The Beginning

It all began on a sunny day of the Epoch of Decision in Marneth, a small town on the eastern coast of Endmer, the Val Coast. Due to unnerving happenings in the capital of the United Nations of the Val Coast, or UNVC, the law-enforcement organization of the region, the Maritime Council, decided to recruit adventurers to enrol as freelance employees. It was by chance that some of our adventurers happened to be in this town roughly at the same time to hear this call and present themselves before Bjorn Balgar, Official Representative of the Maritime Council in Marneth.

It was this way that fate led Rayi, Denzerius, Broken Steel and a few others together. They were imbued with the mission to vanquish a troublesome group of bandits that had been consistently assaulting passing merchant caravans about half an hour walk southbound from Marneth. By completing this mission successfully, they had the chance to acquire a recommendation letter addressed to the Maritime Council’s headquarters down in Valean, the Capital of the UNVC. This mission proved to be a very easy task to the intrepid group of adventurers, they dispatched the bandits in no time, brought back the head of their Goblinoid leader back to Bjorn and acquired the so desired Letter.

Although their first mission had been a walk in the park, soon would they discover that in Valean the biggest threat wouldn’t necessarily be displaying combat prowess. The intricate power struggles and hierarchy etiquettes mandatory all over the city would prove to be as big as a foe as some otherworldly creatures.

As they approached the White Limestone and Marble towering city, a feeling of nostalgia strikes Denzerius, as he had been born and raised in Valean.

Delivering the Letter of Recommendation to the Lead Bookkeeper of the Maritime Council, Likki Calhan, was an easy task but they were not prepared to be part of the city’s power plays yet to come. They were given an invitation to attend a charity ball, presided by a certain Lucas Monfort, in order to gain his trust and infiltrate the old sewers from his basement. Having now access to the old sewers, the party set out to cleanse it of whatever was causing it to leak arcane waste into Valean’s Bay where all the in and outcoming boats were docked. As they pressed forward through the sewers, they found a curious looking half-elf and a mysterious robed figure in an abandoned library that was also connected to the sewers. When they engaged in combat with the figure cloaked in golden robes, the half-elf seemed to be friendly and aided them in defeating this threat. He later introduces himself as being Qiran, someone who roams the land seeking knowledge and that had been told about something troubling happening in this abandoned library.

Pressing on deeper into the sewers they encountered more of these robed figures later discovering they were part of some kind of cult. They were in the sewers extracting the life-force of its natural inhabitants – the oozes – under the guise of serving an organization denominated as ‘The Triumvirate’.

Looking for Clues

After obtaining this information, a hearing was immediately booked with the Ruling Council of the UNVC. They were told that in the Ruling Council, there is always a representative of the Maritime Council that they could trust. The group headed into the building where the hearing would take place, where they were received by a man named Viri, who explained the proper protocols and who the Council Members were: Ilir Ulmat, representative of the Maritime Council, Lucas Monfort, representative of the Guilds, Ciril Ganel, descendant of one of the founders of the city, Godo Afreet, trader of spices, supplies, and fabrics, and Cindi Ulari, whose great-great-grandfather explored the world. During the meeting itself, they explained what had transpired in the sewers and the Council was especially concerned when the Triumvirate was mentioned. The Council directed them towards Ulmat’s Gates in search of a wise old sage named Percival Harlow who they believed could have more information on this topic.

While still in the city, Denzerius found that his childhood friend, Alexandria Dihil, was now head of the family and still kept his parents under the binding contract their families had signed generations before.

Troubled by finding out his parents were under precarious conditions, Denzerius asked a mysterious woman in a market for a way to save his family and only a name is given as answer in trade for a piece of his fortune: Ghankur. After a troubled journey and a seemingly unproductive search, fortunately for the adventurers, a weird and crazy limping old man named Sticks approached some of them and after some back and forth, the old man revealed himself to be Percival Harlow, the limping crazy persona being merely a disguise. Sticks agreed to help the adventurers, but first they had to help him. He sensed the presence of an old friend in town, but no one had come to visit him; he asked the party to search for his friend and save them, if necessary. After successful tracking and a couple of battles later, a man named Ty escaped from the custody of his captors, in a hidden cave behind the iconic waterfall for which the city is well known. The man explained he was being held prisoner under the orders of someone named Finbuk. Ty lived in the Fire Elemental Plane and some sort of trouble was brewing there. After being reunited with Sticks, Ty returned home to deal with Finbuk.

