected to both the fungal cult and to wererats. They are made aware of a powerful [[lycanthrope]] named [[Eldrous]] who is a Loup Garou. Paul directs them to an entrance to the sewers connecting to a series of secret tunnels. The party are also provided a strange code that was discovered during a previous expedition into the sewers.
*The party delves into the sewers and use their many magics to avid the sewer's hazards. The party encounter a pack of large rats in the sewers and after sending a quick warning shot are swarmed with rats. The party works their way deeper into the sewers, fighting through hoards of rather normal, just extremely large rats.
*Once they managed to get through a long hallway, they reached a fork in the road, with one side being blocked by a massive living wall of rats. At this point, Ogre Rats and a Rat King appeared. After the rat king was incapacitated, the wall of rats disbanded, allowing the party to loot their nest.
*On the other side of the wall of rats, the party overhears two voices, Granir and Gruc, twin dwarves that were part of an old mining guild. They were almost unrecognizable with hulking forms and seeming to be stuck in a half transformed state between rat and humanoid. After defeating the twins, and through some careful investigating, the party find another inscription on the wall, identical to the code they had. The party manage to decode the message which read “Blood is thicker than water, but bones remain last” Speaking the phrase causes a secret door to open, revealing a secret passage with many mushrooms of the demoness [[Mother]] present.

=== Session 63: Vault Hunters ===
Session Tags: The Scar, Demons

Characters: [[Amelie Luxaeterna|Captain Amelie Luxaeterna]], [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Coryn Alaeth]], [[Radion The Forged]], [[Pash|p'Ash'r'Ohn]]

DM: Keller (3/9/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Widgit Wizzlepop]], [[Cookie]], [[Mother]] (mentioned), Vault

XP Gained: XP at Level 6: 2063, XP at Level 7: 1375

Important Things that Happened:
*The party returned to the wilds on the deck of the Red Macaw joined by [[Cookie]] and [[Within_the_Wicked_Wilds/NPCs#Widgit_Wizzlepop|Widgit Wizzlepop]]. With help from company expeditionaries, they had identified what seemed to be an ancient structure in [[The Scar of Amusa]] that held many dangerous and valuable artifacts. Using suits designed by Widgit Wizzlepop the party descended into the Scar, avoiding many dangers before eventually arriving at the structure itself.
*Upon entering the structure, the party encountered a strange arcane consciousness inhabiting it who identified themselves as named Vault. Seeking to toy with the party it forced them to solve dangerous puzzles and avoid deadly traps seemingly for its own amusement. One of these traps involved a dangerous golem made purely of [[Existence Crystals]].
*Delving deeper the party learned more about the structure's secrets, including the ancient order who founded it known as [[The Order of the Kingdom Keepers]], ancient knights who used to serve the kingdom of [[Amusa#Sotchala|Sotchala]] before the kingdom's fall. Eventually one of the order's members was corrupted by the demoness [[Mother]] and slew most of the order's members before he was defeated and both his hand and hammer were sealed away. Eventually Mother would lead a [[Gnolls|gnoll]] to claim the hammer, a gnoll that would become [[The Gnoll King]].
*After being forced to sacrifice some of their happiest memories, the party would do battle with the hearts of Vault, defeating the entity and claiming some of his greatest treasures before the structure was lost to the Scar. An artifact tied to the cursed hammer was taken as well, weakening the Gnoll King's power. As they escaped, the party got one last vision, of an ancient underground city coated in fungus and shrouded in the shadow of Mother.

=== Session 64: Left For Dead ===
Session Tags: [[The Warden of the Wilds]], Zombies, Tears of the Celestials

Characters: [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]], [[Ash Oakriver]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[Coryn Alaeth]], [[Tommy]], [[Thordon Akieye]]

DM: Aaron (3/13/2024)

Important NPCs: [[The Warden of the Wilds]], [[Bjorn Shattershield]], [[Adrian Tempest]] (mentioned), [[Mother]] (mentioned)

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 4696, XP at Level 5: 4025, XP at Level 6: 2683, XP at Level 7: 2281, XP at Level 8: 1878

Important Things that Happened:
*The session started with [[Bjorn Shattershield]] telling the group how he was out with [[Adrian Tempest]] when he received a message from [[The Warden of the Wilds]] asking for help. The party arrived at the Warden's domain where the Warden mentioned how there was some new mutations to the zombies of the swamp and how usually they stayed within the swamp but are now venturing out. They sent the party out and asked them to bring samples or a full specimen back.
*The groups heads out to the swamp and finds several zombies, strange creatures known as Corpse Lillies and Corpse Mounds, fungal [[Demon|Demons]], and an Alchemist making them stronger. Battle ensues and the Alchemist takes notes from a safe distance with the Demons.
*After a slog the party came out victorious. The group grabs a corpse lilly and bring it to the Warden. They examines it and pulls out a small wooden statuette of [[Mother]] from the mound. The Warden explains that the statue must have been coated in corrupted Celestial energies. They tell the group about the old temple in the swamp that was dedicated to Celestial Deities long ago and how it had a fountain. At this fountain you could get water from the Celestial Realm called 'Tears of a Celestial' and that the enemy has found a way to use it. They also says that Mother's plans must be father along than they first thought.
*As the group overhead the Alchemist mention his creations will be perfect for the upcoming siege. With this new revelation and with the info of the Celestial energies, the Warden implied that Mother aspires to Godhood not just to enter the material plane, as they hunger for more.

=== Session 65: Helpin Gary ===
Session Tags: Mushrooms, Oozes

Characters: [[22]], [[Dragonett]], [[Therrin Flare]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[Kh'jan]], [[Balder the Bald Boulder]]

DM: Dave (3/14/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Gary the Slime King]], [[The Warden of the Wilds]] (mentioned)

XP Gained: XP at Level 5: 2567, XP at Level 6: 2200, XP at Level 7: 1467, XP at Level 8: 1247

Important Things that Happened:
*[[Gary the Slime King|"Gary" the Slime King]] intercepts the group as they were heading to meet up with [[The Warden of the Wilds]]. He asked for their help. Agents of the [[Mother]] had found one of the access points to his underground lair and augmented the slime/ooze summoning power to summon woodland creatures and infect them with [[Myconid]] fungus. Gary sent a green ooze named Squee with the group as a guide to get in.
*Something serving the fungal mother had taken up residence in the caverns below and established a lair. Because of this, Gary was cut off from that part of his domain. The party hurried to the location and found shambling fungal creatures in the area of the massive tree stump. They were quickly dispatched and from a large patch of mushrooms, an infected bear rose up and attacked them. The party dispatched them all and Squee led them into a secret entrance in the river.
*The group dropped down into a large pool of water that contained old ruins of what looked like a long abandoned hidden sanctum, where they were attacked by a mushroom infected [[Bulette]]. The group moved through the ruins and heard scurrying in front of them, quickly dispatching of a small fungal creature. Moving through the ruins, they came across a section where the water from the pool had breeched into the ruins and created a washout that led to an underground cave network.
*The group came across fungal growth and spider webs, and as they moved through the area, they were attacked by fungus that dropped from the ceiling and latched onto them. They came across a massive spider and it's minion creatures skittering down into a hole below, dispatching it and its spawn. Squee went down the hole and came back to the opening piloting a massive construct that bore a mask capable of projecting an antimagic field.

=== Session 66: Soul Dealing and Gunslinging ===
Session Tags: [[The Ten Hells]], [[Devil|Devils]], [[Demon|Demons]], The Warden's Cure

Characters: [[Wiggler]], [[Rina]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Heli Moltenshield]], [[Pash|p'Ash'r'Ohn]], [[Ronin (Wicked Wilds)|Ronin]]

DM: Keller (3/16/2024)

Important NPCs: [[The Warden of the Wilds]], [[Alkiir Scalesborn]], [[Baron Samuel Boarhide]], [[Elytria]], Sellena "Snake-Eyes"

XP Gained: XP: at Level 5: 2567, XP at Level 7: 1467, XP at Level 8: 1247

Important Things that Happened:
*The party are called to the ruins of the basecamp to meet [[The Warden of the Wilds]] who had captured the infernal [[Demon Hunter]], [[Alkiir Scalesborn]]. Alkiir revealed that the Company and the Warden could weaponize the Warden's fungal cure against [[Demon|Demons]] using infernal gold. Alkiir gave the party a contact of his in [[Duumal]], the first layer of [[The Ten Hells]] who could get them the gold.
*The party descend into the Ten Hells and behold Duumal, a layer of Hell heavily influenced by the old [[Pteris|Pterran]] Wild West. The party using infernal disguises arrived in the town of Brimestone Gulch where they had a run in with the [[Marilith]]-Spawn outlaw known as Sellena "Snake Eyes" who challenged them to a dual. The party then met Alkiir's contact, Bellshnir, a Barbed [[Devil]] infernal rodeo clown. Bellshnir led the party to his benefactor, a greedy boar-like [[archdevil]] named [[Baron Samuel Boarhide]] who agreed to give the party infernal gold in exchange for the party retrieving a special gun known as [[The Vaulkner]], a gun with five bullets that could supposedly kill any devil. A gun in the possession of Sellena "Snake Eyes."
*The party met Sellena at high noon and killed her in a dual, escaping from her outlaw cronies with the Vaulkner. After having a run in with the layer's ruler, Sheriff [[Elytria]], the party gave the gun to Baron Boarhide and return to the material realm with the Infernal Gold in tow.

=== Session 67: Tears on my Fungal Blade ===
Session Tags: The Fungal Cure, Demons

Characters: [[Amelie Luxaeterna]], [[Wiggler]], [[Otto von Gerwig]], [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]], [[Ren Atherton]]

DM: Keller (3/19/2024)

Important NPCs: [[The Warden of the Wilds]], [[Jim Stacy]], [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda]], [[Mother]] (mentioned)

XP Gained: XP at Level 6: 4658, XP at Level 7: 3105

Important Things that Happened:
*The party journey out into the wilds to meet [[The Warden of the Wilds]] who is near completion of their fungal cure. The Warden informs the party that the last ingredient needed are the "Tears of a Celestial." The Warden has heard legends of a fountain said to have fallen from the heavens that may have what they need.
*The party journey to the celestial fountain to find it overgrown with fungal rot, finding that the demonic forces of [[Mother]] have desecrated the site. They find cultists of Mother using the site to create the same statuettes of Mother that the company had previously discovered that were being used to create fungal zombies. The party also encounters Jim Stacy, the villainous champion of Mother. The party do battle and once and for all defeat [[Jim Stacy]].
*Before the party can celebrate, the [[Warforged]] [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda]] reveals themselves and swears their allegiance to Mother, claiming to be her new champion, before disappearing.
*The party gather the Celestial tears from the fountain and return to the Warden who once and for all is able to finish the cure.

=== Session 68: The Ravenborn Estate ===
Session Tags: Cultists

Characters: [[Wiggler]], [[Amelie Luxaeterna]], [[Dragonett]], [[Kh'jan]], [[Amaris Luanach]], [[Radion]]

DM: '''Guest DM Gingie''' (3/23/2024)

Important NPCs: Mr. Rod Ravenborn, Joren

XP Gained: XP at Level 6: 1705, XP at Level 7: 1137

Important Things that Happened:
*Mr. Rod Ravenborn asks for help from [[The Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]], cashing in a favor that the Tempest Brothers owed him. Rod asks for the group to clear out the house of anyone who is not suppose to be there. He was turned away from entering the property and provides evidence that the property is his.
*The group approaches the perimeter of the estate and find four thugs on watch around a campfire. They quickly kill them and hide the bodies in the carriage house. They then continue on and enter the house.
*As they investigated, the party entered the dining room where the doors locked behind them and strange supernatural events begin to unfold. After some time they figured out the puzzle and moved on to the next room where they found a letter confirming Rod's connection to the house. They entered the greenhouse and started to find evidence of mushrooms.
*They were summoned to the attic where Joren, the [[ghost]] of the house's former owner. He asked them to check the basement and clear it out of the creatures locked down there. After they were convinced, they went to the basement where they found a few [[Myconid|Myconids]] and a statue of [[Mother]] covered in mushrooms. They killed the mushrooms and destroyed the statue. They discovered that this is a base that was being used to make more fungal zombies from dead bodies being delivered weekly.

=== Session 69: Unmasked ===
Session Tags: Jack of Hearts, Cultists

Characters: [[Ren Atherton]], [[Black Jack]], [[Therrin Flare]], [[Spurs]], [[Ronin (Wicked Wilds)|Ronin]]

DM: Keller (3/24/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Lyowyn Mossbringer]], [[Jack of Hearts]], [[Wren]], [[The Lord of the Beneath]], The Bride and Groom [[Lenore Hearthorne|Lenore]] and [[Alistair Hearthorne]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 4: 2683, XP at Level 5: 2300, XP at Level 7: 1303

Important Things that Happened:
*The party are gathered by [[Lyowyn Mossbringer]] who believes they have tracked down the location of the stolen head of [[Ripjaw]], the mad [[Gnolls|Gnoll]] artificer, which was recently stolen from the company headquarters by the criminal [[Jack of Hearts]]. The party track down the location to a townhouse in [[Galik]] and identify that it is one of many properties owned by the [[Hearthorne]] family. As they approach they learn that [[Alistair Hearthorne]] won the election for High Burgher of Galik. During that same period sirens go off as guards rush to aid the High Burgher as someone had tried to assassinate him.
*The party arrive at the townhouse, quietly incapacitating a pair of lookout guards and entering the home which they find barren, save for hidden supply bags and disguise kits. Reaching the top floor, the party avoid a trap and find the head of Ripjaw connected to strange magitech technology. Here they suddenly run into Jack of Hearts who bursts in beaten and bruised. After dealing with a corrupted fungal Lyreguard who then attempted to kill Jack of Hearts, the party escape the townhouse with the criminal and demand answers.
*Jack of Hearts reveals themselves to be Jaqueline Hearthorne, sister of Alistair Hearthorne. She tells the party about the lost city of [[Thelrya]] and how the demoness Mother plans to use it to ascend to godhood. She also informs them that her brother plans to use his position as High Burgher to weaken Galik's defenses so it will not stand in Mother's way. Finally she informs them that Alistair brought an ally of Mother's into the city, and ancient demigod like being that helped Mother in the far flung past.
*The party rush to confront Alistair only to find the entire council of Galik dead and the vermin of the city congregating around the building. Here they find Alistair and [[Lenore Hearthorne]] along with a [[Wren|strange cultists of worms]]. Alistair and Lenore flee to Thelrya through a teleportation circle and the cultists takes the lawbook, the new laws established by Alistair still in the process of writing themselves.
*As the Bride and Groom flee, their honored guest arrives, a strange figure made of worms and vermin known only as "[[The Lord of the Beneath]]." It transforms into a massive worm like monster and collapses the building into the caves and sewers below Galik, where it then proceeds to begin sinking other sections of the city bringing great destruction. The party manages to defeat the cultist and revert the laws Alaistair set in place. Then before the Lord of the Beneath can continue destroying the rest of the city they trick it into smashing through an underground seawall, trapping it and forcing it to transform back into its smaller form and flee.
*The party say their goodbyes to Jaqueline who agrees to do her best to clean up her families mess before doing away with their identity as Jaqueline for good.

=== Session 70a: Camp Emberclaw ===
Session Tags: [[Gnolls]]

Characters: [[22]], [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Dragonett]], [[Twilsby Pendergras]], [[Kh'jan]]

DM: Aaron (3/29/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Ripjaw]] (mentioned)

XP Gained: XP at Level 6: 3738, XP at Level 7: 2492, XP at Level 8: 2118

Important Things that Happened:
*A small strike force heads to the known location of the [[Gnolls|gnoll]] encampment [[Camp Emberclaw]]. They find the camp empty as a much larger force battles their allies in an all out war on the surface above the underground stronghold. The group searches the camp for clues that could lead them to the location of the camp's arcane forge which had been rebuilt by the Gnoll Artificer [[Ripjaw]]. After some thorough search they find an illusionary wall. After a series of rooms and puzzles they finally find the forge itself and a lone withered gnoll appeared to be working on it. Without question the gnoll is killed immediately and the team rig the forge to explode. The group high tails it out just in time to watch arcane energy erupt from the forge turning Camp Emberclaw into a smoking crater.

=== Session 70b: Camp Emberclaw ===
Session Tags: [[Gnolls]]

Characters: [[Paris Hilton]], [[Marion Ette]], [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Coryn Alaeth]], [[Chrysaor|Chrysaor Purosis]]

DM: Keller (3/29/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Lucinda Grimfold]], [[Talyth]], [[The Gnoll King]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 6: 3738, XP at Level 7: 2492, XP at Level 8: 2118

Important Things that Happened:
*The party are asked to join the alliance of the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]], the [[Galik]] Lyreguard, the [[Nestle]] Gourd Guard, the Druids of [[Thistlebrook]], the [[Gastrosapien|Gastrosapiens]] of [[Escargotia]], and many of the other allies they have made to destroy [[Camp Emberclaw]], the heart of the [[Gnolls|Gnoll]] horde. The party leads a major distraction for of warriors to engage the horde in open combat above the underground encampment.
*The party fend of numerous Gnoll warriors, dangerous war machines, and even [[The Gnoll King]] himself until the stealth team succeeds in blowing up the camp from the inside, officially ending the Gnoll problem in [[Amusa]].
*For more information you can read [[The Gnoll Counter-Offensive]]

=== Session 71: Thelrya Megasession ===
Session Tags: [[Mother]], [[Thelrya]], [[Lycanthrope|Lycanthropes]]

Characters: [[Paris Hilton]], [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Coryn Alaeth]], [[Chrysaor|Chrysaor Purosis]], [[Amelie Luxaeterna]], [[Twilsby Pendergras]], [[Dragonett]], [[Kh'jan]], [[Therrin Flare]], [[22]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[Black Jack]], [[Thordon Akieye]], [[Heli Moltenshield]], [[Ren Atherton]], [[Laurence Awrkright]], [[Ronin (Wicked Wilds)|Ronin]], [[Ash Oakriver]], [[Karma Runes]], [[Leo]], [[Kiamana Pohihi]]

DMs: Aaron, Dave, Julia, Keller (4/7/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Mother]], [[Lenore Hearthorne]], [[Alistair Hearthorne]], [[Eldrous]]

XP Gained: XP at Levels 4: 6417, XP at Level 5: 5500, XP at Level 6: 3667, XP at Level 7: 3117, XP at Level 8: 2567

Important Things that Happened:
*Read [[The Thelryan Restoration]]

=== Session 72e: Caffeinated Chaos ===
Session Tags: The Wilds, Spiders, Coffee

Characters: [[Lupine Lucas]], [[Morten Nusi]], [[Laurence Awrkright]], [[Juno]], [[Beauregard]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]]

DM: '''Guest DM James''' (4/20/2024)

Important NPCs: Saul Cherrywood, Matthias Stone

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 3000, XP at Level 4: 2571, XP at Level 5: 1714, XP at Level 6: 1457, XP at Level 7: 1200

Important Things that Happened:
*Local [[Galik]] cafe owner Saul Cherrywood turns to the party for help in finding some of his missing employees who had been lost in [[The Spider Swamps]] of [[Dolina]]. He suspects that a rival coffee shop owner named Matthias Stone had something to do with it.
*The party delve into the Spider Swamps and they find the missing employees who were being held captive by two assassins along with Giant Spiders who had been fed magical coffee beans.
*In the end the party defeated the assassins and spiders and saved the hostages from the evil clutches of Matthias Stone.

=== Session 73e: Rise of the Allaince ===
Session Tags: [[Fairyflower Mountain]], [[Fey]]

Characters: [[Pash|p'Ash'r'Ohn]], [[Wiggler]], [[Otto von Gerwig]], [[Radion The Forged]], [[Mirth]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]]

DM: Keller (4/20/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Queen Alyara Everlilly]], [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Theta|Theta]], [[Wren]], [[Doctor Carmine Carnelle]], Ailmar Rivleam, [[Faerenia]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 5: 6038, XP at Level 6: 4950, XP at Level 7: 3300, XP at Level 8: 2805

Important Things that Happened:
*The party traveled out to the [[Fair Folk]] haven of [[Fairyflower Mountain]], who requested their assistance. The Queen of the Mountain [[Queen Alyara Everlilly|Alyara Everlilly]] revealed the existence of an ancient rift to the [[Feywild]] which her ancestors used to flee the Feywild in ancient times before founding the mountain. She told them that a [[Fey]] Sorceress named [[Faerenia]] hoped to use this portal to release a faction of ancient and Wild Fey into [[Amusa]] and asked for the parties help to stop her.
*The party arrived at the temple, enchanted grounds in which the Fair Folk couldn't enter, and were ambushed by the rogue [[Warforged]] [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Theta|Theta]] along with other strange Warforged.
*The party defeated Theta and entered the temple, finding Faerenia and other allies of her whom she had gathered across the land, having promised them the opportunity to right the greatest wrongs in their life. The party did battle with her and Faerenia revealed herself to be a powerful Fey [[Dragon]]. The party managed to stop her and prevented the Wild Fey from entering into the realm.

=== Session 74e: TBD ===
Session Tags:

Characters: [[Therrin Flare]], [[Ren Atherton]], [[Ash Oakriver]], [[Mirth]], [[Ronin]], Beauregard

DM: Julia (4/28/2024)

Important NPCs:

XP Gained:

Important Things that Happened:
TBD

=== Session 75e: The Tournament of the Elements ===
Session Tags: [[Galik]], [[Bozzelli]]

Characters: [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]], [[Dragonett]], [[Amelie Luxaeterna|Amelie]], [[Chrysaor]], [[Balder the Bald Boulder]]

DM: Dave, Co-DM Keller (4/28/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Master Idryel Il’lylune]], [[Mr. Bozzelli]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 5: 5600, XP at Level 6: 4800, XP at Level 7: 3200, XP at Level 8: 2720

Important Things that Happened:
*The team is gathered by their High Elf Underground Fighting Ring Sponsor [[Master Idryel Il’lylune]] who has gathered them due to their prowess and reputations in the ring so that they may compete in the Tournament of the Elements, one of the most prestigious, famous, and most dangerous underground fighting tournaments in the realm.
*The team enters into the qualifiers where they must compete against two other teams and survive an onslaught of eye rays from the [[Beholder]] Kaleidoscorch. After succeeding in the qualifiers, the fighters enter into the tournament proper, competing in a series of one-on-one unarmed fights, eventually all reaching it to the finals.
*The team is approached by the mobster [[Mr. Bozzelli]] who offers them a large sum of money in return for throwing the fight. The team refuses and one of Bozzelli's men attempts to poison the team. Entering into the arena for the last time the team confronts the tournaments champions, four powerful elemental [[genie]] wrestlers. Winning by the skin of their teeth, the team comes out on top, receiving the title of champions of the tournament and receiving a large sum of money from risky bets they made before the match.

=== Session 76e: Army of the Unseen ===
Session Tags: [[Thelrya]], [[Philosopher's Stone]], The Lost Parade

Characters: [[Ronin]], [[Wiggler]], [[22]], [[Ren Atherton]], [[Heli Moltenshield]]

DM: Keller (5/4/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Paul Fletcher]], [[Hunk]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 6: 2970, XP at Level 7: 1980, XP at Level 8: 1683

Important Things that Happened:
*As the rain pours the party join [[Paul Fletcher]] and [[Hunk]] the [[Kobold]] Paladin in search of the final lost village of [[Thelrya]], [[Emberglen]]. Tracking down its location using old Thelryan maps, the party arrives on the outskirts, discovering runes that suggested a massive magic circle surrounding the village.
*Going deeper, the party found an old Kobold farmhouse that was seemingly abandoned, with signs that there had been some strange occurrences in the village, as well of signs of an unseen onlooker. As the party continued to the village, they discovered that a strange being resembling Paul had infiltrated the group, only to disappear before they could do anything about it.
*Arriving at the village they find it abandoned, save for the strange signs of creature nearby that always seem to disappear when the party approaches. While investigating they are beset by an invisible creature which could be seen only through mirrors. Defeating it, it is discovered to be a strange mutated kobold. At the same time the party continues to be stalked by the creature that resembles Paul.
*Investigating the villages library, the party discovers the hidden sanctum of a kobold wizard. Reading their notes, it is revealed that in their folly in hopes to regain Thelrya, the Kobold wizards of the village summoned something from the beyond, a disease that took shelter in the town well. Anyone who then drank the water would be transformed into a monstrous [[Skulk]], doomed to march at the beat of the Lost Parade. The party complete a ritual to destroy the disease while fending off a horde of the Skulk, and manage to free the remaining villagers who had been petrified for their own safety, saving the village of Emberglen.

=== Session 77e: TBD ===
Session Tags:

Characters:

DM: Julia (5/5/2024)

Important NPCs:

XP Gained:

Important Things that Happened:

=== Session 78e: Fur and Fangs ===
Session Tags: The Wilds, Druids

Characters: [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]], [[Ren Atherton]], [[22]], [[Twilsby Pendergras]]

DM: '''Guest DM Anna''' (5/10/2024)

Important NPCs: Roxanne, Quin-Ora

XP Gained: XP at Level 7: 4785, XP at Level 8: 4067

Important Things that Happened:
*The party journeyed out into the wilds at the request of a druid sanctuary searching for assistance. As they approached the border of the sanctuary, they came upon a herd of colorful, horned sheep consuming a corpse. As the party got closer, the herd were provoked and attacked, attracting attention from nearby plant-like wolves that accompanied the sheep. After defeating the two animal packs, they came on a small wood elf who discovered them. Finding out they were from [[The Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]], they lead them into the now-ransacked Silver Ivy Sanctuary, where their small community was rounding up infant beasts and incapacitated monsters under their care.
*The druid Roxanne met them soon after to notify that a few of their rarer infants have been captured and stolen - and that the wards that normally keep unwanted interlopers out was dismantled. The party pushed a little further, and she gave them a scroll to revive the wards once they made sure all the animals were recovered and all the ward stones were in place.
*The party successfully located a weak link at the north end of the sanctuary, discovering a last pack of poachers were on their way out - each with a crate in tow that emitted various bestial cries for help. The party quickly dispatched the brigade, recovering the animals.
*As the final goon fell, the boss - Quinn-Ora, thought to finish the job herself. She attempted to negotiate, but the party pounced on the warlock quickly. Beaten by two giant apes, slashed up, and out of any other options she cast dimension door to scramble away, claiming to return with better help.
*Afterwards, the party located the misplaced ward stone - placing it back and restoring the ritual to replace the protective barrier. The baby beasts were saved, and the Silver Ivy Sanctuary gifted them with unique items and offered to aid the company should they require guides or other help navigating within the Wilds.

=== Session 79e: Heist in the Collection ===
Session Tags: [[The Collector]], Circus

Characters: [[Dragonett]], [[Heli Moltenshield]], [[Kh'jan]], [[Twilsby Pendergras]], [[Amaris Luanach]]

DM: Aaron (5/12/2024)

Important NPCs: [[The Collector]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 7: 2860, XP at Level 8: 2431

Important Things that Happened:
The hero [[Dragonett]] gathers a team of likeminded adventurers to perform a heist of the Collection, a large storage sight of many powerful artifacts owned by the mysterious [[The Collector|Collector]]. Using the information they had gathered, the locate the sight of the Collection's secret location, beneath the [[Luggland]] Embassy. The party arrives and bribes their way in to the Collection. They pass through a large arcane door and are ominously told that the Collector is on the other side.

The first room the party is in is a massive library. The party investigates the bookshelves for traps and all the books on the shelf fly off the shelf and attack before flying into the air. The party manages to befriend the books and uses their help to escape the library. The next room is a large open space with many statues, each holding different objects. They find a stone plaque with a strange riddle identifying three separate tasks. The party complete the first two tasks but fail he third, causing one of their party to get disintegrated.

The next room was entirely black and the party hears a child's cry. Investigating they find a small child crying for it's Mother. Questioning the child, the party discover it was from the circus. At this moment the child reveals themselves to be the monstrous [[False Hydra]] which had escaped its previous encounter with the party's allies and it attacked. After a difficult battle the party comes out on top.

A door of light appears and the party enter it. Sitting in a chair in a massive empty room is the elf from earlier holding the mask of the Collector in his lap. The party offer several magic items in exchange to true resurrect their dead ally, which the Collector accepts. He tells the party he is collecting and containing cursed items that are tied to [[The Seven]]. Keeping them from being used this restraining some of The Sevens power. He mentions how since this location has been broken into he will be relocating his collection. He gifts the party some items for the efforts in jest before leaving.

=== Session 80e: TBD ===
Session Tags:

Characters:

DM: Julia (5/16/2024)

Important NPCs:

XP Gained:

Important Things that Happened:

----------------
</div>

==Book 3==

=== Session 81: Quelmar Con 2023 Game: Kiss of Ice ===
Session Tags: [[The Glacial Rift]], [[The Seven]]

Characters: [[Therrin Flare]], [[22]], [[Selene]], [[Ronin (Wicked Wilds)]], [[Tryska Bjorndottyr]], [[Thordon Akieye]]

DM: Keller (6/2/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Skippy]], Eleria the Winter [[Dryad]], Unknown Blue Giant, Unknown Ancient [[White Dragon]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 6: 4171, XP at Level 7: 3575, XP at Level 8: 2383, XP at Level 9: 2026

Important Things that Happened:
*After the establishment of the new waystation, the party were instructed to travel the entirety of the road leading from the waystation all the way to [[Xender City]] to identify any potential threats and dangers along the way. The party chose to take their friend [[Skippy]] with them and began to make their way.
*Halfway through their journey while they rested during the night, they were accosted by a mysterious creature none of them could identify. Their encounter with this being was interrupted by a terrifying howl that shook the jungle. Investigating the source the party found a torn-open T-Rex covered in strange frost.
*Traveling on, a few days later the party found a similarly dismembered animal, and searching forward they discovered a massive out-of-place [[Yeti]]. After defeating the strange beast, the party began to look into how such a creature came to [[Amusa]]. Following its tracks the party found a massive dome made of solid ice. Entering through a small crevice carved into the dome, the party found a mystical frozen jungle, where all the plants were coated with ice and where snow rained down from the sky. The party also found solid ice sculptures which they soon discovered used to be living people and animals.
*Arriving at the center of the dome, the party found a strange ice rift formed in the center of a massive tree. The gate was watched over by a strange Winter [[Dryad]] known as Eleria, who offered the opportunity for the party to remain with her forever, frozen in perfectly preserving ice. Combat ensued and after a difficult battle with many close calls the party defeated Eleria. As she was defeated, the party received a strange vision from the night of [[The Thelryan Restoration]]. The party saw the grove when it was in its pre-frozen state, full of life and tended to by fey dryads. The leyline surge from the Thelryan event caused a strange [[crown artifact]] held by a ranger staying with the dryads to react, tearing open the strange frozen rift.
*During the fight one of the party members got pulled into the strange rift, waking up to endless fields of snow and ice ringed with tall mountains. On the forest mountain stood a castle of tall stone and ice, and approaching him was a towering humanoid figure with blue skin. Beholding the rift the figure proclaimed:

<blockquote>"Start spreading the news, we leave today. Long live the Frostfell Empire!"</blockquote>

*The figure then blew on a large horn, awaking what appeared to be a massive ancient white dragon on a nearby mountain top. After the Winter Dryad's defeat and seeing the approaching dragon through [[The Glacial Rift]], the party fled back to their cart, finishing their journey to Xender City, with many more questions then answers.

=== Session 82: The Community Garden ===
Session Tags: [[Fey]]

Characters: [[22]], [[Ren Atherton]], [[Iris]], [[Zarril]], [[Beauregard Shryke]], [[Chrysaor]]

DM: '''Guest DM Kade''' (6/14/2024)

Important NPCs: Pharius Halatar, Fevria, The Goose Untie

XP Gained: XP at Levels 3 and 4: 3802, XP at Level 5: 3259, XP at Level 6: 2173, XP at Level 7: 1847, XP at Levels 8 & 9: 1521

Important Things that Happened:
*The party was tasked to check on the local community garden created just south of the main outpost. After arriving, they discovered that the half-drow farmer Pharius Halatar, who was hired to start the garden, had been utterly terrorized by a malicious unknown entity and her horrid pet goose.
*After some creative investigating, they discovered that this malicious entity was a [[Fey]] known as Fevria. She seemed to have an unknown obligation to her court but decided she wanted this land for her pet goose, Untie. She sported multiple additional body parts, taken from slain adventurers and foes she deemed 'worthy' of killing. The party quickly got to work before she could slay them, dishing out devilish blows and ensuring that her reign of terror ended swiftly.
*With the fey and her dastardly pet goose defeated, the group successfully secured the community garden for the Tempest Brothers.

=== Session 83: Farmstead Investigation ===
Session Tags: Wilds, Farm, Scarecrows

Characters: [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Valdos]], [[Nokori Naru]], [[Ghargux]], [[Coryn Alaeth]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]]

DM: Dave P (6/19/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Darian Tempest]], [[Derwin]], Ellie, Devin Markster, Frederic Willhelm

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 2713, XP at Level 7: 1085, XP at Level 8: 1008

Important Things that Happened:
*The party was chosen for the investigation mission by [[Darian Tempest]] while they were eating breakfast. In the central fort (The Big House),they met Devin Markster & Frederic Willhelm, two farmers who lived up the road that leads to [[Troverth]]. Darian told them that the men were having trouble with something skulking around the jungle around their farm.
*On their way to the farm Devin informed them that they were discovering animal carcasses around their farm, the farm animals had been spooked, there had been strange noises in the wilds, and a strange figure was seen killing animals in their barn before fleeing. The party also learned that Fredrick's daughter Ellie had a strange imaginary friend name Hopper. The party later learns that Hopper is a Shield Guardian, with Ellie as his amulet holder.
*As they investigated, the party spotted strange humanoid figures skulking around the farm as well as seeing strange blue lights. After much investigating they found a strange hut occupied by a man named [[Derwin]]. Derwin revealed that the figures were animated scarecrows of his creation. He had also created two larger scarecrows called Harvest Reapers made to protect farms. The party deployed the Harvest Reapers which protected the farm, keeping whatever had been harassing the farm at bay. But whatever that thing was was still out there......

=== Session 84: Men in Tights ===
Session Tags: Jack of Hearts, Troverth, Frost Giants

Characters: [[Ronin (Wicked Wilds)]], [[Amelie Luxaeterna|Amelie]], [[Wiggler]], [[Allinor Kalth]], [[Thordon Akieye]]

DM: Keller (6/21/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Jack of Hearts]], [[Velemar Decrye]], [[Cookie]], Binkle and Twinkle

XP Gained: XP at Level 6: 3850, XP at Level 7: 3300, XP at Level 8: 2200, XP at Level 9: 1870

Important Things that Happened:
*The party was gathered by [[Velemar Decrye]] to investigate reports of bandits robbing merchants along the Troverthian road. He worried that if these attacks continued it could bring an end to trade along the route between the waystation and [[Troverth]].
*Accompanied by the Otter Wizard [[Cookie]], the party joined the gnomish merchant couple of Binkle and Twinkle on the road to see if they could find and stop these bandits. Along the way they found the strange aftermath of a battle between a now dead [[[Frost Giant]] and a large bipedal fiendish creature. The party questioned how a Frost Giant could end up in the wilds of [[Amusa]].
*Continuing along, the party were ambushed by figures wearing brightly colored tights. The leader of this group of merry bandits was revealed to be [[Jack of Hearts]], a mercenary and freelance adventurer the company had encountered in the West. Jack revealed that after his encounters with the company, he wished to turn a new leaf, traveling out east and forming his band of brigands who would rob traveling merchants to give their wares and riches to the poor villages of Troverth.
*Jack of Hearts brought the party to his camp where they debated with him the actual heroics and morals of stealing to give to the poor, with members of the party split on the issue. Engaging in festivities at the bandit camp, the party members participated in a series of fun challenges while getting questions answered by Jack of Hearts. He told them he was aware of more Frost Giants in the area, having arrived through the glacial rift. He informed the party that the giants were looking for something, but he wasn't sure what.
*As the night was coming to an end the party was pulled aside by a figure who revealed themselves as a captain of the Troverthian military. The captain asked the party to help arrest Jack and his crew, though the party was split on the issue. As they debated one party member warned Jack who fled with his band of merry men. Afterwards the players would find a letter from Jack informing them that the party had inspired him to move beyond thievery and to attack the heart of the issue, to become a revolutionary.

=== Session 85: Storming the Tower ===
Session Tags: Xender Royal Family, Magic

Characters: [[Therrin Flare]], [[Esperanza Alnilam]], [[Kh'jan]], [[Lysvan]], [[Karma Runes]]

DM: '''Guest DM Drew''' (6/23/2024)

Important NPCs: Gafizmaphram the Magnificent

XP Gained: XP at Level 3: 3738, XP at Level 5: 3204, XP at Level 6: 2136, XP at Level 7: 1815, XP at Level 8: 1495

Important Things that Happened:
*The Royal Family of [[Xender Pleth]] told the Tempest Brothers that a testy wizard had stolen a priceless portrait of a 'beautiful child' and that two negotiating parties had not returned from their efforts to retrieve it.
*The party was briefed on the mission to recover the portrait and find out what happened to the other parties. They flew by Red McCaw to a nearby camp and scouted ahead with familiars to discover a stone monolith with no clear entrance. They hiked to the location the following morning to find a tower with no doors or windows and covered with some type of force shield. Magic mouths in the tower announced that it belongs to "Gafizmaphram the Magnificent".
*They searched the area, found a mine entrance that was from long before, and followed it to a mined entrance into the tower foundation. In these catacombs, they fought undead before finding their way to a trapdoor into the tower proper. They discovered that the undead were, in fact, the remains of the previous two parties who were sent to investigate.
*The party emerged on the next level in a storage room and burst in on the gnome wizard while he was eating breakfast. The defenses of the tower activated and the party had to fight fire elementals while being peppered with spells from the mage and scorching rays from the fireplace. The party successfully banished the mage and they continued up the tower.
*On the next level they searched a library, finding clues and having a shouting match with the mage that suggested that there was a different side to this story. The tower defenses activated again and they had to fight animated objects.
*After the fight, the party debated about whether to continue forward, having exhausted almost all spells and having only a fraction of hit points remaining. They continued one more floor, finding an alchemy lab. There, they found additional evidence which confirmed a different story about what happened and confronted the mage and his Simulacrum.
*The mage, Gafizmaphram, had been accosted by the Royal Family who had requested that he become their court mage. Gafizmaphram rejected this offer and was in the process of being taken into custody by castle guards when he grabbed a portrait off the wall, smashed out the frame and used it to distract the guards while he teleported back to his tower. The wizard had no idea that this portrait of a scrawny, ugly baby bird had any value whatsoever and was using it for scrap paper throughout the tower. The party was able to recover all three pieces of the portrait of a baby [[aarakocra]]. They collected loot and left the tower without confronting the wizard further, returning to camp.

=== Session 86: TBD ===
Session Tags: TBD

Characters: TBD

DM: Julia (6/25/2024)

Important NPCs: TBD

XP Gained: TBD

Important Things that Happened:
TBD

=== Session 87: Lost In Transit ===
Session Tags: Wilds, [[Ymbtrymman]], [[Mindflayer]]

Characters: TBD

DM: Dave S (6/30/2024)

Important NPCs: [[Adrian Tempest]], [[Arc]], [[Gumptor Flynn]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 4: 2310, XP at Level 5: 1980, XP at Level 6: 1320, XP at Level 8: 924

Important Things that Happened:
*[[Adrian Tempest]] sent and urgent notice from [[Ymbtrymman]]. A caravan sent off two days prior had lost communication on its way to the Outpost. Immediate assistance was requested from the Tempest Brothers to track along the path in an expeditious fashion to figure out what had happened and if possible recover the lost people and goods. Moving quickly he gathered some of the doughty members of the Expeditionary Force to fulfill the request.
*[[Arc]], the company's head of arcane matters, crafted a teleportation circle to take the gathered party to Ymbtrymman. Since the caravan had departed Ymbtrymman two days previously, it was decided to track and pursue their route from Ymbtrymman rather than try to locate them from the air or via a land route out from the outpost. The locals told the party that they would be guided by a local named [[Gumptor Flynn]], a [[Half-Orc]] Ranger, who was a hunter and tracker familiar with the area.
*They made great time through the jungle with Flynn's guidance. The trail showed many signs of the caravan's passing so Flynn felt confident they were gaining. After a long and grueling journey they found the remains of the caravan. The carts were torn and damaged and there were traces of shed blood, along with many sets of jaguar pawprints, strangely hunting in a pack like fashion.
*The party found prints and tracks indicating several bodies were dragged through the jungle in a northern direction. Stopping to assess the situation several party members realized creatures were moving through the undergrowth all around them. They braced for an encounter and within moments ten jaguars broke cover and moved to nearly surround the party. The party attempted to communicate with three of the animals and did make contact, but in response received a ten-voiced mental reply of "Food!". It quickly became apparent that there was something strange happening. The jaguars all moved with a strange synchronicity as they attacked.
*And that's when the weirdness cranked up a notch. As the party watched in horror, any jaguar they would defeated would just evaporated into a mist that flowed into the remaining creatures, healing and strengthening them. The party realized the way to defeat this enemy was to kill them all at once. After defeating the creatures the party continued and found the beasts' lair. The party discovered a lab or research room with a curtained corridor leading to a closed wooden door. They discovered a large storage area with a set of metal doors where beyond were prison cells.
*The research area drew the party's attention and they all moved in to investigate. They found an obvious teleportation circle in the center of the room, and three tables with differing research components - a table of alchemical supplies, a table of wizardly drafting equipment, and a table of timepieces of many varieties. Then suddenly a wave of energy blasted down and the entire party was struck. A [[Mind Flayer]] became visible floating near the ceiling. While the party tried to gather their wits, the mind flayer drifted down to the table of timepieces, grabbed a heart-shaped silver device from the table, and then disappeared.
*Continuing search the party found some survivors from the caravan. With perseverance the group rescued the captive survivors, recovered the shipment, and made their way back to Ymbtrymman over a few days' time.

=== Session 88: Pop Up Art ===
Session Tags: [[Ymbtrymman]], Artifact

Characters: [[Ghargux]], [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]], [[Dickweedus|Dr. Weedus]], [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]], [[Tryska Bjorndottyr]], [[Balder the Bald Boulder]]

DM: '''Guest DM Nin''' (7/2/2024)

Important NPCs: Dimi, [[Marion Ette]]

XP Gained: XP at Level 5: 2855, XP at Level 6: 2448, XP at Level 7: 1632, XP at Level 8: 1387, XP at Level 9: 1142

Important Things that Happened:
*The party is hired by a Divination Wizard and artifact collector contact in [[Xender City]] named Dimi. They inform the party that there have been recent reports of a strange haunting in the town of Ymbtrymman which they believe is tied to an artifact they wish to possess.
*Arriving in the town, the people there are preparing for the upcoming Farmers Festival. The party learns that the hauntings are tied to the disappearances of painting in the ton and that they may be connected somehow to a new family that recently moved in.
*The party followed the strange happenings to the sewers where they were suddenly beset by a strange attacker who shattered into glass when destroyed.
*They discovered more strange humanoids who looked like town folks before shattering into glass when destroyed as they continued on. The party discovered that these humanoids came from the stolen portraits, given life by a strange mirror. The party recovered the mirror and gave it to Dimi to finish their job.

[[Category:Wicked Wilds]]

Within the Wicked Wilds/Player Recaps

2024-07-09T11:32:20Z

Doublecheese247: Session XX to Session 83

{{Worldbuilders}}An alternative in-character set of ''highly condensed'' recaps of the first several sessions are available from Sabbatical from her weekly reports at [[SWAAR]].

And some further abbreviated, third-person summaries can be found at "Within the Wicked Wilds/[[Within the Wicked Wilds/Player Recaps/TLDR|Player Recaps/TLDR]]".

<div id="thinwhistle" style="padding-top: 1em">
===Session 1a: Thinwhistle===
'''DM:''' Aaron

'''PCs:'''
*Rina (Jen): wood elf druid
*Lambda (Jon): warforged monk
*Nassir (Sam): dragonborn barbarian
*Stout, aka Neru (Rich): gnome paladin
*22 (Cat): autom druid ***Present in spirit was Finny (Anna): Aarakocra Bard, who remained at base camp due to a last-minute injury (and/or hangover, depending on who you ask)
'''NPCs:'''
*Matilda and Bjorn, "guides" (i.e. chaperones) provided by TBEC
*Hunk and Snatu, residents of Thinwhistle

'''Significant events:'''

After the entire expeditionary group had travelled inland from Galik by [[airship]], the party walked half a day west where they encountered and befriended the people of Thinwhistle, a village of Kobolds of Unusual Size. The chief and head lore keeper of the village was Snatu (he/him), who explained that the kobolds of this part of Amusa were once a glorious race, more powerful than most of their contemporaries and living in their underground ancestral kingdom, but that they were driven out by a great calamity, the nature of which had long been lost to the the tribe's memory and records. All they had was a tattered mural showing the destruction of a city, with fires raging and corpses littering the scene. Snatu went on to say that the people of Thinwhistle had split off from other tribes long ago, and that the tribes often war amongst each other but that some may know more of the lost history.