As promised for saving his friend, Sticks told them all he knew of the Triumvirate: they were three celestial beings with very close ties to Nyos and were banished from this plane of existence some 7000 years ago. He also told the adventurers of an ancient temple used by the old Triumvirate in the desert’s end to the east of Tug-Turuk.

On the Hunt

Knowing that the Triumvirate was after them, the party disguised themselves before leaving for Valean. On the road, a patrol spearheaded by a woman in full plate armour asked them some questions and they soon understood that this woman, named Alenca, was looking for them. They lied and pretended to be a group of travellers that hadn’t seen anyone she was describing. After arriving at the Ruling Council and explaining what transpired, Ciril offered to procure some magical disguises for them and Lucas to arrange for a secret passage out of the city, in order for them to further investigate the ancient temple.

The ruins they discovered were long abandoned, but being patrolled, after they bypassed the patrols, they encountered what they soon understood to be a puzzle room. A little ways further, they discover an unconscious woman who had been in a fight and tried to heal and awake her. She tells them her name is Igrid and that she was sent by the High Magistrate of the Temple of Bahamut. Continuing to investigate the ruins, the party discovers a phantasmagorical figure of an elf dead for about 7000 years, since the war with the dragons. He asks the adventurers to seek the blood of a black dragon and free him from his ethereal form.

Heading in the other direction, the party came face to face with Alenca, Master-at-Arms of the Triumvirate and a battle ensues; Alenca, however, manages to escape through a portal. After the battle, they talk with a survivor, Paltir, who explains his reasons for joining the Triumvirate, and the party convinces him to join the Maritime Council. The party discovers that Alenca escaped to a tower in the outskirts of Marneth.

Retreat and Revelations

Reading from a spell scroll, Igrid transported the whole party to Illkamz. There, the party met Zippy, an old friend of Igrid’s. Together, they headed to the temple of Bahamut to talk to the High Magistrate; since she wasn’t present, they spoke with Gar Jinson, the Second Priest of Bahamut. The adventurers explain what had happened so far and showed him some documents they found at the temple. Gar recognises the handwriting and concludes that the High Magistrate, Elumia Basin, is part of the Triumvirate and sent Igrid to her death. The party sent Paltir to Valean, along with a note addressed to Ilir, asking him to investigate this Triumvirate Tower near Marneth. After hearing their story, Zippy decided to join the group and continue with the adventure. Reaching Ulmat’s Gates via teleportation circle, the adventurers head to Sticks’ house, only to find him sitting in the middle of the room with several corpses about him. One of the bodies had a note from C.G. instructing them to kill Sticks.

Through necromancy, the party asks one of the corpses for the location of the Triumvirate Tower: “From Marneth, travel north until you see the Tower.”. The party gathers what they must and, with Sticks, travel back to Valean.

Call to Arms

This attack made everything personal. From now on it would be war, but not without help. The adventurers gathered all the forces they could get their hands on for this final assault. With his…not so smooth-talking skills Rayi was able to bring the help of the Supreme Commander of the Maritime Council, Illir and a trusted goldlusted Dragonborn Barbarian they had briefly met a few weeks back, Valefor, and form an elite task force ready to put an end to Triumvirate.

With the all might of the Maritime Council behind him, Illir launched a full front attack with his valiant lieutenants Ori, Vanessa and Cardelli while leading the elite task through a long journey, with riddle-filled obstacles and a fierce final battle. It was here that they found out the identity of the third member of the Triumvirate: Ciril Ganel, a member of the Ruling Council of the UNVC.

With Alenca and Elumia slain in battle, Ciril took time to explain the purpose of the Triumvirate: to build a holy army using the lifeforce of innocent children for the sole purpose of defending the realm from a glooming attack of the hellish armies.