The party and a kobold warrior named Hunk (he/him) set out to find two monsters that had been terrorizing the village. They succeeded, in a way, when one of the monsters, a colossal red fire-breather, ambushed the party just as they had encountered three hostile drakes.

A fight ensued that the party won, but not without considerable risk to all their lives. During the struggle, Lambda was badly bitten by the monster and 22 revived him (about which 22 would later report feeling conflicted when they realized that, in their words, "Lambda appears to be a raging racist.") Nassir eventually slew the monster, and while the party was cleaning up the drakes, the other colossal monster appeared, a green lightning-breather that the kobolds apparently call "The Eater of Worlds". Though the party had tried to ensure Hunk's well-being, the new monster breathed lightning on Stout, Hunk and 22, and Hunk was knocked unconscious.

Just as Lambda closed with this second monster, Hunk, now stabilized by Stout, came around for long enough to shout "Run!!" upon seeing the beast. Nassir flanked the creature to try to help Lambda disengage, but the monster rendered both of them unconscious with a tail slap and a bite. Once it had eliminated these threats, it turned its attention to feasting on the first monster's carcass, and the party took this opportunity to GTFO.

Stout carried Hunk out, 22 revived Nassir, and Rina revived Lambda, and they all got a few-minute head start before eventually catching the telltale sound of the creature pursuing them through the forest, knocking over trees as it came. After a brief tactical discussion, 22 cast Pass Without Trace on the party, and they were able to evade the creature in the woods and return to Thinwhistle to lick their wounds.

Hunk soon became a liaison between Thinwhistle and the expedition base camp, and the two groups agreed to establish peaceful relations.
</div>

===Session 1b: The Temple of Loth ===
'''DM:''' Julia

'''PCs:'''
*Reedy and Daq (Mercedes): tiefling ranger and drake
*Sabbatical (Talia): tiefling cleric
*Paris Hilton and PPP : human ranger and chihuahua
*Sir Yewvane : Eladrin bard/Paladin
*Therrin: aasamir warlock
'''NPCs:'''
*Paul, "guide" (i.e. chaperones) provided by TBEC

'''Significant events:'''

''Today was our first expedition. Daq and I were joined by Sir Yewvane, Paris, Therrin, and Sabbatical was also there. We headed into the jungle, following our guide from Tempest Brothers, Paul. He is a capable young man, learned, and keen on artifacts and archaeology. I mostly went along for guard duty, which suits me well. As we were going along, Paris made the VERY WISE decision to open her satchel to show up her vermin, a small mastiff called Princess Platinum Paws. I despite it. Also, her satchel emits an alarming amount of light, causing a very loud roar, like one of the creatures that Kompi can summon, but it sounded deeper, larger even. We continued forward.''

''It didn’t take too long to find ourselves at a clearing and a large temple. It didn’t look in too much disrepair, but aged. Ornate and beautiful, almost—an odd glisten to it. We entered and in the first room, there were so many large spiders. They were the size of wolves. One of them bit me, but it didn’t take very much effort to pin down and kill the others, especially with Daq’sassistance. I was still inspecting the room when Sabbatical attempted to simply move ahead before we inspected that everyone was alright to do so. She can be very single minded at times. I grabbed her, pulling her back and having Daq block the door while we waited for the others. Once we were ALL ready, we moved ahead.''

''The next room of the temple contained a large statue of the deity this temple was dedicated to, a stunningly beautiful representation of the goddess, Loth, who is part woman, part spider. Her magical spiders, much larger and mystic, attacked us and their webs were also mystifying. We destroyed them all with a near ease, which was unsettling because it seemed too easy. Despite their size and arcane ability, it was not very difficult to kill them all. Upon inspection of the statue of Loth, she has her palm extended, awaiting an offering. I took one of my sapphire earrings out and rested it in her hand, but nothing happened. Clearly, my offer was not enough.''

''One of our party remembered that Loth’s temples often are entrances to the Underdark, but we did not see such an entrance, so we continued our trek. While the others were healing and maintaining themselves from the fight, I snuck away into the next hall, very careful. I noticed pools of black ichor with spider legs reaching out from inside, just swaying slightly. When I approached and was within their range, they snapped at me and attempted to hit, but it did not work because I am quick to dodge.''

''I retrieved the others, warning them of the legs in the black ooze and we slowly made our way, careful to destroy the legs before we moved further into the temple. We reached the final two rooms and as we approached what seemed to be the end of the temple’s layout, we found ourselves face to face with an odd bundling of the spider’s web. Obviously victims of the large creature that had been awaiting us inside our final destination for our mission.''

''As soon as Yewvane stepped into the final room of the temple, a monstrosity that I could not distinguish between bat, ichor, and spider, descended from the ceiling and attached. Yewvane tried to close the door to it so if could not see and attack us, but instead, it sent the door crashing into him and allowing it to begin to creep inside.''

''We would attack the creature, it would them force us into a state of mind that didn’t allow us to attack it until we’d attacked something else inside, so we rotated between attacking the legs of ichor that had regrown with the creature’s appearance, andattacked the Haunter of the Dark itself. Sabbatical ran around the room in mad dashes, lighting everything in her path ablaze while Paris brought our her mangy toy dog and it stayed with the large creature, attacking it. Paris, Therrin and I shot bolts, arrows, and blasts at it until it finally dissolved into it’s own ether.''

''Stepping around the disgust and filth, we made our way into the final room and I opened the web sac. Inside were many corpses, animals, humanoid, creature alike, some coins were found on the bodies, as well as a cloak that Sabbatical identified as being one of Protection, boosting my armor. It shimmers like Daq’s black scales. Also inside was a large deep red garnet, cut ornated into 12 smooth and perfect planes. I was tempted, for just a moment, to put it into my own bag, but realized how foolish it would be after a moment.''

''We look it back to the statue of Loth and placed it in the goddess’ hand. Behind her, a grating sound of stone on stone occurred and when we looked into the path that opened, it was a dark, deeply angled, descending staircase. We could only assume to where this would lead, the Underdark.''

''Sabbatical, ever one to see how far she can push people into submission, bullied poor Paul into standing on the other side of the door and seeing if there was a mechanism that would allow him to get back inside the temple from the entrance to the underdark. Yewvane wouldn’t let Paul go alone, so they both stepped through and Sabbatical removed the gemstone from Loth’s hand. The doors closed and for a faint moment, I thought perhaps she might leave them there, but she did not, so when they returned into the temple with us, they told us that once inside the stairwell, they did not see another way to open the door from the inside.''

''Paul has taken possession of the gemstone for now and will himself and Arcane lead missions out to see what we can learn about the Underdark inside Loth’s temple entrance. -'' From the Journal of Reedy

===Session 1b: Kickoff Megagame - Ruins of Maddening Dreams ===
Session Tags: The Green Knight, Perseus Company, Philosopher's Stone, Sylvester da Stone

Characters: [[Lysvan]] (First Session), [[Obsidian]] (First Session), [[Amaris Luanach]] (First Session), [[Chrysaor|Chrysaor Purosis]] (First Session), [[Deralickt Dadwarf, Low Priest of the Order of Cucullin, of the Reformed Church of Bajayzus, Hisself.|Deralickt Dadwarf]] (First Session)

DM: Keller (4/29/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Lucinda Grimfold]], [[Lyowyn Mossbringer]], [[Cookie]], [[The Green Knight According to Deralickt Dadwarf, Low Priest of the Order of Cucullin, of the Reformed Church of Bajayzus, Hisself|The Green Knight]] Sylvester da Stone

Important Things that Happened:

So this ta be da true account of thins dat did ta happen during our arrival inna da Wicked Wilds. I Deralickt Dadwarf, Low Priest of the Order of Cucullin, of the Reformed Church of Bajayzus, Hisself attest to this.

Our skiff headed out to find da Perseus Company to coordinate settin up da Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company camp, so as ta not be steppin on toes and such.

We did ta land near ta the supposed camp, findin a road cut inta the jungle heading towards and away from our target. Our party was made up of the notables listed above. A fine bunch o lads n lasses for a easy jaunt through de woods. Our Drood made a friend with a local monkey who will will kno as Chimp. Others were preppin spells and such to assist with walkin thru da trees down da road.

Bajayzus spake ta me and guided myself to a large rock. This was not any rock, but was a rock known as Sylvester. Sylvester da Stone. Upon this rock I will build the Church in The Wicked Wilds. So within minutes of arrival, my ministry has doubled!

Sylvester immediately took off down the road a bit scoutin ahead and waitin till we caught up to again shoot ahead. Clearin the way and keepin us from ambush. He even took off into the woods to sneak up upon the camp. I have Bajayzus as my shield, so I walked right in. This was not the main camp, but a watch tower and small ruined camp.

Now, Ima all about keepin a good watch. Cuttin off yer own head an stickin up on a pole seems a bit overkill. I was gonna point dis out, but the evidence of Gnolls was about, so figure it was them. The watch tower still stood, and was built upon a solid stone foundation. Now Ima good solid sensible dwarf. Bein all dangly on a framework of wood is not the best plan, so I split off and went ta the stone cellar. They did pretty good work on the stones, not dwarven mind ya, but nice and solid. There was a large padlock on the door to the cellar. As I have learnt from my days upon the Barge, locks are usually in and about thins of interestin proportions.

Well, the open doors revealed a man takin a nap in the middle of the floor of a very smelly room, apparently locked in here for a bit. I went in ta wake him, and realized he was takin a dirt nap. Most likely kilt by stuffin a black chicken into his mouth, as it was full of feathers, with feathers sticking out his ears and other places as well. Lucky I was already pourin water inna his mouth ta see if I could revive em, Obsidian was lookin ta identify what type of bird ta feathers were from when they all burst inna fire.

We quickly left, as we dinna want ta get the bill for arson, when we found some bad poetry written on da wall.

The party regrouped, Our company handlers quickly swept in and threw all sorts of accusations about arson anna such. Our people who climbed the tower found a map wif lots of circles anna such on it, with some crossed out. We decided ta make haste ta the main Perseus camp. So the company people, Lucinda Grimfold, Lyowyn Mossbringer, Cookie go a flyin off again, leavin us ta walk ta da main camp.

Darkness fell quick while we were walkin instead o flyin. Strange thins did ta happen durin da watches, First watch, the trees moved in, The second watch da people were seemingly sucked up inta da sky. On my watch some darkness coalesced into a malevolent form. I chucked a rock at it. It chucked it back, automatically hittin me in the head for a pile o damage. Well, hittin a Dwarf in da head with a rock will really only result in smaller rocks. There be somin old and vast that dont want us here. Again, I am immune to leavin areas just cause someone is annoyed by my presence. Passive aggressive do ta be wasted on a dwarf. We did find Chimp dead and impaled upon a tree. The first member of the expedition to die permeant like. He will never be forgotten.

We made it ta da main camp inna early mornin. They appear ta have been a bit better at putin up a fight as there were a few gnolls scattered about the battlefield They appear ta ave set up da main bunkhouse in an old temple, with a few outbuildings. I investigated the temple and found interestin archeological information ta be published as a paper at a latter time. We also found a large duck anna merchant under a tarp, and sent him ta our main camp area. Prior to leaving he sent me my next member of the local parish Huginn N. Muninn, a stuffed raven who comes ta life sometimes.

We came out our last outbuildin and Lo and behold Slyvester da Stone had found a well. Not just any well, but one that was mentioned in some paperwork as a well of madness or some such. Now I know this was divinely revealed to myself as only I could see it, ''Bejayzus be praised''. Slyvester jumped in ta investigate da well, and not really able ta be much madder than I am, I of course walked over and peered down the well. It appeared to go on forever down, even goin threw several dimensions and planes and other such stuff. It tried to suck me in, but being a Dwarf of good solid common sense, I shrugged off the feeble attempt.

Lucky I was perched behind the Well o Futile Madness, cause out of ta Temple came a gnoll and a few hyenas. I say good cause the area around dem erupted in a series of fires and explosions as the rest of da party let loose with everything hey had and obliterated the hapless gnoll and his litter mates.

Well, not ta be left out of the fun, I rushed inna da Temple.

Inside were 4 more already too large for their own good Gnolls, one Really too large Gnoll, a huge and ugly Hyena, In the back was a large green figure we learned was the Green Knight. He executed the leader of the Perseus Company on a balcony and started to stalk towards three others on the floor.

Battle was joined. I dont wanna go inna too much detail on the fight. Everyone in da party acquitted themselves well. We managed ta kill all the gnolls and hyena with some difficulty. We held the line in the entryway, with the Power of Bajayzus guiding us and granting us extra strength to buoy us in battle (channel divinity)

I will discuss the antics of the Green knight. During the battle he ignored us and executed the first captive on the floor while we were busy with his minions. Lysvan the Drood got his attention with a heat metal. I stood at the top of the stairs to hold the line and keep the Gangrene Knight off the spell casters. Standing like an impenetrable wall, sing the Battle hymn of the Great Saint Peter Gabriel ''“ I wanna be, ye Sledge Hammer”''

Instead of attacking me all right and proper, the Sassenach Green Knight jumped up da steps and went around myself. I WILL NOT BE IGNORED. The Drood went all giant badger and tunneled away to maintain his spell. The Green Knight at that point dismissed us and tried to just leave. I WILL NOT BE DISMISSED.

So I locked the doors with Arcane Lock and locked him in with us. The Green knight tried to kill me, with no success. He tried to drag me to da door and force me to open it, with no success. He tried begging me to open da door, with no success. He tried many things while erroneously crying ''“This Ends Now”'', with no success. Finally with having to smack us with a 6th order spell knocking out Two of our players and threatening to kill all my party members as he realized he could not win against me. I relented and allowed him, defeated, to skulk out into the camp. '''BROKEN and DEFEATED''' by the stubbornness of a Dwarf backed by the power of Bajayzus Da Green (with envy) Knight fled into the jungle, still under da effect of da heat metal.

As we walked out victorious, a large horde of gnolls entered the camp, some of them 20 foot or more high. I was debating weather to kill em all to ta let em run away, when we were swept up inna da skiff and whisked away to our base camp. I did ta try teaching them various curse words in celestial as we traveled away, but I don thin dey heard myself. Cursin in Celestial gives a nice classy mouth feel ta da base concepts.

Chimp, the first in the expedition to fall in battle will have a place of honor inna the home of heroes aka graveyard. Now ta set up the Holy Basilica of Bajayzus and Research Library. Of course, setting up the final resting place for the fellows who are likely to fall along the way. With the help of Sylvester da Stone and Huginn N. Muninn we begin our adventures in the Wicked Wilds.

===Session 3: All That Glitters...===
Session Tags: Dinosaurs, Magic, Arc

Characters: [[Helli Aliosh|Helli]], [[Sabbatical (character)|Sabbatical]], [[Marion Ette|Marion]], [[Hermes Purrnes|Hermes]], Neru, [[p'Rahp]]

DM: Julia (5/10/23)

Helli could not believe her luck; she was to leave camp and investigate the wilds for the head of Magic and Mysteries… sure, there were missing people, who they were presumed dead. But it was her time to explore the wilds! She of course was a big scandalized to hear that Arc did not care about the dead bodies and wanted them to recover the research material and notebooks. Her whole life’s training was against abandoning the sick and taking care of the deceased.

Their trip was not so complicated as she had feared. Thankfully, there were some experienced scouts amongst them and not only they did not get lost, but also encountered some of the interesting plants. There had been some talk about laylines and impact of the local flora and fauna around the camp, but this was the first time she actually saw the evidence of that with her own eyes. Bioluminescence in all the plants. They were pretty… but the dead bodies nearby were not so much pretty. They collected their notes and she went through their bodies, trying to find out why they were dead. Signs of beasts. Large beasts… What sort of monster could have done this?

Her question was answered soon. Not one, but two dinosaurs showed up… and not normal beasts either. They had extra flavor in their attacks, bringing all of them to their knees. They were so powerful that they could nothing else but run, beaten and afraid. After all, they had collected the material they had set out to collect.

====Further details from the Journal of Sabbatical.====
<big>'''Warning''',</big> reading the following content constitutes an agreement to Fiendish code, 1647(a)(IV)(c), which binds an unbound soul in service to the fiendish circle of Phlegethos for all eternity upon death. If the soul is already bound, then Fiendish code 18463(b)(II) applies, sequestering the knowledge from being shared with others without implicit agreement to the aforementioned 1647(a)(IV)(c) or a soul in service to Baator.

Arc summoned the six of us to investigate several disappearances of their research teams. They had sent three teams in sequence, and each had failed to maintain contact or return. The latest group had a single individual making daily check-ins through the sending spell, but had gone silent three days ago. After we discussed the wastefulness and inefficiency of Arc's previous plans, Arc sent us off with some basic directions and little other information. I have been... somewhat unimpressed with Arc's contributions now that we have entered the field, although their efforts in combat situations or camp-wide protections have yet to be fully realized.

As we traveled a few hours out of camp, Hermes focused our initial efforts at tracking, although he gave way to other contributions as the day wore on. Eventually the trail turned more North than West and we encountered a clearing with a large glowing plant at its center. Half the party investigated the plant, while the others searched the surroundings. We found the bodies of some researchers, including a few journals and coins, as well as armor and other equipment, all with signs of significant battle damage and elemental energy. As those of us checking the bodies searched them for more information, the others harvested some fruit, and then cut into the plant in order to collect a sample. Upon doing so, we were immediately attacked by a dinosaur laden with poison spines. This dinosaur struck first for Marion, and forced her into a barrier of ice immediately. While they were momentarily safe, the dinosaur turned to find softer targets and rushed toward our group investigating bodies. It revealed surprising toughness and a propensity to unleash spin attacks with the spines on its tail before attempting its vicious bites.

The roars and commotion of the first beast quickly drew a second into the fray. This second dinosaur was larger, and instead of poison, was imbued with electrical energy. It called forth a storm and unleashed directed bolts of lightning in addition to its bite and claws. This was turning into a dangerous battle, but one in which we could maintain a stable fighting position when a third creature appeared. This one was a flaming pterodon of huge size which swooped in and downed Hermes in a single blow. I was able to heal him back to a mobile state, but with a third massive beast in the fray, withdrawal seemed almost certainly necessary. Hermes was the first to effectuate a withdrawal, with all three great beasts alive and attacking, and many of us severely injured, I cannot fault the decision. Before the rest of us could organize an effective retreat, at least one of the other beasts needed to be dealt with. The poison lizard was the first to fall, finally succumbing to a burst of flame I unleashed on it from being struck by spines. Unfortunately, as I recovered from this blow, the pterodon struck me, tearing past my shield and cutting into my armor, knocking me unconscious in a single blow. Fortunately, with a plethora of healers in the group, I was resuscitated quickly and was able to disengage from immediate danger and take cover under the tree line.

At this point, I had a choice: stay within range of threats and remain close enough to offer some final limited support, or retreat to safety, leaving the others to an almost-certain demise. Flight could easily have been justified, and manipulating the camp's reaction to the loss of four adventurer members on a single mission onto a darker path where the Hells could have been invoked would have been relatively easy. It wouldn't even have been a dishonest or disingenuous effort. Infernal assistance could have provided exactly the outlet the camp would have sought in the aftermath. The whole thing could have been a master stroke, earning potentially several souls to the Hells' cause at the low cost of only four lives. I almost left; Philani ''should'' have left then, or better yet remained just near enough to ensure the demise of the others and return back with a corpse or two in tow. But... I didn't. Even now, days later as I reflect on it, the best way I can describe my reasons is that it didn't feel like the right move for Sabbatical. I don't just mean that it isn't in keeping with the pseudonymous character and identity I've adopted, but something more pervasive. It's not something I ''as'' Sabbatical wanted to just let happen unless it were actually unavoidable. I could tell that I was almost certainly out of immediate danger at that point, and although I could have pushed for the utmost advantage for the Hells, I didn't ''need'' to. I'm not on assignment to collect souls, I'm not under specific pressure to manipulate every circumstance, and I don't exactly ''want'' a bunch of these people to die. It doesn't improve my present situation, my living conditions, or advance any of the goals I've set for my time ''here.'' I am not currently bound by duty or anything else to maximize any potential gains for the Hells. Even as my soul is already bound and I know I am ready to serve the Hells and rise through the fiendish ranks for all eternity, I am still free to do as I will whenever I wish, so long as I am also willing to bear the consequences. And in that moment, I knew I was risking death, albeit a small chance at that moment, just to help protect the lives of others and move us one step closer to completing our mission's objective.

As I adjusted my tactical position, the lightning beast sent a blast of energy into the flaming beast as well, inciting its wrath and turning conditions more toward our favor. Yet it was also strangely fixated on Marion, and seemed intent on killing her. I could tell from my vantage point beneath the trees that Marion was but one blow from death, and the beast had the initiative. I could heal Marion and ensure her immediate survival at the risk of her simply being wounded and dying again, or I would wait, delaying my moment until just after the beast's attention shifted to give Marion a chance at not only surviving the moment, but escaping danger entirely.

No matter the choice, it was a gamble, so... I gambled, letting the creature act before I would heal Marion and trusting that she could then see to herself. Luck was both against and with Marion in that moment. It seemed all but certain that the beast would turn its focus away from the dying girl, but something prompted it to take one final attack toward her unconscious form. Despite her being prone and helpless on the ground, something about the angle at which the monster bit caused its jaws to close just short of Marion's throat, missing her by inches. I can honestly attribute this to nothing short of luck--the power of Marion's goddess, Beshaba. I seized the chance, immediately, releasing my healing spell and ensuring Marion had a chance to act and escape the situation. Of course, as luck would have it, the means by which she chose to escape: turning herself invisible, proved futile, and the creature swiped at her, knocking her once more unconscious as she tried to escape. Yet, the minor healing I offered proved enough. Neru was finally able to land a killing blow on the lightning beast and another minor heal allowed Marion to find cover beneath the trees before the flaming beast could turns its attention back to us. We were all able to withdraw momentarily, listening to the beast fly once more on its way now that the other two creatures were dead.

After taking that moment to gather ourselves, we returned to the clearing and scoured the bodies of the fallen animals. We recovered a significant quantity of useful scales from the lightning beast--enough for many of us to potentially craft armors from them, as well as parts from the poisonous beast. Furthermore, we recovered sufficient plant samples for Arc to make a more thorough study in the future. Knowing our severely weakened and depleted state, I insisted we take a short time to rest rather than turn immediately back toward the camp. Any passing threat could have easily eliminated us had we not done so, and all we lost from the decision was one more hour of daylight, meaning we would have to return to camp in the dark. This was hardly a serious impediment under the circumstances. As it happens, our delay had consequences back at camp, but those are in the next entry.

===Session 6: A Penguin's Problem===
Characters: [[Sabbatical (character)|Sabbatical]], [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda|Lambda]], [[Kompi]], [[Therrin Flare]], [[Paris Hilton]], [[Nestor Spitemore]], [[Hunk|Hunk the kobold]]

DM: Aaron (5/24/2023)

Important NPCs: Pennysworth, camp quartermaster, Demonic entity known as "Mother."

Narrative account:

This mission was relatively straightforward: smoke was spotted in the distance, in the direction from which the base camp Quartermaster was flying in, and a distress signal had been received. Bjorn ordered the group of us to head out on foot immediately, help them fix the airskiff and return. The trip out was mostly led by Hunk the kobold, who is remarkably well-spoken and verbose when compared to other members of the race I have encountered. We headed straight to the crash site, which was situated in a portion of the wilds covered in moss and fungi.

Pennysworth, the penguin aarakockra apparently brought several of his children along as support staff, and they had already fought off one wave of apparently Abyssal creatures in roughly humanoid shape. We had just barely gathered around the ship and begun a plan to repair it when we were attacked by dozens of creatures formed from the moss and fungi of the area speaking in abyssal. These demons showed little in the way of intelligence, but kept speaking of a "Mother" which could offer comfort and gifts. But fortunately, I was the only one who could understand the nonsense of these obvious lies, so no one else could be tempted into doing something ridiculously stupid. As we battled the creatures, some of them released toxic spores when struck by an attack while others seemed merely to be using their arms and claws to try to batter and slice.

Despite being ordered to find safety on the air skiff, several of the smaller penguins failed to do so quickly enough and we slain during the battle. As we cleared out some of the last remaining smaller demons one of them spoke with the voice of Jim Stacy, asserting revenge against me and the camp for his fate. I cannot say I feel sympathy for his state, but no one should be left in that state and all demons deserve destruction. On the opposite side of the battlefield an enormous creature with four arms appeared, and, bypassing Lambda who had been knocked down, it ran straight for Kompi. It reached out its arms and picked up the little kobold, and then tore their arm off and very nearly tore them entirely apart. Eventually we were able to destroy the creature, but in doing so it released an immense cloud of spores. These spores fell over all of us in the area, getting in eyes and throat and starting to burn. There was also a shriek from somewhere nearby calling out for its children.

In the relative clear, we all thought it best to retreat quickly rather than stay and attempt to deal with whatever additional threats this "mother" could muster to attack us. It was also clear that these spores that had spread were starting to affect several of us with burning in the eyes and throat and blurry vision. Within a few more moments we had the airship operable once more and took off to return to camp short two of the weaker penguin assistants but heavier with the weight of whatever was going on with Jim Stacy and with the demonic disease starting to fester. Tactical details are recorded in my mission report reproduced above, and details of the aftermath belong on their own entry.
===Session 7: Winds of Change===
Session Tags: Thistlebrook Conclave

Characters: Helli, 22, Reedy & Daq, Marion, Nix and Jo

DM: Julia (5/26/2023)

Important NPCs: Curian, Billiam, Galaros, Bitris, Dream

Important Things that Happened:

''Our second assignment was this evening. Billiam sent us out to find out what’s been happening to the starting herds of domestic livestock (goats, sheep, cows, etc) that we had had in a relatively safe farm area. He stated that it was clearly hunters and not other animals by evidence of the weapons and foot prints. They’d been keeping them to the northern end of camp, so we headed that way first, myself, Marion, Helli, 22, Jo, and Nix. Nix, we had met along our way to the farming grounds, who was coming, looking for their brother, Rachet. I told her the bad news, that he had died in combat with a giant alligator and she took up his fight, stating she would finish what her brother had started.''

''As we got to the farm grounds, we discovered footprints from humanoids heading east. Three sets were the most recent and we followed them, though not as quietly as I would normally like. Helli and Jo were particularly loud in their armor, and I make the mistake of correctly them, perhaps a little too loudly, and therefore we ended up alerting those we were following, which we discovered when an arrow flew out of the wood and struck a tree just shy of Jo’s head. I immediately became alarmed, butdid not attack immediately in retaliation. Marion and Helli took up negotiations quickly while I watched from behind for movement.''

''The one who shot as us was an auburn-haired male elf. He calls himself Curian. He told us that we were “on their land and need to leave” but somehow I just didn’t believe that. Even if he is older than me in years, he hardly seemed more mature. Elves T_T''

''Above him in the trees, we could see a curious creature, large like Marion but more animalistic, a fey creature called a firbolg, we learned, and she is called Bitris. She was watching from above Curian and mostly offering support.''

''He told us over and over that it was his family’s land and we could only leave, there was no discussion to be had, but that’s when the actually keeper and leader of these people arrived, an older lighter auburn-haired elf, the father of Curian, called Galaros.''

''He was far less hostile than his son and shared with us the actual reason of our folly as a camp. Their family, a conclave of druids, travels with the seasons, which here on Amusa are seven yearcycles. They spent seven years in the Winter near The Scar where it is warmer and then the other half of the cycle, the currently cycle of Summer, here in this end of Amusa. We came and took their ancestral land, where they usually camp in the clearing, and made it our expeditionary home. In this folly, though, we may have made ourselves an ally quite by accident.''

''We asked them if they know anything about the ley lines and other magical plants and animals in the area and all he could tell us is that while their ancestors have many legends, folklore, and stories, all they really know is that some places in the wilds have heavy concentrations of magic that mix with the nature around it and cause these phenomena.''

''Galaros then invited us to a feast back with the rest of his conclave and while I was most eager to return home to the camp where Sabbatical was waiting to celebrate our recent [redacted], we agreed to go with them to the feast and walked a decently worn path, though clearly not as well walked as those we have in the camp. I asked Galaros how they manage to keep their people safe and he explained that they use spells that disguise the camp and that the larger dinosaurs usually don’t bother with this area, hence why they want our spot in the clearing.''

''They stated their numbers are in the 30s to 40s, some that chose this life willingly and some that were born into it.''

''I mentioned to Galaros that I believe the two camps can live in harmony and when the son brought up that we were taking what was not ours, I lashed back with the mention of our stolen livestock. Galaros went from a gracious host to a very disappoint and hostile father, but instead of defending his son, that anger was directed at his son. Galaros promised that we would receive a formal letter of apology and herd animals to compensate for what was taken from us. He has made good on this promise. Apparently when the herd animals that Curianstole arrived, he lied to his father and told him that they were abandoned by a ruined camp.''

''When we arrived at their camp, we were greeted by several members of their tribe, which is formally known as the Thistlebrook Conclave. Dream, a pale grey tabaxi, is their story teller who I believe takes part in smoking of the dank leaves; Jada and Jazor are halfing twins, and Rezzik was a human with quite a large beard who cooks for them.''

''During the feast, Marion asked if they consider the magical plants to be sacred and Galaros told us they are not and we are able to use them as we please, but warned that after they took notice of those plants arriving the animals began to become more aggressive.''

''She also asked if they were aware of the demonic presence or fungus that affected those of our currently with Sightrot, but he stated they hadn’t heard of such a thing. That a demonic presence is unusual for this area and that The Scar produces a Hellish energy, that the barrier between the planes is thinner there.''

''They provided us a meal of stew, fresh bread, stir fry and baked potatoes that Jo made, and sweet scones for dessert. Jo made sure to purify the food while she was helping them cook.''

''After the meal, we were invited to enjoy games and feats of strength wit them.''

''Marion competed in a drinking contest first, besting the firbolgand the leader of the camp with three strong drinks.''

''Then Helli played a game of dice called Shut the Box with Bitrisand won! I was very proud of her!''

''Daq and Jo competed in a feat of strength where they were to pull several logs up through a system of rope over a branch. Jo lost during the first round with the logs, but Curian and Daqwent to four logs, though Daq was unable to lift than more than halfway, he really gave all his effort!''

''Nix went through a scavenger hunt against the twins and kept quite a bit of a lead on them, finding things with what seems like intuition almost.''

''22, who is a curious autom, very unlike Lambda who is a warforged, told a grand story about a druid called Grandmush. It was more like a lecture than a story, but because it was a story about a druid, they all ate it up and declared 22 the winner without a competitor, since Dream forfeit.''

''I personally went up against the leader’s son, Curian, in a feat of archery. Three arrows, no magic, aimed to a bullseye; child’s play for a skilled hunter like myself. I handily defeated him, and then he asked me to face him in a second volley of arrows, but without Daq present, as he believed that was giving me some sort of advantage. I dismissed Daq and again, beat him very handily. He shot another, just to see if he could get a bullseye, and without looking, I scored higher than him again. He truly was an awful shot. So awful that when I went down to get my arrows from the bullseye, his arrow flew far wide enough to dig into my back. Jo quickly resolved my wound, and Marion and Helli did everything they could to keep me from breaking all ofthe peace that we had brokered so far with the druids. I maintained my composure while Marion distracted the son and I went to speak with the father.''

''Galaros agreed that we could find peace between our two camps for the time while Tempest Brothers has us here in this part of the wilds. We will not become a joint camp, but we will partner with them to share our resources, make sure hunting parties travel in different paths, and help with the protection they are lacking from the new demonic forces that are arriving.''

''They told us of a flower called Eyebright that might help our party members with Sightrot and have offered to direct us to where that flower was most recently found so that we may retrieve some to assist those afflicted in our camp.''

''They have asked that we consider also that they may have their our members of the conclave infrequently travel with our airships back to Galik in order to visit family there. I do not know if the quartermaster or the new crew will be alright with this, but at the very least, we can request it.''

''They have offered to perform ceremonial funeral rites for those of our camp who is fallen and may fall in the future, and as a last token of peace, they offered vials of an oil with droppers that are to help dampen the nightmares of those in our party with Sightrot who are having trouble sleeping.''

''We returned to camp with hardly a scratch and with new allies on our continued expedition -'''''From the Journals of Reedy'''

 

<h4>Third-person Overview</h4>

'''Participants'''

Billiam of TBEC
Reedy, Tiefling Ranger
Nix, Dragonborn Artificer
Marion Ette, Tiefling Warlock
Jo Seraphim-Belphegor, Human Cleric
22, Autom Druid
Helli, Tiefling Cleric

'''The Mission'''

Billiam said someone was stealing TBEC cattle that had been let loose to graze while the expedition was ramping up its farming, and this group was tasked with investigating the problem. The party traveled north from camp and Nix's companion, Bolt, flew recon and spotted clearings some clearings. From there, Reedy and Nix found unexpected tracks leading east, and the group followed them, trying to move stealthily, until an elf (Curian, he) appeared and told them to stop where they were. He was accompanied by a green-haired Firbolg (Bitris, she) in a tree.

The elf wanted the group to leave their land (including breaking down the entire base camp). Nix tried to negotiate, but the elf would have none of it. Another elf, their leader and Curian's father (Galoros, he) told him to stand down and apologized for his attitude.

'''The Thistlebrook Conclave'''

Galoros explained that they were part of a larger group (of 30-odd people) and that this was their ancestral home where they spend the mild seasons. (They winter closer to the Scar for warmth). Marion asked him about the magic of the land (ley lines and such) and got a vague answer about natural magic. Galoros invited the party to a feast, and although Reedy was reluctant, the group accepted.

Reedy announced that the company's livestock were being stolen, promting Galoros to become angry with Curian who had recently "found" some livestock. She then suggested that Galoros' people might try using magic such as Zone of Truth for situations like these. Someone asked whether any of them were bards, and Galoros responded that one of their number -- Dream (they, a tabaxi) -- whom the party hadn't yet met does performs songs but is not a bard.

When the subject of plant magic arose, the party learned that Bitris was a druid. 22 spoke druidic to her, and she responded excitedly that she had never met outsiders who spoke their language. (If she found it particularly strange that a synthetic outsider spoke druidic, she gave no indication.)

It turned out that these people, the Thistlebrook Conclave, were all druids or and rangers of various races. Rezzik, a bearded human, is the cook. The exuberent Jada and her twin brother Jozor were halflings. When 22 mentioned their mentor Grandmush, Jada asked to know more about the dryad, and 22 described their origins and their broad understanding of nature.

'''Further Exchanges'''

Marion asked about bioluminescent plants known to cause wild magic. These were relatively new to the area, and the druids didn't tend to see them often. They had tried to grow them only once, near the scar, with no success. Talk of the scar brought up the subject of demons, which the party confirmed had been encountered near their present location. This concerned Galoros, who said that he had seen extra-planar creatures closer to the Scar where there is less complete separation between the planes but that he was surprised they had made it this far west.

Helli asked Dream for a story. They told the party about a great Sky Snake who was turned into the constellation of the same name when, in a fit of jealousy, she had tried to bring eternal darkness to the land.

The members of the party all participated in competitions with the hippies and generally faired well. Jo competed in log pulling, Marion in a drinking contest, 22 in storytelling, Reedy in archery, and Helli in a dice game. As the archery contest concluded, Curian's arrow struck Reedy and she almost sorted him out until others stepped in to calm her down.

Before the party left, Galoros formally apologized in writing for his son killing the livestock, and he provided game animals as compensation. The two groups we agreed to try to assist each other in the future. 22 stayed behind to do druid stuff while the rest of the party returned to base camp.

===Quelmarcon Double Session===
DMs: Julia & Aaron

Date: 06/10/2023

Helli was elated to join the others in visiting the Thistlebrook Conclave. The first time she met them, the druids were really friendly and open to communicate with them. All they had to do was to pay their respects to their two Gods; the Timeless and Nameless. She was a bit chaffed about it, but then again was it not this why she had left her family? To experience other cultures and other ways of worshipping ones Gods?

Well, their trip got them through two separate places. The Timeless got them at the end of the world and time, fighting powerful monsters so they could prove their strength of will. Nameless got them suspended in space and time to test their wits. They had to answer questions and solve puzzles not only to prove their prowess, but also to help their friends by giving them boons with every correct answer.

At first Helli found herself answering riddles. The riddles were fun and playful, but the danger that their friends were in was always at the back of their minds. Their fears were confirmed when they all had a respite from their challenges; so many of them were on the verge of dying while fighting… She really tried hard to keep doing what she wanted, but she had to go. She had to use her healing to help them stay up.

And it was to no vain. Helli's help was crucial and amongst themselves, they managed to complete the trials.

 

<h4> Aaron's table</h4>
Galoros told us of two of their deities, and we went to a temple outside the conclave with two sphynx statues representing them. Touching one brought several of us forward to near the end of time, where the sky was a chaotic swirl of colors. Here we met "The Timeless", an androshynx who said its twin, a gynoshynx known only as The Nameless had sent the others of our group backward in time to face mental challenges.

He said our experience would be a trial by combat and that we would each receive an item as a reward if we didn't die. A flying creature with a huge eyeball in its face and eyestalks on its wings appeared.

- - - - -

Lambda(Monk, Jon) shot the creature, and it blasted Lambda and NickRivers(bard,Mike) with an AOE from its face, knocking NickRivers out with a blast. Three of the the stalks shot Neru(paladin, Rich), Reedy(ranger, Mercedes), and Prahp(paladin, Gail).

Timeless said our friends failed their first test, and the creature got more more mature and dragon-like.

Everyone tried attacking it, then three stalks fired again, at Neru, Reedy, and Lambda. By this point, the Timeless had informed us our friends had passed two tests as a result, we had all gained 1 AC and been healed a bit. the healing brought Nick up, and he mocked the creature. The timeless told us the team in the past had failed a challenge, and several draconians appeared.

The Nameless appeared and said our friend Baldwin had long ago challenged her to a game of wits (boulder/shears/parchment) and lost, and the debt had come due. We all took damage, which knocked Nick and Lambda out unconscious.

Neru brought Lambda up and told the beast to come get some. One of the draconians slit its throat and blew up in Prahp's face. Another did the same to Neru, and another to Reedy, who began to become become petrified. Neru brought Lambda up and Prahp got Neru. The monster went after Neru, missing with a physical attack and knocking her out with an eyestalk blast.

The Timeless announced that our friends had passed a challenge, and we were all healed a bit, which brought Neru around. Reedy became petrified, and Nick healed Neru further with some very inspiring pelvic thrusts. Because the creature had come after Neru, she was able to attack it and slew it, rendering 22's two recent failures to earthbind the creature irrelevant.

- - - - -

We returned to the present where the sphynxes agreed we could rest (instantaneously, by magic) before proceeding because the next Future challenge would be more difficult. We returned to the future with Heli(paladin, Margarita) instead of Nick.

- - - - -

A 6-headed hydrosphynx and three draconians appeared. The HS attacked Neru, 22, and Prahp with 2 heads each. The draconians all died by Reedy's hand or their own. It kept spawning more heads, but lost heads occasionally as it took damage. It kept spraying acid blood on half the party whenever it took acid damage. People kept getting knocked down for various reasons and getting healed.

The consequences of challenges from the past continued to propagate to us in the future, altering events for better or worse. Further outcomes we experienced included:
*Fail: hydra gets +1 head
* Pass: hydra becomes cloudy-eyed (losing attack power)
* Pass: +1d4 fire per attack
*Pass: +1 AC
*Pass: heal +2d6
*Fail: hydra gets +1 AC
*Pass: hydra becomes cloudy-eyed (losing attack power)
*Pass: +1 AC
* Fail: hydra heals
*Pass: hydra loses 1 head
*Pass/Fail: +12hp but +1 head (back to 7) (pass was due to amusement)

And we suffered the effects of another past contest with the Nameless, a best-2-of-3 game of boulder/shears/parchment, the echo of which reached us in the distant future. The result was the appearance of 3 draconians.

The draconians fell easily, but the hydra came close to wiping out the party. Only Neru, Lambda and Reedy were conscious when Neru finally killed it.

The gods brought us back to the present and offered our rewards.

===Session 19: Road Rage===
DM: Keller

PCs:
*[[Radion The Forged]] (Amal): warforged barbarian
*[[Thordon Akieye]] (Gingie): dwarf barbarian
*[[22]] (Cat): autom druid
* [[Dragonett]] (Rich): elf rogue/ranger
*[[Lowkey]] (appearing as Dug; Syameal): changeling sorcerer
[[Within the Wicked Wilds/NPCs|NPCs]]:
*Lorrie Haslo, an adventurer and a company leader
* Lucinda Grimfold
* Skippy
* Ripjaw, a gnoll cyborg
* The Collector
*The Music Man, a noble wearing a masquerade mask and carrying a lute
*Colonel Cordyceps, a large bipedal fungus creature

'''An Urgent Mission'''

Lorrie Haslo appeared in camp, appearing distraught and injured, accompanied by a large half-orc warrior called Frank. She hurried to speak to Lucinda Grimfold, who seemed displeased to hear what she had to say. Lucinda approached a group of adventurers to say she had a mission for them. "Some of you know what happened at the gnoll forge recently," she said, snapping her fingers, and ushered the group toward the skiff launch area. "Lorrie can explain more."

Skippy prepped the Crater-Maker 2 for launch, and Lorrie seemed traumatized over the explanation of a shipment to Galik for the Collector having just been attacked by gnolls, presumably in response to the TBEC's recent destruction of a large underground forge where a group of gnolls known as the Gearheads were building massive weapons.

Lorrie said the party was instructed to recover some important cargo that the gnolls took during the devastating attack -- but was not permitted to know the precise nature of that cargo was "for your own safety and its safety." Upon being pressed on whether the cargo was heavy or otherwise required special handling, she confirmed that "it is alive and can move on its own."

Time was short because if the gnolls were to reach their base with the cargo, it might be nigh impossible to retrieve, and moreover this concern might be irrelevant since the Galik government had caught wind of the attack and were preparing to use their standard method, "leave nothing behind," against the gnolls -- if they reached the gnoll convoy first, their assault would likely destroy the cargo. Lucinda flew off on her griffon without explanation, and the party (including Lorrie but not Frank, who was in no condition to fight any more that day) boarded the skiff.

'''Target Acquired'''

Skippy took the small air vehicle east toward the Scar until they could see a large trail of sorts: a burnt line twisting and turning through the jungle. Dipping below the tree line, they picked up the sound of grinding gears and crunching wood. As the noise grew louder, they caught sight of a convoy of gnoll war machines. These were colossal contraptions with gnashing blades along their edges, designed for raiding by the Gearhead gnolls, using technology stolen from Galik.

Four great machines were accompanied by three smaller ones, and Lorrie directed the group to the large lead vehicle. The larger vehicles evinced a variety of weaponry, with two large turrets on the first, a sort of wrecking ball weapon on the next, an apparent flame hurler on the third, and another turret on the trailing machine.

Lorrie directed Skippy to the lead vehicle, saying that was where they would find the important cargo, but he insisted he couldn't fly near it unless the turrets were somehow rendered inoperative, so the best he could do was drop the party on the trailing ship so they could battle their way to the front. (If anyone had thought to point out that the skiff could simply fly around the entire convoy and approach from the front, it would likely have made no difference as this approach was way more dramatic). So after one round of incoming fire, and some hasty battle preparations including Dug (Lowkey) rendering themself and dragonette invisible, the party members leapt from the sky onto the deck of the enemy war machine.

'''Melee at 60mph'''

Like most of the large machines, this trailing vehicle had a driver, a gunner, and about four other crew. In this case, there were two typical gnolls, an oversized gnoll, and two that appeared to be skeletal and held together by some sort of fungal growth. The first casualty was a fungus gnoll (or "witherling"), which Radion slew in one swing, cleaving through it into a second gnoll; the witherling exploded into a poison cloud as it fell. Thordon took a chunk out of the oversized gnoll (or "packlord"), and the invisible Dragonett eliminated the turret gunner with her first arrow.

22 shifted into the form of a dire wolf, and both they and Lorrie joined Thordon's assault on the packlord, which repeatedly commanded a witherling to attack Thordon each time it was struck. Radion wounded another gnoll and then decapitated it, the head rolling quickly toward the edge of the deck before tumbling out of view. Thordon swung twice more on the packlord before it went down with his axe between its neck and shoulder; then he took out another witherling, spraying some poison fungus onto himself and 22.

Dragonnett moved up to the now-uncrewed turret and, realizing she was familiar with its operation, climbed into the operator's seat to the gun on its owners. Lowkey cast a twinned Crown of Madness spell on two gnolls, including the driver of the nearby flamethrower vehicle, commanding the driver to abandon the controls and causing the machine to crash and burn spectacularly. One down and three to go.

'''Enter Ripjaw and the Galik Military'''

A bizarre looking gnoll called Ripjaw -- with many body parts apparently having been replaced by scavenged warforged bits -- moving on wheels instead of feet, somehow jumped from a small neighboring vehicle onto the trailing war machine. It launched three grenades, damaging Lowkey badly. Dragonnett responded by blasting it with the turret gun.

Lowkey's next Crown of Madness targeted the cyborg Ripjaw -- who Lowkey forced to succumb using Silvery Barbs -- and a giant gorilla/hyena hybrid (a "warmonger") on the deck of the next large war machine. At Lowkey's command, the warmonger attacked an allied gnoll, biting its head off its neck.

Lorrie, seething because these foes have just killed her friends, scored successive critical hits against one of them with her pickaxe. Radion blasted Ripjaw with flame, and Thordon leapt to the small vehicle in order to progress toward the next large vehicle, where the warmonger and the wrecking ball awaited.

Ripjaw had produced a harpoon and was prepared to impale one of the party and drag them along the ground while the convoy continued at some 60 miles per hour, but Lowkey commanded him to fire at a gnoll instead. The shot went wide, and he shook off Lowkey's control. By now, Thordon and Radion were both riding on the small vehicle between the two larger ones, but the warmonger leapt past them, then turned and made three successive attacks on Thordon.

As the two sides continued to trade blows, the party could see a team of Galik beetlers approaching from behind. They began firing indiscriminately, the first barrage hitting the rear ship where most of the party stood, damaging everyone and forcing 22 out of wolf form.

Dragonnette abandoned the turret to run to the front of the vehicle and put an arrow in the back of the warmonger's head, spraying blood onto Thordon and Radion and dropping the warmonger off the rear of the small vehicle to be run over by the larger one. Thump-thump.

'''Wild Magic with a Terrible Price'''

22 returned to wolf shape, bounding into the space from where the warmonger had fallen and from there onto the next large war machine. Lowkey had blinded the operator of the wrecking ball with a Minor Illusion of tendrils of darkness surrounding their head, but they sensed 22's approach and swung the ball, and despite their disadvantage, it seemed the only way to spare 22 from the devastating attack was another Silvery Barbs.

Lowkey's spellcasting had been causing Wild Magic fluctuations all along, but this time the random effect was a Fireball with Lowkey at ground zero of the powerful explosion. Several others sustained damage, but Lowkey took the lethal brunt -- massive damage that both forced them to revert from their grung shape to their true form and spread the androgynous changeling's charred remains about the deck of the war machine and beyond.

'''One Casualty is Enough'''

Only one gnoll remained alive on the wrecking-ball vehicle, fortunately the driver, who was able to continue to steer the war machine on a relatively safe path. But the operator of the smaller vehicle -- where Thordon lay unconscious and Dragonnett stood singed and wide-eyed -- was not so lucky, and the transport began to wobble on its wheels. Dragonett quickly seized Thordon's inanimate form and leapt forward to the safety of the wrecking-ball vehicle, while Lorrie was forced to retreat to the trailing ship and from there back to the skiff (which Skippy was still holding just out of range of the lead war machine's deadly turrets). Thordon had only moments to live when Dragonnett poured a flask of Nettle's Hardy Heart soup into him, bringing him back to consciousness.

'''The Final Vehicle'''

22 leapt to the leading war machine and bit deeply into one of the several gnolls there, and the turret gunners both responded by blasting 22, causing enough damage to force them to return to autom form once again. The beetlers then blasted the lead ship, damaging everyone aboard it and killing the two remaining witherlings.

Suddenly, a man dashed out of the hold of the lead vehicle, dressed in Galik fineries, carrying a lute, and wearing a masquerade mask and a cocky grin. He was followed by a strange, large, bipedal fungus creature, and the two of them escaped the scene by leaping onto the remaining one of the three smaller vehicles that had been accompanying the four large war machines.

As the non-combatants sped away, Thordon tried to jump onto the lead machine but fell short and wound up clinging to the edge. Now only Dragonett (and the driver) remained on the wrecking-ball vehicle, and her attempt to join her comrades on the lead vehicle met even less success than Thordon's -- she had begun to fall into the space between the two war machines when Radion's hand shot out and seized her by the arm to drag her aboard.

'''Primary Objective'''

The turrets fired again, one of them hitting Radion, who then bolted into the cargo hold to kill the remaining guard with two blows and find a prisoner seated with a bag covering their head. Removing the bag, he discovered the Collector in his familiar owl mask. Now unguarded by gnolls, the collector stepped over to a container from which he retrieved something Radion could not get a clear view of and deposited it into a satchel. Radion curtly warned him to GTFO if he wanted to live, and he responded "I know."

They emerged from the hold just as Thordon slew the remaining gnoll warrior and the next barrage from the beetlers destroyed the other remaining war machine in a blaze. Dragonnett and 22 dispatched the turret gunners and Skippy was finally free to bring the skiff alongside the larger vehicle so the party and the Collector could escape the continued assault from Galik's military forces.

'''Conclusion'''

The Collector seemed unbothered by the entire ordeal, as if he had borne no doubt of the outcome. He shared with the party that the two people of note who had escaped were known as Colonel and The Music Man. When Radion asked what the Collector had retrieved from the hold before exiting, he responded cheerfully that he couldn't part with his cherished tomes, and there followed an awkward moment of silence as if no one in earshot gave credence to the statement.

The Collector offered the party 750 gold pieces and 7 scrolls to share amongst themselves, which they divided more or less evenly. Lorrie was beginning to slump now that the mission was resolved, Radion offered his share to her to as recompense for his part in provoking the attack on her friends by destroying the gnolls' forge. She refused, insisting that this was not Radion's fault, and concluded, "Please tell Lambda I'm sorry."

===Session 22: Slow and Steady===

'''DM:''' Keller

'''PCs:'''
*[[Wiggler]] (Geoffrey): warforged druid
*[[Thordon Akieye]] (Chris): dwarf barbarian
*[[22]] (Cat): autom druid
*[[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]] (Jake): eladrin bard/paladin
*[[Helli Moltenshield]] (Nikki): genasi artificer
*[[Timothar]] (Alex): human wizard
'''[[Within the Wicked Wilds/NPCs|NPCs]]:'''
*Cookie (otter, TBEC staff)
*Sticky (stickbug)
*Moog (gastrosapien)
*The Hydrail (gargantuan mutated snail, the progenitor of the gastrosapiens)
*Talyth (kenku, Wiggler's creator)
*Ubu (kopybold, an Alkinimic worshipper, RIP)
*Dynia (pumpkin boy, a Xevriss worshiper)
 

'''New Magic and New Acquaintances''' 
Cookie sent the PCs to explore a recently discovered exposed ley line in the hope that it could benefit the company. Skippy flew them north, gave them a sending stone, and dropped them off in a jungle clearing a couple of miles from their destination (to keep the skiff safe). This location was calculated based on other magical locations in the area and a casting of detect magic confirmed it high levels of ambient magic.

While the group traveled overland toward the source of the unusual energy, Wiggler cast Speak with Animals and made friends with a mellow stick bug, naming it Sticky. Perhaps due to the strange natural energies of the area, the spell allowed Sticky to speak with any member of the group, and this effect would not wear off after the usual period had expired. Sticky would end up accompanying the party back to camp and continue to entertain people with his mellow stickbugfulness.

After an hour or two, the group came upon a three-foot-tall talking snail (gastrosapien) named Moog, who walked with a crutch. Sir Yewvane declared his role as protector of the weave, and Moog responded casually that they'd already got one. A creature called the Hydrail was the progenitor of the gastrosapiens and their guardian of the weave. Sir Yewvane and Wiggler asked to meet this Hydrail, and Moog escorted the group to the small gastrosapien city of Escargodia. A bright source of light glowed like the sun in the center of the bowl-shaped town, and bioluminescent blue mushrooms also provided ambient light. When asked, Moog indicated that the travelers were welcome to these fungi as they were quite plentiful, and the group harvested 20 mushrooms that shone brightly out to ten feet and dimly for 10 feet beyond, but only in dark areas.

'''Big Surprises''' 
The hydrail turned out to be a gargantuan, five-headed snail eating the sap coming out of a huge root that was apparently the source of the ley line energy. While the group waited for an advisor to appear who could speak for the hydrail, a few other gastrosapiens began to assemble. Timmy walked up to touch the vine/root and identify it, but backed away when the hydrail turned its heads toward him and began glowing a deep purple.

Wiggler was taken aback to see who the advisor was: a kenku called Talyth, who had been the person to awaken Wiggler when he was but a lowly worm. He seemed not to want to discuss their parting and reunion but instead asked the group what brought them to Escargodia. After introductions, Talyth explained that gnolls had been causing problems for the small city, that the Escargodians were in search of someone to serve as guardians of the ley line, that this would be the day when guardians were chosen, and that the party could compete against the two other contenders for the position if they wished.

'''Meeting the Competition''' 
While Wiggler stayed and talked to Talyth, the others split up to look into who their competitors were. Sir Yewvane, Heli, and 22 approached a giant pumpkin with doors and windows where they encountered a person with a pumpkin for a head. Sir Yewvane promptly cast Zone of Truth and began inquiring about the pumpkin person's motivations. He said his name was Dynia, but he objected to Sir Yewvane's curt manner. The others spoke to him and learned that he was a member of the Gourdheart Disciples, worshippers of the Pumpkin Dragon, Xevriss. (Although Xevriss had left Amusa for Osugbo, during the Holy Wars, he had previously been known as the Orange Scourge of Amusa and the Devourer of Gourds, and he had eventually consumed so many savory Amusan fruits that he grow too fat to fly.) Dynia indicated that he had a pumpkin pet and ate pumpkins as his staple food. He offered pumpkin pie that was delicious enough to inspire Heli to ask if he would want to return to base camp with the group and take a position as cook, but Dynia refused due to his religious duties.

Meanwhile, Thordon and Timmy walked to the location of the other competitors, who were apparently a group of kobolds in a nearby tent encampment, and met their leader, Ubu. Thordon quickly discovered that he was not actually a kobold but a creature that emitted adhesive purple ooze that smelled like a combination of rotting corpse and glue. Timmy magically identified this substance, learned that Ubu was a mimic, and tried to whisper this information to Thordon, but Ubu overheard and immediately ran away. During the interaction, Ubu had revealed that his purpose at Escargodia was to serve his master under the mountain, a reference to Old Alkinimic.

At the same time, Talyth was answering Wiggler's pressing question: how Talyth come to be here. He explained that he had been able to sense the magic of the exposed ley line -- which was a symptom of something moving out in the wilds, pushing on the weave. Arriving at the local source of magical energy, he saw that the root had created the hydrail, which had in turn created the gastrosapiens, and he watched as the hydrail grew from large and two-headed to gargantuan and five-headed. Wiggler hugged Talyth, trying not to break down, and Talyth said that he was sorry and he was proud of wiggler. During the conversation, Wiggler also mentioned the Green Knight, which led Talyth to claim that the Green Knight was a guardian of the wilds and to admit that he couldn't explain why he would be working with the trouble-causing gnolls.

When the party reassembled and briefed each other, Yewvane strongly and repeatedly opined that the group should preemptively kill Ubu and the kobolds on the grounds that Alkinimic, whom Ubu named as his master, was evil. The party decided not to presume that the other kobolds were Alkinimic-worshipping mimics, as well as not to offend their hosts and risk being eliminated from the competition for guardianship of the magical area, and the competition began without violence.

'''"A Test of Character"''' 
Talyth explained that the competition was a test of character that would take the form of a race along a path to the hydrail, where the winners would be whoever successfully retrieved an amulet from around the hydrail's central neck. He also pointed out that, if the contestants had not noticed already, spells cast this close to the exposed ley line were more effective than normal (as if they were cast using a spell slot one level higher than the level of the actual slot used).

The race began with a trek through a large patch of animated vines. 22 morphed into an allosaurus to carry some of the slower members of the party, and Heli used fire magic to damage some of the writhing vines (to the chagrin of 22 who briefly ranted telekinetically about "unnecessary destruction"). Some of the group soon noticed that while the vines grappled many of their number, Dynia faced no such aggression the vines seeming to part for him as he passed. Recalling that this was to be a test of character, the group decided to try to convince the vines that they were not enemies and that they should be allowed to pass in peace. After several attempts at persuasion, some of which were boosted by friendly magics, everyone won the vines' favor and walked freely through the area.

Further along the path, the group encountered a bridge over a wide ravine with a seemingly non-threatening bridge keeper who posed three questions to each competitor before allowing them to cross. Those who answered incorrectly were magically hurled into the ravine but had an easy time climbing back up to the top as long as they did so on the same side of the ravine from which they had been cast in. Several of the questions had to do with people whom the group had encountered so far on their mission, and eventually everyone was able to pass without suffering the damage that accompanied a fall into the ravine.

Next came a game where a fey spirit, who had been observing the party during their trip, possessed one of the members of the group and tried to impersonate them. Each party member was permitted to ask a single yes-or-no question to another party member in an attempt to fool the spirit into giving away its ignorance about the individual's past. The group was then to guess which person was possessed, and any who guessed wrong would suffer a degree of exhaustion. The group succeeded in guessing that the spirit had possessed Sir Yewvane, and no ill effects resulted.

Finally the time came to face the hydrail, which fought non-lethally to retain the amulet hanging on a chain around its central neck. Already in allosaurus form, 22 made a lucky grab, crunching the chain between their teeth and claiming the prize. However, displeased with this result, Ubu used magic to merge with the hydrail and lash out against the party with its enormous body. The other kobolds proved to be mimic creatures as well, and they attacked simultaneously. Dealing sufficient damage to the hydrail sufficiently quickly repeatedly forced Ubu to separate from it, but he was able to merge with it again and resume his assault. Eventually during one of his brief separations from the creature, Thordon succeeded in killing him outright, and the hydrail was free of his influence. Before dying, Ubu announced ominously that Alkinimic would rise.

'''Trust, Gold, and Slurm''' 
Through Talyth, the hydrail informed the group that they had won the competition, and that as well as being awarded guardianship of the magical area, they would also be given 900 gold pieces (some of which were minted in Escargodia) as well as three vials of hydromucus (a.k.a. slurm), which could make a non-magical weapon magical for a minute. Before the party headed back to base camp, Talyth reiterated, for the whole group to hear, that something bad was growing in the wilds.

===Session 28: Work for the Warden===

'''DM: Dave'''

'''PCs:'''
*[[Therrin Flare]] (Dave): aasimar warlock
*[[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]] (Colin): half-elf rogue
*[[Danke Schön]] (Symeal): dhampir bard
*[[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]] (Anna): aarokocra bard/warlock
*[[p'Rahp]] (Gail): grung paladin
*[[Neru]] (Rich): gnome paladin

'''NPCs:'''
*[[Adrian Tempest]]
*[[The Warden of the Wilds]]
*"The Slime Dragon"

'''To the Swamp'''

Adrian Tempest (30ish, almost 6') explained that a group of druids and other nature-focused people with whom the company has been in communication had asked for help investigating slimes/oozes exacerbated by gnolls in exchange for help fortifying camp. Salvage rights for any valuables found would go to company members.
Finny advised that, in his experience, oozes and slimes don't like fire. He came prepared with a med kit, and Danke had an herbalism kit.

Adrian explained how to get to the Warden's land. Finny used his map and his cartography skills to determine exactly where the party was going, near a great open swamp where a previous party encountered the Warden. They reached a small, swampy area and approached a huge swamp troll or treant or something that turned out to be more like a scarecrow built at the far edge of the water, where a cut path could also be seen.

'''The Warden'''

P'hrap and hummer determined that the right fork of the path was the better choice. A creature appeared in silouette, their cloak waving. This was the Warden, who responded with a wave when greeted in that fashion. Therrin's psuedodragon companion (Pex) scouted ahead, finding thatbthis whole area of the swamp was well shaded. The Warden was well concealed, greeted the party verbally when they got within speaking range, confirmed that the group was sent by the Tempest Brothers, and then suggested a direction (west) for them to head in to begin their investigation. The Warden indicated an aversion to oozes and slimes, but has a patron who allows them to remain in the wilds so long as they do not upset the balance of nature, as they thrmselves are not necessarily evil or unnatural.

The party understood that gnolls had disturbed the area, and shared a concern of possible fungal infection. Finny confirmed that none of the nearby gnolls had mechanical modifications and indicated that some of the nearby gnolls are known to have fiendish backing. Therrin suggested that stopping the gnolls would be the best way to stop the oozes. Finny showed the Warden his map and asked for additional input, thus learning that the map just barely covers one edge of of the Warden's domain. To the west outside of that domain there is a swamp village where there has been gnoll activity. The Warden's plan was to remain behind and offer support if the adventurers came back this way.

'''Overland'''

Therrin's psuedodragon companion continued to scout, and Finny scouted by air as well. The party used their survival skills to make their way through the swamp, some better than others. They could see the terrain to the west transitioned swiftly to mostly dry land with plateaus (rising up to 30 or 40 feet in height) under the approximately 100-foot jungle canopy. p'Rahp searched for poisons or other traces of oozes, and found that no creatures appeared to be nearby. Although there were signs of much natural activity in the area, there were no signs of slimes or oozes, or of gnolls for that matter. Finny spotted wisps of campfires about a mile in the distance, and the party decided to head in that direction. Pex, having a 1-mile telepathic connection with Therrin, scouted far ahead, waiting for the slower-flying Finny along the way.

Some 500 yards from the opening in the canopy, Finny and Pex heard gnolls speaking in raised voices, and Therrin relayed this information to the rest of the group, including the occurrence of a great, growling roar. Finny saw a plateau with the vine-covered, ruined stone walls of a very old keep -- a large two-story building with parapets and a double-gate entry area, all surrounded by a plateau-wide wall.

'''The Siege'''

The gnolls were laying seige to the keep, which was defended by oozes including a great multi-colored (mostly green) ooze with a draconic-shaped skeleton at its center (dubbed the "slime dragon"). Finny noticed that the gnolls were being extremely tactical, utilizing spears at range and and avoiding attacking with metal melee weapons. The black oozes lobbed flaming projectiles, and Finny noted that none of the other oozes seemed afraid of the fire. He relayed this to whoever was listening via his sending stone. The gnolls were fungal and included gnoll witherlings (fungal-infected undead) that also followed the tactical commands of the leading gnolls. Some gnolls were trying to scale the back side of the plateau, but oozes came out of the side of the mountain to block their path and defend the keep. Finny and Pex circled back to update everyone, and someone pointed out 1) that the gnolls are likely in league with mother (implying that party members who interacted with them might become ill) and 2) that the organized behavior of the slimes and the existence of the big dragon slime was unusual.

The party decided to telepathically talk with the slime dragon via Pex to see if they could team up against the gnolls. Danke magically buffed Pex's conversation skills for this purpose. Pex was a bit overwhelmed by the number of voices that made up the slime dragon but relayed the message and received a response from a distinctly different voice within the many. This voice, which seemed to be in change, politely declined the offer that Pex made on behalf of the group.

They decided to sneak up and into the keep while the battle raged. Some of them intended to go in and investigate the interior while others held off any gnolls who might try to go in after them. The party reached the edge of the keep without being noticed by the combatants. They set up some magical buffs and surprised the gnomes who were already engaged.

'''Lending a Hand'''

Finny carried Neru up and dropped them into melee in a superhero landing, and danke enlarged them to medium, whereupon they smote a gnoll, making it explode into spores, whose effect they shrugged off. Therrin creted an image of more oozes. p'Rahp missed with an attack while Sallen tried to sneak onto the opposite side of the plateau from the rest of the party. Finny headed for the keep and spotted a stairway leading down to the ground floor. p'Rahp took a turn smiting a gnoll to death, and Neru dispatched another one. Danke put three gnolls to sleep. In the meantime, the gnolls took out some slimes but fared poorly against the slime dragon.

Finny cast shatter with a loud crack of thunder, taking out all three of the sleeping gnolls. A nearby slime with the visage of a humanoid (including a visible skeleton) addressed Therrin, asking for the party to withdraw and specifying that he had already informed Pax that their help was neither needed nor desired. Sallen had found an obstructed drain hole leading into the keep. The humanoid slime (a.k.a. "slime boy") seemed to be slightly annoyed to learn that the Warden was behind this minor intrusion into his space and asked what it would cost to get the party to leave. Therrin said they wanted to know what the gnolls are up to, and the slime creature responded that they were (foolishly) working to collect resources that would help Mother to manifest on the mortal plane.

'''Rewards'''

Neru kept fighting for a few seconds until slime boy offered them a pouch produced from within his form. Finny helped Sallen access the drain (successfully opening a way into the keep), and slime boy thanked him for his efforts, gave him a second bag of coin/gems, and told him his friends were leaving and it was time to join them.

The warden was pleased, as the party had indeed aquired information about the gnolls' purpose in the area, and rewarded the party with a magical stick that could be used to fortify the defences of the TBEC base camp.

===Session 29: We're Going in Circles!===
'''DM:''' Keller

'''PCs:'''
* [[Billium Teddly]] (Nathan)
* [[22]] (Cat)
* [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]] (Jake)
* [[Dragonett]] (Drew)
* [[Twilsby Pendergras]] (Nick)

'''NPCs:'''
* Abjurer [[Cookie]], the Otter
* [[Lorrie Haslo]] (with a tip from the Collector)
* Oliver "Olly" Vincent Bartholomew, with followers James Hill and Maverick Ried
* Skippy, air skiff pilot

'''Kobolds and the Collector'''

Recently, while the Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company was distracted by the kidnapping of some of its members, including Lambda, Ripjaw and other gnolls had razed the village of Thinwhistle and slaughtered its friendly "big kobold" residents (leaving only Hunk, who was staying at the company's base camp as a liaison). The Collector had since given Lorrie Haslo a lead on finding another village of similar kobolds, and she had arrived at TBEC base camp to ask the company to pursue the lead, which involved an adventurer (Bartholomew) who could guide a group to the village. Cookie asked the party to assemble in his tent, where Lorrie waited appeared tired and bedraggled from her ongoing work for the Collector, and it seemed after some discussion that her sponsor had been stringing her along with continued promises of full payment after "one more job".

'''The Explorer'''

Bartholomew and his followers were summoned by a strange ritual in which they coalesced out of mysterious mists that appeared on the outskirts of the camp. Some of the assembled party had recalled his name as that of a human adventurer born hundreds of years ago, and in reality he appeared as a flamboyant, middle-aged human adventurer reminiscent of a stereotypical safari explorer. James Hill and Maverick Ried were somewhat younger, seemed weary from following Bartholomew for a very long time, and didn't know what year it was (believing it was decades earlier). Bartholomew, in the name of adventure, wanted to hike through the jungle for two weeks to reach the kobold village he described. This plan seemed absurd to the assembled party, who informed Bartholemew and his team about the existence of airships that could transport the group the same distance in a fraction of the time. He resisted the idea at first, but was impressed with a quick demonstration but Skippy, who helpfully agreed dropped what he was doing that day to pilot a skiff (which would be crowded but manageable) to take the group where they were going.

'''Mysterious Mists'''

Skippy spent only an hour getting ready for the spontaneous voyage and the party set out in the skiff. When night fell, they stopped to camp, and it became clear that the mysterious mists from base camp had stayed with them as Dragonett saw a structure coalescing out of them nearby. Yewvane went with her to investigate, and they discovered it was the house of her childhood, where the events were unfolding from her memory, those of the greatest loss of her life, the night her parents were killed. Dragonett and Yewvane saw a young girl fall from a second story window and run away, soon after which a large group of hostile adults exited the house. In the memory, Dragonett, father had forced her out of the window with his dying breath and told her to run. The intruders had then killed both of her parents before appearing outside in front of the adult Dragonett and Yewvane. There, they blended together into a huge lupine form, with which the two engaged in combat. It struck Yewvane and inflicted considerable psychological damage along with the physical blow. When the creature was injured sufficiently, it faded back into the mists, and Dragonett and Yewvane returned to where the rest of the party camped, badly shaken. Similar manifestations hounded the other party members over the continued course of their journey to Drakemire Hollow.

'''Overcoming Obstacles'''

Before reaching their destination, the party was required to land and pass through a large, locked door. Opening it required solving a logic puzzle involving the positions, material make-up and coverings of various levers in front of the door. Bartholemew claimed this was necessary in order to proceed to their destination, and Yewvane confirmed that this might be the case as there are such things as fey portals that prevent progress toward a physical location until the traveler passes through them. At one point during the journey it was clear that the instructions Bartholomew was giving to Skippy were steering the skiff in large circles, for no reason ever discovered. And the party was forced to land again, just before arriving at Drakemire Hollow, when they spotted a half dozen wyverns along between them and their destination. They hid beneath the jungle canopy and bypassed the deadly threat to reach the village, which had apparently been destroyed in the past by the eruption of the nearby volcano, and was now partly buried in pumice and ash.

'''Discoveries'''

The airship that would come to retrieve the group would not arrive for a couple of days, which gave them plenty of time to explore the ruins and find an entrance to a seemingly magical underground area that the TBEC would no doubt want to investigate further. During their first hours in Drakemire Hollow, however, Yewvane cast a Zone of Truth to get answers from Bartholomew. It came out that he had been cursed not to die but to be pursued endlessly by the wolf creature, an embodiment of death and entropy. Those who accompanied him might live indefinitely as well, but at the cost of losing some degree of their peace and sanity from the endless hunt, or they might eventually be consumed by the beast.

 
===Session 35: Harvest Hoedown===
DM: Keller

PCs:
* [[Juno]]
* [[Therrin Flare]]
* [[Cealion]]
* [[Tommy]]
* [[22]]
* [[Nassir Tycho]]

NPCs:
* [[Adrian Tempest]]
* [[The Warden of the Wilds]]
* [[Dynia]] (and his pumpkin dog Patches)
* [[Chadwick]]
* [[The Pumpkin King]]
* [[Sam the Door]]
 

'''A Concern in Common'''

It had been three days since all the stored food at the TBEC base camp had suddenly vanished, replaced by a single, glowing jack-o-lantern. Word had quickly reached the company that similar disappearances had blighted much of western Amusa. The name Dynia had been linked to the phenomenon, which had grown to an incipient famine; Dynia was the pumpkin-headed member of the Gourd Disciples, a radical group devoted to Xevriss, the great orange dragon once known as the Scourge of Amusa and the Devourer of Gourds. But how anyone could have effected such a far-reaching crime was a mystery. So when several soldiers appeared at the TBEC base camp, representing the cities of both Nestle and Galik (the latter group dressed in the uniforms of Galik's Lyre Guard), no one was surprised to learn that their concern was the missing food and the growing panic among their respective populations.

Also present was Chadwick, a member of the Gourd Guard, a nominal private military force based in and around Nestle, who were now something of a cross between a militia and a group of war reenactors, ever since their historical role of working to appease the gluttonous Xevriss had become unnecessary once Xevriss had departed Amusa for Osugbo generations earlier. (The Gourdheart Disciples were a religious splinter group that had grown out of this rudderless semi-military organization.)

'''Adrian Tempest and the Warden'''

Several company members accompanied the soldiers to meet with Adrian Tempest in his tent, where at least one soldier spoke openly of how impressed he was by Adrian's mustache. The from room of the tent served as a sort of war room, with a table-sized map holding miniatures representing various people of influence in the area. The positions of figures representing Ripjaw, the Warden and others could be only as accurate as the company's most recent intelligence allowed, and seemingly no attempt was made to hide this information from the visiting soldiers. Adrian listened to the soldiers' concerns and their suggestion that contacting the Warden might be the best next step in learning the whereabouts of Dynia (whose miniature lingered at the ley-line intersection known as Escargodia, although the pumpkin man had not actually been seen there for several weeks.) The Galik soldier who appeared to be the de facto leader of the joint group clarified that they had come to the Tempest Brothers because they understood that Adrian had a means of contacting the Warden, which he agreed to do using a magic necklace that the Warden had crafted for the purpose.

The group emerged from the tent and moved to the edge of the camp, where Adrian summoned the warden with a whispered phrase. A mist rose and then a wind. The trees seemed to part for the Warden, who emerged from them floating inches above the ground, followed by several grung children. When presented with the situation, the Warden agreed to help by ushering the adventurers to the Court of Hallow's Eve in the Feywild, where the Pumpkin King would in turn be able to assist in finding Dynia. The warden cast a blessing to protect the group from certain dangers of the Feywild, which led them each to feel as if a weight had been lifted. The Warden then created an invisible portal and escorted the party through it to the Pumpkin King's court, where they found themselves suddenly enveloped in a starry night, outside the gates of a large compound where they could see what appeared to be several huge pumpkins with doors and windows, illuminated by jack-o-lanterns. The Warden ensured the group that the Pumpkin King would agree to return them to Amusa when the time came, giving the impression that the Pumpkin King was somehow subservient or beholden to them.

'''Dining with the Pumpkin King'''

The party approached the gates, which were attended by two autumn eladrin with red hair who spoke in unsettling unison. The group requested an audience with the pumpkin king, and the two eladrin disclosed that he was expecting them and bid them enter. Visible in the area beyond the gates were pink candy goblins, orange pixies with sharp teeth and black eyes, and a few old hags, as well as several wolf-like creatures prowling in the shadows. The group passed through a pumpkin 'colloseum' building leading into the royal court of the pumpkin king, which was largely populated by individuals with pink cotton candy flesh and caramel hair.

The Pumpkin King, who said that he was also known as Jack Skellington but that no one really called him that, had a tall body of vines from which protruded with two clawed hands at the sides and three jack-o-lantern heads at the top. Juno and Tommy offered him gifts of pumpkins, which he accepted gladly with a casual gesture that caused the gourds to float to him on a cinnamon-smelling breeze. Candy goblin servants then brought in plates of food for the group to feast on, including warm sparkling cider and pastries that look like giant acorns. Cealion requested and received hard cider, and everyone but Nassir accepted the food, which gave magical boons to those who ate it. 22 became invisible, Cealion and Tommy gained the ability to detect thoughts, and Juno and Therrin became quickened, able to move and act with unnatural haste. During this first course, to the group's surprise, a purple-clad Dynia appeared from an adjacent room, and they learned that he was the head chef of the Court of Hallow's Eve.

Tommy spoke to the Pumpkin King, admitting that some of the members of the Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company believed that Dynia might somehow be responsible for the disappearance of food in Western Amusa. Dynia, overhearing, denied the accusation, but the Pumpkin King replied that the party would be allowed to carry out an investigation into the matter between the courses of the feast, and he went on to warn the group that they should stick together due to local dangers, regarding which he declined to go into detail. Dynia said he had cooking to do and set off toward the kitchen. Therrin indicated his intention to follow, and Nassir, being the stealthiest of the group, decided to take the lead.

'''The Maze'''

The party approached a corn maze and followed Dynia through a passage that went past two scarecrows, who introduced themselves as the Scare Pair, Peeka and Boo. One said the party would be required to determine which one of them tells the truth in order to be allowed passage. They would be allowed three questions. After some discussion, 22 asked Boo what Peeka would say if he were asked whether he tells the truth. Boo responded that Peeka would say he tells the truth, and 22 named Boo as the truth-speaker and suffered damage to their mind due to an incorrect guess. Guessing Peeka had similar results because both guardians were liars, including whichever had initially claimed that one of them always spoke the truth. Upon discovering this, the party was allowed passage.

The group soon spotted another guardian, this one a pumpkin minotaur, whom they were able to sneak past. Arriving next at a small open space within the maze, the group encountered a large door that seemed to lead nowhere in particular. The party spoke to the door and learned it's name was Sam, and it used to be a person. It agreed that the party could pass through it, whereupon they entered a large, bustling kitchen.

'''A Kitchen Full of Dynias'''

Four strange pillars of vines lined the back of the kitchen, each with Jack-o-lanterns on top. All the cooks looked like Dynia and shared his name, but they each bore a different number on their chest. They referred to the Dynia with whom the group was familiar, who was not present, as ''Dynia Prime''. Therrin spoke to the Dynia with the number 2 on it's chest, explaining that the party was there because the only thing left of the food at the TBEC base camp on the prime material plane was a mysterious jack-o-lantern, and the company thought Xevriss and/or Dynia might be involved. Cealion noticed that the higher the number on a Dynia's chest, the less sentient that Dynia was.

According to Dynia 2, who also claimed that he himself was an illusion, the pillars at the back of the kitchen were totems that allowed the acquisition of food in the feywild, which was "borrowed" in small amounts from the mortal world. Only Dynia Prime could activate the totems, and only he could access the extradimensional storage space in which all the acquired food was all stored. When asked about Sam's origins, Dynia 2 informed the party that he did not know because Sam had been in the Court of Hallow's Eve longer than he had; but he praised Sam as "a very nice door".

After being informed that it was nearly time for the next course of the feast, the group returned though a magic passage from the kitchen that led directly to the dining room. Cealion and Tommy (who both happened to be mentally disturbed by mysterious events in their personal histories and hence to regard themselves as "haunted ones"), both experienced some strange hallucinations as they traversed the passageway.

'''New Perspectives'''

The next course was roast pheasant with a caramelized gravy, and pumpkin stew. Again, all but Nassir consumed the food, and this time the magic effect was the same for all party members: they swapped bodies.

22 possessed Cealion, who found himself in Therrin's body, while Therrin experienced living in 22's mechanical body. And Tommy and Chadwick, the representative of the Gourd Guard, found themselves in each other's bodies. Everyone exchanged possessions as necessary, and Therrin was able to use Juno's body's changeling nature to appear as himself.

As the group was adjusting to their new situation, which the Pumpkin King assured them was temporary, Dynia Prime and Dynia 2 finished a conversation that no one was able to overhear, and Dynia 2 then departed for town. The party talked to Dynia, who showed everyone his pumpkin dog, Patches. When asked, he refused to take the party to his house but agreed to show them his pumpkin collection, which was elsewhere in the same large structure as the main dining room.

'''Always Split the Party'''

Tommy, Cealion and Nassir followed Dynia 2 to Dynia's pumpkin-shaped house and learned that Sam is not a single door but a spirit that simultaneously inhabits most of the doors in the Court of Hallow's Eve and that he opens to the magic words "trick or treat". In the house was a hearth above which had been carved a symbol of two hands holding an anatomically correct heart. There was also a rack with purple scarves, purple wizard hats, and an orange and purple striped sweater.

Sam indicated that Dynia spent a lot of time upstairs, and the party went up to find a green-glowing archway leading into a bedroom. Trying to walk through triggered a magical aging effect that doubled the apparent age of Chadwick's human body (inhabited by Tommy) but aged Therrin's aasimar body (inhabited by Cealion) only slightly. by decades and didn't let them into the bedroom. Placing an object of sentimental value in the flame turned out to be the key to gaining entrance to the bedroom, and the item fortunately was not consumed but appeared in a container inside the bedroom. Nassir and Tommy used this technique to enter, but Cealion remained on the landing, having no item available of suitable sentimental value. (Tommy's item was valuable only to Chadwick -- his mother's pumpkin spice.)

In the bedroom was a note that said "cell 83", a letter indicating that it had been accompanied by something intended to help Dynia with his quest to bring back Xevriss. The letter bore an owl crest familiar to Tommy, who identified it as being associated with a group connected with demons that he had encountered on a previous mission. The group also discovered a clockwork box sprouting infernal mushrooms, which would later be identified as the device Dynia had used to break into the Collector's vault.

During this time, Juno, 22, and Chadwick remained with Dynia who gave them a chance to see his collection of pumpkins, which were truly magnificent. When asked about his involvement with the disappearance of the food from western Amusa, he said he would never steal food from hundreds of thousands of people but was not taken at his word by all present. Regarding who might have wanted to frame him for the crime (with the jack-o-lantern left at the TBEC camp), he said only that he didn't know.

'''Dessert'''

Before the third course, the two groups exchanged news, and Chadwick was distraught at the condition of his body. in an attempt to gain information that might help to free Sam, Tommy spoke to a candy guard who proved to be supremely unhelpful. Therrin talked to an old woman about Dynia and how to avoid giving offense to people in this realm. She confirmed that Dynia had a weird obsession with Xevriss and revealed that Xevriss was previously held captive in the cells of the Pumpkin King.

As the party expected from their experience with the previous magical effects, the body-swap ended when they all returned to the dining room for the third and final course: delicate pumpkin pastries. To Chadwick's relief, the aging effects disappeared as well. During dessert, Tommy asked about Sam's origins, and the King explained that Sam walked off alone with a hag and was turned into a door. Tommy asked for the king to return Sam to his previous form, and he said maybe for one day a year if the party's alarming concerns about Dynia proved to be founded. Tommy explained the connection between the demon known as Mother and infernal mushrooms and pointed out the similarity of those mushrooms to the ones infesting the clockwork box they had found in Dynia's house. Nassir illuminated the connection between the letter and the group of demon worshippers the Tempest Brothers' Expeditionary Company had previously encountered. Tommy added that the other Dynias seemed concerned about Dynia prime "gallivanting about the material plane recently". In light of these claims, Jack Skellington ruled in the party's favor. This was immediately followed by the sound of a loud ringing and the sudden explosion of all three of his pumpkin heads, spraying pumpkin guts on those seated nearby .

Dynia strode in, assured the group that the Pumpkin King was not dead and would be back to his old self within a day. A rift to a massive pile of food intended for Xevriss appeared in the air above the group, and Tommy surprised Dynia with an eldritch blasted to the pumpkin. A bloody fight ensued in which Juno nearly lost his life and 22 was rendered unconscious more than once. The party disabled the totems that were holding the food in the Feywild and Therrin eldritch blasted Dynia to death, as which point the 2 immediately faded from the chest of Dynia 2. The Pumpkin King did indeed return to normal within a day and, true to his word, restored Sam to his human form for a day. Sam expressed gratitude for his one day a year of humanity, which he chose to spend this year with the party and the rest of the company in Amusa.

For their assistance in unmasking Dynia, the Pumpkin King rewarded the group with gold, potions, and three permanent magic items: a ''Mask of Disguise'' that went to Juno, ''Scissors of Shadow'' that went to Tommy, and a ''Broom of Flying'' that Therrin would keep safe and loan out to any group going on a mission for the company in the future.

=== Session 39: In the Sewers ===
DM: Keller

PCs:

* [[Tinkerton Tinklebottom]]
* [[Lupine Lucas]]
* [[Winter]]

'''<big>October 22nd 2023 - Tinkerton's First Adventure</big>'''

Belle, you will never believe where I went today! ME a tinker from Troverth, traveled all the way to Galik across the continent to join the "Tempest Brothers Expedition Company". OH man and I saw Tinkle too!!! Can you believe he.... wait I jumped too far ahead let me start at the beginning of the day. I met a few others before I saw our kiddo.

There was a furball with snow like fur....a tabook, or tabaxi that's it, named Winter and along with them I met Lupine a human weirdo with druidic powers....well he was more Quirky than weird I think. The three of us were new to the area and went in to meet with Lucinda a retired Lion Guard *I think* whose symbol is that of a golden griffon.

She had tasked the group of us to find GHOSTS in the Bay area of the docks and make it safe again, and really figure out what was happening with these disappearances.... oh yeah that's right, Belle people were being kidnapped for years by these Specters of the night!!! Nothing made sense here, nothing is like home when it comes to safety

and not getting kidnapped at night by monsters of myth. But this was the mission we got to prove our worth, a chance to show I am not just brittle bones in a suit of armor (Don't laugh Belle, I know you think I am crazy for using our creations to adventure at my age) and am capable of joining them in the wilds.

Well flash forward to our arrival at the docks and I met this pirate fellow, I swear he was half dead already, One-Eyed Jack had an eye patch HUN an EYE PATCH....yet he was blind in both eyes.... Well anyways the crazy old human told us to that a halfling that frequented the two throat tuxedo....no umm what was it, umm sorry Belle I am using ink

and forgot what he said hmm. oh Two Toed Trout, that tavern we went to and Lupine got thrown out, he wasn't too good with his word, and Winter well they spoke to the barkeep. I didn't get distracted you wouldn't believe it, I totally went and found the people that stood out and didn't even peak at their poorly made gear that clearly was made by

someone that hadn't seen good craftsmanship in their life! Okay so I may have snuck a lil peek. BUT I AM AN OLD MAN, and can do as I please woman!... Anyways, We found out that these two I found worked with a gnome who saw the halfling before he was taken, so our lil group made our way to the "Bartholomew Weapons Company" as you are

well aware, we made a plenty of their gear magical back in the days of old. Belle you would have been so proud, which is good cause that ONLY MAKES one of us....Tinkle our son was the lead weapons designer. He was the GNIOME, all the way in Galik the boy made something of himself....not that he is designing armor but weapons is good too. Belle the boy

told us that there were kidnappers not ghosts that took the halfling boy into the sewers....oh and Tinkle said hi, figured I'd toss that in here too.

When we got in the Sewers my gosh darn shoes got wet and gross, and these darn young-uns pushed me the lil old gnome to lead the group, hehe it was probably because my armor looked so strong and grand! It is the one you helped me make dear, the guardian set! Well we found out this was home to lizard folks that disappeared in the moons glow...Troglodytes.

We fought our way through them all at least 10 of them in there and the quirky one Lupine turned into a giant beast.... not practical in a sewer mind you but very cool and effective somehow, It was all going well my first adventure no issues at all! We even found a puzzle, but that Winter cat solved it so quick! I am getting a little slower in my wisdom years, no laughing

ma'am! But it was a door that had a pearl, emerald, opal and nephrite stone in it. We spelled OPEN with the stones and it opened to a stash room full of loot. It was great. We rested, took a good nap in there, like I used to in your lap....though it was against a moist wall with moss....maybe not the same! But still I took a nap.

Turns out one of the monsters down here was a bugbear, one that had wrestled Lupine for a belt of giant strength, I used to use those as back braces in the old days remember hehe. Oh right the stories conclusion let me carry on, we fought that bugbear with magic and trickery and defeated him with ease! Though we may have gotten a little too much confidence

as our next door that we unlocked almost brought me closer to you my Belle. A demonic fire lizard that was being worshipped down here by lizard men almost killed Winter, the cat buddy I spoke of before. The room was rapidly filling with toxic sludge and my two party members had been hit with some kind of paralyzing spell....it was terrible but I endeavored as long as

they needed and fought that beast one on one, gnome on lizard. It was scary hun but you are always what makes me not fear death as it would bring me back to you, however I am not ready I have many stories to write and adventures to live before I can tell you all about them for eternity. Oh right the end, we took it down baiting it to the doors and freed the sewer

of the lizard problem. The missing people were found...most of em at least. In the end we were given gold and passage to the wilds. I of course went back to give our son the gauntlets he made that were stolen by these monsters but he gifted them to his old man, I know you think it would be sweet but I COULD MAKE THEM BETTER, but I don't craft anymore not since

you left. Besides it would be a shame not to hold on to something from a lead weapon designer.....can't believe he did it. I mean can't believe he isn't in the armor game! As always, I love you Belle, my adventurers for you have started. I will tell you all about them soon and hope that you can wait for me to finish a few more.

P.S - Just like when you were alive, you always give me strength then and now.

=== Session 42: Man Made Flesh ===
'''DM''': Keller

'''PCs''':
* [[Wiggler]]
* [[Chrysaor Purosis]]
* [[22]]
* [[Heli Moltenshield]]
* [[Pash|p'Ash'r'Ohn]]
* [[Mirth]]

'''NPCs''':
* [[Paul Fletcher]]
* [[Skippy]]
* [[Lorrie Haslo]]
 

'''Paul Joins the Mission'''

Paul Fletcher, TBEC's researcher specializing in anthropology and ancient cultures, had been particularly interested in the recent discovery, by aerial surveillance, of ancient ruins in the direction of the Great Scar. He dispatched the original expedition several days earlier, which was led by Lorrie Haslo and included several TBEC personnel, namely Frank (half orc), Sabra (half elf), Sunter (halfling), Maxine (dragonborn), and Bobby (human). Lorrie had believed this was the location of [[The Philosopher's Stone]] (described as small, red, egglike gem with powerful transmutation abilities), but she and her survey team had not checked in, and Paul assembled a second team to investigate and report back and/or request a large air ship be sent to retrieve the previous team and their gear if necessary.