Since the party was immovable in their judgement of the Triumvirate, Ciril escaped this dire situation revealing his apparent attained angelic powers, leaving the party to gather the rest of the defeated Triumvirate forces as well as the soulless bodies of all the children used to fuel this holy army.

Family Problems

Once the battle was finished it was time to come home. The children were placed in Vanessa’s boat and, naturally, some of the team's members decided to accompany them. After not much more than a day’s journey south, the boats were attacked by lycanthrope bandits, an evergrowing recurring enemy around these parts of the UNVC. After an intense battle, after a valiant combat display, Denzerius was sadly struck down and Zippy had to revive him as soon as she could for her magic was not as strong as one would’ve wished for. Having a few tense moments passed, the divine magic started flowing inside Denzerius’ body and there he was, broken and tired, lying on the deck of a ship with the fresh sea breeze entering his lungs once more. Vanessa’s ship crew was decimated. But the enemy was defeated.

Two days later, they found out Rayi, the towering half-orc barbarian had contracted lycanthropy from the previous fight, and while searching for a cure, more information arises about the ever growing problem of lycanthropy around the UNVC. After curing Rayi of this terrible affliction, the adventurer’s inform the ruling council of their whereabouts and of their mission and find Lucas Monfort and Godo, overwhelmed with work after Ciril and Sindi’s sudden departure and Illir’s absence. After the meeting they cross paths with Alexandria Dihil once more, strolling through town with a gnomish child by her hand, Denzerius’ sister.

Without any clue on how to proceed in helping Denzerius’ family, they try and look for more information on Ghankur. Qiran and Denzerius find a book titled “Stories on the High Council”, while breaking into the restricted section of Valean’s Library, where they discover Ghankur was a member of some sort of High Council, during the Era of the Draconic War, that had been banished to a location called the 10th Hell.

Meanwhile, one of Valefor’s informers, Eli, tells him about a storage warehouse that connect directly to the Dihil Mansion. After fighting a partially decomposed beholder-like creature, the party is caught red-handed by a MC guard patrol and Alexandria at the same time and all hell breaks loose. Alexandria takes Rayi and Valefor as hostages and demands that Denzerius uses his tinkering skills to manufacture a magical aura suppression device as trade for releasing his friends. He was admitted to the house where he stayed while manufacturing said device, which he armed with an emergency self-destruction mechanism. When the job is done, the captured members are released and the team is reunited.

Route: Northbound

Instead of staying and fighting an enemy they have no clue how to defeat, they decide to accompany Rayi in a trip up north, to find himself in the midst of his people. This was a tough call for Denzerius who knows that this means he must put off once again finding his parents.

On their way to Illkamz, Rayi insists on speaking to Illir one last time so they arrange to meet halfway in Arnath’s Hilt. To do so, they pass through Arnath’s Guard, a small village where Qiran was born. They walk into town with the intent to meet Qiran’s father, little did they know that he had passed away 6 months previous to their arrival. Qiran, clearly distraught by these news takes the best part of a day to gather up strength to leave once more and fulfill his duties as a full fledged member of the team.

In Arnath’s Hilt, they met with Illir inside the City Governor’s mansion, and found him to be a copper-skinned elf named Daeron Mer’sturnon. Daeron told them the story of how, many years ago, there was a civilization of sun elves living in the desert to the west of where the city of Tug-Turuk now stands. And their prime city, Vuol Solaris, still lies in ruins mostly buried by the passiage of time and the rampant propagation of sand. These Sun Elves, were the ones to form the Quen’Asseli, which translates to Protectors of the Realm, or as usually mistranslated, the High Council. This information, relays the chance of unveiling something more on Ghankur.

To Vuol Solaris

Arriving at Tug-Turuk, after asking around for capable people, the party met Professor Woad from the Illkamz University at the Death’s Lilly tavern who, fortunately, had heard about the ruined city of Vuol Solaris. They also met Jujena, a young local woman who knew the desert fairly well and agreed to guide them through the harsh terrain. Having gathered supplies and the experts, they headed out into the desert in search of Vuol Solaris.