Paul had said he wouldn't be joining the team, but as the skiff was about to take off, he came running up carrying a bunch of loose maps and other materials and said he had changed his mind. Pash immediately suspected that this was not Paul but a doppleganger or impersonator, so some of the team returned to Paul's tent to see if he was still there. The tent was vacant although more messy than when they had last seen it minutes earlier. Satisfied for now that Paul was in fact Paul, they returned to the skiff to find Skippy explaining the Big Red Button intended to alert base camp to send one of the larger air ships if the party deemed it necessary.

'''Sabotage'''

The skiff traveled East to the location of the a ruined temple overgrown by jungle vegetation, near which were another air skiff belonging to the Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company and wisps of smoke from a recently doused campfire. Upon landing, the group was met by the half-orc Frank, who said he was glad the TBEC has sent someone, conveyed that Lorrie Haslo was there at the camp, and explain what had happened to cause the survey team to lose communication with the TBEC base camp. During the team's first night at the ruins, the skiff's control console (including the sending-stone-based communication system) had been badly damaged -- supposedly by an animal, but nothing else was damaged, causing the newly arrived party to suspect sabotage. Ali and Heli investigated the disabled air skiff and noticed that the damage had come very close to blowing up the skiff's power core. Heli assessed that the damage was in fact intentional but had been made to look like an animal attack. In the meantime, Pash radioed back to base camp to update them and to ask whether Paul was in camp and tell them to keep an eye on him since she was suspicious that someone might be impersonating him. The person on the other end of the line responded that they would detain Paul.

The rest of the party spoke to Lorrie who explained that the ruins were inhabited by strange rotting zombies that seemed to have been here in the jungle for a long time and that the group's help in dealing with the threat would be welcome. She said [[The Collector]] believed that a thief in possession of a precious artifact may have taken refuge here. She admitted that she wasn't sure that this entire mission wasn't just "another wild goose chase" the Collector was sending her on. The team let her know that her skiff had been sabotaged (and she said she would shared this information with Frank), and they shared their concerns about the possibility that Paul (and perhaps not only Paul) was being impersonated.

'''Melee and Murder'''

The party proceeded into the ruins to help clear out the zombies and immediately encountered and destroyed one. Two more zombies appeared and attacked, infecting Pash with paralyzing moss. They killed the remaining zombies and Pash broke free of the moss. A fourth zombie was discovered and dispatched. At the far end of the temple, three more zombies appeared, two perishing almost immediately, and the last one paralyzing Wiggler before being destroyed.

By now Paul, who at the group's suggestion was playing it safe by remaining just outside the temple, had failed to respond to calls to follow the group inside. Checking up on him, the party was shocked to discover that he has been stabbed in the head and killed with a TBEC knife. Some of the group ignored this development to explore the ritual chamber at the far end of the temple and found equipment from the Perseus Expeditionary Company (as evidenced by their familiar medusa-head logo).

'''The Mysterious Body'''

Within 30 seconds after seeing Paul alive, 22 confirmed that he was indeed dead and then tried to save him with the ''Revivify'' spell to no avail. This meant that one of three things must be true: someone had counterspelled the 22's casting, Paul had been dead longer than a minute, or he was not actually dead. A casting of ''Detect Magic'' showed that powerful transmutation magic emmenated from the "corpse", indicating that the third possibility was likely the true one.

Lorrie walked up to discover the strange situation and informed the group that a message had come over the radio, indicating that Paul was still at camp, giving further credence to the possibility that this was not Paul's corpse. Pash stabbed the "corpse", and it twitched, further reinforcing this conclusion.

Heli proceeded to dissect the corpse -- which had by now acquired the name Not-Paul -- and discovered that it had extra organs, including boneless internal hands, as well as a glowing heart. When she removed the heart, the body spasmed and the glowing stopped. Even then, the corpse still responded with a twitch to heat being applied to it, and the corpse's blood seemed to shrink from the stimulus. Heli extracted one of the extra hands and burned the body to ash. Pash looked for tracks telltale tracks nearby but found nothing distinctive. She also took an opportunity to call back to base to ask for an air ship to be dispatched to retrieve both groups and was told it would arrive the next morning.

'''Who Done It'''

Lorrie's survey team comprised Frank and four other TBEC employees: Sabra (half elf), Sunter (halfling), Maxine (dragonborn), and Bobby (human), and one of them was behind the incident -- likely the same one who had sabotaged the skiff. At Wiggler's suggestion, 22 cast ''Detect Thoughts'' while the group interrogated the survey team.

Sunter proved to have guilty thoughts, but he had an alibi for when Not-Paul was killed: several people confirmed that he was clearly in sight by the fire the whole time. His guilt was over taking hallucinogens while he was on watch during the survey team's first night at the site, which had provided the opportunity for someone to sabotage the skiff. He had no useful memory of the two hours he spent tripping, and he had tried to cover up his negligence by claiming it had been an animal that destroyed the equipment.

Lorrie and Skippy were working on the skiff together during the murder, and Maxine had been in her tent, the entrance to which was clearly visible from both the skiff and the fire. And Sabra was walking around in plain view collecting what herbs she could find near camp. That left Frank, who said he had been organizing the storage tent, and Bobby, who claimed to have been taking a walk. A second casting of ''Detect Thoughts'' brought to light something strange indeed: Bobby seemed to have no thoughts to detect. No matter what he was instructed to think about, 22 could find nothing in his mind. Upon being questioned further, he tried to run but was stopped by an ''Entangle'' from Wiggler, seized by Mirth, and tied up.

Heli cast ''Detect Magic'' to try to learn more and discovered strong transmutation magic emmenating from underneath the camp. She then requested blood from everyone to test whether it reacted to fire the way Not-Paul's blood had. Bobby's blood did shrink from the flame, but Bobby still claimed to be just a human who liked to take walks. The group called back to the TBEC base camp and discovered that there was not another copy of Bobby back at camp.

'''Under the Earth'''

Although Wiggler's use of spells was subject to the possibility of a wild magic surge, they used the ''Mold Earth'' cantrip to dig down toward the source of the detected magic. This did in fact trigger a wild magic surge, but the effect was to give Wiggler the power to reincarnate for one minute (and Wiggler did not take the opportunity to stop being a worm).

Ten feet down was a red gem clutched in a hand attached to an arm that extended into the earth. Wiggler climbed in and tried to seize the gem but was thrown violently from the hole. The hand that Heli had removed from Not-Paul scuttled quickly into the hole. The face of Paul appeared in the hole with lots of long arms reaching out of the hole to erecting his full form on the ground. "Is the ruse up already?" he asked.

'''Killing Paul Again'''

Wiggler cast ''Spike Growth'' around Paul and themself, and Paul walked out of the dangerous area, taking damage from the spikes as well as from Wiggler's attack of opportunity. Then he began attacking with his extra arms, attempting to transmute his targets, to tear their flesh with necrotic damage and render them exhausted. Pash blasted him with a black eldritch dart of energy, and Mirth grabbed him and threw him back into Wiggler's spikes. Wiggler summoned 4 crocodiles to battle Not-Paul, Lorrie, hit him with her pick, and Not-Paul spawned another copy which attacked 22 and then went after Mirth.

22 blasted the original copy with ''Frostbite'', and his body crumbled to pieces. His secondary copy dissipated immediately, as did Bobby. A hand carried the gem down a tunnel into the earth, and Pash and Heli both drank potions of dimunition and followed the arm, with 22 close behind in the form of a viper. Pash's ''Eldritch Blast'' destroyed the hand, which said "See you soon" as it crumbled. Heli's dragon-shaped homunculus, "son of Xevriss", dragged the gem out of the tunnel. It was confirmed to be the Philosopher's Stone, but someone elsewhere was apparently currently attuned to it.

'''Conclusion'''

When the air ship arrived the next morning, Paul disembarked and asked why the party had requested that he be bound hand and foot. They explained that Pash had merely indicated that he should be kept under watch, which was taken perhaps too far by whoever had tied him up. Mechanics repaired the damaged air ship to the point where it could fly within hours, and everyone returned to the TBEC base camp with a message from Lorrie to Lambda: that she was okay and that she loved him. She also indicated that she was at the end of her rope with The Collector and was really only going to undertake one more mission for him before giving up on their unreliable bargain.

[[Cookie]], the otter who served as the company's dedicated abjurerer, promptly "bubbled" the gem, sealing it away for safe keeping. A few days later, the TBEC received some money from the Collector with a note saying only, "For your consideration". Of this money, 1000 gold pieces were given to the party that had recovered the Philosopher's Stone .

=== Session 45: Hunk's Vengeance ===
'''DM''': Aaron

'''PCs''':
* [[Lupine Lucas]]
* [[Ren Atherton]]
* [[22]]
* [[Heli Moltenshield]]
* [[Danke Schön]]
* [[Dr. Richard Weedus]]
* [[Mariar]]

'''NPCs''':
* [[Hunk]]
* [[Yellana Eedryll]]
* [[Bjorn Shattershield]]
 

'''Impressed by Hunk'''

Several people at base camp woke to find that Hunk had returned to camp (as an oathbreaker paladin instead of a protection paladin) and was loudly arguing with Bjorn. Hunk spoke to whoever showed up to investigate the disturbance, saying he needed to assemble a group immediately to help him carry out a time-sensitive mission. He insisted that those present follow him into the nearby wilderness and started walking without checking to see who was following. He walked in silence for about a mile, followed by seven of the company, then sat down on rock and began sharpening a dagger.

Suddenly the group was surrounded by four (regular-sized) kobolds riding raptors. Hunk raised a hand and they leveled spears at the party. He said "You are going to help me". Everyone bristled but the group generally deferred to Hunk for multiple reasons. Once the kobolds had lowered their weapons, Hunk explained that some of the company's gnoll adversaries in the area were working with a cult of humans. Kobolds had captured a cultist who had divulged that they were looking for Thrax's body, possibly to perform necromantic magic to get information from him. (Thrax was the leader of Hunk's former village of Thinwhistle before it was razed by a group of gnolls, and he was the keeper of knowledge about Thelrya, the technologically advanced ancient kobold city that had recently been rediscovered).

As Hunk continued his explanation, the group learned that the kobolds claimed they were serving Hunk because he was the tallest, that the human cultists had magic, that some of the gnolls involved in the quest for Thrax's body were fungus-infused, and that the gnolls seemed to answer to the cultists. The kobolds would search for the body in one of its most likely locations while the impressed company members would interfere with a group of cultists and gnolls who were looking in the area where Thinwhistle had been. After Heli helped in the brainstorming of the most likely locations for Thrax's body, Danke Schön gave an inspirational speech to bolster the party, and Hunk led them to where the kobolds were searching in the remnants of Thinwhistle.

'''Being the Distraction'''

The group arrived to find a dozen zombies searching the area in the presence of two partially organic war machines. Heli used her artificed gauntlet to determine that the machines were not under the command of gnoll control collars like the ones that had been used to control dinosaurs near Thinwhistle in the past. Behind them were three humans and a winter-form eladrin who would turn out to be Yellana, an associate of the mysterious Jack of Hearts. The party tried to approach quietly but the clanging of Heli's metallic homunculus, Brokr, gave away their presence, and the nearer of the two machines launched a glob of acid that fell on Heli and Dickweedus.

Dickweedus responded by rushing toward the attacker and loosing two arrows at it. The humans used magic to summon shadowy tendrils that lashed out at Danke and Dickweedus, necrotizing patches of their flesh and immobilizing Danke. The crawling machine (or "crawler") rolled up to Dickweedus and bit him three times with its chittering insect maw. Lupine cast ''heat metal'' on the machine, which let out a shrill, gut-wrenching scream. Ren cast ''shadowblade'' and threw it at a zombie, slaying it with psychic damage, and mushrooms sprouted from the ground where the zombie fell.

Mariar cast a ''fog cloud'' halfway down the long battlefield -- visually cutting off the human cultists and the second crawler from the incipient melee -- and drew a bow. Heli rode up on Brokr and threw a spear at the crawler, but it's impressive armor negated the solid hit. Brokr circled around to the machine's weaker rear to flank it, giving Heli a chance to damage it. The zombies all burrowed into the ground, gaining cover as they approached to swarm Dickweedus.

The party could see Yellana closing the distance to the front line of the battle and could hear the three cultists beginning to chant ominously. Danke Schön healed Dickweedus, who hacked at the crawler with his battle axe. Ren's familiar tried to help Danke Schön escape the magical restraints the cultists' previous attack had imposed while Ren used an ''eldritch blast'' against Yellana. Lupine, now in the form of a large wildcat, destroyed a zombie with an attack of opportunity, and 22 followed suit, changing into an allosaurus and clawing the crawler's fleshy rear.

Danke Schön cast ''silence'' on the cultists, interrupting their chant before it could reach the point of damaging his allies. The burrowing zombies burst out of the ground and tried to grapple Dickweedus. One succeeded, but Dickweedus riposted, slashing it to death, then attacked the crawler with his magic force gauntlet. Having taken considerable damage, the crawler had begun to emit a nasty odor of rot.

The cultists closed some of the distance and attacked Danke Schön with tendrils of shadow that this time rendered him unconscious with necrotic damage. Ren's familiar tried to stablize Danke Schön while Ren attacked a zombie. Mariar took that zombie out with an arrow from their longbow. Heli hit Yellana with radiant damage, and she responded with a blast of cold damage to the fire genasi. As a zombie bit Dickweedus for poison damage, Yellana announced to the cultists to that the gnolls had found the body and met resistance so they were to go assist them immediately. All three of them disappeared simultaneously.

Dickweedus healed himself, then swung at the crawler, following up with a fatal punch to its central organic eye using his magic force gauntlet. The other crawler had begun to close, and the party noticed that it was manuevering to protect Yellana. It launched a disgusting ball of organic matter that took out Heli's familar and Brokr and damaged Heli herself. Lupine broke off from melee to administer a healing potion to Danke, bringing him to consciousness. Heli also healed herself with potions -- two in quick succession.

There was some brief shouting about the possibility of going to reinforce the kobolds, but the decision was made to stay and try to take Yellana out first. The party had noticed that she wore a glowing bracer and suspected she was using it to compel the remaining crawler to defend her. But the group overheard a message Yellana received indicating that the gnolls had succeeded. The crawler burrowed away, Yellana teleported, and the remaining zombies went limp as their animation ceased.

'''Denoument'''

As the party licked its wounds, Hunk and one of the kobolds showed up. Hunk confirmed that the gnolls had made off with Thrax's body and assessed that the best thing left to do was to try to figure out where they had taken it and go after them. He thanked the adventurers for their help and departed, but before the group returned to camp, he would return with a "reward" for attempting to help. This was a bag containing a ''circlet of blasting'', ''goggles of night'', four potions of greater healing, and 800 pieces of gold. Hunk said he also came with a warning for the entire Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company: he said their enemies were in the process of mobilizing for something big, and he urged caution.

Examining the crawler, Heli determined that some living creature must have been converted into the living construct through a combination of necromancy and artifice and that there were failsafes that would make dangerous any attempt to disassemble the creature to try to learn more. In the meantime, the whole thing was rapidly decaying (including the metal) and putting out a stench of rot. Lest the enemy find some way to make use of the remnants, the party burned what was left before the rot consumed it. Some of the group were able to discern that multiple souls were released as the corpse burned, indicating that the creature had originated not from a single living entity but from several.

=== Session 49: Into the Cursed Collection ===
'''DM''': Keller

'''PCs''':
* [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]]
* [[Amelie Luxaeterna]]
* [[Mirth]]
* [[22]]
* [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]]
* [[Rina]]

'''NPCs:'''
* [[The Collector]]
 

'''Travelling to the Collector's Compound'''

Cookie the Otter (the company's resident abjurer) asked the party to speak with the Collector at his compound and they set off through Galik. They realized people were watching them as they drew close to their destination, an isolated building surrounded by a tall stone wall with guard towers, guards in full plate, and several raised balistas. A tense attendant with suit and bow tie in a small paper owl mask at the gate told them the had been expected fifteen minutes earlier and ushered them in, past paintings, murals, sculptures, and a large arcane chandelier, into a small sitting room with a crackling fireplace. When they were alone, Lux encouraged everyone to behave themselves because the last time she was on the collector's property she had been shrunk to a tiny fraction of her normal size.

When the Collector appeared, he told the group he had been expecting stronger adventurers, whereupon Dickweedus successfully intimidated the Collector by getting in his face and saying "bite me". The Collector introduced himself as Amusa's greatest collector of arcane artifacts and told them he had designed his compound as much to keep the artifacts in as to keep people out.

'''Into the Collection'''

Someone had put a trap into his collection, and as a result a mannequin threat had broken seals on several artifacts, which he wanted help to reseal. He said he had called on others for assistance -- attendants, mercenaries, and bounty hunters, in that order -- but none of them had returned. Hence, he had called the company and decided to accompany the adventurers into the collection to learn firsthand what fate might befall them. He told them all they would to put bags over their heads for the trip into the collection in order to keep certain information about it secret. Magic runes were drawn on the bags, and Finny stopped talking immediately when he pulled one over his head, as if his brain had been turned off. Lux and 22 requested and received runeless bags and walked for about 4 hours, regaling each other with tales of their pasts. At the end of this trip, those who had been subject to the runes felt as if no time had passed and the bags had been over their heads for only an instant.

The Collector donned leather armor and assembled a sack full of arcane trinkets and a few books. The group proceeded through a large pair of doors, which the Collector then sealed with an arcane sigil -- a very complex arcane lock. He pointed out that only he could reopen these doors so the party should ensure that he lived long enough to do so lest they spend the rest of their lives in the collection. They then descended a massive, twisting, stone staircase and passed through a great room with a vaulted ceiling into a vast archive at least several hundred feet across, illuminated by magical lights floating some thirty feet apart throughout the chamber.

'''Briefing'''

Only then did the Collector describe the items they were seeking:
* the Portrait of the Muse, which contained the spirit of the banshee,
* the Mask of the Flayed One, connected to a being called the Jawed God and able possess its wearer and imbue them with magical powers, and
* a simple gravestone, cursed in such a way that no one had yet survived an encounter with it.

The Collector specified that these items must be recovered and resealed using a kalachakra, a massive wheel able to seal items in a demiplane putting them into stasis. He provided three coins able to suppress items' magic powers. Lux took these and gave one to Weedus and one to Mirth. The Collector added that the mannequin that unsealed the items may still be at large, and that the party should destroy it if they encountered it.

'''The Cursed Gravestone'''

Lux climbed to the top of a stack of crates to have a look around, from where she caught a whiff of a stench like death to the east. The lights went out for some reason, and Lux cast dancing lights made of little floating mushrooms. The group moved east and soon approached the gravestone sitting in the dirt. As Weedus tossed his coin onto it from a distance, several members of the party (all but the Collector, Lux, and Finny) each found themselves inside a coffin. Dickweedus busted through the lid of his coffin, causing dirt to collapse in on him, revealing his location to those above, who quickly dug him out. The three then dug in a random location, which succeeded in exhuming Mirth. Meanwhile, Rina remained buried and was beginning to suffocate. Weedus and Finny dug up another grave, finding 22, while Mirth and Lux dug up the last to find Rina.

The Collector stood by during all this. When it was over, they found that the coin had sealed itself against the gravestone, negating its magic. They healed Rina up before continuing.

'''The Mask of the Flayed One'''

Weedus and Finny looked for the Portrait and Finny heard a crying in the distance, but Weedus saw blood on the ground as if someone was dragged and starting wandering off in the direction of the trail. The rest of the party followed, and a flayed humanoid figure lurched out of the shadows, pleading for help. After a brief discussion, they knocked them out to spare them their current agony.

The group soon encountered a figure wearing the Mask of the Flayed One, which whispered in their minds, along with a second voice saying "Help me" and "I can't get it off." The mask blasted the party with destructive magic repeatedly before Lux was able to slap one of the Collector's magic coins onto it. This succeeded in separating the mask from the wearer, but the mask took the wearer's face with it, and the wearer fell dead.

'''The Portrait of the Muse'''

The group was soon able to find the third artifact, the Portrait of the Muse. Weedus took Mirth's coin and threw it at the painting, but it bounced off and clattered to the floor. The painting seemed to melt, all of its colors spreading across the floor and around the party, manifesting a Victorian manor around them. A floating woman appeared from a painting, with black liquid dripping from her fingers. Weedus swung an axe at her, dissipating her into pigments. There were dozens of paintings of this same woman, each subtly different from the others, which all began to laugh. Dickweedus picked up the coin from where it had fallen and then smashed one of the paintings with his axe.

The party heard the small, crying voice getting louder.
Finny, Lux, and Weedus tried to identify the original painting among the many others and were able to reduce the pool of possible paintings to ten paintings. The banshee appeared again, and Lux and Weedus dissipated her with attacks. Lux and Finny studied the remaining paintings and reduced the pool of candidates to five.

22 belatedly cast ''locate object'' to identify the correct painting. Weedus tried to destroy it, but the banshee appeared and grabbed his weapon. Weedus pressed the coin to her forehead, and she cried out and was drawn back into the painting, whereupon the party found themselves in the real world again.

'''Confronting their Fears'''

They took the retrieved artifacts to the kalchakra, where several spider-like mannequins unfolded themselves out of nothingness. These included personalized mannequins representing the party's respective greatest fears. The kalachakra began to turn as the collector started casting the spell to re-seal the artifacts. Although the magically inclined members of the party channeled some of their own power into the ritual to help speed it along, it didn't succeed until the last mannequin had fallen, at which point the kalachakra clicked into place and sealed the three artifacts safely away again.

'''Conferred Knowledge'''

The Collector rewarded the group with gold, magic items, and information about what had transpired in the Wilds:
<blockquote>The Gnoll armies have been greatly diminished, but are still present. After the horde's failures during the raid on the expedition, some of the tribes broke away from the Gnoll King. He confirms that the remaining gnolls have gathered at a location he identifies as Camp Emberclaw, where they have constructed an Arcane Forge.
Since Ripjaw's death the Gnolls have no longer been able to make progress in developing future weapons. What is in their current arsenal is all they have left.
It also seems like since their failure, the Gnoll King has now been demoted and the forces of demons and gnolls are led by a pair known only as the Bride and the Groom. These names to his knowledge also seem to be tied to disappearances in the city.
The Collector has located an ancient site of powerful magic in the Scar. he says that for reasons the location no longer interests him, but he knows that it may interest other members of the company, and he knows someone who can lead them there.</blockquote>

== Session 50: Day at the Circus ==
'''DM''': Aaron

'''PCs''':
* [[Heli Moltenshield]]
* [[Ren Atherton]]
* [[22]]
* [[Thordon Akieye]]
* [[Gurmyr Argrour]]

'''NPCs''':
* [[Benjamin Hearthorne]]
* [[Heath Sledger]]
* [[Spike]]
* [[Asa]]
* [[Madam Leota]]
 

'''Plans Gone Awry'''

The party set out for some well-deserved recreation at the Traveling Fools Circus just outside Galik and awoke hours later back at the gates of the city not knowing exactly what had transpired in the interum. Each had different horrific memories from the experience, peppered with vaugue recollections of the circus. What had actually happened was that a creature at the circus that fed on nightmares highjacked their minds while they visited. What follows includes both the pleasant experiences that only Ren and 22 remember clearly and the devastating ones that they remember all too well.

'''The Attractions'''

Barker Benjamin Hearthorne welcomed the party at the entrance, took their tickets (provided by the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]]), and described the activities they might enjoy during their visit. These included a pie-eating contest (hosted by Hawthorne himself), a fortune teller, dart-throwing, ring-tossing, a hammer-and-bell booth, and a candy shop. As the group entered the area, they felt like someone was watching them, and 22 caught of momentary glimpse of a humanoid whose features they could not make out beyond this: the person appeared gaunt and starving with a broad, toothy grin.

A bugbear called Heath Sledger ran the hammer booth, where Gurmyr made two attempts. He was tripped by a mysterious force on the first but rang the bell on the second, winning a book about the secret language of ducks.

At the pie-eating contest, all except 22 stuffed themselves with delicious savory pies that Benjamin Hawthorne cryptically claimed contained "the flesh of the new". Thordin won the contest and was awarded a dagger with "Crawshanks" written on it in dwarvish. The weapon would allegedly glow when Crawshanks was near and grant great power to anyone who killed Crawshanks with it. (No one present had heard of any creature with that name.)

The dagger promptly glowed as the group approached Madam Leota's fortune-telling tent. Upon discovering that the party was interested in Crawshanks, Madam Leota pointed to a stuffed animal and gave Thordin permission to stab it. When he did so, he found 10 gp inside, and the dagger stopped glowing, becoming mundane.
The fortunes she told included:
* Thordin was looking for something he didn't know he was looking for, and that things would be worse when he found it
* Heli would be thirsty and must be careful not to drink too much
* 22 had ravenous bloodlust that they must not give in to

A goblin called Spike hosted the dart-throwing booth. Ren threw darts, and with each throw Spike jumped in front of the dart, taking the hit and cheering enthusiastically.

A yuan-ti called Asa staffed the ring-toss booth where Gurmyr played several times but never succeeded in throwing the ring to land around any of the many glass bottles.

At this point, several surprising things happened. The party realized they must have somehow spent hours at the circus because night was falling. Gurmyr heard a creepy laugh that no one else heard and punched Heli in the face. And each member of the group began experiencing their own private nightmare.

'''Nightmares'''

Thordin found himself in his childhood home being offered food by his long-dead mother and discovering his brother's head on the platter. He started eating it and felt his body begin a painful transformation into a wererat. His mother mocked and gaslit him and the severed joined in. Thordin raged and began breaking things and killing people. He gave in to the nightmare.

22 found themself in Thistlebrook as an apparition, watching one of the residents interact with a physical 22 who had just shown up with large, creepy maggot-like creature on the back of their head. When apparition-22 tried to rip it off of physical-22, the creature was painfully cold to the touch. Physical-22 began to slaughter the people of Thistlebrook. Appartition-22 made a mental connection with the physical body and successfully wrenched control away from the maggot before killing the leader of Thistlebrook, who sat there slack-jawed at the carnage.

Ren was in pain in the woods where he had made a pact, pinned in place and encircled by a ring of blue flame. His friend Igor berated him and was able to call down lightning on him. Ren tried to talk him into letting him go, then decided to try to physcially rip himself away from the pins and succeeded.

Gurmyr was stuck in a swamp and being approached by a large, creepy water snake. When he drew his longsword to defend himself, it became another snake, which bit him. He attacked with a handaxe, but the water snake ignored the damage and bit Gurmyr's arm off. He jumped up and grabbed a branch and screamed, then dropped down, landing on the snake to ride it. A human began to climb out of the creature's mouth, screeching and damaging GUrmyr's mind. As he screamed back, it killed him.

Heli awoke in Thinwhistle, bound and looking up at a charred and rotting Thrax, who was very angry with her. The ground opened up and she began sinking into freezing cold water from the elemental plane. She tried to cast a spell and her mouth filled with water. She tried to wiggle out of her bonds and made slow progress. She screamed as she was devoured whole.

'''Dawn'''

The party recalled their dreams vividly when they awoke as dawn broke outside the gates of Galik, but none except Ren and 22 had any clear memories of the circus.

== Session 52: Night at the Moonsea Museum ==

'''DM''': Keller
'''PCs''':
* [[Juno]]
* [[Marion Ette]]
* [[22]]
* [[Coryn]]
* [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler|Finny]]
* [[Chrysaor]]

'''NPCs''':
* [[Shelmlock Domes]]
* [[Jacqueline Hearthorne]]
* Clarence
 

'''Meeting Shelmlock Domes'''

The party walked to the Galik Herald to meet with tortle reporter [[Shelmlock Domes]] because he had let the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company|TBEC]] know he had information about fungal cult activity in the city. Upon their arrival, he explained that some of his contacts in the lower end of the city had disappeared after telling him they were worried about gnolls and monsters in the sewers. In his investigations, Shelmlock had come accross a male elf in a suit with a telltale emblem, a white owl on a shield crossed with a sword. Some members of the party recognized it from [[Dynia]]'s allies who helped him to summon [[Xevriss]]. The elf exploded into fungus, but not before divulging that the Heart of [[Kavanmort]] was going to be stolen from the Moonsea Museum, where it was being displayed on the second floor. (Kavanmort was an ancient two-headed dragon, superior to Xevriss and Old Alkinimic, to whom Tiamat had gifted Amusa and who ravaged Amusa until his death in 822 PR.)

Shelmlock believed that the owner of the museum was permitting the heart to be stolen in order to collect the insurance. He feared that if he simply informed the [[Lyreguard]], they might be overpowered by the museum's staff, and he was not allowed in the museum himself due to having been caught stealing receipts for a story several months earlier. He expected the heist to go down during the upcoming masquerade gala at the museum, and he was able to procure invitations for members of the company to attend in hopes of thwarting the robbery and acqiring evidence that the museum owner was behind it. He could also front some money for fancy clothes for the adventurers to wear to the gala. When asked, he conveyed that there was a single museum guard called Clarence whom he believed could be trusted.

'''Casing the Joint'''

Marion, Juno, and 22 went to the museum to try to talk to Clarence. The large museum had gorgeous architecture and a massive dragon skeleton in entry hall. The security included guards with platemail and longswords, warning runes on the exhibits, and floating orbs capable of triggering an alarm if visitors cast any spells nearby. Other notable exhibits near the entrance included a diorama of second crusades and an ancient sarcophagus.

Marion asked a guard where they could find Clarence, and he sent for Clarence who appeared shortly wearing oversized armor. They told him that Shelmlock Domes suspected theft soon and that party intended to prevent it They asked him if there were any items in storage that might help. He mentioned a horn that can dispel magic in the basement where he was working. Marion and Juno snuck into the basement with Clarence, through a magic door that required persuasion, and descended a long ladder into the subbasement where Marion took possession of the horn.

Meanwhile, Coryn, Finny, and Chrysaor went shopping at Bonnibel's Fantastical Boutique for fancy clothes, getting an outfit for 22 as well. Afterward, they ran into Bulio who provided masks for the masquerade gala (as well as show costumes for Finny and Corryn who hated the outfits Madame Bonnibel had come up with for them.)

'''Getting to the Heart'''

After a rest, the group headed to the gala, where they discovered that the guards were taking all weapons and spell components at the door. Marion snuck some weapons in and Finny talked his way in, saying he was with the band. They also discovered that at midnight, magic would cause the exhibits to come to life; this would include wax figures, animated drakes, and a statue of the founder of Galik, as well as the giant dragon skeleton. Attendees would not be allowed upstairs (where the Heart of Kavanmort was displayed), but Juno found a back stairway that was protected by a guard but not by any magic-detection orbs. There Chrysaor spotted a suspicious brown-haired woman in a red dress bribing the guard to let her up the stairs. Marion followed suit, gaining access for several members of the party.

Juno went to the coat check where she beat up the guard and put everybody's stuff in Finny's bag of holding. Finny himself had been performing with the goblin band but found a chance to leave the stage and he and Juno headed for the back stair. He distracted her while she picked his pockets and they joined the rest of the group. Juno had cast ''pass without trace'', and the group snuck past the a dragon skeleton but were noticed by the woman who convincingly claimed she was there to try to stop untoward activities, and the party teamed up with her. She introduced herself as Jacqueline Harthorne. Finny recalled that her noble family had previously tried to buy the heart, but Jacqueline insisted she was there not to steal it but to prevent its theft.

The exhibits in the large hall where the heart was displayed included wax flying monkeys, a mummy, a case full of weapons, a kraken, a sarcophagus, a diorama of a scene from the second draconic crusades, and case containing several magical artifacts. The waring runes on these exhibits were not active, and Jacqueline broke the glass of the weapons case to purloin a rapier, with which she would prove to be skilled.

'''Thwarting the Robbery'''

Chrysaor noticed lights from outside just before the window at the far end of the exhibit hall shattered and six gnolls and three humans climbed in. The humans were the famous Torchelli family of mobster assassins. Brothers Enzo (who was extremely tall) and Antonio (who was capable of shadow walking) wore suits and fedoras and carried firearms, and they were accompanied by their mother, "Ma" Torchelli.

Ma and one of the gnolls moved next to the heart and began chanting, to which Juno quickly put stop by casting ''silence'' over the area. After a short while, Chrysaor slew Enzo and 22, in dinosaur form, bit Ma's head off. Antonio then pulled out a magic item, and took a bite of the heart, transforming into a huge Champion of Mother. Museum guards appeared and the party tried to convince them to help fight the monster, but when Coryn took the monster down and the group had to defeat the guards in combat.

'''Liberating the Artifacts'''

Having prevented the robbery of the museum, the party decided to rob the museum. They magically shrunk the Heart of Kavanmort so they could abscond with it, also taking the eight other magical artifacts from their display case. With the exception of Marion, who had shown her face to Clarence to prove that she was the same person who had befriended him earlier, none of the party could be identified.

Marion soon gave the Heart of Kavanmort to the Collector for safe keeping, and Shelmlock Domes was able to expose the museum's corruption and have the owner jailed, which resulted in Clarence being promoted to head up the museum staff.

== Session 53: Restart My Hearth ==
'''DM''': Mercedes

'''PCs''':
* [[Black Jack]]
* [[Billium Teddly]]
* [[Heli Moltenshield]]
* [[Twilsby Pendergras]]
* [[22]]
* [[Laurence Awrkright]]

'''NPCs:'''
* Malakar
* The Bollezzi Family
* Snowdrop
* Tanis
 

'''A Plea for Help'''

A stranger came into TBEC, told whoever was in the lobby to talk to Snowdrop at the Galik Glass Emporium about a very recent kidnapping. Those present asked her for more information, but she said she had none and Snowdrop would tell them more.

Snowdrop proved to be the tabaxi proprietor of the Galik Glass Emporium, and when the party arrived at her shop she explained that assailants had tunneled into the emorium's boiler room and kidnapped her fire tender, Tanis, who Snowdrop said had a secret. Billium guessed that Tanis was actually a dragon, but Snowdrop insisted (unconvincingly) that she was not.

'''The Tunnel to the Docks'''

The group entered the boiler room, in one corner of which lay a small nest of blankets and treasure that Snowdrop confirmed belonged to Tanis. Turning their attention to the tunnel entrance, the party found a torn cloak with a broken family crest that Twillsby recognized as belonging to the Bizelli family. Investigated further, he found a pair of broken handcuffs and discovered that the tunnel entrance was magically protected. Heli threw her spear down the tunnel, triggering a fire trap on which Twilsby then cast ''dispel magic''.

The party walked down the tunnel and found it to be incredibly long, taking two hours to reach the opening at the far end. There, Twilsby threw a rock out, triggering another trap that shook the earth and collapsed the tunnel, injuring several members of the group as they escaped out into the light. They could see they had arrived at the docks, where a dozen people including Malakar (the undead sorcerer who kept company with the Jack of Hearts) waited for a boat to arrive; two of those present stood guard over an injured woman in a cage, whom the group suspected to be Tanis.

'''Twarting the Kidnappers'''

From the party's hiding place behind a small building, Twilsby began talking to the nearest person, and the party was soon able to intimidate three of those present into walking away before a fight broke out. But the fourth would not be intimidated and a drew a weapon, and Black Jack dispatched him quickly, striking with his boomerang in melee. Heli followed up by taking out a nearby dog and throwing a spear at an unsuspecting man who Laurence then eliminated by casting ''frostbite''. Seeing this, Malakar summoned a water elemental to do his bidding.

Twilsby, who had turned invisible, teleported behind the cage to give Tanis two potions of healing. Josh and Heli moved into melee on either side of the building the party had been hiding behind, felling another foe. Twilsby removed a magic-supressing collar from Tanis (although she remained trapped in the cage). Heli and 22 closed with Malakar, 22's ''frostbite'' causing him lose mental control of the elemental. Freed of the collar, Tanis breathed fire, eliminating another foe and damaging the water elemental.

Twilsby cast ''wave surge'' at Malakar, knocking him into the water. 22 turned into a giant octopus to follow him, but Malakar cast ''misty step'' to reappear on the dock. The party was then able to focus their attacks on Malakar and the water elemental until eventually Black Jack slew Malakar and 22's force cannon dispersed the elemental into mist.

The group freed Tanis from the cage and returned with her to the Galik Glass Emporium, where Snowdrop rewarded them handsomely for their work with magic items and gold.

== Session 54: End of the Line ==
'''DM''': Keller

'''PCs''':
* [[Juno]]
* [[Heli Moltenshield]]
* [[22]]
* [[Ren Atherton]]
* [[Marion Ette]]

'''NPCs''':
* [[Jaqueline Hearthorne]]
* [[Benny Thistlewick]]
* (See list below)
 

'''A Call to Action'''

Jacqueline Harthorne (a human woman whom members of the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]] had recently encountered at the Moonsea Museum) entered the TBEC headquarters, wearing fancy clothes over leather armor. Said she had received information about the fungual cult. (After some coaxing, she admitted that she learned this from her family and said that she'd be at risk if they found out.) A high-ranking leader within the cult, a member of a group called the Groomsmen, had exposed that they'd be riding to the end of the line on the Galik City Railway that afternoon. Jacqueline expressed suspicious that the Groomsman would allow this information to get out.

The company already knew that the Bride and the Groom were to be feared and not to be crossed; the Collector had confirmed that they were leaders of the cult. The company had also come to know of the cult's crest, a silver owl against a shield and a sword.

'''Strangers on a Train'''

The group proceeded to the appropriate Galik City Railway station, and boarded the train, which already had many passengers. The party began observing and interacting with them in order to begin forming ideas about which one might be the Groomsman. As the train travelled through the city, stopping at various stations, passengers boarded and others left until there were only three stops left and only seven people remaining on board other than the party themselves. This included:
* Sid, a blue male kobold who had stowed away underneath the train and who was located by Marion's use of ''detect thoughts''
* Benny Thistlewick, a male gnome whose thoughts could not be detected
* Percy Stormrider, a male air genasi working as a professor, whose thoughts also could not be detected
* Penny Longhorn, a female minotaur
* Lady Isabella Sterling, a female elf trying not to look like a noble
* Davros Ironforge, a male dwarf
* Gibson Blair, a male human working as a gardener

'''Murder Mystery'''

When the train failed to stop at the next station, Ren went to speak to the operator, only to find him dead and the train seemingly being driven by a mass of fungus fused to the controls. The ride had become a murder investigation aboard a runaway train. Several of the passengers had something to hide, including Isabella Sterling who had stolen a suitcase full of gold from her noble family, Davros Ironforge who was hired by her father to retrieve the gold, Percy Stormrider who was smuggling a book of powerful enchantment magic, Penny Longhorn who was a pit fighter on the run after accidentally killing her manager, Sid who didn't have a ticket to ride the train, and Benny Thistlewick, who turned out to be the Groomsman and the murderer and who had charmed Gibson Blair into helping him keep his identity hidden.

'''High Stakes'''

When the party eventually concluded that Benny was the Groomsman, they learned that he had leaked the information about his
presence on the train in order to lure company members there to force them to play a high-stakes poker game with him – and that if they refused, he could kill almost any of the other passengers easily using itmes he had placed on their persons. During the game, he bet their various lives, requiring the party to see these bets with items of equal value, including secrets, physical items, and their own lives. In the final hand, he bet his own life and lost, which led him to shoot himself as soon as the game concluded.

During the game, the Benny had gambled and lost several secrets relevant to to company including:
* the leaders of the cult were the Bride and Groom, and immediately below them was the Reverand.
* the cult was fortifying Camp Emberclaw (the gnoll camp that had remained when the TBEC fled the wilds)
* the cult had a spy in the Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company

== Session 80?: Fur and Fangs ==
'''DM''': Anna

'''PCs''':
* [[Ren Atherton]]
* [[22]]
* [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]]
* [[Twilsby Pendergras]]

'''NPCs''':
* [[Roxanne Briargate]]
* The poachers' leader
 

The group took an airship deep into the wilds west of the Scar to respond to an urgent request from Silver Ivy Sanctuary, a druid conclave led by a human known as Roxanne Briargate that rehabilitates baby monsters in need. Poachers had attacked the sanctuary, killing some of the residents and taking several of their young charges.

While the party approached the sanctuary on foot, they were set upon by several unusual monsters, some of whom were able to pit allies against one another with a hallucinating inducing contact poison. Weedus sucumbed once, but 22 use Lesser Restoration on him before he butchered any of the other party members.

A human woman soon appeared and ushered the group to the Silver Ivy Sanctuary, where Roxanne Briargate hastily briefed them. She detailed which creatures had been taken and which direction the poachers had fled, adding that the three moonstones that help protect the area had been moved and needed to be reactivated with a ritual. She gave them the Blessing of the Santuary, which she said would allow them to gain benefits once they had retrieved any of the babty creatures. The party headed off to try to catch up with the poachers and were able to do so with little difficulty.

They soon caught their foes unaware, and Twilsby hit three of them with a surprise Fireball. Ren began blasting from an obscured position, and 22 summoned giant lynxes and pixies that polymorphed Weedus and 22 into giant apes.

Each of six poachers carried a magical crate containing one of the kidnapped creatures in an extradimensional space. These enemies were moderately difficult to bring down, and there were many of them, but they soon began to fall one by one, and party members were able to recover some of the creatures, each of which provided a unique benefit to those with the Blessing of the Santuary. Under the effects of Greater Invisibility, Twilsby was able to retrieve several of them.

More foes joined the fray, including two owlbears and the human leader of this group of poachers, who claimed the party was making a mistake by aligning themselves with the druid conclave. She had two powerful magical abilities, one that made people attack their allies and one that allowed her to force a foe to experience any injuries that befell her. As the party pummeled her, the latter ability brought Ren to the brink of consciousness, but he freed one of the baby monsters (entrusting it to his familiar) so he could squeeze into its extradimensional container, severing the enemy's magical link to him and preventing further damage.

Before the group could dispatch the enemies' leader, she used Dimension Door to teleport away, effectively ending the battle and allowing the group to return the rescued creatures to the santuary and to reset the protective moonstones with the ritual that Roxanne had provided to Twilsby. The conclave rewarded the party for their aid, and the four adventurers returned to the airship to make the trip back to Galik.

== Session 83: Markster Farmstead Mystery ==
'''DM: Dave Parm (alchemicalluck)'''
'''PCs:'''
* [[Valdos]]
* Nokori
* Coryn
* [[Ghargux]]
* Hummer
* [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler|Finny]]

'''NPCs:'''
* Derwin
* Farmstead Family 1
* Farmstead Family 2
'''Help Requested at the Farmstead:'''

The [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]] (TBEC) was contacted and was asked to send a group to investigate some strange happenings around the Markster Farmstead that is to the North of the waystation. The six adventurers were selected by Darian Tempest. After being grouped up, they then got together with the farmers that stopped in town and put the request in. The two farmers were at the waystation trading some produce that they grew. The group together with the farmers and their mule then left the waystation and traveled to the farmstead. The two farmers explained in more detail what was going on and what they were asking for. While traveling, they explained that there have been cases of finding dead animals in the forest and that some of their animals have gone missing. They also reported that their barn was broken into and some goats were eaten.

'''The Families at the Farmstead:'''

We all arrive at the farmstead after some travelling. There, we get introduced to the two farmers families. One of the families has a young girl who mentioned something about an imaginary friend that the families instantly disregarded as the young girls imagination, but we all felt that there was some truth to what the little girl was saying. After the initial introductions we start asking the family members about the strange happenings. The two families confirm what the two farmers told us as true. We then all went inside the one house as the two families were making dinner together and it was about to be ready. After dinner, Finny went and started playing some of her instruments and telling some bards tales. While she was keeping everyone entertained, Hummer went and talked to the little girl about her "imaginary friend". Hummer found out that the little girl really does believe that she has a friend that isn't imaginary and is real. Her friends name is "Hopper" and he has blue eyes. She then tells Hummer that Hopper even gave her a gift and told her to always keep it on her. She shows Hummer the gift and Hummer recognizes it to be a Shield Guardian amulet. Hummer promises to keep it a secret from everybody else. Shortly after, Finny finishes up with her performance and our group is shown over to an extra building that they have for us to stay in. We get all of our stuff inside and we discuss our watch orders for the night and what we plan on looking out for.

'''Happenings in the Night:'''

Hummer and Valdos take the first watch. Valdos was posted up on top of the barn and heard some howls from the forest from two different locations, but nothing else of note happened. During second watch, Coryn and Ghargux saw some floating blue orbs in the forest that didn't move. The orbs were pretty far away, so they couldn't make out what they were from. Nokori and Finny took the last watch. Nokori found some weird indentations in the ground out in one of the farm fields. While patrolling the farm, Finny noticed three figures moving through the farm field, Finny immediately shot one of them with an eldritch blast, the three figures then ran away into the forest.