Desert Ruins

After a few days braving rough terrain, on the aftermath of a violent sandstorm revealed a toppled tower which lead to an underground complex completely sunken beneath the sands. As they explore the ruins, soon they are taken by surprise and surrounded by strangers who claim to be of the nomadic people of the desert. Their leader, Valnuek, claims they trade with the Queen of the Ruins, exchanging a mysterious arcane compound called Lightsand for gemstones.

As they fought their way through the ruins, the sand beneath their feet started to shift and cave in separating the party. Rayi, Denzerius and Woad found themselves in an empty wing and discovered the lair of a Marid who was extremely unhappy at the constant coming and going of several jackal-like creatures. Valefor found himself alone in a strange part of the ruins where the walls were made of porous black rock infused with dark magic. Zippy, Qiran, and Jujena landed in an underground lake where they found strange looking elves with blue-ish skin and white pupiless eyes, who claimed to be servants of the Great Old One, Qiran’s patron. Their leader, Rioleth, agrees to help them find the rest of their group if they can convince the Queen and her jackal servants to stop digging in their direction. Luckily enough, the party was reunited, excluding Valefor, in a large chamber with several pillars and a heavy door, several orifices exist both on the door and on the pillars, clearly a recently used mechanism to open it.

The Queen’s Domain

They manage to solve the puzzle and enter the Queen’s Domain. Inside, many walls are decorated with stories and several jackals scurry about but seem to pay the adventurers no mind.

As they discover which door leads further into the complex and try to open it, a figure appears, seemingly out of nowhere, and warns them to not mess with the door. He has claws, furs, a jackal like face, pointy ears, and brown skin and is named Wolnak. He says that a meeting with the Queen can be arranged but only if the party solves the problem they have been having with the excavation, and sends them towards the lake some of them had previously visited. Choosing to side with Rioleth, they sketch an elaborate plan to trick the Queen into stopping the digging without any direct confrontation. Having the plan succeeded the Queen grants the party and Rioleth an audience.

She was able to push the party in the right direction as she had heard of Ghankur as a practitioner of the necromantic arts and knew an ancient laboratory was hidden somewhere deeper in the ruins of Vuol Solaris. The Queen reveals her name is Kalni and grants them access to a sealed of area of the ruins so they can look for this ancient laboratory.

As they enter this area, the walls quickly shift to volcanic black rock infused with necromantic energy and they are able to reunite with Valefor. Inside they fend off several undead creatures and find two places worthy of notice, first a tomb inscribed with the message “Here lies one of the Lihidant” and the second, a laboratory guarded by an amalgam of spirits in which a tattered and worn notebook was kept alongside with a mysterious necklace left behind by the amalgam.

The notebook contained the last writings of Ghankur himself prior his banishment to the 10th Hell.

After defeating several other threats the party meets Queen Kalni once more and she confides in them the nature of her true form during a trial of will and knowledge. She magically sprouts ethereal platinum-white wings and faint traces of scales. They learn that millenia ago, the two prime Gods, Nyiosh and Syiosh were splintered into several benevolent God-Shards and several maleficent Tyrants and when the time came for the world to get rid of these entities, the Dragon King, one of the God-Shards, not wanting to leave the mortal world empty of higher power, decided to create the Aspects, creatures tailored to the image of the God-Shards but of lesser power. Ultimately, Queen Kalni revealed herself to be one of the aspects of the Dragon King, the one tailored to the image of the Wise Keeper.

Answers

When the mood settled, she saw the connection Valefor had to the Dragon King deep within his soul and triggered it, opening the flow of divine energy into Valefor’s skills. Having nudged the hero’s quest in a clear direction once more, Queen Kalni left them with a request: that they’d be the heroes the world needs, like many before them had been, so that the Gods needed not to directly intervene ever again.

During this intense conversation, they’ve also learned that the Gods sometimes gave artefacts to mortals and that the Dragon King had once gifted a Hero, Medali Gurun, with a cloak of extraordinary power and that they should seek it in order to defeat the evils to come.