'''The Stone Shack:'''

Once daybreak came around, the group got together and shared what everybody found out through the night. Finding out that there were three figures walking through the field and that there were strange indentations in the ground, the group decides that the priority should be to try and follow the three figures into the woods and see if they can be found and interrogated for why they were sneaking through the farm fields at night. We then get our stuff together and inform the families about what we found out during the night and that we will be travelling into the forest and we don't know when we will be back. We then start travelling into the woods, following the trails that the three figures left behind. After around a 3 hour trek, we come across a small clearing that contains a stone building. The building has a full metal door with no direct way of opening it, the building also has a couple of pretty small windows that are dirty and cannot be seen through. We investigate the door and find that there are hidden runes surrounding the door, the runes form a key that explains that the door can only be opened by using the "knock" spell. Since no one in the group knew the spell, we decided to physically knock on the door.

'''The Strange Artificer:'''

We were eventually greeted by a voice asking why we were there, we explained, and the person opened the door. The man introduces himself as Derwin and he is an artificer of sorts. Before allowing us inside, he asks us to promise that we will not touch anything and ask for permission before doing anything. We all agree and then follow him inside. Once inside we are hit with the stench of Derwin and his abode, without really thinking, Finny casts prestidigitation on Derwin to clean him up and remove the stench. As Finny did this without warning, Derwin was caught by surprise and releases a blinding flash of light in all directions. Right before the release of blinding light, there was a wave of arcane energy that was felt by the group and it seemed to be originating from Derwin. Derwin then starts to freak out a little and reminds us to not do anything without asking him for permission first, especially anything dealing with magic.

We arrive in the building main area and we start asking Derwin what he might know about the three figures that were seen walking through the farm fields last night as the tracks we followed led here. He then explains that he is an artificer and that he has been secretly making automs to help the farmers out on the farms by either helping them farm or by protecting them from the surrounding wilds. He then brings in the three "scarecrows" and one of them does indeed appear to have been shot by a blast of some kind. He then dismisses the scarecrows and shows us his latest project, the "Harvest Reapers". The Harvest Reapers are much larger automs compared to the scarecrows. We then talk to Derwin about helping him form communications between the Markster Farmstead and himself along with communications between the new Waystation and himself as we were pretty sure that the TBEC could use an artificer like him in helping build up protections around the Waystation. After establishing that, we then mention that there is a girl on the farmstead in possession of a Shield Guardian amulet and ask if he was the one that made it or if he knew anything of it. Derwin responds saying that he knew about it as he also has one, and proceeds to introduce us to "Thumper". However, he was not the one that made the two Shield Guardians and only came into contact with them when he moved into the building and told us that Hopper took it upon himself to go and hand his amulet to the little girl on the farmstead.

With all of that, we then leave for the Markster Farmstead with the Scarecrows and Harvest Reapers in tow along with a letter from Derwin addressed to the families explaining that he is an artificer who lives out in the jungle and that he has been building these automs to help the families out and to hopefully keep them safe. He also lets the families know that they can come to his shack for shelter should they need it, but they need to promise to not touch or do anything without asking him to. He also lets them know that they can command the automs to do as they see fit as the automs will follow the two families commands. After arriving back at the farm, we explain to the families the situation with Derwin and his automs and also explain that the little girl does not have an imaginary friend, but instead has a shield guardian that will protect and listen to her commands. We then leave for the Waystation.
[[Category:Wicked Wilds]]

Valdos

2024-07-08T09:17:43Z

Doublecheese247:

Within the Wicked Wilds/PCs

2024-07-08T09:16:56Z

Doublecheese247:

{{Worldbuilders}}'''If you are a player please refrain from editing this page.'''
<center>
{| class="wikitable article-table"
|+ Wicked Wilds Player Characters
! Player !! Username !! Character !! Race !! Class/Subclass !! Lvl !! Words on Wiki !! Total XP
|-
| Mercedes C || JaeltheJust 1 || <center> [[Amelie Luxaeterna|Amelie]] </center> || [[Drow|Drow Elf]] || Battlemaster Fighter || 9 || 5183 || 48226
|-
| Mercedes C || JaeltheJust 2 || <center> [[Esperanza Alnilam ]] </center> || [[Genasi|Earth Genasi]] || Circle of Stars Druid || 6 || 1541 || 17677
|-
| Geoffrey || EpicdudeX 1 || <center> [[Wiggler]] </center> || [[Warforged]] (Worm) || Circle of Spores Druid || 8 || 10469 || 39259
|-
| Geoffrey || EpicdudeX 2 || <center> [[The Fool]] </center> || [[Changeling]] || Bard/Rogue || 6 || 775 || 14775
|-
| Marcy || Marcy || <center> [[Paris Hilton]] </center> || [[Human]] || Battlemaster Fighter || 6 || 3550 || 22008
|-
| Jennifer Gau || jenxzi || <center> [[Rina]] </center> || [[Elf|Wood Elf]] || Circle of the Land Druid || 5 || 0 || 15520
|-
| Jonathan R || JonTheTeach 1 || <center> [[Otto von Gerwig]] </center> || [[Human|Variant Human]] || Echo Knight Fighter || 7 || 13433 || 33865
|-
| Jonathan R || JonTheTeach 2 || <center> [[Allinor Kalth]] </center> || [[Human]] || Oath of the Crown Paladin || 6 || 0 || 17850
|-
| Nin || SilentDarknes || <center> [[Iris]] </center> || [[Plasmoid]] || Lunar Sorcerer || 6 || 0 || 19161
|-
| Steve G || G + 171 || <center> [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]] </center> || [[Half-Orc]] || Barbarian /Fighter || 9 || 6403 || 48523
|-
| Nick P || NicestPerk || <center> [[Twilsby Pendergras]] </center> || [[Human|Variant Human]] || Order of Scribes Wizard / Fighter || 8 || 1004 || 35793
|-
| Drew G || Droobius8 1 || <center> [[Dragonett]] </center> || [[Elf|Wood Elf]] || Scout Rogue/Ranger || 8 || 10982 || 41679
|-
| Drew G || Droobius8 2 || <center> [[Brenowyn Brightblade]] </center> || [[Half-Elf]] || Paladin/Warlock || 5 || 0 || 6500
|-
| Matt || leomatt || <center> [[Juno of Galik|Juno]] </center> || [[Changeling]] || Way of Shadow Monk || 6 || 0 || 16757
|-
| Anna S || SilvariaSpitfyre || <center> [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]] </center> || [[Aarakocra| Puffin Aarakocra]] || College of Whispers Bard/Archfey Warlock || 8 || 12594 || 46214
|-
| Scarlet || scarletxskull || <center> [[Chrysaor|Chrysaor Purosis]] </center> || [[Yuan-Ti]] || Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer/Rogue || 7 || 1332 || 28392
|-
| Julia || lunadix || <center> [[Tommy]] </center> || [[Human]] || Oath of Redemption Paladin || 5 || 0 || 10815
|-
| Jake L || Jakel || <center> [[Kh'jan]] </center> || [[Aarakocra]] || Arcane Archer Fighter || 8 || 0 || 38445
|-
| Dave Spaar || SolitonMan || <center> [[Therrin Flare]] </center> || [[Aasimar]] || Celestial Warlock || 8 || 9932 || 39434
|-
| Sam || dwarfenjoyer 1 || <center> [[Nassir Tycho]] </center> || [[Dragonborn|Brass Dragonborn]] || Zealot Barbarian || 5 || 3182 || 13653
|-
| Sam || dwarfenjoyer 2 || <center> [[Coryn Alaeth]] </center> || [[Half-Elf]] || Paladin/Cleric || 7 || 1446 || 28759
|-
| Rich Scott || Sad_Robot_v2.0 || <center> [[Neru]] </center> || [[Gnome|Rock Gnome]] || Oath of Glory Paladin || 5 || 0 || 8541
|-
| Emma 1 || glamourpal || <center> [[Amaris Luanach]] </center> || [[Satyr]] || Twilight Domain Cleric || 7 || 9823 || 30191
|-
| Emma 2 || glamourpal || <center> [[Keeper]] </center> || [[Gnome|Forest Gnome]] || Artillerist Artificer || 6 || 2581 || 16581
|-
| Gail M || zippybluedwarf || <center> [[p'Rahp]] </center> || [[Grung]] || Oath of the Crown Paladin || 5 || 492 || 9565
|-
| Cat || Darth Pearl 1 || <center> [[22]] </center> || [[Autom (Player Race)|Autom]] || Circle of the Moon Druid || 9 || 20388 || 52812
|-
| Cat || Darth Pearl 2 || <center> [[Rosin]] </center> || [[Dhampir]] || Divine Soul Sorcerer || 6 || 10904 || 21801
|-
| Colin N || Common-Weirdo || <center> [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]] </center> || [[Half-Elf]] || Inquisitive Rogue || 7 || 0 || 33448
|-
| Joshua J || InfiniteValarium32 || <center> [[Black Jack]] </center> || [[Harengon]] || Artificer Battle Smith || 6 || 4550 || 19496
|-
| Jeremiah B || Prospero || <center> [[Prof. Mann (and Chester Iros)]] </center> || [[Warforged|Warforged (House Cat)]] || Graviturgy Wizard || 5 || 867 || 6801
|-
| Gingie || gingei22 || <center> [[Thordon Akieye]] </center> || [[Dwarf|Mountain Dwarf]] || Path of Totem Barbarian || 9 || 10340 || 52648
|-
| Tor Hundal || logztor || <center> [[Cealion]] </center> || [[Dhampir]] || Wild Magic Sorcerer || 5 || 977 || 10760
|-
| Nik || tak231 || <center> [[Tryska Bjorndottyr]] </center> || [[Tabaxi]] || Circle of the Moon Druid || 6 || 0 || 22575
|-
| Amal || maldth || <center> [[Selene]] </center> || [[Eladrin]] || Pact of the Genie Warlock || 6 || 0 || 18171
|-
| Patrick || SaannDenise || <center> [[Balder the Bald Boulder]] </center> || [[Human]] || Monk || 6 || 0 || 22528
|-
| Talia || wardensturkie || <center> [[Pash|p'Ash'r'Ohn]] </center> || [[Grung]] || Hexblade Warlock || 8 || 6622 || 36864
|-
| Kyle Gates || TheGov37 || <center> [[Arthur]] </center> || [[Human]] || Cavalier Fighter || 4 || 0 || 3540
|-
| Collin || KarlXMarxTheSpot || <center> [[Lupine Lucas]] </center> || [[Human]] || Circle of the Moon Druid || 5 || 0 || 13275
|-
| Ali || aliphup 1 || <center> [[Mirth]] </center> || [[Warforged|Reanimated Dead (Warforged)]] || Oath of Devotion Paladin || 6 || 734 || 17830
|-
| Ali || aliphup 2 || <center> [[Rochambeau]] </center> || [[Tiefling]] || School of Illusion Wizard || 5 || 0 || 6500
|-
| James Ryan || musicalmet || <center> [[Ren Atherton]] </center> || [[Human|Human (Variant)]] || Rogue/Warlock || 8 || 8420 || 45829
|-
| kOsCrystal || kOsCrystal || <center> [[Mariar]] </center> || [[Drow|Drow Elf]] || Hunter Ranger || 4 || 0 || 3238
|-
| Aspen Nehama || SubtleSpellSpammer 1 || <center> [[Laurence Awrkright]] </center> || [[Half-Elf]] || Sorcerer/Rogue || 5 || 0 || 13459
|-
| Aspen Nehama || SubtleSpellSpammer 2 || <center> [[CA7]] </center> || [[Warforged]] || Oath of Ancients Paladin || 5 || 0 || 13459
|-
| Kade || spookycowboy || <center> [[Ronin (Wicked Wilds)|Ronin]] </center> || [[Variant Tiefling|Tiefling]] || Aberrant Mind Sorcerer || 8 || 4022 || 37106
|-
| Hal || studiouscat || <center> [[Spurs]] </center> || [[Tabaxi]] || Swashbuckler Rogue || 4 || 0 || 5653
|-
| Nathan Stoner || nax24 || <center> [[Ash Oakriver]] </center> || [[Fairy]] || Drunken Master || 6 || 1565 || 15536
|-
| Sarah H. || BreadIsPain52822 || <center> [[Karma Runes]] </center> || [[Genasi|Fire Genasi]] || Soulknife Rogue || 6 || 0 || 17687
|-
| Zoey || Rune || <center> [[Leo]] </center> || [[Tabaxi]] || Monster Hunter Ranger || 5 || 0 || 9117
|-
| Gavin N. || Joshoperatic || <center> [[Kiamana Pohihi]] </center> || [[Goliath]] || Berserker Barbarian || 5 || 0 || 9117
|-
| John || beauregardshryke || <center> [[Beauregard]] </center> || [[Half-Elf]] || Fighter || 6 || 0 || 21069
|-
| Jonathan || randle_dandle || <center> [[Morten Nusi]] </center> || [[Firbolg]] || Knowledge Domain Cleric || 4 || 0 || 3900
|-
| Aaron || arcassel || <center> [[Zarril]] </center> || [[Reborn]] || Hexblade Warlock || 5 || 0 || 7095
|-
| Avery || averydavery.png || <center> [[Nokori Naru]] </center> || [[Human]] || Samurai Fighter || 4 || 0 || 3613
|-
| Connor S || Doublecheese247 || [[Valdos]]
| [[Tiefling]] || Warlock || 4 || 0 || 5923
|-
| Scott S || datsadness || <center> [[Ghargux]] </center> || [[Githzerai]] || Order of Watchers Paladin || 5 || 0 || 8861
|-
| Chuck || Mattherson || <center> [[Lysvan]] </center> || [[Genasi|Fire Genasi]] || Circle of Wildfire Druid || 5 || 6484 || 12859
|}
</center>

<center>
{| class="wikitable article-table"
|+ Deceased/Inactive Player Characters
! Player !! Username !! Character !! Race !! Class/Subclass !! Lvl !! Status !! Cause of Death
|-
| Satch || Chef Bananas || <center> [[Jim Stacy]] </center> || [[Human]] || Soul Knife Rogue || 4 || Dead || Taken by [[Mother]]
|-
| Jean-Pierre T || JePaPix || <center> [[Ratchet]] </center> || [[Dragonborn|Copper Dragonborn]] || Artillerist Artificer || 3 || Deceased || Killed by a Mutant Crocodile
|-
| Lyndsey || Lywyn || <center> [[Tassa Brightfox]] </center> || [[Kender]] || Swashbuckler Rogue || 4 || Missing || Taken by [[Mother]]
|-
| Amal Thaar || maldth || <center> [[Dochás Trus]] </center> || [[Human]] || Divine Soul Sorcerer || 3 || Deceased || Bludgeoned to Death by Mushroom
|-
| Colin N || Common-Weirdo || <center> [[Nester Spitemore]] </center> || [[Halfling]] || Artificer Artillerist || 4 || Deceased || Slain by Draculadon
|-
| Syameal || Syameal || <center> [[Lowkey]] </center> || [[Changeling]] || Wild Magic Sorcerer || 4 || Deceased || Killed by Wild Magic
|-
| Alexander K || Ark Reaction || <center> [[Hermes Purrnes]] </center> || [[Shifter|Swiftstride Shifter]] || 3 Rogue/1 Monk || 4 || Deceased || Killed by Dinosaur
|-
| Talia S || Warden || <center> [[Sabbatical (character)|Sabbatical]] </center> || [[Tiefling|Fierna Tiefling]] || Knowledge Domain Cleric || 6 || Deceased || Returned to Hell
|-
| Syamael || Syameal || <center> [[Ainz Kageno]] </center> || [[Human|Variant Human]] || Assassin Rogue || 3 || Deceased || Torn Apart
|-
| Mercedes C || JaeltheJust || <center> [[Redemption Core]] </center> || [[Tiefling|Glasya Tiefling]] || Drakewarden Ranger || 6 || Deceased || Slain by [[Jim Stacy]]
|-
| Keller M || K-dawg12 || <center> [[Sneeze]] </center> || [[Kobold]] || Path of the Beast Barbarian || 5 || Deceased || Slain by Jim Stacy
|-
| Jake L || Jakel || <center> [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]] </center> || [[Eladrin]] || Valor Bard/Paladin || 6 || Retired || Became the new Green Knight
|-
| Julia 1 || lunadix || <center> [[Kompi]] </center> || [[Kobold]] || Clonomancer Sorcerer || 4 || Missing || Lost in the Wilds
|-
| Jonathan R || JonTheTeach || <center> [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda]] </center> || [[Warforged]] || Sun Soul Monk || 7|| Missing || Taken by [[Mother]]
|-
| Margarita || mikroeinaitomatisou || <center> [[Helli Aliosh]] </center> || [[Tiefling]] || Light Domain Cleric || 5 || Retired || -
|-
| Eric O || mAce || <center> [[Felix Francis Fitzgerald]] </center> || [[Warforged]] || College of Eloquence Bard || 5 || Retired || -
|-
| Jesse Dubin || j.s.dubin || <center> [[Nātchko the Third]] </center> || [[Genasi|Earth Genasi]] || Circle of Stars Druid || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Ari || gardenvarietyfae || <center> [[Obsidian]] </center> || [[Genasi|Earth Genasi]] || Hexblade Warlock || 5 || Retired || -
|-
| Trey || Wizler || <center> [[Frankie]] </center> || [[Warforged]] || Scout Rogue || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Jam Wright || Jam Knows || <center> [[Joylee (Jo) Seraphim-Belphegor]] </center> || [[Human]] || Twilight Domain Cleric || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Kyle || Staulwart || <center> [[Dothand Raki]] </center> || [[Genasi|Air Genasi]] || Tempest Domain Cleric || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Satch || Chef Bananas || <center> [[Millar]] </center> || [[Human|Variant Human]] || Bladesigning Wizard || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Ben || Bencryption || <center> [[Zimper]] </center> || [[Nilbog (Player Race)|Nilbog]] || Wild Magic Sorcerer || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Heather || raindrops_on_roses || <center> [[Aine]] </center> || [[Eladrin|Autumn Eladrin]] || Circle of the Moon Druid || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Jason P || Jpagegala || <center> [[Kamacuras]] </center> || [[Thri-Kreen]] || Path of the Beast Barbarian || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Hailey || TheBroken || <center> [[Cinder Ashtalon]] </center> || [[Owlin]] || Artificer Artillerist || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Kris || kao || <center> [[Rhea Vav]] </center> || [[Half-Orc]] || Life Domain Cleric || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Scott || scott topic || <center> [[Acorn]] </center> || [[Kenku]] || Oath of the Ancients Paladin || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Stephen S || Eromanoops6 || <center> [[Rheinhold Azurine]] </center> || [[Dragonborn]] || Circle of the Mist Druid (Circle of Spores) || 5 || Retired || -
|-
| Alexander K || Ark Reaction || <center> [[Timothar Marek]] </center> || [[Human|Variant Human]] || Order of Scribes Wizard || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Hel || Horrors Unlimited || <center> [[Fchlya 80]] </center> || [[Warforged| Illithid Warforged]] || Armorer Artificer || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Lyndsey || Lywyn || <center> [[Bellix Braveheart]] </center> || [[Human|Variant Human]] || College of Lore Bard || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Jean-Pierre T || JePaPix || <center> [[Nix]] </center> || [[Dragonborn|Copper Dragonborn]] || Armorer Artificer || 5 || Retired || -
|-
| Andy H || andyhag || <center> [[Deralickt Dadwarf, Low Priest of the Order of Cucullin, of the Reformed Church of Bajayzus, Hisself.|Deralickt Dadwarf]] </center> || [[Dwarf]] || Twilight Domain Cleric || 5 || Retired || -
|-
| Joe Gonzo || Takenotez18 || <center> [[Tinkerton Tinklebottom]] </center> || [[Gnome|Rock Gnome]] || Armorer Artificer || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Spencer || Penzeer2 || <center> [[Winter]] </center> || [[Tabaxi]] || Way of the Kensei Monk || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Nathan Bergfelt || nathanielbergland || <center> [[Billium Teddly]] </center> || [[Half-Elf]] || College of Lore Bard || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Amal 1 || maldth || <center> [[Radion The Forged]] </center> || [[Warforged]] || Path of Wild Magic Barbarian || 7 || Retired || Left to journey with their sister Daena
|-
| Amal 2 || maldth || <center> [[Ahriman Zestari]] </center> || [[Elf|Astral Elf]] || Peace Domain Cleric || 5 || Retired || Left to journey with their daughter Daena
|-
| Nik || tak231 || <center> [[Heli Moltenshield]] </center> || [[Genasi|Fire Genasi]] || Battlesmith Artificer || 8 || Retired || Left to establish their own workshop
|-
| Nin || SilentDarknes || <center> [[Marion Ette]] </center> || [[Tiefling]] || Celestial Warlock / Cleric || 7 || Retired || Became the new Collector
|-
| Syamael || Syameal || <center> [[Danke Schön]] </center> || [[Dhampir]] || College of Spirits Bard || 5 || Dead || Sacrificed himself for druid ritual
|-

|}
</center>
[[Category:Wicked Wilds]]

Within the Wicked Wilds/PCs

2024-07-08T00:12:22Z

Doublecheese247: Corrected character name and set up link to character page.

{{Worldbuilders}}'''If you are a player please refrain from editing this page.'''
<center>
{| class="wikitable article-table"
|+ Wicked Wilds Player Characters
! Player !! Username !! Character !! Race !! Class/Subclass !! Lvl !! Words on Wiki !! Total XP
|-
| Mercedes C || JaeltheJust 1 || <center> [[Amelie Luxaeterna|Amelie]] </center> || [[Drow|Drow Elf]] || Battlemaster Fighter || 9 || 5183 || 48226
|-
| Mercedes C || JaeltheJust 2 || <center> [[Esperanza Alnilam ]] </center> || [[Genasi|Earth Genasi]] || Circle of Stars Druid || 6 || 1541 || 17677
|-
| Geoffrey || EpicdudeX 1 || <center> [[Wiggler]] </center> || [[Warforged]] (Worm) || Circle of Spores Druid || 8 || 10469 || 39259
|-
| Geoffrey || EpicdudeX 2 || <center> [[The Fool]] </center> || [[Changeling]] || Bard/Rogue || 6 || 775 || 14775
|-
| Marcy || Marcy || <center> [[Paris Hilton]] </center> || [[Human]] || Battlemaster Fighter || 6 || 3550 || 22008
|-
| Jennifer Gau || jenxzi || <center> [[Rina]] </center> || [[Elf|Wood Elf]] || Circle of the Land Druid || 5 || 0 || 15520
|-
| Jonathan R || JonTheTeach 1 || <center> [[Otto von Gerwig]] </center> || [[Human|Variant Human]] || Echo Knight Fighter || 7 || 13433 || 33865
|-
| Jonathan R || JonTheTeach 2 || <center> [[Allinor Kalth]] </center> || [[Human]] || Oath of the Crown Paladin || 6 || 0 || 17850
|-
| Nin || SilentDarknes || <center> [[Iris]] </center> || [[Plasmoid]] || Lunar Sorcerer || 6 || 0 || 19161
|-
| Steve G || G + 171 || <center> [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]] </center> || [[Half-Orc]] || Barbarian /Fighter || 9 || 6403 || 48523
|-
| Nick P || NicestPerk || <center> [[Twilsby Pendergras]] </center> || [[Human|Variant Human]] || Order of Scribes Wizard / Fighter || 8 || 1004 || 35793
|-
| Drew G || Droobius8 1 || <center> [[Dragonett]] </center> || [[Elf|Wood Elf]] || Scout Rogue/Ranger || 8 || 10982 || 41679
|-
| Drew G || Droobius8 2 || <center> [[Brenowyn Brightblade]] </center> || [[Half-Elf]] || Paladin/Warlock || 5 || 0 || 6500
|-
| Matt || leomatt || <center> [[Juno of Galik|Juno]] </center> || [[Changeling]] || Way of Shadow Monk || 6 || 0 || 16757
|-
| Anna S || SilvariaSpitfyre || <center> [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]] </center> || [[Aarakocra| Puffin Aarakocra]] || College of Whispers Bard/Archfey Warlock || 8 || 12594 || 46214
|-
| Scarlet || scarletxskull || <center> [[Chrysaor|Chrysaor Purosis]] </center> || [[Yuan-Ti]] || Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer/Rogue || 7 || 1332 || 28392
|-
| Julia || lunadix || <center> [[Tommy]] </center> || [[Human]] || Oath of Redemption Paladin || 5 || 0 || 10815
|-
| Jake L || Jakel || <center> [[Kh'jan]] </center> || [[Aarakocra]] || Arcane Archer Fighter || 8 || 0 || 38445
|-
| Dave Spaar || SolitonMan || <center> [[Therrin Flare]] </center> || [[Aasimar]] || Celestial Warlock || 8 || 9932 || 39434
|-
| Sam || dwarfenjoyer 1 || <center> [[Nassir Tycho]] </center> || [[Dragonborn|Brass Dragonborn]] || Zealot Barbarian || 5 || 3182 || 13653
|-
| Sam || dwarfenjoyer 2 || <center> [[Coryn Alaeth]] </center> || [[Half-Elf]] || Paladin/Cleric || 7 || 1446 || 28759
|-
| Rich Scott || Sad_Robot_v2.0 || <center> [[Neru]] </center> || [[Gnome|Rock Gnome]] || Oath of Glory Paladin || 5 || 0 || 8541
|-
| Emma 1 || glamourpal || <center> [[Amaris Luanach]] </center> || [[Satyr]] || Twilight Domain Cleric || 7 || 9823 || 30191
|-
| Emma 2 || glamourpal || <center> [[Keeper]] </center> || [[Gnome|Forest Gnome]] || Artillerist Artificer || 6 || 2581 || 16581
|-
| Gail M || zippybluedwarf || <center> [[p'Rahp]] </center> || [[Grung]] || Oath of the Crown Paladin || 5 || 492 || 9565
|-
| Cat || Darth Pearl 1 || <center> [[22]] </center> || [[Autom (Player Race)|Autom]] || Circle of the Moon Druid || 9 || 20388 || 52812
|-
| Cat || Darth Pearl 2 || <center> [[Rosin]] </center> || [[Dhampir]] || Divine Soul Sorcerer || 6 || 10904 || 21801
|-
| Colin N || Common-Weirdo || <center> [[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]] </center> || [[Half-Elf]] || Inquisitive Rogue || 7 || 0 || 33448
|-
| Joshua J || InfiniteValarium32 || <center> [[Black Jack]] </center> || [[Harengon]] || Artificer Battle Smith || 6 || 4550 || 19496
|-
| Jeremiah B || Prospero || <center> [[Prof. Mann (and Chester Iros)]] </center> || [[Warforged|Warforged (House Cat)]] || Graviturgy Wizard || 5 || 867 || 6801
|-
| Gingie || gingei22 || <center> [[Thordon Akieye]] </center> || [[Dwarf|Mountain Dwarf]] || Path of Totem Barbarian || 9 || 10340 || 52648
|-
| Tor Hundal || logztor || <center> [[Cealion]] </center> || [[Dhampir]] || Wild Magic Sorcerer || 5 || 977 || 10760
|-
| Nik || tak231 || <center> [[Tryska Bjorndottyr]] </center> || [[Tabaxi]] || Circle of the Moon Druid || 6 || 0 || 22575
|-
| Amal || maldth || <center> [[Selene]] </center> || [[Eladrin]] || Pact of the Genie Warlock || 6 || 0 || 18171
|-
| Patrick || SaannDenise || <center> [[Balder the Bald Boulder]] </center> || [[Human]] || Monk || 6 || 0 || 22528
|-
| Talia || wardensturkie || <center> [[Pash|p'Ash'r'Ohn]] </center> || [[Grung]] || Hexblade Warlock || 8 || 6622 || 36864
|-
| Kyle Gates || TheGov37 || <center> [[Arthur]] </center> || [[Human]] || Cavalier Fighter || 4 || 0 || 3540
|-
| Collin || KarlXMarxTheSpot || <center> [[Lupine Lucas]] </center> || [[Human]] || Circle of the Moon Druid || 5 || 0 || 13275
|-
| Ali || aliphup 1 || <center> [[Mirth]] </center> || [[Warforged|Reanimated Dead (Warforged)]] || Oath of Devotion Paladin || 6 || 734 || 17830
|-
| Ali || aliphup 2 || <center> [[Rochambeau]] </center> || [[Tiefling]] || School of Illusion Wizard || 5 || 0 || 6500
|-
| James Ryan || musicalmet || <center> [[Ren Atherton]] </center> || [[Human|Human (Variant)]] || Rogue/Warlock || 8 || 8420 || 45829
|-
| kOsCrystal || kOsCrystal || <center> [[Mariar]] </center> || [[Drow|Drow Elf]] || Hunter Ranger || 4 || 0 || 3238
|-
| Aspen Nehama || SubtleSpellSpammer 1 || <center> [[Laurence Awrkright]] </center> || [[Half-Elf]] || Sorcerer/Rogue || 5 || 0 || 13459
|-
| Aspen Nehama || SubtleSpellSpammer 2 || <center> [[CA7]] </center> || [[Warforged]] || Oath of Ancients Paladin || 5 || 0 || 13459
|-
| Kade || spookycowboy || <center> [[Ronin (Wicked Wilds)|Ronin]] </center> || [[Variant Tiefling|Tiefling]] || Aberrant Mind Sorcerer || 8 || 4022 || 37106
|-
| Hal || studiouscat || <center> [[Spurs]] </center> || [[Tabaxi]] || Swashbuckler Rogue || 4 || 0 || 5653
|-
| Nathan Stoner || nax24 || <center> [[Ash Oakriver]] </center> || [[Fairy]] || Drunken Master || 6 || 1565 || 15536
|-
| Sarah H. || BreadIsPain52822 || <center> [[Karma Runes]] </center> || [[Genasi|Fire Genasi]] || Soulknife Rogue || 6 || 0 || 17687
|-
| Zoey || Rune || <center> [[Leo]] </center> || [[Tabaxi]] || Monster Hunter Ranger || 5 || 0 || 9117
|-
| Gavin N. || Joshoperatic || <center> [[Kiamana Pohihi]] </center> || [[Goliath]] || Berserker Barbarian || 5 || 0 || 9117
|-
| John || beauregardshryke || <center> [[Beauregard]] </center> || [[Half-Elf]] || Fighter || 6 || 0 || 21069
|-
| Jonathan || randle_dandle || <center> [[Morten Nusi]] </center> || [[Firbolg]] || Knowledge Domain Cleric || 4 || 0 || 3900
|-
| Aaron || arcassel || <center> [[Zarril]] </center> || [[Reborn]] || Hexblade Warlock || 5 || 0 || 7095
|-
| Avery || averydavery.png || <center> [[Nokori Naru]] </center> || [[Human]] || Samurai Fighter || 4 || 0 || 3613
|-
| Connor S || Doublecheese247 || [[Valdos]]|| [[Tiefling]] || Warlock || 4 || 0 || 3613
|-
| Scott S || datsadness || <center> [[Ghargux]] </center> || [[Githzerai]] || Order of Watchers Paladin || 5 || 0 || 8861
|-
| Chuck || Mattherson || <center> [[Lysvan]] </center> || [[Genasi|Fire Genasi]] || Circle of Wildfire Druid || 5 || 6484 || 12859
|}
</center>

<center>
{| class="wikitable article-table"
|+ Deceased/Inactive Player Characters
! Player !! Username !! Character !! Race !! Class/Subclass !! Lvl !! Status !! Cause of Death
|-
| Satch || Chef Bananas || <center> [[Jim Stacy]] </center> || [[Human]] || Soul Knife Rogue || 4 || Dead || Taken by [[Mother]]
|-
| Jean-Pierre T || JePaPix || <center> [[Ratchet]] </center> || [[Dragonborn|Copper Dragonborn]] || Artillerist Artificer || 3 || Deceased || Killed by a Mutant Crocodile
|-
| Lyndsey || Lywyn || <center> [[Tassa Brightfox]] </center> || [[Kender]] || Swashbuckler Rogue || 4 || Missing || Taken by [[Mother]]
|-
| Amal Thaar || maldth || <center> [[Dochás Trus]] </center> || [[Human]] || Divine Soul Sorcerer || 3 || Deceased || Bludgeoned to Death by Mushroom
|-
| Colin N || Common-Weirdo || <center> [[Nester Spitemore]] </center> || [[Halfling]] || Artificer Artillerist || 4 || Deceased || Slain by Draculadon
|-
| Syameal || Syameal || <center> [[Lowkey]] </center> || [[Changeling]] || Wild Magic Sorcerer || 4 || Deceased || Killed by Wild Magic
|-
| Alexander K || Ark Reaction || <center> [[Hermes Purrnes]] </center> || [[Shifter|Swiftstride Shifter]] || 3 Rogue/1 Monk || 4 || Deceased || Killed by Dinosaur
|-
| Talia S || Warden || <center> [[Sabbatical (character)|Sabbatical]] </center> || [[Tiefling|Fierna Tiefling]] || Knowledge Domain Cleric || 6 || Deceased || Returned to Hell
|-
| Syamael || Syameal || <center> [[Ainz Kageno]] </center> || [[Human|Variant Human]] || Assassin Rogue || 3 || Deceased || Torn Apart
|-
| Mercedes C || JaeltheJust || <center> [[Redemption Core]] </center> || [[Tiefling|Glasya Tiefling]] || Drakewarden Ranger || 6 || Deceased || Slain by [[Jim Stacy]]
|-
| Keller M || K-dawg12 || <center> [[Sneeze]] </center> || [[Kobold]] || Path of the Beast Barbarian || 5 || Deceased || Slain by Jim Stacy
|-
| Jake L || Jakel || <center> [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]] </center> || [[Eladrin]] || Valor Bard/Paladin || 6 || Retired || Became the new Green Knight
|-
| Julia 1 || lunadix || <center> [[Kompi]] </center> || [[Kobold]] || Clonomancer Sorcerer || 4 || Missing || Lost in the Wilds
|-
| Jonathan R || JonTheTeach || <center> [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda]] </center> || [[Warforged]] || Sun Soul Monk || 7|| Missing || Taken by [[Mother]]
|-
| Margarita || mikroeinaitomatisou || <center> [[Helli Aliosh]] </center> || [[Tiefling]] || Light Domain Cleric || 5 || Retired || -
|-
| Eric O || mAce || <center> [[Felix Francis Fitzgerald]] </center> || [[Warforged]] || College of Eloquence Bard || 5 || Retired || -
|-
| Jesse Dubin || j.s.dubin || <center> [[Nātchko the Third]] </center> || [[Genasi|Earth Genasi]] || Circle of Stars Druid || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Ari || gardenvarietyfae || <center> [[Obsidian]] </center> || [[Genasi|Earth Genasi]] || Hexblade Warlock || 5 || Retired || -
|-
| Trey || Wizler || <center> [[Frankie]] </center> || [[Warforged]] || Scout Rogue || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Jam Wright || Jam Knows || <center> [[Joylee (Jo) Seraphim-Belphegor]] </center> || [[Human]] || Twilight Domain Cleric || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Kyle || Staulwart || <center> [[Dothand Raki]] </center> || [[Genasi|Air Genasi]] || Tempest Domain Cleric || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Satch || Chef Bananas || <center> [[Millar]] </center> || [[Human|Variant Human]] || Bladesigning Wizard || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Ben || Bencryption || <center> [[Zimper]] </center> || [[Nilbog (Player Race)|Nilbog]] || Wild Magic Sorcerer || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Heather || raindrops_on_roses || <center> [[Aine]] </center> || [[Eladrin|Autumn Eladrin]] || Circle of the Moon Druid || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Jason P || Jpagegala || <center> [[Kamacuras]] </center> || [[Thri-Kreen]] || Path of the Beast Barbarian || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Hailey || TheBroken || <center> [[Cinder Ashtalon]] </center> || [[Owlin]] || Artificer Artillerist || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Kris || kao || <center> [[Rhea Vav]] </center> || [[Half-Orc]] || Life Domain Cleric || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Scott || scott topic || <center> [[Acorn]] </center> || [[Kenku]] || Oath of the Ancients Paladin || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Stephen S || Eromanoops6 || <center> [[Rheinhold Azurine]] </center> || [[Dragonborn]] || Circle of the Mist Druid (Circle of Spores) || 5 || Retired || -
|-
| Alexander K || Ark Reaction || <center> [[Timothar Marek]] </center> || [[Human|Variant Human]] || Order of Scribes Wizard || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Hel || Horrors Unlimited || <center> [[Fchlya 80]] </center> || [[Warforged| Illithid Warforged]] || Armorer Artificer || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Lyndsey || Lywyn || <center> [[Bellix Braveheart]] </center> || [[Human|Variant Human]] || College of Lore Bard || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Jean-Pierre T || JePaPix || <center> [[Nix]] </center> || [[Dragonborn|Copper Dragonborn]] || Armorer Artificer || 5 || Retired || -
|-
| Andy H || andyhag || <center> [[Deralickt Dadwarf, Low Priest of the Order of Cucullin, of the Reformed Church of Bajayzus, Hisself.|Deralickt Dadwarf]] </center> || [[Dwarf]] || Twilight Domain Cleric || 5 || Retired || -
|-
| Joe Gonzo || Takenotez18 || <center> [[Tinkerton Tinklebottom]] </center> || [[Gnome|Rock Gnome]] || Armorer Artificer || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Spencer || Penzeer2 || <center> [[Winter]] </center> || [[Tabaxi]] || Way of the Kensei Monk || 4 || Retired || -
|-
| Nathan Bergfelt || nathanielbergland || <center> [[Billium Teddly]] </center> || [[Half-Elf]] || College of Lore Bard || 3 || Retired || -
|-
| Amal 1 || maldth || <center> [[Radion The Forged]] </center> || [[Warforged]] || Path of Wild Magic Barbarian || 7 || Retired || Left to journey with their sister Daena
|-
| Amal 2 || maldth || <center> [[Ahriman Zestari]] </center> || [[Elf|Astral Elf]] || Peace Domain Cleric || 5 || Retired || Left to journey with their daughter Daena
|-
| Nik || tak231 || <center> [[Heli Moltenshield]] </center> || [[Genasi|Fire Genasi]] || Battlesmith Artificer || 8 || Retired || Left to establish their own workshop
|-
| Nin || SilentDarknes || <center> [[Marion Ette]] </center> || [[Tiefling]] || Celestial Warlock / Cleric || 7 || Retired || Became the new Collector
|-
| Syamael || Syameal || <center> [[Danke Schön]] </center> || [[Dhampir]] || College of Spirits Bard || 5 || Dead || Sacrificed himself for druid ritual
|-

|}
</center>
[[Category:Wicked Wilds]]

Within the Wicked Wilds/Player Recaps

2024-07-08T00:03:47Z

Doublecheese247: Wicked Wilds Player Recap from June 19th Session.

{{Worldbuilders}}An alternative in-character set of ''highly condensed'' recaps of the first several sessions are available from Sabbatical from her weekly reports at [[SWAAR]].

And some further abbreviated, third-person summaries can be found at "Within the Wicked Wilds/[[Within the Wicked Wilds/Player Recaps/TLDR|Player Recaps/TLDR]]".

<div id="thinwhistle" style="padding-top: 1em">
===Session 1a: Thinwhistle===
'''DM:''' Aaron

'''PCs:'''
*Rina (Jen): wood elf druid
*Lambda (Jon): warforged monk
*Nassir (Sam): dragonborn barbarian
*Stout, aka Neru (Rich): gnome paladin
*22 (Cat): autom druid ***Present in spirit was Finny (Anna): Aarakocra Bard, who remained at base camp due to a last-minute injury (and/or hangover, depending on who you ask)
'''NPCs:'''
*Matilda and Bjorn, "guides" (i.e. chaperones) provided by TBEC
*Hunk and Snatu, residents of Thinwhistle

'''Significant events:'''

After the entire expeditionary group had travelled inland from Galik by [[airship]], the party walked half a day west where they encountered and befriended the people of Thinwhistle, a village of Kobolds of Unusual Size. The chief and head lore keeper of the village was Snatu (he/him), who explained that the kobolds of this part of Amusa were once a glorious race, more powerful than most of their contemporaries and living in their underground ancestral kingdom, but that they were driven out by a great calamity, the nature of which had long been lost to the the tribe's memory and records. All they had was a tattered mural showing the destruction of a city, with fires raging and corpses littering the scene. Snatu went on to say that the people of Thinwhistle had split off from other tribes long ago, and that the tribes often war amongst each other but that some may know more of the lost history.

The party and a kobold warrior named Hunk (he/him) set out to find two monsters that had been terrorizing the village. They succeeded, in a way, when one of the monsters, a colossal red fire-breather, ambushed the party just as they had encountered three hostile drakes.

A fight ensued that the party won, but not without considerable risk to all their lives. During the struggle, Lambda was badly bitten by the monster and 22 revived him (about which 22 would later report feeling conflicted when they realized that, in their words, "Lambda appears to be a raging racist.") Nassir eventually slew the monster, and while the party was cleaning up the drakes, the other colossal monster appeared, a green lightning-breather that the kobolds apparently call "The Eater of Worlds". Though the party had tried to ensure Hunk's well-being, the new monster breathed lightning on Stout, Hunk and 22, and Hunk was knocked unconscious.

Just as Lambda closed with this second monster, Hunk, now stabilized by Stout, came around for long enough to shout "Run!!" upon seeing the beast. Nassir flanked the creature to try to help Lambda disengage, but the monster rendered both of them unconscious with a tail slap and a bite. Once it had eliminated these threats, it turned its attention to feasting on the first monster's carcass, and the party took this opportunity to GTFO.

Stout carried Hunk out, 22 revived Nassir, and Rina revived Lambda, and they all got a few-minute head start before eventually catching the telltale sound of the creature pursuing them through the forest, knocking over trees as it came. After a brief tactical discussion, 22 cast Pass Without Trace on the party, and they were able to evade the creature in the woods and return to Thinwhistle to lick their wounds.

Hunk soon became a liaison between Thinwhistle and the expedition base camp, and the two groups agreed to establish peaceful relations.
</div>

===Session 1b: The Temple of Loth ===
'''DM:''' Julia

'''PCs:'''
*Reedy and Daq (Mercedes): tiefling ranger and drake
*Sabbatical (Talia): tiefling cleric
*Paris Hilton and PPP : human ranger and chihuahua
*Sir Yewvane : Eladrin bard/Paladin
*Therrin: aasamir warlock
'''NPCs:'''
*Paul, "guide" (i.e. chaperones) provided by TBEC

'''Significant events:'''

''Today was our first expedition. Daq and I were joined by Sir Yewvane, Paris, Therrin, and Sabbatical was also there. We headed into the jungle, following our guide from Tempest Brothers, Paul. He is a capable young man, learned, and keen on artifacts and archaeology. I mostly went along for guard duty, which suits me well. As we were going along, Paris made the VERY WISE decision to open her satchel to show up her vermin, a small mastiff called Princess Platinum Paws. I despite it. Also, her satchel emits an alarming amount of light, causing a very loud roar, like one of the creatures that Kompi can summon, but it sounded deeper, larger even. We continued forward.''

''It didn’t take too long to find ourselves at a clearing and a large temple. It didn’t look in too much disrepair, but aged. Ornate and beautiful, almost—an odd glisten to it. We entered and in the first room, there were so many large spiders. They were the size of wolves. One of them bit me, but it didn’t take very much effort to pin down and kill the others, especially with Daq’sassistance. I was still inspecting the room when Sabbatical attempted to simply move ahead before we inspected that everyone was alright to do so. She can be very single minded at times. I grabbed her, pulling her back and having Daq block the door while we waited for the others. Once we were ALL ready, we moved ahead.''

''The next room of the temple contained a large statue of the deity this temple was dedicated to, a stunningly beautiful representation of the goddess, Loth, who is part woman, part spider. Her magical spiders, much larger and mystic, attacked us and their webs were also mystifying. We destroyed them all with a near ease, which was unsettling because it seemed too easy. Despite their size and arcane ability, it was not very difficult to kill them all. Upon inspection of the statue of Loth, she has her palm extended, awaiting an offering. I took one of my sapphire earrings out and rested it in her hand, but nothing happened. Clearly, my offer was not enough.''

''One of our party remembered that Loth’s temples often are entrances to the Underdark, but we did not see such an entrance, so we continued our trek. While the others were healing and maintaining themselves from the fight, I snuck away into the next hall, very careful. I noticed pools of black ichor with spider legs reaching out from inside, just swaying slightly. When I approached and was within their range, they snapped at me and attempted to hit, but it did not work because I am quick to dodge.''

''I retrieved the others, warning them of the legs in the black ooze and we slowly made our way, careful to destroy the legs before we moved further into the temple. We reached the final two rooms and as we approached what seemed to be the end of the temple’s layout, we found ourselves face to face with an odd bundling of the spider’s web. Obviously victims of the large creature that had been awaiting us inside our final destination for our mission.''

''As soon as Yewvane stepped into the final room of the temple, a monstrosity that I could not distinguish between bat, ichor, and spider, descended from the ceiling and attached. Yewvane tried to close the door to it so if could not see and attack us, but instead, it sent the door crashing into him and allowing it to begin to creep inside.''

''We would attack the creature, it would them force us into a state of mind that didn’t allow us to attack it until we’d attacked something else inside, so we rotated between attacking the legs of ichor that had regrown with the creature’s appearance, andattacked the Haunter of the Dark itself. Sabbatical ran around the room in mad dashes, lighting everything in her path ablaze while Paris brought our her mangy toy dog and it stayed with the large creature, attacking it. Paris, Therrin and I shot bolts, arrows, and blasts at it until it finally dissolved into it’s own ether.''

''Stepping around the disgust and filth, we made our way into the final room and I opened the web sac. Inside were many corpses, animals, humanoid, creature alike, some coins were found on the bodies, as well as a cloak that Sabbatical identified as being one of Protection, boosting my armor. It shimmers like Daq’s black scales. Also inside was a large deep red garnet, cut ornated into 12 smooth and perfect planes. I was tempted, for just a moment, to put it into my own bag, but realized how foolish it would be after a moment.''

''We look it back to the statue of Loth and placed it in the goddess’ hand. Behind her, a grating sound of stone on stone occurred and when we looked into the path that opened, it was a dark, deeply angled, descending staircase. We could only assume to where this would lead, the Underdark.''

''Sabbatical, ever one to see how far she can push people into submission, bullied poor Paul into standing on the other side of the door and seeing if there was a mechanism that would allow him to get back inside the temple from the entrance to the underdark. Yewvane wouldn’t let Paul go alone, so they both stepped through and Sabbatical removed the gemstone from Loth’s hand. The doors closed and for a faint moment, I thought perhaps she might leave them there, but she did not, so when they returned into the temple with us, they told us that once inside the stairwell, they did not see another way to open the door from the inside.''

''Paul has taken possession of the gemstone for now and will himself and Arcane lead missions out to see what we can learn about the Underdark inside Loth’s temple entrance. -'' From the Journal of Reedy

===Session 1b: Kickoff Megagame - Ruins of Maddening Dreams ===
Session Tags: The Green Knight, Perseus Company, Philosopher's Stone, Sylvester da Stone

Characters: [[Lysvan]] (First Session), [[Obsidian]] (First Session), [[Amaris Luanach]] (First Session), [[Chrysaor|Chrysaor Purosis]] (First Session), [[Deralickt Dadwarf, Low Priest of the Order of Cucullin, of the Reformed Church of Bajayzus, Hisself.|Deralickt Dadwarf]] (First Session)

DM: Keller (4/29/2023)

Important NPCs: [[Lucinda Grimfold]], [[Lyowyn Mossbringer]], [[Cookie]], [[The Green Knight According to Deralickt Dadwarf, Low Priest of the Order of Cucullin, of the Reformed Church of Bajayzus, Hisself|The Green Knight]] Sylvester da Stone

Important Things that Happened:

So this ta be da true account of thins dat did ta happen during our arrival inna da Wicked Wilds. I Deralickt Dadwarf, Low Priest of the Order of Cucullin, of the Reformed Church of Bajayzus, Hisself attest to this.

Our skiff headed out to find da Perseus Company to coordinate settin up da Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company camp, so as ta not be steppin on toes and such.

We did ta land near ta the supposed camp, findin a road cut inta the jungle heading towards and away from our target. Our party was made up of the notables listed above. A fine bunch o lads n lasses for a easy jaunt through de woods. Our Drood made a friend with a local monkey who will will kno as Chimp. Others were preppin spells and such to assist with walkin thru da trees down da road.

Bajayzus spake ta me and guided myself to a large rock. This was not any rock, but was a rock known as Sylvester. Sylvester da Stone. Upon this rock I will build the Church in The Wicked Wilds. So within minutes of arrival, my ministry has doubled!

Sylvester immediately took off down the road a bit scoutin ahead and waitin till we caught up to again shoot ahead. Clearin the way and keepin us from ambush. He even took off into the woods to sneak up upon the camp. I have Bajayzus as my shield, so I walked right in. This was not the main camp, but a watch tower and small ruined camp.

Now, Ima all about keepin a good watch. Cuttin off yer own head an stickin up on a pole seems a bit overkill. I was gonna point dis out, but the evidence of Gnolls was about, so figure it was them. The watch tower still stood, and was built upon a solid stone foundation. Now Ima good solid sensible dwarf. Bein all dangly on a framework of wood is not the best plan, so I split off and went ta the stone cellar. They did pretty good work on the stones, not dwarven mind ya, but nice and solid. There was a large padlock on the door to the cellar. As I have learnt from my days upon the Barge, locks are usually in and about thins of interestin proportions.

Well, the open doors revealed a man takin a nap in the middle of the floor of a very smelly room, apparently locked in here for a bit. I went in ta wake him, and realized he was takin a dirt nap. Most likely kilt by stuffin a black chicken into his mouth, as it was full of feathers, with feathers sticking out his ears and other places as well. Lucky I was already pourin water inna his mouth ta see if I could revive em, Obsidian was lookin ta identify what type of bird ta feathers were from when they all burst inna fire.

We quickly left, as we dinna want ta get the bill for arson, when we found some bad poetry written on da wall.

The party regrouped, Our company handlers quickly swept in and threw all sorts of accusations about arson anna such. Our people who climbed the tower found a map wif lots of circles anna such on it, with some crossed out. We decided ta make haste ta the main Perseus camp. So the company people, Lucinda Grimfold, Lyowyn Mossbringer, Cookie go a flyin off again, leavin us ta walk ta da main camp.

Darkness fell quick while we were walkin instead o flyin. Strange thins did ta happen durin da watches, First watch, the trees moved in, The second watch da people were seemingly sucked up inta da sky. On my watch some darkness coalesced into a malevolent form. I chucked a rock at it. It chucked it back, automatically hittin me in the head for a pile o damage. Well, hittin a Dwarf in da head with a rock will really only result in smaller rocks. There be somin old and vast that dont want us here. Again, I am immune to leavin areas just cause someone is annoyed by my presence. Passive aggressive do ta be wasted on a dwarf. We did find Chimp dead and impaled upon a tree. The first member of the expedition to die permeant like. He will never be forgotten.

We made it ta da main camp inna early mornin. They appear ta have been a bit better at putin up a fight as there were a few gnolls scattered about the battlefield They appear ta ave set up da main bunkhouse in an old temple, with a few outbuildings. I investigated the temple and found interestin archeological information ta be published as a paper at a latter time. We also found a large duck anna merchant under a tarp, and sent him ta our main camp area. Prior to leaving he sent me my next member of the local parish Huginn N. Muninn, a stuffed raven who comes ta life sometimes.

We came out our last outbuildin and Lo and behold Slyvester da Stone had found a well. Not just any well, but one that was mentioned in some paperwork as a well of madness or some such. Now I know this was divinely revealed to myself as only I could see it, ''Bejayzus be praised''. Slyvester jumped in ta investigate da well, and not really able ta be much madder than I am, I of course walked over and peered down the well. It appeared to go on forever down, even goin threw several dimensions and planes and other such stuff. It tried to suck me in, but being a Dwarf of good solid common sense, I shrugged off the feeble attempt.

Lucky I was perched behind the Well o Futile Madness, cause out of ta Temple came a gnoll and a few hyenas. I say good cause the area around dem erupted in a series of fires and explosions as the rest of da party let loose with everything hey had and obliterated the hapless gnoll and his litter mates.

Well, not ta be left out of the fun, I rushed inna da Temple.

Inside were 4 more already too large for their own good Gnolls, one Really too large Gnoll, a huge and ugly Hyena, In the back was a large green figure we learned was the Green Knight. He executed the leader of the Perseus Company on a balcony and started to stalk towards three others on the floor.

Battle was joined. I dont wanna go inna too much detail on the fight. Everyone in da party acquitted themselves well. We managed ta kill all the gnolls and hyena with some difficulty. We held the line in the entryway, with the Power of Bajayzus guiding us and granting us extra strength to buoy us in battle (channel divinity)

I will discuss the antics of the Green knight. During the battle he ignored us and executed the first captive on the floor while we were busy with his minions. Lysvan the Drood got his attention with a heat metal. I stood at the top of the stairs to hold the line and keep the Gangrene Knight off the spell casters. Standing like an impenetrable wall, sing the Battle hymn of the Great Saint Peter Gabriel ''“ I wanna be, ye Sledge Hammer”''

Instead of attacking me all right and proper, the Sassenach Green Knight jumped up da steps and went around myself. I WILL NOT BE IGNORED. The Drood went all giant badger and tunneled away to maintain his spell. The Green Knight at that point dismissed us and tried to just leave. I WILL NOT BE DISMISSED.

So I locked the doors with Arcane Lock and locked him in with us. The Green knight tried to kill me, with no success. He tried to drag me to da door and force me to open it, with no success. He tried begging me to open da door, with no success. He tried many things while erroneously crying ''“This Ends Now”'', with no success. Finally with having to smack us with a 6th order spell knocking out Two of our players and threatening to kill all my party members as he realized he could not win against me. I relented and allowed him, defeated, to skulk out into the camp. '''BROKEN and DEFEATED''' by the stubbornness of a Dwarf backed by the power of Bajayzus Da Green (with envy) Knight fled into the jungle, still under da effect of da heat metal.

As we walked out victorious, a large horde of gnolls entered the camp, some of them 20 foot or more high. I was debating weather to kill em all to ta let em run away, when we were swept up inna da skiff and whisked away to our base camp. I did ta try teaching them various curse words in celestial as we traveled away, but I don thin dey heard myself. Cursin in Celestial gives a nice classy mouth feel ta da base concepts.

Chimp, the first in the expedition to fall in battle will have a place of honor inna the home of heroes aka graveyard. Now ta set up the Holy Basilica of Bajayzus and Research Library. Of course, setting up the final resting place for the fellows who are likely to fall along the way. With the help of Sylvester da Stone and Huginn N. Muninn we begin our adventures in the Wicked Wilds.

===Session 3: All That Glitters...===
Session Tags: Dinosaurs, Magic, Arc

Characters: [[Helli Aliosh|Helli]], [[Sabbatical (character)|Sabbatical]], [[Marion Ette|Marion]], [[Hermes Purrnes|Hermes]], Neru, [[p'Rahp]]

DM: Julia (5/10/23)

Helli could not believe her luck; she was to leave camp and investigate the wilds for the head of Magic and Mysteries… sure, there were missing people, who they were presumed dead. But it was her time to explore the wilds! She of course was a big scandalized to hear that Arc did not care about the dead bodies and wanted them to recover the research material and notebooks. Her whole life’s training was against abandoning the sick and taking care of the deceased.

Their trip was not so complicated as she had feared. Thankfully, there were some experienced scouts amongst them and not only they did not get lost, but also encountered some of the interesting plants. There had been some talk about laylines and impact of the local flora and fauna around the camp, but this was the first time she actually saw the evidence of that with her own eyes. Bioluminescence in all the plants. They were pretty… but the dead bodies nearby were not so much pretty. They collected their notes and she went through their bodies, trying to find out why they were dead. Signs of beasts. Large beasts… What sort of monster could have done this?

Her question was answered soon. Not one, but two dinosaurs showed up… and not normal beasts either. They had extra flavor in their attacks, bringing all of them to their knees. They were so powerful that they could nothing else but run, beaten and afraid. After all, they had collected the material they had set out to collect.

====Further details from the Journal of Sabbatical.====
<big>'''Warning''',</big> reading the following content constitutes an agreement to Fiendish code, 1647(a)(IV)(c), which binds an unbound soul in service to the fiendish circle of Phlegethos for all eternity upon death. If the soul is already bound, then Fiendish code 18463(b)(II) applies, sequestering the knowledge from being shared with others without implicit agreement to the aforementioned 1647(a)(IV)(c) or a soul in service to Baator.

Arc summoned the six of us to investigate several disappearances of their research teams. They had sent three teams in sequence, and each had failed to maintain contact or return. The latest group had a single individual making daily check-ins through the sending spell, but had gone silent three days ago. After we discussed the wastefulness and inefficiency of Arc's previous plans, Arc sent us off with some basic directions and little other information. I have been... somewhat unimpressed with Arc's contributions now that we have entered the field, although their efforts in combat situations or camp-wide protections have yet to be fully realized.

As we traveled a few hours out of camp, Hermes focused our initial efforts at tracking, although he gave way to other contributions as the day wore on. Eventually the trail turned more North than West and we encountered a clearing with a large glowing plant at its center. Half the party investigated the plant, while the others searched the surroundings. We found the bodies of some researchers, including a few journals and coins, as well as armor and other equipment, all with signs of significant battle damage and elemental energy. As those of us checking the bodies searched them for more information, the others harvested some fruit, and then cut into the plant in order to collect a sample. Upon doing so, we were immediately attacked by a dinosaur laden with poison spines. This dinosaur struck first for Marion, and forced her into a barrier of ice immediately. While they were momentarily safe, the dinosaur turned to find softer targets and rushed toward our group investigating bodies. It revealed surprising toughness and a propensity to unleash spin attacks with the spines on its tail before attempting its vicious bites.

The roars and commotion of the first beast quickly drew a second into the fray. This second dinosaur was larger, and instead of poison, was imbued with electrical energy. It called forth a storm and unleashed directed bolts of lightning in addition to its bite and claws. This was turning into a dangerous battle, but one in which we could maintain a stable fighting position when a third creature appeared. This one was a flaming pterodon of huge size which swooped in and downed Hermes in a single blow. I was able to heal him back to a mobile state, but with a third massive beast in the fray, withdrawal seemed almost certainly necessary. Hermes was the first to effectuate a withdrawal, with all three great beasts alive and attacking, and many of us severely injured, I cannot fault the decision. Before the rest of us could organize an effective retreat, at least one of the other beasts needed to be dealt with. The poison lizard was the first to fall, finally succumbing to a burst of flame I unleashed on it from being struck by spines. Unfortunately, as I recovered from this blow, the pterodon struck me, tearing past my shield and cutting into my armor, knocking me unconscious in a single blow. Fortunately, with a plethora of healers in the group, I was resuscitated quickly and was able to disengage from immediate danger and take cover under the tree line.

At this point, I had a choice: stay within range of threats and remain close enough to offer some final limited support, or retreat to safety, leaving the others to an almost-certain demise. Flight could easily have been justified, and manipulating the camp's reaction to the loss of four adventurer members on a single mission onto a darker path where the Hells could have been invoked would have been relatively easy. It wouldn't even have been a dishonest or disingenuous effort. Infernal assistance could have provided exactly the outlet the camp would have sought in the aftermath. The whole thing could have been a master stroke, earning potentially several souls to the Hells' cause at the low cost of only four lives. I almost left; Philani ''should'' have left then, or better yet remained just near enough to ensure the demise of the others and return back with a corpse or two in tow. But... I didn't. Even now, days later as I reflect on it, the best way I can describe my reasons is that it didn't feel like the right move for Sabbatical. I don't just mean that it isn't in keeping with the pseudonymous character and identity I've adopted, but something more pervasive. It's not something I ''as'' Sabbatical wanted to just let happen unless it were actually unavoidable. I could tell that I was almost certainly out of immediate danger at that point, and although I could have pushed for the utmost advantage for the Hells, I didn't ''need'' to. I'm not on assignment to collect souls, I'm not under specific pressure to manipulate every circumstance, and I don't exactly ''want'' a bunch of these people to die. It doesn't improve my present situation, my living conditions, or advance any of the goals I've set for my time ''here.'' I am not currently bound by duty or anything else to maximize any potential gains for the Hells. Even as my soul is already bound and I know I am ready to serve the Hells and rise through the fiendish ranks for all eternity, I am still free to do as I will whenever I wish, so long as I am also willing to bear the consequences. And in that moment, I knew I was risking death, albeit a small chance at that moment, just to help protect the lives of others and move us one step closer to completing our mission's objective.

As I adjusted my tactical position, the lightning beast sent a blast of energy into the flaming beast as well, inciting its wrath and turning conditions more toward our favor. Yet it was also strangely fixated on Marion, and seemed intent on killing her. I could tell from my vantage point beneath the trees that Marion was but one blow from death, and the beast had the initiative. I could heal Marion and ensure her immediate survival at the risk of her simply being wounded and dying again, or I would wait, delaying my moment until just after the beast's attention shifted to give Marion a chance at not only surviving the moment, but escaping danger entirely.

No matter the choice, it was a gamble, so... I gambled, letting the creature act before I would heal Marion and trusting that she could then see to herself. Luck was both against and with Marion in that moment. It seemed all but certain that the beast would turn its focus away from the dying girl, but something prompted it to take one final attack toward her unconscious form. Despite her being prone and helpless on the ground, something about the angle at which the monster bit caused its jaws to close just short of Marion's throat, missing her by inches. I can honestly attribute this to nothing short of luck--the power of Marion's goddess, Beshaba. I seized the chance, immediately, releasing my healing spell and ensuring Marion had a chance to act and escape the situation. Of course, as luck would have it, the means by which she chose to escape: turning herself invisible, proved futile, and the creature swiped at her, knocking her once more unconscious as she tried to escape. Yet, the minor healing I offered proved enough. Neru was finally able to land a killing blow on the lightning beast and another minor heal allowed Marion to find cover beneath the trees before the flaming beast could turns its attention back to us. We were all able to withdraw momentarily, listening to the beast fly once more on its way now that the other two creatures were dead.

After taking that moment to gather ourselves, we returned to the clearing and scoured the bodies of the fallen animals. We recovered a significant quantity of useful scales from the lightning beast--enough for many of us to potentially craft armors from them, as well as parts from the poisonous beast. Furthermore, we recovered sufficient plant samples for Arc to make a more thorough study in the future. Knowing our severely weakened and depleted state, I insisted we take a short time to rest rather than turn immediately back toward the camp. Any passing threat could have easily eliminated us had we not done so, and all we lost from the decision was one more hour of daylight, meaning we would have to return to camp in the dark. This was hardly a serious impediment under the circumstances. As it happens, our delay had consequences back at camp, but those are in the next entry.

===Session 6: A Penguin's Problem===
Characters: [[Sabbatical (character)|Sabbatical]], [[Commando Reconnaissance Unit Lambda|Lambda]], [[Kompi]], [[Therrin Flare]], [[Paris Hilton]], [[Nestor Spitemore]], [[Hunk|Hunk the kobold]]

DM: Aaron (5/24/2023)

Important NPCs: Pennysworth, camp quartermaster, Demonic entity known as "Mother."

Narrative account:

This mission was relatively straightforward: smoke was spotted in the distance, in the direction from which the base camp Quartermaster was flying in, and a distress signal had been received. Bjorn ordered the group of us to head out on foot immediately, help them fix the airskiff and return. The trip out was mostly led by Hunk the kobold, who is remarkably well-spoken and verbose when compared to other members of the race I have encountered. We headed straight to the crash site, which was situated in a portion of the wilds covered in moss and fungi.

Pennysworth, the penguin aarakockra apparently brought several of his children along as support staff, and they had already fought off one wave of apparently Abyssal creatures in roughly humanoid shape. We had just barely gathered around the ship and begun a plan to repair it when we were attacked by dozens of creatures formed from the moss and fungi of the area speaking in abyssal. These demons showed little in the way of intelligence, but kept speaking of a "Mother" which could offer comfort and gifts. But fortunately, I was the only one who could understand the nonsense of these obvious lies, so no one else could be tempted into doing something ridiculously stupid. As we battled the creatures, some of them released toxic spores when struck by an attack while others seemed merely to be using their arms and claws to try to batter and slice.

Despite being ordered to find safety on the air skiff, several of the smaller penguins failed to do so quickly enough and we slain during the battle. As we cleared out some of the last remaining smaller demons one of them spoke with the voice of Jim Stacy, asserting revenge against me and the camp for his fate. I cannot say I feel sympathy for his state, but no one should be left in that state and all demons deserve destruction. On the opposite side of the battlefield an enormous creature with four arms appeared, and, bypassing Lambda who had been knocked down, it ran straight for Kompi. It reached out its arms and picked up the little kobold, and then tore their arm off and very nearly tore them entirely apart. Eventually we were able to destroy the creature, but in doing so it released an immense cloud of spores. These spores fell over all of us in the area, getting in eyes and throat and starting to burn. There was also a shriek from somewhere nearby calling out for its children.

In the relative clear, we all thought it best to retreat quickly rather than stay and attempt to deal with whatever additional threats this "mother" could muster to attack us. It was also clear that these spores that had spread were starting to affect several of us with burning in the eyes and throat and blurry vision. Within a few more moments we had the airship operable once more and took off to return to camp short two of the weaker penguin assistants but heavier with the weight of whatever was going on with Jim Stacy and with the demonic disease starting to fester. Tactical details are recorded in my mission report reproduced above, and details of the aftermath belong on their own entry.
===Session 7: Winds of Change===
Session Tags: Thistlebrook Conclave

Characters: Helli, 22, Reedy & Daq, Marion, Nix and Jo

DM: Julia (5/26/2023)

Important NPCs: Curian, Billiam, Galaros, Bitris, Dream

Important Things that Happened:

''Our second assignment was this evening. Billiam sent us out to find out what’s been happening to the starting herds of domestic livestock (goats, sheep, cows, etc) that we had had in a relatively safe farm area. He stated that it was clearly hunters and not other animals by evidence of the weapons and foot prints. They’d been keeping them to the northern end of camp, so we headed that way first, myself, Marion, Helli, 22, Jo, and Nix. Nix, we had met along our way to the farming grounds, who was coming, looking for their brother, Rachet. I told her the bad news, that he had died in combat with a giant alligator and she took up his fight, stating she would finish what her brother had started.''

''As we got to the farm grounds, we discovered footprints from humanoids heading east. Three sets were the most recent and we followed them, though not as quietly as I would normally like. Helli and Jo were particularly loud in their armor, and I make the mistake of correctly them, perhaps a little too loudly, and therefore we ended up alerting those we were following, which we discovered when an arrow flew out of the wood and struck a tree just shy of Jo’s head. I immediately became alarmed, butdid not attack immediately in retaliation. Marion and Helli took up negotiations quickly while I watched from behind for movement.''

''The one who shot as us was an auburn-haired male elf. He calls himself Curian. He told us that we were “on their land and need to leave” but somehow I just didn’t believe that. Even if he is older than me in years, he hardly seemed more mature. Elves T_T''

''Above him in the trees, we could see a curious creature, large like Marion but more animalistic, a fey creature called a firbolg, we learned, and she is called Bitris. She was watching from above Curian and mostly offering support.''

''He told us over and over that it was his family’s land and we could only leave, there was no discussion to be had, but that’s when the actually keeper and leader of these people arrived, an older lighter auburn-haired elf, the father of Curian, called Galaros.''

''He was far less hostile than his son and shared with us the actual reason of our folly as a camp. Their family, a conclave of druids, travels with the seasons, which here on Amusa are seven yearcycles. They spent seven years in the Winter near The Scar where it is warmer and then the other half of the cycle, the currently cycle of Summer, here in this end of Amusa. We came and took their ancestral land, where they usually camp in the clearing, and made it our expeditionary home. In this folly, though, we may have made ourselves an ally quite by accident.''

''We asked them if they know anything about the ley lines and other magical plants and animals in the area and all he could tell us is that while their ancestors have many legends, folklore, and stories, all they really know is that some places in the wilds have heavy concentrations of magic that mix with the nature around it and cause these phenomena.''

''Galaros then invited us to a feast back with the rest of his conclave and while I was most eager to return home to the camp where Sabbatical was waiting to celebrate our recent [redacted], we agreed to go with them to the feast and walked a decently worn path, though clearly not as well walked as those we have in the camp. I asked Galaros how they manage to keep their people safe and he explained that they use spells that disguise the camp and that the larger dinosaurs usually don’t bother with this area, hence why they want our spot in the clearing.''

''They stated their numbers are in the 30s to 40s, some that chose this life willingly and some that were born into it.''

''I mentioned to Galaros that I believe the two camps can live in harmony and when the son brought up that we were taking what was not ours, I lashed back with the mention of our stolen livestock. Galaros went from a gracious host to a very disappoint and hostile father, but instead of defending his son, that anger was directed at his son. Galaros promised that we would receive a formal letter of apology and herd animals to compensate for what was taken from us. He has made good on this promise. Apparently when the herd animals that Curianstole arrived, he lied to his father and told him that they were abandoned by a ruined camp.''

''When we arrived at their camp, we were greeted by several members of their tribe, which is formally known as the Thistlebrook Conclave. Dream, a pale grey tabaxi, is their story teller who I believe takes part in smoking of the dank leaves; Jada and Jazor are halfing twins, and Rezzik was a human with quite a large beard who cooks for them.''

''During the feast, Marion asked if they consider the magical plants to be sacred and Galaros told us they are not and we are able to use them as we please, but warned that after they took notice of those plants arriving the animals began to become more aggressive.''

''She also asked if they were aware of the demonic presence or fungus that affected those of our currently with Sightrot, but he stated they hadn’t heard of such a thing. That a demonic presence is unusual for this area and that The Scar produces a Hellish energy, that the barrier between the planes is thinner there.''

''They provided us a meal of stew, fresh bread, stir fry and baked potatoes that Jo made, and sweet scones for dessert. Jo made sure to purify the food while she was helping them cook.''

''After the meal, we were invited to enjoy games and feats of strength wit them.''

''Marion competed in a drinking contest first, besting the firbolgand the leader of the camp with three strong drinks.''

''Then Helli played a game of dice called Shut the Box with Bitrisand won! I was very proud of her!''

''Daq and Jo competed in a feat of strength where they were to pull several logs up through a system of rope over a branch. Jo lost during the first round with the logs, but Curian and Daqwent to four logs, though Daq was unable to lift than more than halfway, he really gave all his effort!''

''Nix went through a scavenger hunt against the twins and kept quite a bit of a lead on them, finding things with what seems like intuition almost.''

''22, who is a curious autom, very unlike Lambda who is a warforged, told a grand story about a druid called Grandmush. It was more like a lecture than a story, but because it was a story about a druid, they all ate it up and declared 22 the winner without a competitor, since Dream forfeit.''

''I personally went up against the leader’s son, Curian, in a feat of archery. Three arrows, no magic, aimed to a bullseye; child’s play for a skilled hunter like myself. I handily defeated him, and then he asked me to face him in a second volley of arrows, but without Daq present, as he believed that was giving me some sort of advantage. I dismissed Daq and again, beat him very handily. He shot another, just to see if he could get a bullseye, and without looking, I scored higher than him again. He truly was an awful shot. So awful that when I went down to get my arrows from the bullseye, his arrow flew far wide enough to dig into my back. Jo quickly resolved my wound, and Marion and Helli did everything they could to keep me from breaking all ofthe peace that we had brokered so far with the druids. I maintained my composure while Marion distracted the son and I went to speak with the father.''

''Galaros agreed that we could find peace between our two camps for the time while Tempest Brothers has us here in this part of the wilds. We will not become a joint camp, but we will partner with them to share our resources, make sure hunting parties travel in different paths, and help with the protection they are lacking from the new demonic forces that are arriving.''

''They told us of a flower called Eyebright that might help our party members with Sightrot and have offered to direct us to where that flower was most recently found so that we may retrieve some to assist those afflicted in our camp.''

''They have asked that we consider also that they may have their our members of the conclave infrequently travel with our airships back to Galik in order to visit family there. I do not know if the quartermaster or the new crew will be alright with this, but at the very least, we can request it.''

''They have offered to perform ceremonial funeral rites for those of our camp who is fallen and may fall in the future, and as a last token of peace, they offered vials of an oil with droppers that are to help dampen the nightmares of those in our party with Sightrot who are having trouble sleeping.''

''We returned to camp with hardly a scratch and with new allies on our continued expedition -'''''From the Journals of Reedy'''

 

<h4>Third-person Overview</h4>

'''Participants'''

Billiam of TBEC
Reedy, Tiefling Ranger
Nix, Dragonborn Artificer
Marion Ette, Tiefling Warlock
Jo Seraphim-Belphegor, Human Cleric
22, Autom Druid
Helli, Tiefling Cleric

'''The Mission'''

Billiam said someone was stealing TBEC cattle that had been let loose to graze while the expedition was ramping up its farming, and this group was tasked with investigating the problem. The party traveled north from camp and Nix's companion, Bolt, flew recon and spotted clearings some clearings. From there, Reedy and Nix found unexpected tracks leading east, and the group followed them, trying to move stealthily, until an elf (Curian, he) appeared and told them to stop where they were. He was accompanied by a green-haired Firbolg (Bitris, she) in a tree.

The elf wanted the group to leave their land (including breaking down the entire base camp). Nix tried to negotiate, but the elf would have none of it. Another elf, their leader and Curian's father (Galoros, he) told him to stand down and apologized for his attitude.

'''The Thistlebrook Conclave'''

Galoros explained that they were part of a larger group (of 30-odd people) and that this was their ancestral home where they spend the mild seasons. (They winter closer to the Scar for warmth). Marion asked him about the magic of the land (ley lines and such) and got a vague answer about natural magic. Galoros invited the party to a feast, and although Reedy was reluctant, the group accepted.

Reedy announced that the company's livestock were being stolen, promting Galoros to become angry with Curian who had recently "found" some livestock. She then suggested that Galoros' people might try using magic such as Zone of Truth for situations like these. Someone asked whether any of them were bards, and Galoros responded that one of their number -- Dream (they, a tabaxi) -- whom the party hadn't yet met does performs songs but is not a bard.

When the subject of plant magic arose, the party learned that Bitris was a druid. 22 spoke druidic to her, and she responded excitedly that she had never met outsiders who spoke their language. (If she found it particularly strange that a synthetic outsider spoke druidic, she gave no indication.)

It turned out that these people, the Thistlebrook Conclave, were all druids or and rangers of various races. Rezzik, a bearded human, is the cook. The exuberent Jada and her twin brother Jozor were halflings. When 22 mentioned their mentor Grandmush, Jada asked to know more about the dryad, and 22 described their origins and their broad understanding of nature.

'''Further Exchanges'''

Marion asked about bioluminescent plants known to cause wild magic. These were relatively new to the area, and the druids didn't tend to see them often. They had tried to grow them only once, near the scar, with no success. Talk of the scar brought up the subject of demons, which the party confirmed had been encountered near their present location. This concerned Galoros, who said that he had seen extra-planar creatures closer to the Scar where there is less complete separation between the planes but that he was surprised they had made it this far west.

Helli asked Dream for a story. They told the party about a great Sky Snake who was turned into the constellation of the same name when, in a fit of jealousy, she had tried to bring eternal darkness to the land.

The members of the party all participated in competitions with the hippies and generally faired well. Jo competed in log pulling, Marion in a drinking contest, 22 in storytelling, Reedy in archery, and Helli in a dice game. As the archery contest concluded, Curian's arrow struck Reedy and she almost sorted him out until others stepped in to calm her down.

Before the party left, Galoros formally apologized in writing for his son killing the livestock, and he provided game animals as compensation. The two groups we agreed to try to assist each other in the future. 22 stayed behind to do druid stuff while the rest of the party returned to base camp.

===Quelmarcon Double Session===
DMs: Julia & Aaron

Date: 06/10/2023

Helli was elated to join the others in visiting the Thistlebrook Conclave. The first time she met them, the druids were really friendly and open to communicate with them. All they had to do was to pay their respects to their two Gods; the Timeless and Nameless. She was a bit chaffed about it, but then again was it not this why she had left her family? To experience other cultures and other ways of worshipping ones Gods?

Well, their trip got them through two separate places. The Timeless got them at the end of the world and time, fighting powerful monsters so they could prove their strength of will. Nameless got them suspended in space and time to test their wits. They had to answer questions and solve puzzles not only to prove their prowess, but also to help their friends by giving them boons with every correct answer.

At first Helli found herself answering riddles. The riddles were fun and playful, but the danger that their friends were in was always at the back of their minds. Their fears were confirmed when they all had a respite from their challenges; so many of them were on the verge of dying while fighting… She really tried hard to keep doing what she wanted, but she had to go. She had to use her healing to help them stay up.

And it was to no vain. Helli's help was crucial and amongst themselves, they managed to complete the trials.

 

<h4> Aaron's table</h4>
Galoros told us of two of their deities, and we went to a temple outside the conclave with two sphynx statues representing them. Touching one brought several of us forward to near the end of time, where the sky was a chaotic swirl of colors. Here we met "The Timeless", an androshynx who said its twin, a gynoshynx known only as The Nameless had sent the others of our group backward in time to face mental challenges.

He said our experience would be a trial by combat and that we would each receive an item as a reward if we didn't die. A flying creature with a huge eyeball in its face and eyestalks on its wings appeared.

- - - - -

Lambda(Monk, Jon) shot the creature, and it blasted Lambda and NickRivers(bard,Mike) with an AOE from its face, knocking NickRivers out with a blast. Three of the the stalks shot Neru(paladin, Rich), Reedy(ranger, Mercedes), and Prahp(paladin, Gail).

Timeless said our friends failed their first test, and the creature got more more mature and dragon-like.

Everyone tried attacking it, then three stalks fired again, at Neru, Reedy, and Lambda. By this point, the Timeless had informed us our friends had passed two tests as a result, we had all gained 1 AC and been healed a bit. the healing brought Nick up, and he mocked the creature. The timeless told us the team in the past had failed a challenge, and several draconians appeared.

The Nameless appeared and said our friend Baldwin had long ago challenged her to a game of wits (boulder/shears/parchment) and lost, and the debt had come due. We all took damage, which knocked Nick and Lambda out unconscious.

Neru brought Lambda up and told the beast to come get some. One of the draconians slit its throat and blew up in Prahp's face. Another did the same to Neru, and another to Reedy, who began to become become petrified. Neru brought Lambda up and Prahp got Neru. The monster went after Neru, missing with a physical attack and knocking her out with an eyestalk blast.

The Timeless announced that our friends had passed a challenge, and we were all healed a bit, which brought Neru around. Reedy became petrified, and Nick healed Neru further with some very inspiring pelvic thrusts. Because the creature had come after Neru, she was able to attack it and slew it, rendering 22's two recent failures to earthbind the creature irrelevant.

- - - - -

We returned to the present where the sphynxes agreed we could rest (instantaneously, by magic) before proceeding because the next Future challenge would be more difficult. We returned to the future with Heli(paladin, Margarita) instead of Nick.

- - - - -

A 6-headed hydrosphynx and three draconians appeared. The HS attacked Neru, 22, and Prahp with 2 heads each. The draconians all died by Reedy's hand or their own. It kept spawning more heads, but lost heads occasionally as it took damage. It kept spraying acid blood on half the party whenever it took acid damage. People kept getting knocked down for various reasons and getting healed.

The consequences of challenges from the past continued to propagate to us in the future, altering events for better or worse. Further outcomes we experienced included:
*Fail: hydra gets +1 head
* Pass: hydra becomes cloudy-eyed (losing attack power)
* Pass: +1d4 fire per attack
*Pass: +1 AC
*Pass: heal +2d6
*Fail: hydra gets +1 AC
*Pass: hydra becomes cloudy-eyed (losing attack power)
*Pass: +1 AC
* Fail: hydra heals
*Pass: hydra loses 1 head
*Pass/Fail: +12hp but +1 head (back to 7) (pass was due to amusement)

And we suffered the effects of another past contest with the Nameless, a best-2-of-3 game of boulder/shears/parchment, the echo of which reached us in the distant future. The result was the appearance of 3 draconians.

The draconians fell easily, but the hydra came close to wiping out the party. Only Neru, Lambda and Reedy were conscious when Neru finally killed it.

The gods brought us back to the present and offered our rewards.

===Session 19: Road Rage===
DM: Keller

PCs:
*[[Radion The Forged]] (Amal): warforged barbarian
*[[Thordon Akieye]] (Gingie): dwarf barbarian
*[[22]] (Cat): autom druid
* [[Dragonett]] (Rich): elf rogue/ranger
*[[Lowkey]] (appearing as Dug; Syameal): changeling sorcerer
[[Within the Wicked Wilds/NPCs|NPCs]]:
*Lorrie Haslo, an adventurer and a company leader
* Lucinda Grimfold
* Skippy
* Ripjaw, a gnoll cyborg
* The Collector
*The Music Man, a noble wearing a masquerade mask and carrying a lute
*Colonel Cordyceps, a large bipedal fungus creature

'''An Urgent Mission'''

Lorrie Haslo appeared in camp, appearing distraught and injured, accompanied by a large half-orc warrior called Frank. She hurried to speak to Lucinda Grimfold, who seemed displeased to hear what she had to say. Lucinda approached a group of adventurers to say she had a mission for them. "Some of you know what happened at the gnoll forge recently," she said, snapping her fingers, and ushered the group toward the skiff launch area. "Lorrie can explain more."

Skippy prepped the Crater-Maker 2 for launch, and Lorrie seemed traumatized over the explanation of a shipment to Galik for the Collector having just been attacked by gnolls, presumably in response to the TBEC's recent destruction of a large underground forge where a group of gnolls known as the Gearheads were building massive weapons.

Lorrie said the party was instructed to recover some important cargo that the gnolls took during the devastating attack -- but was not permitted to know the precise nature of that cargo was "for your own safety and its safety." Upon being pressed on whether the cargo was heavy or otherwise required special handling, she confirmed that "it is alive and can move on its own."

Time was short because if the gnolls were to reach their base with the cargo, it might be nigh impossible to retrieve, and moreover this concern might be irrelevant since the Galik government had caught wind of the attack and were preparing to use their standard method, "leave nothing behind," against the gnolls -- if they reached the gnoll convoy first, their assault would likely destroy the cargo. Lucinda flew off on her griffon without explanation, and the party (including Lorrie but not Frank, who was in no condition to fight any more that day) boarded the skiff.

'''Target Acquired'''

Skippy took the small air vehicle east toward the Scar until they could see a large trail of sorts: a burnt line twisting and turning through the jungle. Dipping below the tree line, they picked up the sound of grinding gears and crunching wood. As the noise grew louder, they caught sight of a convoy of gnoll war machines. These were colossal contraptions with gnashing blades along their edges, designed for raiding by the Gearhead gnolls, using technology stolen from Galik.

Four great machines were accompanied by three smaller ones, and Lorrie directed the group to the large lead vehicle. The larger vehicles evinced a variety of weaponry, with two large turrets on the first, a sort of wrecking ball weapon on the next, an apparent flame hurler on the third, and another turret on the trailing machine.

Lorrie directed Skippy to the lead vehicle, saying that was where they would find the important cargo, but he insisted he couldn't fly near it unless the turrets were somehow rendered inoperative, so the best he could do was drop the party on the trailing ship so they could battle their way to the front. (If anyone had thought to point out that the skiff could simply fly around the entire convoy and approach from the front, it would likely have made no difference as this approach was way more dramatic). So after one round of incoming fire, and some hasty battle preparations including Dug (Lowkey) rendering themself and dragonette invisible, the party members leapt from the sky onto the deck of the enemy war machine.

'''Melee at 60mph'''

Like most of the large machines, this trailing vehicle had a driver, a gunner, and about four other crew. In this case, there were two typical gnolls, an oversized gnoll, and two that appeared to be skeletal and held together by some sort of fungal growth. The first casualty was a fungus gnoll (or "witherling"), which Radion slew in one swing, cleaving through it into a second gnoll; the witherling exploded into a poison cloud as it fell. Thordon took a chunk out of the oversized gnoll (or "packlord"), and the invisible Dragonett eliminated the turret gunner with her first arrow.

22 shifted into the form of a dire wolf, and both they and Lorrie joined Thordon's assault on the packlord, which repeatedly commanded a witherling to attack Thordon each time it was struck. Radion wounded another gnoll and then decapitated it, the head rolling quickly toward the edge of the deck before tumbling out of view. Thordon swung twice more on the packlord before it went down with his axe between its neck and shoulder; then he took out another witherling, spraying some poison fungus onto himself and 22.

Dragonnett moved up to the now-uncrewed turret and, realizing she was familiar with its operation, climbed into the operator's seat to the gun on its owners. Lowkey cast a twinned Crown of Madness spell on two gnolls, including the driver of the nearby flamethrower vehicle, commanding the driver to abandon the controls and causing the machine to crash and burn spectacularly. One down and three to go.

'''Enter Ripjaw and the Galik Military'''

A bizarre looking gnoll called Ripjaw -- with many body parts apparently having been replaced by scavenged warforged bits -- moving on wheels instead of feet, somehow jumped from a small neighboring vehicle onto the trailing war machine. It launched three grenades, damaging Lowkey badly. Dragonnett responded by blasting it with the turret gun.

Lowkey's next Crown of Madness targeted the cyborg Ripjaw -- who Lowkey forced to succumb using Silvery Barbs -- and a giant gorilla/hyena hybrid (a "warmonger") on the deck of the next large war machine. At Lowkey's command, the warmonger attacked an allied gnoll, biting its head off its neck.

Lorrie, seething because these foes have just killed her friends, scored successive critical hits against one of them with her pickaxe. Radion blasted Ripjaw with flame, and Thordon leapt to the small vehicle in order to progress toward the next large vehicle, where the warmonger and the wrecking ball awaited.

Ripjaw had produced a harpoon and was prepared to impale one of the party and drag them along the ground while the convoy continued at some 60 miles per hour, but Lowkey commanded him to fire at a gnoll instead. The shot went wide, and he shook off Lowkey's control. By now, Thordon and Radion were both riding on the small vehicle between the two larger ones, but the warmonger leapt past them, then turned and made three successive attacks on Thordon.

As the two sides continued to trade blows, the party could see a team of Galik beetlers approaching from behind. They began firing indiscriminately, the first barrage hitting the rear ship where most of the party stood, damaging everyone and forcing 22 out of wolf form.

Dragonnette abandoned the turret to run to the front of the vehicle and put an arrow in the back of the warmonger's head, spraying blood onto Thordon and Radion and dropping the warmonger off the rear of the small vehicle to be run over by the larger one. Thump-thump.

'''Wild Magic with a Terrible Price'''

22 returned to wolf shape, bounding into the space from where the warmonger had fallen and from there onto the next large war machine. Lowkey had blinded the operator of the wrecking ball with a Minor Illusion of tendrils of darkness surrounding their head, but they sensed 22's approach and swung the ball, and despite their disadvantage, it seemed the only way to spare 22 from the devastating attack was another Silvery Barbs.

Lowkey's spellcasting had been causing Wild Magic fluctuations all along, but this time the random effect was a Fireball with Lowkey at ground zero of the powerful explosion. Several others sustained damage, but Lowkey took the lethal brunt -- massive damage that both forced them to revert from their grung shape to their true form and spread the androgynous changeling's charred remains about the deck of the war machine and beyond.

'''One Casualty is Enough'''

Only one gnoll remained alive on the wrecking-ball vehicle, fortunately the driver, who was able to continue to steer the war machine on a relatively safe path. But the operator of the smaller vehicle -- where Thordon lay unconscious and Dragonnett stood singed and wide-eyed -- was not so lucky, and the transport began to wobble on its wheels. Dragonett quickly seized Thordon's inanimate form and leapt forward to the safety of the wrecking-ball vehicle, while Lorrie was forced to retreat to the trailing ship and from there back to the skiff (which Skippy was still holding just out of range of the lead war machine's deadly turrets). Thordon had only moments to live when Dragonnett poured a flask of Nettle's Hardy Heart soup into him, bringing him back to consciousness.

'''The Final Vehicle'''

22 leapt to the leading war machine and bit deeply into one of the several gnolls there, and the turret gunners both responded by blasting 22, causing enough damage to force them to return to autom form once again. The beetlers then blasted the lead ship, damaging everyone aboard it and killing the two remaining witherlings.

Suddenly, a man dashed out of the hold of the lead vehicle, dressed in Galik fineries, carrying a lute, and wearing a masquerade mask and a cocky grin. He was followed by a strange, large, bipedal fungus creature, and the two of them escaped the scene by leaping onto the remaining one of the three smaller vehicles that had been accompanying the four large war machines.