After leaving the ruins, the team resurfaced near the ocean, north of Port Durubak, they found a crystalline structure nearby and decide to explore it finding out that this might be a place where one of the banishments to the 10th Hell took place. They then proceeded to Port Durubak and return to Tug-Turuk through the desert, stumbling upon Valnuek, who accompanies them and tells them the story of Medali Gurun, who united the empire over a thousand years ago. Back in Tug-Turuk, they discover a soothsayer who exchanges information for rolls of her dice, whose outcome can be good or bad. When asking about the cloak of Medali Gurun, she tells them a riddle which can help them find the place:

“There is a place of Sun and cold blood, of business, high where you can see this, below ground deep, the cloak and the owner lie, it’s close.”

They also ask about Alexandria Dihil’s plan, to which she answers that she is creating a gateway, usually used to banish things, to bring things back. When they return to the Death’s Lilly, they are informed of a market known only to dragonborns northwest of the city.

Searching for Strength

When they arrive there late in the day, they find a pyramid next to an empty market and a common hall. Using magical means to enter the pyramid, they discover the pyramid to have been built shortly after the ruins of Vuol Solaris. Traversing the dangers of this pyramid, the party reaches a room with a mirror that’s actually a passageway. A voice asks their purpose and they offer the necklace in exchange for entrance.

The chamber below is filled with sarcophagi and it seems to be a family crypt of some sorts. One of the largest sarcophagi opens and a mummified floating figure appears and they exchange the necklace for the cloak, but this figure soon attacks the party.

After its defeat, inside the crypt, they discover a small library where they discover several pieces of information: that the city of Vuol Solaris was destroyed due to the arrogance and overconfidence of its inhabitant; that Ghankur had 3 original apprentices named the Lihidant: an older man, a female sun elf, and a young scholar; that before Ghankur’s banishment, the young scholar was in their headquarters as guardian, the old man died and was buried in Ghankur’s crypt and the young sun elf survived the fall of Vuol Solaris and aimed for lichdom.

One of her sons did not see eye-to-eye with his family and their practice of necromantic magic and made it his mission to end his family’s legacy. He killed his family and sacrificed himself to perform a ritual to prevent his mother from becoming a lich. It was also stated that he had a daughter who he hoped never finds out about his family’s legacy...

Sadly, in the library, there was also a reference to the magic protecting this chamber, the only way to leave it would be to undo the ritual and allow the demi-lich, a former Lihidant, to return. The party, however, tried to dispel the magic inherent to the pyramid which caused it to collapse. They manage to escape the pyramid and the market without being seen and return to Tug-Turuk, leaving chaos, rubble and destruction behind.

Valean Calls

Taking advantage of Qiran’s dreamweaving magic, the adventurers contact Igrid, Zippy’s friend in Illkamz and they discover that the city had been under siege by giants from the North, but that after a few weeks, they are returning to the mountains for some unknown reason. They also managed to contact Ori who explained that the MC wanted to arrest him and that the an organization named the Five Whispers helped him escape. Illir, the Supreme Commander of the MC, had contacted him to rescue Sticks and the children rescued from the Triumvirate Tower and they are now in high seas fleeing from Valean towards Quel’Kinaz.

News have also surfaced that Illir is rumoured imprisoned or even dead while Vanessa Ardor, previously an Admiral of the MC, is now leading it. The adventurers then decide to return to Valean but to do so, they to go through Port Durubak and Arnalth’s Hilt, where they meet up with Ho’kren, that tellls them that the newly elected City Council in Valean is having trouble keeping the peace.

Five Whispers

Ho’kren also puts the party in contact with a friend of his, Daeron Mer’sturnon, already known to them. The following day, at Daeron’s mansion, he says he cannot help them unless he knows what is happening, and they tell Daeron what they know and why Alexandria Dihil, Ghankur, the 10th Hell and the entire mess. This information deeply troubles Daeron who decides to help them by arranging passage to Valean and for the Five Whispers to contact them once they reach the city.