As the non-combatants sped away, Thordon tried to jump onto the lead machine but fell short and wound up clinging to the edge. Now only Dragonett (and the driver) remained on the wrecking-ball vehicle, and her attempt to join her comrades on the lead vehicle met even less success than Thordon's -- she had begun to fall into the space between the two war machines when Radion's hand shot out and seized her by the arm to drag her aboard.

'''Primary Objective'''

The turrets fired again, one of them hitting Radion, who then bolted into the cargo hold to kill the remaining guard with two blows and find a prisoner seated with a bag covering their head. Removing the bag, he discovered the Collector in his familiar owl mask. Now unguarded by gnolls, the collector stepped over to a container from which he retrieved something Radion could not get a clear view of and deposited it into a satchel. Radion curtly warned him to GTFO if he wanted to live, and he responded "I know."

They emerged from the hold just as Thordon slew the remaining gnoll warrior and the next barrage from the beetlers destroyed the other remaining war machine in a blaze. Dragonnett and 22 dispatched the turret gunners and Skippy was finally free to bring the skiff alongside the larger vehicle so the party and the Collector could escape the continued assault from Galik's military forces.

'''Conclusion'''

The Collector seemed unbothered by the entire ordeal, as if he had borne no doubt of the outcome. He shared with the party that the two people of note who had escaped were known as Colonel and The Music Man. When Radion asked what the Collector had retrieved from the hold before exiting, he responded cheerfully that he couldn't part with his cherished tomes, and there followed an awkward moment of silence as if no one in earshot gave credence to the statement.

The Collector offered the party 750 gold pieces and 7 scrolls to share amongst themselves, which they divided more or less evenly. Lorrie was beginning to slump now that the mission was resolved, Radion offered his share to her to as recompense for his part in provoking the attack on her friends by destroying the gnolls' forge. She refused, insisting that this was not Radion's fault, and concluded, "Please tell Lambda I'm sorry."

===Session 22: Slow and Steady===

'''DM:''' Keller

'''PCs:'''
*[[Wiggler]] (Geoffrey): warforged druid
*[[Thordon Akieye]] (Chris): dwarf barbarian
*[[22]] (Cat): autom druid
*[[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]] (Jake): eladrin bard/paladin
*[[Helli Moltenshield]] (Nikki): genasi artificer
*[[Timothar]] (Alex): human wizard
'''[[Within the Wicked Wilds/NPCs|NPCs]]:'''
*Cookie (otter, TBEC staff)
*Sticky (stickbug)
*Moog (gastrosapien)
*The Hydrail (gargantuan mutated snail, the progenitor of the gastrosapiens)
*Talyth (kenku, Wiggler's creator)
*Ubu (kopybold, an Alkinimic worshipper, RIP)
*Dynia (pumpkin boy, a Xevriss worshiper)
 

'''New Magic and New Acquaintances''' 
Cookie sent the PCs to explore a recently discovered exposed ley line in the hope that it could benefit the company. Skippy flew them north, gave them a sending stone, and dropped them off in a jungle clearing a couple of miles from their destination (to keep the skiff safe). This location was calculated based on other magical locations in the area and a casting of detect magic confirmed it high levels of ambient magic.

While the group traveled overland toward the source of the unusual energy, Wiggler cast Speak with Animals and made friends with a mellow stick bug, naming it Sticky. Perhaps due to the strange natural energies of the area, the spell allowed Sticky to speak with any member of the group, and this effect would not wear off after the usual period had expired. Sticky would end up accompanying the party back to camp and continue to entertain people with his mellow stickbugfulness.

After an hour or two, the group came upon a three-foot-tall talking snail (gastrosapien) named Moog, who walked with a crutch. Sir Yewvane declared his role as protector of the weave, and Moog responded casually that they'd already got one. A creature called the Hydrail was the progenitor of the gastrosapiens and their guardian of the weave. Sir Yewvane and Wiggler asked to meet this Hydrail, and Moog escorted the group to the small gastrosapien city of Escargodia. A bright source of light glowed like the sun in the center of the bowl-shaped town, and bioluminescent blue mushrooms also provided ambient light. When asked, Moog indicated that the travelers were welcome to these fungi as they were quite plentiful, and the group harvested 20 mushrooms that shone brightly out to ten feet and dimly for 10 feet beyond, but only in dark areas.

'''Big Surprises''' 
The hydrail turned out to be a gargantuan, five-headed snail eating the sap coming out of a huge root that was apparently the source of the ley line energy. While the group waited for an advisor to appear who could speak for the hydrail, a few other gastrosapiens began to assemble. Timmy walked up to touch the vine/root and identify it, but backed away when the hydrail turned its heads toward him and began glowing a deep purple.

Wiggler was taken aback to see who the advisor was: a kenku called Talyth, who had been the person to awaken Wiggler when he was but a lowly worm. He seemed not to want to discuss their parting and reunion but instead asked the group what brought them to Escargodia. After introductions, Talyth explained that gnolls had been causing problems for the small city, that the Escargodians were in search of someone to serve as guardians of the ley line, that this would be the day when guardians were chosen, and that the party could compete against the two other contenders for the position if they wished.

'''Meeting the Competition''' 
While Wiggler stayed and talked to Talyth, the others split up to look into who their competitors were. Sir Yewvane, Heli, and 22 approached a giant pumpkin with doors and windows where they encountered a person with a pumpkin for a head. Sir Yewvane promptly cast Zone of Truth and began inquiring about the pumpkin person's motivations. He said his name was Dynia, but he objected to Sir Yewvane's curt manner. The others spoke to him and learned that he was a member of the Gourdheart Disciples, worshippers of the Pumpkin Dragon, Xevriss. (Although Xevriss had left Amusa for Osugbo, during the Holy Wars, he had previously been known as the Orange Scourge of Amusa and the Devourer of Gourds, and he had eventually consumed so many savory Amusan fruits that he grow too fat to fly.) Dynia indicated that he had a pumpkin pet and ate pumpkins as his staple food. He offered pumpkin pie that was delicious enough to inspire Heli to ask if he would want to return to base camp with the group and take a position as cook, but Dynia refused due to his religious duties.

Meanwhile, Thordon and Timmy walked to the location of the other competitors, who were apparently a group of kobolds in a nearby tent encampment, and met their leader, Ubu. Thordon quickly discovered that he was not actually a kobold but a creature that emitted adhesive purple ooze that smelled like a combination of rotting corpse and glue. Timmy magically identified this substance, learned that Ubu was a mimic, and tried to whisper this information to Thordon, but Ubu overheard and immediately ran away. During the interaction, Ubu had revealed that his purpose at Escargodia was to serve his master under the mountain, a reference to Old Alkinimic.

At the same time, Talyth was answering Wiggler's pressing question: how Talyth come to be here. He explained that he had been able to sense the magic of the exposed ley line -- which was a symptom of something moving out in the wilds, pushing on the weave. Arriving at the local source of magical energy, he saw that the root had created the hydrail, which had in turn created the gastrosapiens, and he watched as the hydrail grew from large and two-headed to gargantuan and five-headed. Wiggler hugged Talyth, trying not to break down, and Talyth said that he was sorry and he was proud of wiggler. During the conversation, Wiggler also mentioned the Green Knight, which led Talyth to claim that the Green Knight was a guardian of the wilds and to admit that he couldn't explain why he would be working with the trouble-causing gnolls.

When the party reassembled and briefed each other, Yewvane strongly and repeatedly opined that the group should preemptively kill Ubu and the kobolds on the grounds that Alkinimic, whom Ubu named as his master, was evil. The party decided not to presume that the other kobolds were Alkinimic-worshipping mimics, as well as not to offend their hosts and risk being eliminated from the competition for guardianship of the magical area, and the competition began without violence.

'''"A Test of Character"''' 
Talyth explained that the competition was a test of character that would take the form of a race along a path to the hydrail, where the winners would be whoever successfully retrieved an amulet from around the hydrail's central neck. He also pointed out that, if the contestants had not noticed already, spells cast this close to the exposed ley line were more effective than normal (as if they were cast using a spell slot one level higher than the level of the actual slot used).

The race began with a trek through a large patch of animated vines. 22 morphed into an allosaurus to carry some of the slower members of the party, and Heli used fire magic to damage some of the writhing vines (to the chagrin of 22 who briefly ranted telekinetically about "unnecessary destruction"). Some of the group soon noticed that while the vines grappled many of their number, Dynia faced no such aggression the vines seeming to part for him as he passed. Recalling that this was to be a test of character, the group decided to try to convince the vines that they were not enemies and that they should be allowed to pass in peace. After several attempts at persuasion, some of which were boosted by friendly magics, everyone won the vines' favor and walked freely through the area.

Further along the path, the group encountered a bridge over a wide ravine with a seemingly non-threatening bridge keeper who posed three questions to each competitor before allowing them to cross. Those who answered incorrectly were magically hurled into the ravine but had an easy time climbing back up to the top as long as they did so on the same side of the ravine from which they had been cast in. Several of the questions had to do with people whom the group had encountered so far on their mission, and eventually everyone was able to pass without suffering the damage that accompanied a fall into the ravine.

Next came a game where a fey spirit, who had been observing the party during their trip, possessed one of the members of the group and tried to impersonate them. Each party member was permitted to ask a single yes-or-no question to another party member in an attempt to fool the spirit into giving away its ignorance about the individual's past. The group was then to guess which person was possessed, and any who guessed wrong would suffer a degree of exhaustion. The group succeeded in guessing that the spirit had possessed Sir Yewvane, and no ill effects resulted.

Finally the time came to face the hydrail, which fought non-lethally to retain the amulet hanging on a chain around its central neck. Already in allosaurus form, 22 made a lucky grab, crunching the chain between their teeth and claiming the prize. However, displeased with this result, Ubu used magic to merge with the hydrail and lash out against the party with its enormous body. The other kobolds proved to be mimic creatures as well, and they attacked simultaneously. Dealing sufficient damage to the hydrail sufficiently quickly repeatedly forced Ubu to separate from it, but he was able to merge with it again and resume his assault. Eventually during one of his brief separations from the creature, Thordon succeeded in killing him outright, and the hydrail was free of his influence. Before dying, Ubu announced ominously that Alkinimic would rise.

'''Trust, Gold, and Slurm''' 
Through Talyth, the hydrail informed the group that they had won the competition, and that as well as being awarded guardianship of the magical area, they would also be given 900 gold pieces (some of which were minted in Escargodia) as well as three vials of hydromucus (a.k.a. slurm), which could make a non-magical weapon magical for a minute. Before the party headed back to base camp, Talyth reiterated, for the whole group to hear, that something bad was growing in the wilds.

===Session 28: Work for the Warden===

'''DM: Dave'''

'''PCs:'''
*[[Therrin Flare]] (Dave): aasimar warlock
*[[Sallen "Hummer" Mason]] (Colin): half-elf rogue
*[[Danke Schön]] (Symeal): dhampir bard
*[[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]] (Anna): aarokocra bard/warlock
*[[p'Rahp]] (Gail): grung paladin
*[[Neru]] (Rich): gnome paladin

'''NPCs:'''
*[[Adrian Tempest]]
*[[The Warden of the Wilds]]
*"The Slime Dragon"

'''To the Swamp'''

Adrian Tempest (30ish, almost 6') explained that a group of druids and other nature-focused people with whom the company has been in communication had asked for help investigating slimes/oozes exacerbated by gnolls in exchange for help fortifying camp. Salvage rights for any valuables found would go to company members.
Finny advised that, in his experience, oozes and slimes don't like fire. He came prepared with a med kit, and Danke had an herbalism kit.

Adrian explained how to get to the Warden's land. Finny used his map and his cartography skills to determine exactly where the party was going, near a great open swamp where a previous party encountered the Warden. They reached a small, swampy area and approached a huge swamp troll or treant or something that turned out to be more like a scarecrow built at the far edge of the water, where a cut path could also be seen.

'''The Warden'''

P'hrap and hummer determined that the right fork of the path was the better choice. A creature appeared in silouette, their cloak waving. This was the Warden, who responded with a wave when greeted in that fashion. Therrin's psuedodragon companion (Pex) scouted ahead, finding thatbthis whole area of the swamp was well shaded. The Warden was well concealed, greeted the party verbally when they got within speaking range, confirmed that the group was sent by the Tempest Brothers, and then suggested a direction (west) for them to head in to begin their investigation. The Warden indicated an aversion to oozes and slimes, but has a patron who allows them to remain in the wilds so long as they do not upset the balance of nature, as they thrmselves are not necessarily evil or unnatural.

The party understood that gnolls had disturbed the area, and shared a concern of possible fungal infection. Finny confirmed that none of the nearby gnolls had mechanical modifications and indicated that some of the nearby gnolls are known to have fiendish backing. Therrin suggested that stopping the gnolls would be the best way to stop the oozes. Finny showed the Warden his map and asked for additional input, thus learning that the map just barely covers one edge of of the Warden's domain. To the west outside of that domain there is a swamp village where there has been gnoll activity. The Warden's plan was to remain behind and offer support if the adventurers came back this way.

'''Overland'''

Therrin's psuedodragon companion continued to scout, and Finny scouted by air as well. The party used their survival skills to make their way through the swamp, some better than others. They could see the terrain to the west transitioned swiftly to mostly dry land with plateaus (rising up to 30 or 40 feet in height) under the approximately 100-foot jungle canopy. p'Rahp searched for poisons or other traces of oozes, and found that no creatures appeared to be nearby. Although there were signs of much natural activity in the area, there were no signs of slimes or oozes, or of gnolls for that matter. Finny spotted wisps of campfires about a mile in the distance, and the party decided to head in that direction. Pex, having a 1-mile telepathic connection with Therrin, scouted far ahead, waiting for the slower-flying Finny along the way.

Some 500 yards from the opening in the canopy, Finny and Pex heard gnolls speaking in raised voices, and Therrin relayed this information to the rest of the group, including the occurrence of a great, growling roar. Finny saw a plateau with the vine-covered, ruined stone walls of a very old keep -- a large two-story building with parapets and a double-gate entry area, all surrounded by a plateau-wide wall.

'''The Siege'''

The gnolls were laying seige to the keep, which was defended by oozes including a great multi-colored (mostly green) ooze with a draconic-shaped skeleton at its center (dubbed the "slime dragon"). Finny noticed that the gnolls were being extremely tactical, utilizing spears at range and and avoiding attacking with metal melee weapons. The black oozes lobbed flaming projectiles, and Finny noted that none of the other oozes seemed afraid of the fire. He relayed this to whoever was listening via his sending stone. The gnolls were fungal and included gnoll witherlings (fungal-infected undead) that also followed the tactical commands of the leading gnolls. Some gnolls were trying to scale the back side of the plateau, but oozes came out of the side of the mountain to block their path and defend the keep. Finny and Pex circled back to update everyone, and someone pointed out 1) that the gnolls are likely in league with mother (implying that party members who interacted with them might become ill) and 2) that the organized behavior of the slimes and the existence of the big dragon slime was unusual.

The party decided to telepathically talk with the slime dragon via Pex to see if they could team up against the gnolls. Danke magically buffed Pex's conversation skills for this purpose. Pex was a bit overwhelmed by the number of voices that made up the slime dragon but relayed the message and received a response from a distinctly different voice within the many. This voice, which seemed to be in change, politely declined the offer that Pex made on behalf of the group.

They decided to sneak up and into the keep while the battle raged. Some of them intended to go in and investigate the interior while others held off any gnolls who might try to go in after them. The party reached the edge of the keep without being noticed by the combatants. They set up some magical buffs and surprised the gnomes who were already engaged.

'''Lending a Hand'''

Finny carried Neru up and dropped them into melee in a superhero landing, and danke enlarged them to medium, whereupon they smote a gnoll, making it explode into spores, whose effect they shrugged off. Therrin creted an image of more oozes. p'Rahp missed with an attack while Sallen tried to sneak onto the opposite side of the plateau from the rest of the party. Finny headed for the keep and spotted a stairway leading down to the ground floor. p'Rahp took a turn smiting a gnoll to death, and Neru dispatched another one. Danke put three gnolls to sleep. In the meantime, the gnolls took out some slimes but fared poorly against the slime dragon.

Finny cast shatter with a loud crack of thunder, taking out all three of the sleeping gnolls. A nearby slime with the visage of a humanoid (including a visible skeleton) addressed Therrin, asking for the party to withdraw and specifying that he had already informed Pax that their help was neither needed nor desired. Sallen had found an obstructed drain hole leading into the keep. The humanoid slime (a.k.a. "slime boy") seemed to be slightly annoyed to learn that the Warden was behind this minor intrusion into his space and asked what it would cost to get the party to leave. Therrin said they wanted to know what the gnolls are up to, and the slime creature responded that they were (foolishly) working to collect resources that would help Mother to manifest on the mortal plane.

'''Rewards'''

Neru kept fighting for a few seconds until slime boy offered them a pouch produced from within his form. Finny helped Sallen access the drain (successfully opening a way into the keep), and slime boy thanked him for his efforts, gave him a second bag of coin/gems, and told him his friends were leaving and it was time to join them.

The warden was pleased, as the party had indeed aquired information about the gnolls' purpose in the area, and rewarded the party with a magical stick that could be used to fortify the defences of the TBEC base camp.

===Session 29: We're Going in Circles!===
'''DM:''' Keller

'''PCs:'''
* [[Billium Teddly]] (Nathan)
* [[22]] (Cat)
* [[Sir Yewvane Eedryll]] (Jake)
* [[Dragonett]] (Drew)
* [[Twilsby Pendergras]] (Nick)

'''NPCs:'''
* Abjurer [[Cookie]], the Otter
* [[Lorrie Haslo]] (with a tip from the Collector)
* Oliver "Olly" Vincent Bartholomew, with followers James Hill and Maverick Ried
* Skippy, air skiff pilot

'''Kobolds and the Collector'''

Recently, while the Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company was distracted by the kidnapping of some of its members, including Lambda, Ripjaw and other gnolls had razed the village of Thinwhistle and slaughtered its friendly "big kobold" residents (leaving only Hunk, who was staying at the company's base camp as a liaison). The Collector had since given Lorrie Haslo a lead on finding another village of similar kobolds, and she had arrived at TBEC base camp to ask the company to pursue the lead, which involved an adventurer (Bartholomew) who could guide a group to the village. Cookie asked the party to assemble in his tent, where Lorrie waited appeared tired and bedraggled from her ongoing work for the Collector, and it seemed after some discussion that her sponsor had been stringing her along with continued promises of full payment after "one more job".

'''The Explorer'''

Bartholomew and his followers were summoned by a strange ritual in which they coalesced out of mysterious mists that appeared on the outskirts of the camp. Some of the assembled party had recalled his name as that of a human adventurer born hundreds of years ago, and in reality he appeared as a flamboyant, middle-aged human adventurer reminiscent of a stereotypical safari explorer. James Hill and Maverick Ried were somewhat younger, seemed weary from following Bartholomew for a very long time, and didn't know what year it was (believing it was decades earlier). Bartholomew, in the name of adventure, wanted to hike through the jungle for two weeks to reach the kobold village he described. This plan seemed absurd to the assembled party, who informed Bartholemew and his team about the existence of airships that could transport the group the same distance in a fraction of the time. He resisted the idea at first, but was impressed with a quick demonstration but Skippy, who helpfully agreed dropped what he was doing that day to pilot a skiff (which would be crowded but manageable) to take the group where they were going.

'''Mysterious Mists'''

Skippy spent only an hour getting ready for the spontaneous voyage and the party set out in the skiff. When night fell, they stopped to camp, and it became clear that the mysterious mists from base camp had stayed with them as Dragonett saw a structure coalescing out of them nearby. Yewvane went with her to investigate, and they discovered it was the house of her childhood, where the events were unfolding from her memory, those of the greatest loss of her life, the night her parents were killed. Dragonett and Yewvane saw a young girl fall from a second story window and run away, soon after which a large group of hostile adults exited the house. In the memory, Dragonett, father had forced her out of the window with his dying breath and told her to run. The intruders had then killed both of her parents before appearing outside in front of the adult Dragonett and Yewvane. There, they blended together into a huge lupine form, with which the two engaged in combat. It struck Yewvane and inflicted considerable psychological damage along with the physical blow. When the creature was injured sufficiently, it faded back into the mists, and Dragonett and Yewvane returned to where the rest of the party camped, badly shaken. Similar manifestations hounded the other party members over the continued course of their journey to Drakemire Hollow.

'''Overcoming Obstacles'''

Before reaching their destination, the party was required to land and pass through a large, locked door. Opening it required solving a logic puzzle involving the positions, material make-up and coverings of various levers in front of the door. Bartholemew claimed this was necessary in order to proceed to their destination, and Yewvane confirmed that this might be the case as there are such things as fey portals that prevent progress toward a physical location until the traveler passes through them. At one point during the journey it was clear that the instructions Bartholomew was giving to Skippy were steering the skiff in large circles, for no reason ever discovered. And the party was forced to land again, just before arriving at Drakemire Hollow, when they spotted a half dozen wyverns along between them and their destination. They hid beneath the jungle canopy and bypassed the deadly threat to reach the village, which had apparently been destroyed in the past by the eruption of the nearby volcano, and was now partly buried in pumice and ash.

'''Discoveries'''

The airship that would come to retrieve the group would not arrive for a couple of days, which gave them plenty of time to explore the ruins and find an entrance to a seemingly magical underground area that the TBEC would no doubt want to investigate further. During their first hours in Drakemire Hollow, however, Yewvane cast a Zone of Truth to get answers from Bartholomew. It came out that he had been cursed not to die but to be pursued endlessly by the wolf creature, an embodiment of death and entropy. Those who accompanied him might live indefinitely as well, but at the cost of losing some degree of their peace and sanity from the endless hunt, or they might eventually be consumed by the beast.

 
===Session 35: Harvest Hoedown===
DM: Keller

PCs:
* [[Juno]]
* [[Therrin Flare]]
* [[Cealion]]
* [[Tommy]]
* [[22]]
* [[Nassir Tycho]]

NPCs:
* [[Adrian Tempest]]
* [[The Warden of the Wilds]]
* [[Dynia]] (and his pumpkin dog Patches)
* [[Chadwick]]
* [[The Pumpkin King]]
* [[Sam the Door]]
 

'''A Concern in Common'''

It had been three days since all the stored food at the TBEC base camp had suddenly vanished, replaced by a single, glowing jack-o-lantern. Word had quickly reached the company that similar disappearances had blighted much of western Amusa. The name Dynia had been linked to the phenomenon, which had grown to an incipient famine; Dynia was the pumpkin-headed member of the Gourd Disciples, a radical group devoted to Xevriss, the great orange dragon once known as the Scourge of Amusa and the Devourer of Gourds. But how anyone could have effected such a far-reaching crime was a mystery. So when several soldiers appeared at the TBEC base camp, representing the cities of both Nestle and Galik (the latter group dressed in the uniforms of Galik's Lyre Guard), no one was surprised to learn that their concern was the missing food and the growing panic among their respective populations.

Also present was Chadwick, a member of the Gourd Guard, a nominal private military force based in and around Nestle, who were now something of a cross between a militia and a group of war reenactors, ever since their historical role of working to appease the gluttonous Xevriss had become unnecessary once Xevriss had departed Amusa for Osugbo generations earlier. (The Gourdheart Disciples were a religious splinter group that had grown out of this rudderless semi-military organization.)

'''Adrian Tempest and the Warden'''

Several company members accompanied the soldiers to meet with Adrian Tempest in his tent, where at least one soldier spoke openly of how impressed he was by Adrian's mustache. The from room of the tent served as a sort of war room, with a table-sized map holding miniatures representing various people of influence in the area. The positions of figures representing Ripjaw, the Warden and others could be only as accurate as the company's most recent intelligence allowed, and seemingly no attempt was made to hide this information from the visiting soldiers. Adrian listened to the soldiers' concerns and their suggestion that contacting the Warden might be the best next step in learning the whereabouts of Dynia (whose miniature lingered at the ley-line intersection known as Escargodia, although the pumpkin man had not actually been seen there for several weeks.) The Galik soldier who appeared to be the de facto leader of the joint group clarified that they had come to the Tempest Brothers because they understood that Adrian had a means of contacting the Warden, which he agreed to do using a magic necklace that the Warden had crafted for the purpose.

The group emerged from the tent and moved to the edge of the camp, where Adrian summoned the warden with a whispered phrase. A mist rose and then a wind. The trees seemed to part for the Warden, who emerged from them floating inches above the ground, followed by several grung children. When presented with the situation, the Warden agreed to help by ushering the adventurers to the Court of Hallow's Eve in the Feywild, where the Pumpkin King would in turn be able to assist in finding Dynia. The warden cast a blessing to protect the group from certain dangers of the Feywild, which led them each to feel as if a weight had been lifted. The Warden then created an invisible portal and escorted the party through it to the Pumpkin King's court, where they found themselves suddenly enveloped in a starry night, outside the gates of a large compound where they could see what appeared to be several huge pumpkins with doors and windows, illuminated by jack-o-lanterns. The Warden ensured the group that the Pumpkin King would agree to return them to Amusa when the time came, giving the impression that the Pumpkin King was somehow subservient or beholden to them.

'''Dining with the Pumpkin King'''

The party approached the gates, which were attended by two autumn eladrin with red hair who spoke in unsettling unison. The group requested an audience with the pumpkin king, and the two eladrin disclosed that he was expecting them and bid them enter. Visible in the area beyond the gates were pink candy goblins, orange pixies with sharp teeth and black eyes, and a few old hags, as well as several wolf-like creatures prowling in the shadows. The group passed through a pumpkin 'colloseum' building leading into the royal court of the pumpkin king, which was largely populated by individuals with pink cotton candy flesh and caramel hair.

The Pumpkin King, who said that he was also known as Jack Skellington but that no one really called him that, had a tall body of vines from which protruded with two clawed hands at the sides and three jack-o-lantern heads at the top. Juno and Tommy offered him gifts of pumpkins, which he accepted gladly with a casual gesture that caused the gourds to float to him on a cinnamon-smelling breeze. Candy goblin servants then brought in plates of food for the group to feast on, including warm sparkling cider and pastries that look like giant acorns. Cealion requested and received hard cider, and everyone but Nassir accepted the food, which gave magical boons to those who ate it. 22 became invisible, Cealion and Tommy gained the ability to detect thoughts, and Juno and Therrin became quickened, able to move and act with unnatural haste. During this first course, to the group's surprise, a purple-clad Dynia appeared from an adjacent room, and they learned that he was the head chef of the Court of Hallow's Eve.

Tommy spoke to the Pumpkin King, admitting that some of the members of the Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company believed that Dynia might somehow be responsible for the disappearance of food in Western Amusa. Dynia, overhearing, denied the accusation, but the Pumpkin King replied that the party would be allowed to carry out an investigation into the matter between the courses of the feast, and he went on to warn the group that they should stick together due to local dangers, regarding which he declined to go into detail. Dynia said he had cooking to do and set off toward the kitchen. Therrin indicated his intention to follow, and Nassir, being the stealthiest of the group, decided to take the lead.

'''The Maze'''

The party approached a corn maze and followed Dynia through a passage that went past two scarecrows, who introduced themselves as the Scare Pair, Peeka and Boo. One said the party would be required to determine which one of them tells the truth in order to be allowed passage. They would be allowed three questions. After some discussion, 22 asked Boo what Peeka would say if he were asked whether he tells the truth. Boo responded that Peeka would say he tells the truth, and 22 named Boo as the truth-speaker and suffered damage to their mind due to an incorrect guess. Guessing Peeka had similar results because both guardians were liars, including whichever had initially claimed that one of them always spoke the truth. Upon discovering this, the party was allowed passage.

The group soon spotted another guardian, this one a pumpkin minotaur, whom they were able to sneak past. Arriving next at a small open space within the maze, the group encountered a large door that seemed to lead nowhere in particular. The party spoke to the door and learned it's name was Sam, and it used to be a person. It agreed that the party could pass through it, whereupon they entered a large, bustling kitchen.

'''A Kitchen Full of Dynias'''

Four strange pillars of vines lined the back of the kitchen, each with Jack-o-lanterns on top. All the cooks looked like Dynia and shared his name, but they each bore a different number on their chest. They referred to the Dynia with whom the group was familiar, who was not present, as ''Dynia Prime''. Therrin spoke to the Dynia with the number 2 on it's chest, explaining that the party was there because the only thing left of the food at the TBEC base camp on the prime material plane was a mysterious jack-o-lantern, and the company thought Xevriss and/or Dynia might be involved. Cealion noticed that the higher the number on a Dynia's chest, the less sentient that Dynia was.

According to Dynia 2, who also claimed that he himself was an illusion, the pillars at the back of the kitchen were totems that allowed the acquisition of food in the feywild, which was "borrowed" in small amounts from the mortal world. Only Dynia Prime could activate the totems, and only he could access the extradimensional storage space in which all the acquired food was all stored. When asked about Sam's origins, Dynia 2 informed the party that he did not know because Sam had been in the Court of Hallow's Eve longer than he had; but he praised Sam as "a very nice door".

After being informed that it was nearly time for the next course of the feast, the group returned though a magic passage from the kitchen that led directly to the dining room. Cealion and Tommy (who both happened to be mentally disturbed by mysterious events in their personal histories and hence to regard themselves as "haunted ones"), both experienced some strange hallucinations as they traversed the passageway.

'''New Perspectives'''

The next course was roast pheasant with a caramelized gravy, and pumpkin stew. Again, all but Nassir consumed the food, and this time the magic effect was the same for all party members: they swapped bodies.

22 possessed Cealion, who found himself in Therrin's body, while Therrin experienced living in 22's mechanical body. And Tommy and Chadwick, the representative of the Gourd Guard, found themselves in each other's bodies. Everyone exchanged possessions as necessary, and Therrin was able to use Juno's body's changeling nature to appear as himself.

As the group was adjusting to their new situation, which the Pumpkin King assured them was temporary, Dynia Prime and Dynia 2 finished a conversation that no one was able to overhear, and Dynia 2 then departed for town. The party talked to Dynia, who showed everyone his pumpkin dog, Patches. When asked, he refused to take the party to his house but agreed to show them his pumpkin collection, which was elsewhere in the same large structure as the main dining room.

'''Always Split the Party'''

Tommy, Cealion and Nassir followed Dynia 2 to Dynia's pumpkin-shaped house and learned that Sam is not a single door but a spirit that simultaneously inhabits most of the doors in the Court of Hallow's Eve and that he opens to the magic words "trick or treat". In the house was a hearth above which had been carved a symbol of two hands holding an anatomically correct heart. There was also a rack with purple scarves, purple wizard hats, and an orange and purple striped sweater.

Sam indicated that Dynia spent a lot of time upstairs, and the party went up to find a green-glowing archway leading into a bedroom. Trying to walk through triggered a magical aging effect that doubled the apparent age of Chadwick's human body (inhabited by Tommy) but aged Therrin's aasimar body (inhabited by Cealion) only slightly. by decades and didn't let them into the bedroom. Placing an object of sentimental value in the flame turned out to be the key to gaining entrance to the bedroom, and the item fortunately was not consumed but appeared in a container inside the bedroom. Nassir and Tommy used this technique to enter, but Cealion remained on the landing, having no item available of suitable sentimental value. (Tommy's item was valuable only to Chadwick -- his mother's pumpkin spice.)

In the bedroom was a note that said "cell 83", a letter indicating that it had been accompanied by something intended to help Dynia with his quest to bring back Xevriss. The letter bore an owl crest familiar to Tommy, who identified it as being associated with a group connected with demons that he had encountered on a previous mission. The group also discovered a clockwork box sprouting infernal mushrooms, which would later be identified as the device Dynia had used to break into the Collector's vault.

During this time, Juno, 22, and Chadwick remained with Dynia who gave them a chance to see his collection of pumpkins, which were truly magnificent. When asked about his involvement with the disappearance of the food from western Amusa, he said he would never steal food from hundreds of thousands of people but was not taken at his word by all present. Regarding who might have wanted to frame him for the crime (with the jack-o-lantern left at the TBEC camp), he said only that he didn't know.

'''Dessert'''

Before the third course, the two groups exchanged news, and Chadwick was distraught at the condition of his body. in an attempt to gain information that might help to free Sam, Tommy spoke to a candy guard who proved to be supremely unhelpful. Therrin talked to an old woman about Dynia and how to avoid giving offense to people in this realm. She confirmed that Dynia had a weird obsession with Xevriss and revealed that Xevriss was previously held captive in the cells of the Pumpkin King.

As the party expected from their experience with the previous magical effects, the body-swap ended when they all returned to the dining room for the third and final course: delicate pumpkin pastries. To Chadwick's relief, the aging effects disappeared as well. During dessert, Tommy asked about Sam's origins, and the King explained that Sam walked off alone with a hag and was turned into a door. Tommy asked for the king to return Sam to his previous form, and he said maybe for one day a year if the party's alarming concerns about Dynia proved to be founded. Tommy explained the connection between the demon known as Mother and infernal mushrooms and pointed out the similarity of those mushrooms to the ones infesting the clockwork box they had found in Dynia's house. Nassir illuminated the connection between the letter and the group of demon worshippers the Tempest Brothers' Expeditionary Company had previously encountered. Tommy added that the other Dynias seemed concerned about Dynia prime "gallivanting about the material plane recently". In light of these claims, Jack Skellington ruled in the party's favor. This was immediately followed by the sound of a loud ringing and the sudden explosion of all three of his pumpkin heads, spraying pumpkin guts on those seated nearby .

Dynia strode in, assured the group that the Pumpkin King was not dead and would be back to his old self within a day. A rift to a massive pile of food intended for Xevriss appeared in the air above the group, and Tommy surprised Dynia with an eldritch blasted to the pumpkin. A bloody fight ensued in which Juno nearly lost his life and 22 was rendered unconscious more than once. The party disabled the totems that were holding the food in the Feywild and Therrin eldritch blasted Dynia to death, as which point the 2 immediately faded from the chest of Dynia 2. The Pumpkin King did indeed return to normal within a day and, true to his word, restored Sam to his human form for a day. Sam expressed gratitude for his one day a year of humanity, which he chose to spend this year with the party and the rest of the company in Amusa.

For their assistance in unmasking Dynia, the Pumpkin King rewarded the group with gold, potions, and three permanent magic items: a ''Mask of Disguise'' that went to Juno, ''Scissors of Shadow'' that went to Tommy, and a ''Broom of Flying'' that Therrin would keep safe and loan out to any group going on a mission for the company in the future.

=== Session 39: In the Sewers ===
DM: Keller

PCs:

* [[Tinkerton Tinklebottom]]
* [[Lupine Lucas]]
* [[Winter]]

'''<big>October 22nd 2023 - Tinkerton's First Adventure</big>'''

Belle, you will never believe where I went today! ME a tinker from Troverth, traveled all the way to Galik across the continent to join the "Tempest Brothers Expedition Company". OH man and I saw Tinkle too!!! Can you believe he.... wait I jumped too far ahead let me start at the beginning of the day. I met a few others before I saw our kiddo.

There was a furball with snow like fur....a tabook, or tabaxi that's it, named Winter and along with them I met Lupine a human weirdo with druidic powers....well he was more Quirky than weird I think. The three of us were new to the area and went in to meet with Lucinda a retired Lion Guard *I think* whose symbol is that of a golden griffon.

She had tasked the group of us to find GHOSTS in the Bay area of the docks and make it safe again, and really figure out what was happening with these disappearances.... oh yeah that's right, Belle people were being kidnapped for years by these Specters of the night!!! Nothing made sense here, nothing is like home when it comes to safety

and not getting kidnapped at night by monsters of myth. But this was the mission we got to prove our worth, a chance to show I am not just brittle bones in a suit of armor (Don't laugh Belle, I know you think I am crazy for using our creations to adventure at my age) and am capable of joining them in the wilds.

Well flash forward to our arrival at the docks and I met this pirate fellow, I swear he was half dead already, One-Eyed Jack had an eye patch HUN an EYE PATCH....yet he was blind in both eyes.... Well anyways the crazy old human told us to that a halfling that frequented the two throat tuxedo....no umm what was it, umm sorry Belle I am using ink

and forgot what he said hmm. oh Two Toed Trout, that tavern we went to and Lupine got thrown out, he wasn't too good with his word, and Winter well they spoke to the barkeep. I didn't get distracted you wouldn't believe it, I totally went and found the people that stood out and didn't even peak at their poorly made gear that clearly was made by

someone that hadn't seen good craftsmanship in their life! Okay so I may have snuck a lil peek. BUT I AM AN OLD MAN, and can do as I please woman!... Anyways, We found out that these two I found worked with a gnome who saw the halfling before he was taken, so our lil group made our way to the "Bartholomew Weapons Company" as you are

well aware, we made a plenty of their gear magical back in the days of old. Belle you would have been so proud, which is good cause that ONLY MAKES one of us....Tinkle our son was the lead weapons designer. He was the GNIOME, all the way in Galik the boy made something of himself....not that he is designing armor but weapons is good too. Belle the boy

told us that there were kidnappers not ghosts that took the halfling boy into the sewers....oh and Tinkle said hi, figured I'd toss that in here too.

When we got in the Sewers my gosh darn shoes got wet and gross, and these darn young-uns pushed me the lil old gnome to lead the group, hehe it was probably because my armor looked so strong and grand! It is the one you helped me make dear, the guardian set! Well we found out this was home to lizard folks that disappeared in the moons glow...Troglodytes.

We fought our way through them all at least 10 of them in there and the quirky one Lupine turned into a giant beast.... not practical in a sewer mind you but very cool and effective somehow, It was all going well my first adventure no issues at all! We even found a puzzle, but that Winter cat solved it so quick! I am getting a little slower in my wisdom years, no laughing

ma'am! But it was a door that had a pearl, emerald, opal and nephrite stone in it. We spelled OPEN with the stones and it opened to a stash room full of loot. It was great. We rested, took a good nap in there, like I used to in your lap....though it was against a moist wall with moss....maybe not the same! But still I took a nap.

Turns out one of the monsters down here was a bugbear, one that had wrestled Lupine for a belt of giant strength, I used to use those as back braces in the old days remember hehe. Oh right the stories conclusion let me carry on, we fought that bugbear with magic and trickery and defeated him with ease! Though we may have gotten a little too much confidence

as our next door that we unlocked almost brought me closer to you my Belle. A demonic fire lizard that was being worshipped down here by lizard men almost killed Winter, the cat buddy I spoke of before. The room was rapidly filling with toxic sludge and my two party members had been hit with some kind of paralyzing spell....it was terrible but I endeavored as long as

they needed and fought that beast one on one, gnome on lizard. It was scary hun but you are always what makes me not fear death as it would bring me back to you, however I am not ready I have many stories to write and adventures to live before I can tell you all about them for eternity. Oh right the end, we took it down baiting it to the doors and freed the sewer

of the lizard problem. The missing people were found...most of em at least. In the end we were given gold and passage to the wilds. I of course went back to give our son the gauntlets he made that were stolen by these monsters but he gifted them to his old man, I know you think it would be sweet but I COULD MAKE THEM BETTER, but I don't craft anymore not since

you left. Besides it would be a shame not to hold on to something from a lead weapon designer.....can't believe he did it. I mean can't believe he isn't in the armor game! As always, I love you Belle, my adventurers for you have started. I will tell you all about them soon and hope that you can wait for me to finish a few more.

P.S - Just like when you were alive, you always give me strength then and now.

=== Session 42: Man Made Flesh ===
'''DM''': Keller

'''PCs''':
* [[Wiggler]]
* [[Chrysaor Purosis]]
* [[22]]
* [[Heli Moltenshield]]
* [[Pash|p'Ash'r'Ohn]]
* [[Mirth]]

'''NPCs''':
* [[Paul Fletcher]]
* [[Skippy]]
* [[Lorrie Haslo]]
 

'''Paul Joins the Mission'''

Paul Fletcher, TBEC's researcher specializing in anthropology and ancient cultures, had been particularly interested in the recent discovery, by aerial surveillance, of ancient ruins in the direction of the Great Scar. He dispatched the original expedition several days earlier, which was led by Lorrie Haslo and included several TBEC personnel, namely Frank (half orc), Sabra (half elf), Sunter (halfling), Maxine (dragonborn), and Bobby (human). Lorrie had believed this was the location of [[The Philosopher's Stone]] (described as small, red, egglike gem with powerful transmutation abilities), but she and her survey team had not checked in, and Paul assembled a second team to investigate and report back and/or request a large air ship be sent to retrieve the previous team and their gear if necessary.

Paul had said he wouldn't be joining the team, but as the skiff was about to take off, he came running up carrying a bunch of loose maps and other materials and said he had changed his mind. Pash immediately suspected that this was not Paul but a doppleganger or impersonator, so some of the team returned to Paul's tent to see if he was still there. The tent was vacant although more messy than when they had last seen it minutes earlier. Satisfied for now that Paul was in fact Paul, they returned to the skiff to find Skippy explaining the Big Red Button intended to alert base camp to send one of the larger air ships if the party deemed it necessary.

'''Sabotage'''

The skiff traveled East to the location of the a ruined temple overgrown by jungle vegetation, near which were another air skiff belonging to the Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company and wisps of smoke from a recently doused campfire. Upon landing, the group was met by the half-orc Frank, who said he was glad the TBEC has sent someone, conveyed that Lorrie Haslo was there at the camp, and explain what had happened to cause the survey team to lose communication with the TBEC base camp. During the team's first night at the ruins, the skiff's control console (including the sending-stone-based communication system) had been badly damaged -- supposedly by an animal, but nothing else was damaged, causing the newly arrived party to suspect sabotage. Ali and Heli investigated the disabled air skiff and noticed that the damage had come very close to blowing up the skiff's power core. Heli assessed that the damage was in fact intentional but had been made to look like an animal attack. In the meantime, Pash radioed back to base camp to update them and to ask whether Paul was in camp and tell them to keep an eye on him since she was suspicious that someone might be impersonating him. The person on the other end of the line responded that they would detain Paul.

The rest of the party spoke to Lorrie who explained that the ruins were inhabited by strange rotting zombies that seemed to have been here in the jungle for a long time and that the group's help in dealing with the threat would be welcome. She said [[The Collector]] believed that a thief in possession of a precious artifact may have taken refuge here. She admitted that she wasn't sure that this entire mission wasn't just "another wild goose chase" the Collector was sending her on. The team let her know that her skiff had been sabotaged (and she said she would shared this information with Frank), and they shared their concerns about the possibility that Paul (and perhaps not only Paul) was being impersonated.

'''Melee and Murder'''

The party proceeded into the ruins to help clear out the zombies and immediately encountered and destroyed one. Two more zombies appeared and attacked, infecting Pash with paralyzing moss. They killed the remaining zombies and Pash broke free of the moss. A fourth zombie was discovered and dispatched. At the far end of the temple, three more zombies appeared, two perishing almost immediately, and the last one paralyzing Wiggler before being destroyed.

By now Paul, who at the group's suggestion was playing it safe by remaining just outside the temple, had failed to respond to calls to follow the group inside. Checking up on him, the party was shocked to discover that he has been stabbed in the head and killed with a TBEC knife. Some of the group ignored this development to explore the ritual chamber at the far end of the temple and found equipment from the Perseus Expeditionary Company (as evidenced by their familiar medusa-head logo).

'''The Mysterious Body'''

Within 30 seconds after seeing Paul alive, 22 confirmed that he was indeed dead and then tried to save him with the ''Revivify'' spell to no avail. This meant that one of three things must be true: someone had counterspelled the 22's casting, Paul had been dead longer than a minute, or he was not actually dead. A casting of ''Detect Magic'' showed that powerful transmutation magic emmenated from the "corpse", indicating that the third possibility was likely the true one.

Lorrie walked up to discover the strange situation and informed the group that a message had come over the radio, indicating that Paul was still at camp, giving further credence to the possibility that this was not Paul's corpse. Pash stabbed the "corpse", and it twitched, further reinforcing this conclusion.

Heli proceeded to dissect the corpse -- which had by now acquired the name Not-Paul -- and discovered that it had extra organs, including boneless internal hands, as well as a glowing heart. When she removed the heart, the body spasmed and the glowing stopped. Even then, the corpse still responded with a twitch to heat being applied to it, and the corpse's blood seemed to shrink from the stimulus. Heli extracted one of the extra hands and burned the body to ash. Pash looked for tracks telltale tracks nearby but found nothing distinctive. She also took an opportunity to call back to base to ask for an air ship to be dispatched to retrieve both groups and was told it would arrive the next morning.

'''Who Done It'''

Lorrie's survey team comprised Frank and four other TBEC employees: Sabra (half elf), Sunter (halfling), Maxine (dragonborn), and Bobby (human), and one of them was behind the incident -- likely the same one who had sabotaged the skiff. At Wiggler's suggestion, 22 cast ''Detect Thoughts'' while the group interrogated the survey team.