After smuggling inside the city, they meet with Ker Norion, which seems to be the head figure chapter of the Five Whispers in Valean. They strike a deal to work together to retake the city from Alexandria’s grasp. First, Denzerius and Qiran team up with three experts of the Five Whispers to lead Lucas Monfort to safety without compromising his elevated position while uncovering information on the web of influence put in place by Alexandria. In the process they also uncover information about the undead servants she has deployed to the streets of Valean.

The rest of the party, Rayi, Valefor, and Zippy, infiltrated an island-prison with the aid of a talented thief and rescued the people held there. They manage to rescue a small taskforce of the MC including the presumed dead Supreme Commander, Illir Ulmat.

Once they reunite, they discover that the undead servants patrolling the streets are a new breed of undead named Anthropods. They also find out that as part of the influence Alexandria has over the important families of Valean, she is keeping three Ardor children hostage in order to keep Vanessa Ardor in line, and the party is tasked with searching for the cabin in the east woods where they are presumably being kept.

Complications

When they arrive at the cabin, a fight breaks out with the posted guards and Valefor is seemingly sucked into the necklace he was wearing, the one recovered from Ghankur’s laboratory. Picking up the necklace and without Valefor they manage to rescue the children and bring them back to the Five Whispers. After analysing the necklace, it is clear that after a certain number of uses, it sucks in the nearest ill-aligned creature.

Meanwhile, Valefor finds himself on a strange crystalline path with bright lights, much like the ones in Ghankur’s laboratory, that once touched, take you to memories of atrocities being committed. After these visions, as Valefor comes back to consciousness, he finds himself in a strange room, his body covered in cloth and bandages and a cloaked figure introduces himself as Joront, the Keeper of the Necklace, and urges that the necklace must be returned to safety because it is the final resting place of evil souls who should never be allowed to leave.

When the rest of the party meets up with Ker, they discuss the updates to the plan of retaking the city and discover that there are beacons throughout the city which control the Anthropods, and they must be disabled when the final strike is underway.

As a group and with Illir, they discuss what can be done to rescue Valefor. Qiran tries a spell to contact otherworldly entities to obtain some answers, but that induces on him a temporary state of madness..

Being left with no alternative and running out of time, Rayi and Zippy decide to use the necklace themselves in order to be sucked inside and help Valefor. They take the same path that Valefor took and are subjected to the same evil visions he was. As Joront tries to open a passageway for Valefor to get out of the necklace, the evil souls revolt resulting in a scuffle where Joront falls upon a stalactite and dies.

Meanwhile, Qiran experiences visions of his patron, saying it has a mission for him, and decides to help the adventurers in their current situation. When he wakes up, a teletransportation circle begins to be inscribed on the floor below Qiran and Denzer and they are transported inside the necklace to where the rest of their group is. Coming together, and thanks to Qiran’s newly-found powers, they manage to plane shift out of the necklace, bringing Joront’s body with them, and back into the den of the Five Whispers.

With the Jovia’s help, a healer working for the organization, they manage to bring Joront back to life. He explains he must return to the necklace to keep it safe or it could explode, releasing all the evil souls back into the world. As he returns to the necklace, Valefor vows to find a way to keep it safe.

Battle for Valean

After only a few hours of rest, they are summoned to Ker’s meeting room, where the final preparations for the retake of Valean are taking place. The plan consists of four parts: Clear the port so Ori can arrive by ship and bolster the forces, breach the upper ring of the city, deactivate the beacons controlling the hooded guardians, and killing Alexandria.

After a few short hours and the arrival of some curious allies, the battle begins. Jovia joins the group as they head towards the port to clear it. After a standoff at the port, the revolting forces manage to clear a path for Ori’s ship to dock and that turns the tide of battle in their favour. While the brunt of the force continues with the second and third parts of the plan, the group of adventurers is teletransport through a rift in the plane to the city’s upper ring and decide to head towards Alexandria’s mansion in the hopes of finding her there.

As they enter, they are greeted with a heavily guarded mansion… is it a trap? Is it guarded because they are in the correct place? There is only one way to find out on...

Professional Dice Rollers.