Sunter proved to have guilty thoughts, but he had an alibi for when Not-Paul was killed: several people confirmed that he was clearly in sight by the fire the whole time. His guilt was over taking hallucinogens while he was on watch during the survey team's first night at the site, which had provided the opportunity for someone to sabotage the skiff. He had no useful memory of the two hours he spent tripping, and he had tried to cover up his negligence by claiming it had been an animal that destroyed the equipment.

Lorrie and Skippy were working on the skiff together during the murder, and Maxine had been in her tent, the entrance to which was clearly visible from both the skiff and the fire. And Sabra was walking around in plain view collecting what herbs she could find near camp. That left Frank, who said he had been organizing the storage tent, and Bobby, who claimed to have been taking a walk. A second casting of ''Detect Thoughts'' brought to light something strange indeed: Bobby seemed to have no thoughts to detect. No matter what he was instructed to think about, 22 could find nothing in his mind. Upon being questioned further, he tried to run but was stopped by an ''Entangle'' from Wiggler, seized by Mirth, and tied up.

Heli cast ''Detect Magic'' to try to learn more and discovered strong transmutation magic emmenating from underneath the camp. She then requested blood from everyone to test whether it reacted to fire the way Not-Paul's blood had. Bobby's blood did shrink from the flame, but Bobby still claimed to be just a human who liked to take walks. The group called back to the TBEC base camp and discovered that there was not another copy of Bobby back at camp.

'''Under the Earth'''

Although Wiggler's use of spells was subject to the possibility of a wild magic surge, they used the ''Mold Earth'' cantrip to dig down toward the source of the detected magic. This did in fact trigger a wild magic surge, but the effect was to give Wiggler the power to reincarnate for one minute (and Wiggler did not take the opportunity to stop being a worm).

Ten feet down was a red gem clutched in a hand attached to an arm that extended into the earth. Wiggler climbed in and tried to seize the gem but was thrown violently from the hole. The hand that Heli had removed from Not-Paul scuttled quickly into the hole. The face of Paul appeared in the hole with lots of long arms reaching out of the hole to erecting his full form on the ground. "Is the ruse up already?" he asked.

'''Killing Paul Again'''

Wiggler cast ''Spike Growth'' around Paul and themself, and Paul walked out of the dangerous area, taking damage from the spikes as well as from Wiggler's attack of opportunity. Then he began attacking with his extra arms, attempting to transmute his targets, to tear their flesh with necrotic damage and render them exhausted. Pash blasted him with a black eldritch dart of energy, and Mirth grabbed him and threw him back into Wiggler's spikes. Wiggler summoned 4 crocodiles to battle Not-Paul, Lorrie, hit him with her pick, and Not-Paul spawned another copy which attacked 22 and then went after Mirth.

22 blasted the original copy with ''Frostbite'', and his body crumbled to pieces. His secondary copy dissipated immediately, as did Bobby. A hand carried the gem down a tunnel into the earth, and Pash and Heli both drank potions of dimunition and followed the arm, with 22 close behind in the form of a viper. Pash's ''Eldritch Blast'' destroyed the hand, which said "See you soon" as it crumbled. Heli's dragon-shaped homunculus, "son of Xevriss", dragged the gem out of the tunnel. It was confirmed to be the Philosopher's Stone, but someone elsewhere was apparently currently attuned to it.

'''Conclusion'''

When the air ship arrived the next morning, Paul disembarked and asked why the party had requested that he be bound hand and foot. They explained that Pash had merely indicated that he should be kept under watch, which was taken perhaps too far by whoever had tied him up. Mechanics repaired the damaged air ship to the point where it could fly within hours, and everyone returned to the TBEC base camp with a message from Lorrie to Lambda: that she was okay and that she loved him. She also indicated that she was at the end of her rope with The Collector and was really only going to undertake one more mission for him before giving up on their unreliable bargain.

[[Cookie]], the otter who served as the company's dedicated abjurerer, promptly "bubbled" the gem, sealing it away for safe keeping. A few days later, the TBEC received some money from the Collector with a note saying only, "For your consideration". Of this money, 1000 gold pieces were given to the party that had recovered the Philosopher's Stone .

=== Session 45: Hunk's Vengeance ===
'''DM''': Aaron

'''PCs''':
* [[Lupine Lucas]]
* [[Ren Atherton]]
* [[22]]
* [[Heli Moltenshield]]
* [[Danke Schön]]
* [[Dr. Richard Weedus]]
* [[Mariar]]

'''NPCs''':
* [[Hunk]]
* [[Yellana Eedryll]]
* [[Bjorn Shattershield]]
 

'''Impressed by Hunk'''

Several people at base camp woke to find that Hunk had returned to camp (as an oathbreaker paladin instead of a protection paladin) and was loudly arguing with Bjorn. Hunk spoke to whoever showed up to investigate the disturbance, saying he needed to assemble a group immediately to help him carry out a time-sensitive mission. He insisted that those present follow him into the nearby wilderness and started walking without checking to see who was following. He walked in silence for about a mile, followed by seven of the company, then sat down on rock and began sharpening a dagger.

Suddenly the group was surrounded by four (regular-sized) kobolds riding raptors. Hunk raised a hand and they leveled spears at the party. He said "You are going to help me". Everyone bristled but the group generally deferred to Hunk for multiple reasons. Once the kobolds had lowered their weapons, Hunk explained that some of the company's gnoll adversaries in the area were working with a cult of humans. Kobolds had captured a cultist who had divulged that they were looking for Thrax's body, possibly to perform necromantic magic to get information from him. (Thrax was the leader of Hunk's former village of Thinwhistle before it was razed by a group of gnolls, and he was the keeper of knowledge about Thelrya, the technologically advanced ancient kobold city that had recently been rediscovered).

As Hunk continued his explanation, the group learned that the kobolds claimed they were serving Hunk because he was the tallest, that the human cultists had magic, that some of the gnolls involved in the quest for Thrax's body were fungus-infused, and that the gnolls seemed to answer to the cultists. The kobolds would search for the body in one of its most likely locations while the impressed company members would interfere with a group of cultists and gnolls who were looking in the area where Thinwhistle had been. After Heli helped in the brainstorming of the most likely locations for Thrax's body, Danke Schön gave an inspirational speech to bolster the party, and Hunk led them to where the kobolds were searching in the remnants of Thinwhistle.

'''Being the Distraction'''

The group arrived to find a dozen zombies searching the area in the presence of two partially organic war machines. Heli used her artificed gauntlet to determine that the machines were not under the command of gnoll control collars like the ones that had been used to control dinosaurs near Thinwhistle in the past. Behind them were three humans and a winter-form eladrin who would turn out to be Yellana, an associate of the mysterious Jack of Hearts. The party tried to approach quietly but the clanging of Heli's metallic homunculus, Brokr, gave away their presence, and the nearer of the two machines launched a glob of acid that fell on Heli and Dickweedus.

Dickweedus responded by rushing toward the attacker and loosing two arrows at it. The humans used magic to summon shadowy tendrils that lashed out at Danke and Dickweedus, necrotizing patches of their flesh and immobilizing Danke. The crawling machine (or "crawler") rolled up to Dickweedus and bit him three times with its chittering insect maw. Lupine cast ''heat metal'' on the machine, which let out a shrill, gut-wrenching scream. Ren cast ''shadowblade'' and threw it at a zombie, slaying it with psychic damage, and mushrooms sprouted from the ground where the zombie fell.

Mariar cast a ''fog cloud'' halfway down the long battlefield -- visually cutting off the human cultists and the second crawler from the incipient melee -- and drew a bow. Heli rode up on Brokr and threw a spear at the crawler, but it's impressive armor negated the solid hit. Brokr circled around to the machine's weaker rear to flank it, giving Heli a chance to damage it. The zombies all burrowed into the ground, gaining cover as they approached to swarm Dickweedus.

The party could see Yellana closing the distance to the front line of the battle and could hear the three cultists beginning to chant ominously. Danke Schön healed Dickweedus, who hacked at the crawler with his battle axe. Ren's familiar tried to help Danke Schön escape the magical restraints the cultists' previous attack had imposed while Ren used an ''eldritch blast'' against Yellana. Lupine, now in the form of a large wildcat, destroyed a zombie with an attack of opportunity, and 22 followed suit, changing into an allosaurus and clawing the crawler's fleshy rear.

Danke Schön cast ''silence'' on the cultists, interrupting their chant before it could reach the point of damaging his allies. The burrowing zombies burst out of the ground and tried to grapple Dickweedus. One succeeded, but Dickweedus riposted, slashing it to death, then attacked the crawler with his magic force gauntlet. Having taken considerable damage, the crawler had begun to emit a nasty odor of rot.

The cultists closed some of the distance and attacked Danke Schön with tendrils of shadow that this time rendered him unconscious with necrotic damage. Ren's familiar tried to stablize Danke Schön while Ren attacked a zombie. Mariar took that zombie out with an arrow from their longbow. Heli hit Yellana with radiant damage, and she responded with a blast of cold damage to the fire genasi. As a zombie bit Dickweedus for poison damage, Yellana announced to the cultists to that the gnolls had found the body and met resistance so they were to go assist them immediately. All three of them disappeared simultaneously.

Dickweedus healed himself, then swung at the crawler, following up with a fatal punch to its central organic eye using his magic force gauntlet. The other crawler had begun to close, and the party noticed that it was manuevering to protect Yellana. It launched a disgusting ball of organic matter that took out Heli's familar and Brokr and damaged Heli herself. Lupine broke off from melee to administer a healing potion to Danke, bringing him to consciousness. Heli also healed herself with potions -- two in quick succession.

There was some brief shouting about the possibility of going to reinforce the kobolds, but the decision was made to stay and try to take Yellana out first. The party had noticed that she wore a glowing bracer and suspected she was using it to compel the remaining crawler to defend her. But the group overheard a message Yellana received indicating that the gnolls had succeeded. The crawler burrowed away, Yellana teleported, and the remaining zombies went limp as their animation ceased.

'''Denoument'''

As the party licked its wounds, Hunk and one of the kobolds showed up. Hunk confirmed that the gnolls had made off with Thrax's body and assessed that the best thing left to do was to try to figure out where they had taken it and go after them. He thanked the adventurers for their help and departed, but before the group returned to camp, he would return with a "reward" for attempting to help. This was a bag containing a ''circlet of blasting'', ''goggles of night'', four potions of greater healing, and 800 pieces of gold. Hunk said he also came with a warning for the entire Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company: he said their enemies were in the process of mobilizing for something big, and he urged caution.

Examining the crawler, Heli determined that some living creature must have been converted into the living construct through a combination of necromancy and artifice and that there were failsafes that would make dangerous any attempt to disassemble the creature to try to learn more. In the meantime, the whole thing was rapidly decaying (including the metal) and putting out a stench of rot. Lest the enemy find some way to make use of the remnants, the party burned what was left before the rot consumed it. Some of the group were able to discern that multiple souls were released as the corpse burned, indicating that the creature had originated not from a single living entity but from several.

=== Session 49: Into the Cursed Collection ===
'''DM''': Keller

'''PCs''':
* [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler]]
* [[Amelie Luxaeterna]]
* [[Mirth]]
* [[22]]
* [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]]
* [[Rina]]

'''NPCs:'''
* [[The Collector]]
 

'''Travelling to the Collector's Compound'''

Cookie the Otter (the company's resident abjurer) asked the party to speak with the Collector at his compound and they set off through Galik. They realized people were watching them as they drew close to their destination, an isolated building surrounded by a tall stone wall with guard towers, guards in full plate, and several raised balistas. A tense attendant with suit and bow tie in a small paper owl mask at the gate told them the had been expected fifteen minutes earlier and ushered them in, past paintings, murals, sculptures, and a large arcane chandelier, into a small sitting room with a crackling fireplace. When they were alone, Lux encouraged everyone to behave themselves because the last time she was on the collector's property she had been shrunk to a tiny fraction of her normal size.

When the Collector appeared, he told the group he had been expecting stronger adventurers, whereupon Dickweedus successfully intimidated the Collector by getting in his face and saying "bite me". The Collector introduced himself as Amusa's greatest collector of arcane artifacts and told them he had designed his compound as much to keep the artifacts in as to keep people out.

'''Into the Collection'''

Someone had put a trap into his collection, and as a result a mannequin threat had broken seals on several artifacts, which he wanted help to reseal. He said he had called on others for assistance -- attendants, mercenaries, and bounty hunters, in that order -- but none of them had returned. Hence, he had called the company and decided to accompany the adventurers into the collection to learn firsthand what fate might befall them. He told them all they would to put bags over their heads for the trip into the collection in order to keep certain information about it secret. Magic runes were drawn on the bags, and Finny stopped talking immediately when he pulled one over his head, as if his brain had been turned off. Lux and 22 requested and received runeless bags and walked for about 4 hours, regaling each other with tales of their pasts. At the end of this trip, those who had been subject to the runes felt as if no time had passed and the bags had been over their heads for only an instant.

The Collector donned leather armor and assembled a sack full of arcane trinkets and a few books. The group proceeded through a large pair of doors, which the Collector then sealed with an arcane sigil -- a very complex arcane lock. He pointed out that only he could reopen these doors so the party should ensure that he lived long enough to do so lest they spend the rest of their lives in the collection. They then descended a massive, twisting, stone staircase and passed through a great room with a vaulted ceiling into a vast archive at least several hundred feet across, illuminated by magical lights floating some thirty feet apart throughout the chamber.

'''Briefing'''

Only then did the Collector describe the items they were seeking:
* the Portrait of the Muse, which contained the spirit of the banshee,
* the Mask of the Flayed One, connected to a being called the Jawed God and able possess its wearer and imbue them with magical powers, and
* a simple gravestone, cursed in such a way that no one had yet survived an encounter with it.

The Collector specified that these items must be recovered and resealed using a kalachakra, a massive wheel able to seal items in a demiplane putting them into stasis. He provided three coins able to suppress items' magic powers. Lux took these and gave one to Weedus and one to Mirth. The Collector added that the mannequin that unsealed the items may still be at large, and that the party should destroy it if they encountered it.

'''The Cursed Gravestone'''

Lux climbed to the top of a stack of crates to have a look around, from where she caught a whiff of a stench like death to the east. The lights went out for some reason, and Lux cast dancing lights made of little floating mushrooms. The group moved east and soon approached the gravestone sitting in the dirt. As Weedus tossed his coin onto it from a distance, several members of the party (all but the Collector, Lux, and Finny) each found themselves inside a coffin. Dickweedus busted through the lid of his coffin, causing dirt to collapse in on him, revealing his location to those above, who quickly dug him out. The three then dug in a random location, which succeeded in exhuming Mirth. Meanwhile, Rina remained buried and was beginning to suffocate. Weedus and Finny dug up another grave, finding 22, while Mirth and Lux dug up the last to find Rina.

The Collector stood by during all this. When it was over, they found that the coin had sealed itself against the gravestone, negating its magic. They healed Rina up before continuing.

'''The Mask of the Flayed One'''

Weedus and Finny looked for the Portrait and Finny heard a crying in the distance, but Weedus saw blood on the ground as if someone was dragged and starting wandering off in the direction of the trail. The rest of the party followed, and a flayed humanoid figure lurched out of the shadows, pleading for help. After a brief discussion, they knocked them out to spare them their current agony.

The group soon encountered a figure wearing the Mask of the Flayed One, which whispered in their minds, along with a second voice saying "Help me" and "I can't get it off." The mask blasted the party with destructive magic repeatedly before Lux was able to slap one of the Collector's magic coins onto it. This succeeded in separating the mask from the wearer, but the mask took the wearer's face with it, and the wearer fell dead.

'''The Portrait of the Muse'''

The group was soon able to find the third artifact, the Portrait of the Muse. Weedus took Mirth's coin and threw it at the painting, but it bounced off and clattered to the floor. The painting seemed to melt, all of its colors spreading across the floor and around the party, manifesting a Victorian manor around them. A floating woman appeared from a painting, with black liquid dripping from her fingers. Weedus swung an axe at her, dissipating her into pigments. There were dozens of paintings of this same woman, each subtly different from the others, which all began to laugh. Dickweedus picked up the coin from where it had fallen and then smashed one of the paintings with his axe.

The party heard the small, crying voice getting louder.
Finny, Lux, and Weedus tried to identify the original painting among the many others and were able to reduce the pool of possible paintings to ten paintings. The banshee appeared again, and Lux and Weedus dissipated her with attacks. Lux and Finny studied the remaining paintings and reduced the pool of candidates to five.

22 belatedly cast ''locate object'' to identify the correct painting. Weedus tried to destroy it, but the banshee appeared and grabbed his weapon. Weedus pressed the coin to her forehead, and she cried out and was drawn back into the painting, whereupon the party found themselves in the real world again.

'''Confronting their Fears'''

They took the retrieved artifacts to the kalchakra, where several spider-like mannequins unfolded themselves out of nothingness. These included personalized mannequins representing the party's respective greatest fears. The kalachakra began to turn as the collector started casting the spell to re-seal the artifacts. Although the magically inclined members of the party channeled some of their own power into the ritual to help speed it along, it didn't succeed until the last mannequin had fallen, at which point the kalachakra clicked into place and sealed the three artifacts safely away again.

'''Conferred Knowledge'''

The Collector rewarded the group with gold, magic items, and information about what had transpired in the Wilds:
<blockquote>The Gnoll armies have been greatly diminished, but are still present. After the horde's failures during the raid on the expedition, some of the tribes broke away from the Gnoll King. He confirms that the remaining gnolls have gathered at a location he identifies as Camp Emberclaw, where they have constructed an Arcane Forge.
Since Ripjaw's death the Gnolls have no longer been able to make progress in developing future weapons. What is in their current arsenal is all they have left.
It also seems like since their failure, the Gnoll King has now been demoted and the forces of demons and gnolls are led by a pair known only as the Bride and the Groom. These names to his knowledge also seem to be tied to disappearances in the city.
The Collector has located an ancient site of powerful magic in the Scar. he says that for reasons the location no longer interests him, but he knows that it may interest other members of the company, and he knows someone who can lead them there.</blockquote>

== Session 50: Day at the Circus ==
'''DM''': Aaron

'''PCs''':
* [[Heli Moltenshield]]
* [[Ren Atherton]]
* [[22]]
* [[Thordon Akieye]]
* [[Gurmyr Argrour]]

'''NPCs''':
* [[Benjamin Hearthorne]]
* [[Heath Sledger]]
* [[Spike]]
* [[Asa]]
* [[Madam Leota]]
 

'''Plans Gone Awry'''

The party set out for some well-deserved recreation at the Traveling Fools Circus just outside Galik and awoke hours later back at the gates of the city not knowing exactly what had transpired in the interum. Each had different horrific memories from the experience, peppered with vaugue recollections of the circus. What had actually happened was that a creature at the circus that fed on nightmares highjacked their minds while they visited. What follows includes both the pleasant experiences that only Ren and 22 remember clearly and the devastating ones that they remember all too well.

'''The Attractions'''

Barker Benjamin Hearthorne welcomed the party at the entrance, took their tickets (provided by the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]]), and described the activities they might enjoy during their visit. These included a pie-eating contest (hosted by Hawthorne himself), a fortune teller, dart-throwing, ring-tossing, a hammer-and-bell booth, and a candy shop. As the group entered the area, they felt like someone was watching them, and 22 caught of momentary glimpse of a humanoid whose features they could not make out beyond this: the person appeared gaunt and starving with a broad, toothy grin.

A bugbear called Heath Sledger ran the hammer booth, where Gurmyr made two attempts. He was tripped by a mysterious force on the first but rang the bell on the second, winning a book about the secret language of ducks.

At the pie-eating contest, all except 22 stuffed themselves with delicious savory pies that Benjamin Hawthorne cryptically claimed contained "the flesh of the new". Thordin won the contest and was awarded a dagger with "Crawshanks" written on it in dwarvish. The weapon would allegedly glow when Crawshanks was near and grant great power to anyone who killed Crawshanks with it. (No one present had heard of any creature with that name.)

The dagger promptly glowed as the group approached Madam Leota's fortune-telling tent. Upon discovering that the party was interested in Crawshanks, Madam Leota pointed to a stuffed animal and gave Thordin permission to stab it. When he did so, he found 10 gp inside, and the dagger stopped glowing, becoming mundane.
The fortunes she told included:
* Thordin was looking for something he didn't know he was looking for, and that things would be worse when he found it
* Heli would be thirsty and must be careful not to drink too much
* 22 had ravenous bloodlust that they must not give in to

A goblin called Spike hosted the dart-throwing booth. Ren threw darts, and with each throw Spike jumped in front of the dart, taking the hit and cheering enthusiastically.

A yuan-ti called Asa staffed the ring-toss booth where Gurmyr played several times but never succeeded in throwing the ring to land around any of the many glass bottles.

At this point, several surprising things happened. The party realized they must have somehow spent hours at the circus because night was falling. Gurmyr heard a creepy laugh that no one else heard and punched Heli in the face. And each member of the group began experiencing their own private nightmare.

'''Nightmares'''

Thordin found himself in his childhood home being offered food by his long-dead mother and discovering his brother's head on the platter. He started eating it and felt his body begin a painful transformation into a wererat. His mother mocked and gaslit him and the severed joined in. Thordin raged and began breaking things and killing people. He gave in to the nightmare.

22 found themself in Thistlebrook as an apparition, watching one of the residents interact with a physical 22 who had just shown up with large, creepy maggot-like creature on the back of their head. When apparition-22 tried to rip it off of physical-22, the creature was painfully cold to the touch. Physical-22 began to slaughter the people of Thistlebrook. Appartition-22 made a mental connection with the physical body and successfully wrenched control away from the maggot before killing the leader of Thistlebrook, who sat there slack-jawed at the carnage.

Ren was in pain in the woods where he had made a pact, pinned in place and encircled by a ring of blue flame. His friend Igor berated him and was able to call down lightning on him. Ren tried to talk him into letting him go, then decided to try to physcially rip himself away from the pins and succeeded.

Gurmyr was stuck in a swamp and being approached by a large, creepy water snake. When he drew his longsword to defend himself, it became another snake, which bit him. He attacked with a handaxe, but the water snake ignored the damage and bit Gurmyr's arm off. He jumped up and grabbed a branch and screamed, then dropped down, landing on the snake to ride it. A human began to climb out of the creature's mouth, screeching and damaging GUrmyr's mind. As he screamed back, it killed him.

Heli awoke in Thinwhistle, bound and looking up at a charred and rotting Thrax, who was very angry with her. The ground opened up and she began sinking into freezing cold water from the elemental plane. She tried to cast a spell and her mouth filled with water. She tried to wiggle out of her bonds and made slow progress. She screamed as she was devoured whole.

'''Dawn'''

The party recalled their dreams vividly when they awoke as dawn broke outside the gates of Galik, but none except Ren and 22 had any clear memories of the circus.

== Session 52: Night at the Moonsea Museum ==

'''DM''': Keller
'''PCs''':
* [[Juno]]
* [[Marion Ette]]
* [[22]]
* [[Coryn]]
* [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler|Finny]]
* [[Chrysaor]]

'''NPCs''':
* [[Shelmlock Domes]]
* [[Jacqueline Hearthorne]]
* Clarence
 

'''Meeting Shelmlock Domes'''

The party walked to the Galik Herald to meet with tortle reporter [[Shelmlock Domes]] because he had let the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company|TBEC]] know he had information about fungal cult activity in the city. Upon their arrival, he explained that some of his contacts in the lower end of the city had disappeared after telling him they were worried about gnolls and monsters in the sewers. In his investigations, Shelmlock had come accross a male elf in a suit with a telltale emblem, a white owl on a shield crossed with a sword. Some members of the party recognized it from [[Dynia]]'s allies who helped him to summon [[Xevriss]]. The elf exploded into fungus, but not before divulging that the Heart of [[Kavanmort]] was going to be stolen from the Moonsea Museum, where it was being displayed on the second floor. (Kavanmort was an ancient two-headed dragon, superior to Xevriss and Old Alkinimic, to whom Tiamat had gifted Amusa and who ravaged Amusa until his death in 822 PR.)

Shelmlock believed that the owner of the museum was permitting the heart to be stolen in order to collect the insurance. He feared that if he simply informed the [[Lyreguard]], they might be overpowered by the museum's staff, and he was not allowed in the museum himself due to having been caught stealing receipts for a story several months earlier. He expected the heist to go down during the upcoming masquerade gala at the museum, and he was able to procure invitations for members of the company to attend in hopes of thwarting the robbery and acqiring evidence that the museum owner was behind it. He could also front some money for fancy clothes for the adventurers to wear to the gala. When asked, he conveyed that there was a single museum guard called Clarence whom he believed could be trusted.

'''Casing the Joint'''

Marion, Juno, and 22 went to the museum to try to talk to Clarence. The large museum had gorgeous architecture and a massive dragon skeleton in entry hall. The security included guards with platemail and longswords, warning runes on the exhibits, and floating orbs capable of triggering an alarm if visitors cast any spells nearby. Other notable exhibits near the entrance included a diorama of second crusades and an ancient sarcophagus.

Marion asked a guard where they could find Clarence, and he sent for Clarence who appeared shortly wearing oversized armor. They told him that Shelmlock Domes suspected theft soon and that party intended to prevent it They asked him if there were any items in storage that might help. He mentioned a horn that can dispel magic in the basement where he was working. Marion and Juno snuck into the basement with Clarence, through a magic door that required persuasion, and descended a long ladder into the subbasement where Marion took possession of the horn.

Meanwhile, Coryn, Finny, and Chrysaor went shopping at Bonnibel's Fantastical Boutique for fancy clothes, getting an outfit for 22 as well. Afterward, they ran into Bulio who provided masks for the masquerade gala (as well as show costumes for Finny and Corryn who hated the outfits Madame Bonnibel had come up with for them.)

'''Getting to the Heart'''

After a rest, the group headed to the gala, where they discovered that the guards were taking all weapons and spell components at the door. Marion snuck some weapons in and Finny talked his way in, saying he was with the band. They also discovered that at midnight, magic would cause the exhibits to come to life; this would include wax figures, animated drakes, and a statue of the founder of Galik, as well as the giant dragon skeleton. Attendees would not be allowed upstairs (where the Heart of Kavanmort was displayed), but Juno found a back stairway that was protected by a guard but not by any magic-detection orbs. There Chrysaor spotted a suspicious brown-haired woman in a red dress bribing the guard to let her up the stairs. Marion followed suit, gaining access for several members of the party.

Juno went to the coat check where she beat up the guard and put everybody's stuff in Finny's bag of holding. Finny himself had been performing with the goblin band but found a chance to leave the stage and he and Juno headed for the back stair. He distracted her while she picked his pockets and they joined the rest of the group. Juno had cast ''pass without trace'', and the group snuck past the a dragon skeleton but were noticed by the woman who convincingly claimed she was there to try to stop untoward activities, and the party teamed up with her. She introduced herself as Jacqueline Harthorne. Finny recalled that her noble family had previously tried to buy the heart, but Jacqueline insisted she was there not to steal it but to prevent its theft.

The exhibits in the large hall where the heart was displayed included wax flying monkeys, a mummy, a case full of weapons, a kraken, a sarcophagus, a diorama of a scene from the second draconic crusades, and case containing several magical artifacts. The waring runes on these exhibits were not active, and Jacqueline broke the glass of the weapons case to purloin a rapier, with which she would prove to be skilled.

'''Thwarting the Robbery'''

Chrysaor noticed lights from outside just before the window at the far end of the exhibit hall shattered and six gnolls and three humans climbed in. The humans were the famous Torchelli family of mobster assassins. Brothers Enzo (who was extremely tall) and Antonio (who was capable of shadow walking) wore suits and fedoras and carried firearms, and they were accompanied by their mother, "Ma" Torchelli.

Ma and one of the gnolls moved next to the heart and began chanting, to which Juno quickly put stop by casting ''silence'' over the area. After a short while, Chrysaor slew Enzo and 22, in dinosaur form, bit Ma's head off. Antonio then pulled out a magic item, and took a bite of the heart, transforming into a huge Champion of Mother. Museum guards appeared and the party tried to convince them to help fight the monster, but when Coryn took the monster down and the group had to defeat the guards in combat.

'''Liberating the Artifacts'''

Having prevented the robbery of the museum, the party decided to rob the museum. They magically shrunk the Heart of Kavanmort so they could abscond with it, also taking the eight other magical artifacts from their display case. With the exception of Marion, who had shown her face to Clarence to prove that she was the same person who had befriended him earlier, none of the party could be identified.

Marion soon gave the Heart of Kavanmort to the Collector for safe keeping, and Shelmlock Domes was able to expose the museum's corruption and have the owner jailed, which resulted in Clarence being promoted to head up the museum staff.

== Session 53: Restart My Hearth ==
'''DM''': Mercedes

'''PCs''':
* [[Black Jack]]
* [[Billium Teddly]]
* [[Heli Moltenshield]]
* [[Twilsby Pendergras]]
* [[22]]
* [[Laurence Awrkright]]

'''NPCs:'''
* Malakar
* The Bollezzi Family
* Snowdrop
* Tanis
 

'''A Plea for Help'''

A stranger came into TBEC, told whoever was in the lobby to talk to Snowdrop at the Galik Glass Emporium about a very recent kidnapping. Those present asked her for more information, but she said she had none and Snowdrop would tell them more.

Snowdrop proved to be the tabaxi proprietor of the Galik Glass Emporium, and when the party arrived at her shop she explained that assailants had tunneled into the emorium's boiler room and kidnapped her fire tender, Tanis, who Snowdrop said had a secret. Billium guessed that Tanis was actually a dragon, but Snowdrop insisted (unconvincingly) that she was not.

'''The Tunnel to the Docks'''

The group entered the boiler room, in one corner of which lay a small nest of blankets and treasure that Snowdrop confirmed belonged to Tanis. Turning their attention to the tunnel entrance, the party found a torn cloak with a broken family crest that Twillsby recognized as belonging to the Bizelli family. Investigated further, he found a pair of broken handcuffs and discovered that the tunnel entrance was magically protected. Heli threw her spear down the tunnel, triggering a fire trap on which Twilsby then cast ''dispel magic''.

The party walked down the tunnel and found it to be incredibly long, taking two hours to reach the opening at the far end. There, Twilsby threw a rock out, triggering another trap that shook the earth and collapsed the tunnel, injuring several members of the group as they escaped out into the light. They could see they had arrived at the docks, where a dozen people including Malakar (the undead sorcerer who kept company with the Jack of Hearts) waited for a boat to arrive; two of those present stood guard over an injured woman in a cage, whom the group suspected to be Tanis.

'''Twarting the Kidnappers'''

From the party's hiding place behind a small building, Twilsby began talking to the nearest person, and the party was soon able to intimidate three of those present into walking away before a fight broke out. But the fourth would not be intimidated and a drew a weapon, and Black Jack dispatched him quickly, striking with his boomerang in melee. Heli followed up by taking out a nearby dog and throwing a spear at an unsuspecting man who Laurence then eliminated by casting ''frostbite''. Seeing this, Malakar summoned a water elemental to do his bidding.

Twilsby, who had turned invisible, teleported behind the cage to give Tanis two potions of healing. Josh and Heli moved into melee on either side of the building the party had been hiding behind, felling another foe. Twilsby removed a magic-supressing collar from Tanis (although she remained trapped in the cage). Heli and 22 closed with Malakar, 22's ''frostbite'' causing him lose mental control of the elemental. Freed of the collar, Tanis breathed fire, eliminating another foe and damaging the water elemental.

Twilsby cast ''wave surge'' at Malakar, knocking him into the water. 22 turned into a giant octopus to follow him, but Malakar cast ''misty step'' to reappear on the dock. The party was then able to focus their attacks on Malakar and the water elemental until eventually Black Jack slew Malakar and 22's force cannon dispersed the elemental into mist.

The group freed Tanis from the cage and returned with her to the Galik Glass Emporium, where Snowdrop rewarded them handsomely for their work with magic items and gold.

== Session 54: End of the Line ==
'''DM''': Keller

'''PCs''':
* [[Juno]]
* [[Heli Moltenshield]]
* [[22]]
* [[Ren Atherton]]
* [[Marion Ette]]

'''NPCs''':
* [[Jaqueline Hearthorne]]
* [[Benny Thistlewick]]
* (See list below)
 

'''A Call to Action'''

Jacqueline Harthorne (a human woman whom members of the [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]] had recently encountered at the Moonsea Museum) entered the TBEC headquarters, wearing fancy clothes over leather armor. Said she had received information about the fungual cult. (After some coaxing, she admitted that she learned this from her family and said that she'd be at risk if they found out.) A high-ranking leader within the cult, a member of a group called the Groomsmen, had exposed that they'd be riding to the end of the line on the Galik City Railway that afternoon. Jacqueline expressed suspicious that the Groomsman would allow this information to get out.

The company already knew that the Bride and the Groom were to be feared and not to be crossed; the Collector had confirmed that they were leaders of the cult. The company had also come to know of the cult's crest, a silver owl against a shield and a sword.

'''Strangers on a Train'''

The group proceeded to the appropriate Galik City Railway station, and boarded the train, which already had many passengers. The party began observing and interacting with them in order to begin forming ideas about which one might be the Groomsman. As the train travelled through the city, stopping at various stations, passengers boarded and others left until there were only three stops left and only seven people remaining on board other than the party themselves. This included:
* Sid, a blue male kobold who had stowed away underneath the train and who was located by Marion's use of ''detect thoughts''
* Benny Thistlewick, a male gnome whose thoughts could not be detected
* Percy Stormrider, a male air genasi working as a professor, whose thoughts also could not be detected
* Penny Longhorn, a female minotaur
* Lady Isabella Sterling, a female elf trying not to look like a noble
* Davros Ironforge, a male dwarf
* Gibson Blair, a male human working as a gardener

'''Murder Mystery'''

When the train failed to stop at the next station, Ren went to speak to the operator, only to find him dead and the train seemingly being driven by a mass of fungus fused to the controls. The ride had become a murder investigation aboard a runaway train. Several of the passengers had something to hide, including Isabella Sterling who had stolen a suitcase full of gold from her noble family, Davros Ironforge who was hired by her father to retrieve the gold, Percy Stormrider who was smuggling a book of powerful enchantment magic, Penny Longhorn who was a pit fighter on the run after accidentally killing her manager, Sid who didn't have a ticket to ride the train, and Benny Thistlewick, who turned out to be the Groomsman and the murderer and who had charmed Gibson Blair into helping him keep his identity hidden.

'''High Stakes'''

When the party eventually concluded that Benny was the Groomsman, they learned that he had leaked the information about his
presence on the train in order to lure company members there to force them to play a high-stakes poker game with him – and that if they refused, he could kill almost any of the other passengers easily using itmes he had placed on their persons. During the game, he bet their various lives, requiring the party to see these bets with items of equal value, including secrets, physical items, and their own lives. In the final hand, he bet his own life and lost, which led him to shoot himself as soon as the game concluded.

During the game, the Benny had gambled and lost several secrets relevant to to company including:
* the leaders of the cult were the Bride and Groom, and immediately below them was the Reverand.
* the cult was fortifying Camp Emberclaw (the gnoll camp that had remained when the TBEC fled the wilds)
* the cult had a spy in the Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company

== Session 80?: Fur and Fangs ==
'''DM''': Anna

'''PCs''':
* [[Ren Atherton]]
* [[22]]
* [[Dickweedus|Dr. Richard Weedus]]
* [[Twilsby Pendergras]]

'''NPCs''':
* [[Roxanne Briargate]]
* The poachers' leader
 

The group took an airship deep into the wilds west of the Scar to respond to an urgent request from Silver Ivy Sanctuary, a druid conclave led by a human known as Roxanne Briargate that rehabilitates baby monsters in need. Poachers had attacked the sanctuary, killing some of the residents and taking several of their young charges.

While the party approached the sanctuary on foot, they were set upon by several unusual monsters, some of whom were able to pit allies against one another with a hallucinating inducing contact poison. Weedus sucumbed once, but 22 use Lesser Restoration on him before he butchered any of the other party members.

A human woman soon appeared and ushered the group to the Silver Ivy Sanctuary, where Roxanne Briargate hastily briefed them. She detailed which creatures had been taken and which direction the poachers had fled, adding that the three moonstones that help protect the area had been moved and needed to be reactivated with a ritual. She gave them the Blessing of the Santuary, which she said would allow them to gain benefits once they had retrieved any of the babty creatures. The party headed off to try to catch up with the poachers and were able to do so with little difficulty.

They soon caught their foes unaware, and Twilsby hit three of them with a surprise Fireball. Ren began blasting from an obscured position, and 22 summoned giant lynxes and pixies that polymorphed Weedus and 22 into giant apes.

Each of six poachers carried a magical crate containing one of the kidnapped creatures in an extradimensional space. These enemies were moderately difficult to bring down, and there were many of them, but they soon began to fall one by one, and party members were able to recover some of the creatures, each of which provided a unique benefit to those with the Blessing of the Santuary. Under the effects of Greater Invisibility, Twilsby was able to retrieve several of them.

More foes joined the fray, including two owlbears and the human leader of this group of poachers, who claimed the party was making a mistake by aligning themselves with the druid conclave. She had two powerful magical abilities, one that made people attack their allies and one that allowed her to force a foe to experience any injuries that befell her. As the party pummeled her, the latter ability brought Ren to the brink of consciousness, but he freed one of the baby monsters (entrusting it to his familiar) so he could squeeze into its extradimensional container, severing the enemy's magical link to him and preventing further damage.

Before the group could dispatch the enemies' leader, she used Dimension Door to teleport away, effectively ending the battle and allowing the group to return the rescued creatures to the santuary and to reset the protective moonstones with the ritual that Roxanne had provided to Twilsby. The conclave rewarded the party for their aid, and the four adventurers returned to the airship to make the trip back to Galik.

== Session XX: Markster Farmstead Mystery ==
'''DM: Dave Parm (alchemicalluck)'''
'''PCs:'''
* [[Valdos]]
* Nokori
* Coryn
* [[Ghargux]]
* Hummer
* [[Finnegan (Finny) Warbler|Finny]]

'''NPCs:'''
* Derwin
* Farmstead Family 1
* Farmstead Family 2
'''Help Requested at the Farmstead:'''

The [[Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]] (TBEC) was contacted and was asked to send a group to investigate some strange happenings around the Markster Farmstead that is to the North of the waystation. The six adventurers were selected by Darian Tempest. After being grouped up, they then got together with the farmers that stopped in town and put the request in. The two farmers were at the waystation trading some produce that they grew. The group together with the farmers and their mule then left the waystation and traveled to the farmstead. The two farmers explained in more detail what was going on and what they were asking for. While traveling, they explained that there have been cases of finding dead animals in the forest and that some of their animals have gone missing. They also reported that their barn was broken into and some goats were eaten.

'''The Families at the Farmstead:'''

We all arrive at the farmstead after some travelling. There, we get introduced to the two farmers families. One of the families has a young girl who mentioned something about an imaginary friend that the families instantly disregarded as the young girls imagination, but we all felt that there was some truth to what the little girl was saying. After the initial introductions we start asking the family members about the strange happenings. The two families confirm what the two farmers told us as true. We then all went inside the one house as the two families were making dinner together and it was about to be ready. After dinner, Finny went and started playing some of her instruments and telling some bards tales. While she was keeping everyone entertained, Hummer went and talked to the little girl about her "imaginary friend". Hummer found out that the little girl really does believe that she has a friend that isn't imaginary and is real. Her friends name is "Hopper" and he has blue eyes. She then tells Hummer that Hopper even gave her a gift and told her to always keep it on her. She shows Hummer the gift and Hummer recognizes it to be a Shield Guardian amulet. Hummer promises to keep it a secret from everybody else. Shortly after, Finny finishes up with her performance and our group is shown over to an extra building that they have for us to stay in. We get all of our stuff inside and we discuss our watch orders for the night and what we plan on looking out for.

'''Happenings in the Night:'''

Hummer and Valdos take the first watch. Valdos was posted up on top of the barn and heard some howls from the forest from two different locations, but nothing else of note happened. During second watch, Coryn and Ghargux saw some floating blue orbs in the forest that didn't move. The orbs were pretty far away, so they couldn't make out what they were from. Nokori and Finny took the last watch. Nokori found some weird indentations in the ground out in one of the farm fields. While patrolling the farm, Finny noticed three figures moving through the farm field, Finny immediately shot one of them with an eldritch blast, the three figures then ran away into the forest.

'''The Stone Shack:'''

Once daybreak came around, the group got together and shared what everybody found out through the night. Finding out that there were three figures walking through the field and that there were strange indentations in the ground, the group decides that the priority should be to try and follow the three figures into the woods and see if they can be found and interrogated for why they were sneaking through the farm fields at night. We then get our stuff together and inform the families about what we found out during the night and that we will be travelling into the forest and we don't know when we will be back. We then start travelling into the woods, following the trails that the three figures left behind. After around a 3 hour trek, we come across a small clearing that contains a stone building. The building has a full metal door with no direct way of opening it, the building also has a couple of pretty small windows that are dirty and cannot be seen through. We investigate the door and find that there are hidden runes surrounding the door, the runes form a key that explains that the door can only be opened by using the "knock" spell. Since no one in the group knew the spell, we decided to physically knock on the door.

'''The Strange Artificer:'''

We were eventually greeted by a voice asking why we were there, we explained, and the person opened the door. The man introduces himself as Derwin and he is an artificer of sorts. Before allowing us inside, he asks us to promise that we will not touch anything and ask for permission before doing anything. We all agree and then follow him inside. Once inside we are hit with the stench of Derwin and his abode, without really thinking, Finny casts prestidigitation on Derwin to clean him up and remove the stench. As Finny did this without warning, Derwin was caught by surprise and releases a blinding flash of light in all directions. Right before the release of blinding light, there was a wave of arcane energy that was felt by the group and it seemed to be originating from Derwin. Derwin then starts to freak out a little and reminds us to not do anything without asking him for permission first, especially anything dealing with magic.

We arrive in the building main area and we start asking Derwin what he might know about the three figures that were seen walking through the farm fields last night as the tracks we followed led here. He then explains that he is an artificer and that he has been secretly making automs to help the farmers out on the farms by either helping them farm or by protecting them from the surrounding wilds. He then brings in the three "scarecrows" and one of them does indeed appear to have been shot by a blast of some kind. He then dismisses the scarecrows and shows us his latest project, the "Harvest Reapers". The Harvest Reapers are much larger automs compared to the scarecrows. We then talk to Derwin about helping him form communications between the Markster Farmstead and himself along with communications between the new Waystation and himself as we were pretty sure that the TBEC could use an artificer like him in helping build up protections around the Waystation. After establishing that, we then mention that there is a girl on the farmstead in possession of a Shield Guardian amulet and ask if he was the one that made it or if he knew anything of it. Derwin responds saying that he knew about it as he also has one, and proceeds to introduce us to "Thumper". However, he was not the one that made the two Shield Guardians and only came into contact with them when he moved into the building and told us that Hopper took it upon himself to go and hand his amulet to the little girl on the farmstead.

With all of that, we then leave for the Markster Farmstead with the Scarecrows and Harvest Reapers in tow along with a letter from Derwin addressed to the families explaining that he is an artificer who lives out in the jungle and that he has been building these automs to help the families out and to hopefully keep them safe. He also lets the families know that they can come to his shack for shelter should they need it, but they need to promise to not touch or do anything without asking him to. He also lets them know that they can command the automs to do as they see fit as the automs will follow the two families commands. After arriving back at the farm, we explain to the families the situation with Derwin and his automs and also explain that the little girl does not have an imaginary friend, but instead has a shield guardian that will protect and listen to her commands. We then leave for the Waystation.
[[Category:Wicked Wilds]]

Valdos

2024-07-03T19:06:14Z

Doublecheese247:

Valdos

2024-07-03T19:00:48Z

Doublecheese247: minor edits and added links

User:Doublecheese247

2024-07-03T17:55:41Z

Doublecheese247: brief bio

Name: Connor Schroll

Age: 26

Occupation: Solar Engineer

Based in: State College

Hobbies outside of dnd include but are not limited to: Disc Golf, Video Games, Reading Light Novels and Manga.

DND Experience: I have about a year and a halfs worth of experience in dnd 5e.

Joined Quelmar (Wicked Wilds): May 2024.

Valdos

2024-07-03T16:59:23Z

Doublecheese247:

Valdos

2024-07-02T19:38:40Z

Doublecheese247: Links to other character pages

Valdos

2024-07-02T19:30:08Z

Doublecheese247:

Valdos

2024-07-02T18:43:20Z

Doublecheese247: adding in notes from previous sessions