Lira in "Zenith"

Lira and the rest arrived at the city of Ad-Nilem, looking for ways to defeat the black dragon Nighith.

Bones of Forgotten Men

 * Main Article: Bones of Forgotten Men

The silence as the wizard stared at the group was broken by a clatter of metal. They all turned to see that a scepter had fallen to the ground where Auren had been standing, but the life cleric was nowhere to be seen.

As Azula retrieved the weapon and stowed it in her Bag of Holding, the wizard cautiously greeted them and admitted he had been waiting for them.

The man introduced himself as Erwil, a reluctant servant for the Alchemist. He said he would bring the group to a contact who could tell them about Nighith, then teleport them back home afterwards.

Since the room had no windows, the adventurers asked where they were. Despite seeming surprised that they did not know, Erwil welcomed them to Ad-Nilem, the capital of the Mage Republic. Specifically, they were in the Tower, the city's center of government.

The group followed the wizard down several flights of stairs, noticing through the windows that it was early evening. As they continued to descend, they realized that they were heading toward a dungeon. Erwil told them that the tower prison only held the most dangerous of prisoners, and that their contact was inside.

In the lowermost level, which seemed more like a cavern than a tower basement, they met a guard at a desk. They signed in as visitors, noticing that the list for the day was notoriously blank.

The group piled into a mining cart, which took them through a long passage. Lira abruptly noticed that her magical bow felt oddly lighter. She nudged Azula, who was sitting next to her, and asked her to cast a cantrip. The cleric tried and failed to cause a minor tremor with Thaumaturgy, and they realized that they had entered a magic-blocked zone.

The cart passed several bridges branching away from the tracks, before stopping at the seventy-second. Erwil let them into the cell before locking it behind them.

Within the completely dark room, the group found a githzerai sitting in meditation. Mildly interested, he looked up and admitted that he had not had visitors in many years.

The adventurers questioned him, but despite introducing himself as Dural and agreeing to speak with them, he refused to reveal why he had been imprisoned.

When asked about Nighith, Dural told them that he joined those rising against Eon centuries ago. He recalled at the time that a black dragon had been Eon's most powerful general. With the success of the rebellion though, both souls had been trapped, with Eon's inside the Godslayer and Nighith's in another plane.

In recent years, the dragon had managed to return to their dimension, but he could not touch the land without changing to some humanoid form. Here, the group remembered that they had only seen Nighith aloft, and that it always used an elven form when fighting or talking to them from the ground.

Dural continued that he had helped the resistance by crafting weapons. He and other githzerai had forged nine magical weapons; a sword, spear, scepter, axe, hammer, trident, whip, greatsword, and rapier. The first would later be proclaimed as the Sword of the Godslayer.

When the group admitted that the sword had been stolen by Nighith, Dural told them that one of the other eight was its counterpart: the Spear of the Wyrmhunter. The weapon had been specifically made to kill Eon's trusted general, and was enchanted to return to its wielder's hand after being thrown.

After asking where they could find it, Dural shrugged and said that it had been too long. All nine weapons however matched one another in design, thus the group knew to look for elegant, leaf-motif weapons.

As the others prepared to leave, Marley asked Dural if he wanted them to break him out. The rogue insisted that he could fight alongside them, asking the githzerai if he was strong. However, the prisoner only punched Marley in the stomach as his affirmation.

Dural then sat back down, saying that he had no interest in leaving, and adding that it would be their worst mistake to unleash him back on the world.

Thanking the prisoner again, the group knocked on the door and were released by Erwil. As they rode back, they asked him about the Wyrmhunter. He admitted that it sounded familiar, but could not seem to remember where he had heard of it.

Erwil suggested that they research it in the tower library, thus they all took a floating disk up to the fourth floor.

Azula researched the Wyrmhunter, while Marley read up on magic rapiers, and Nicolas on Dural. Lira, bored by the books, talked to the library patrons instead.

The cleric learned that the spear had been awarded to the Largon family as a reward for their participation in the war. Marley only found recent listings of magical rapiers, including Tavrian's, which he had claimed the day before. Nicolas read that Dural had been a war hero, but he had afterwards gone berserk and committed genocide.

When Lira mentioned the spear to a friendly patron, he told her to go outside and look at it. Surprised, the ranger went to the ground floor and exited into the courtyard. Just beyond the open gate, she noticed a large banner posted on one of the nearby manors.

The notice bore a painting of a spear, as well as the announcement that the Spear of the Wyrmhunter would be auctioned tomorrow night.

Lira returned to her comrades and, after they had all shared their findings, they left to hunt for lodgings.

After several minutes of walking, they passed One-Eyed Gracie's Magical Emporium, the only shop open since it was already late at night. The group entered out of curiosity and an elderly woman (presumably Gracie) greeted them and showed them her magical wares.

As the others browsed, Azula asked Gracie about the Wyrmhunter. The shopkeeper revealed that she had pooled all her savings, and fully intended to win the spear at the auction. When speaking to another patron, however, Marley learned of suspicions that the weapon was a fake.

Meanwhile, the others fixated on two of the items for sale. Since Nicolas was the only one of their number without darkvision, the group was drawn to a Drift Orb and a Lantern of Revealing for him. The former allowed one to cast Daylight and would hover with them, while the latter dispelled invisibility of any in its light.

However, both were roughly four hundred gold each. They attempted to haggle, but could not get more than a twenty percent discount.

Marley asked if Gracie had any jobs they could help her with, and she admitted that several acolytes of her religion, the Church of the Nine, were missing. The church was a fairly new one attempting to unite other gods under one pantheon.

The locals had evidently been upset by the acolytes, and had kidnapped them while they were preaching in the slums. Gracie said that if the group rescued them all alive, she would give them a twenty-five percent discount.

The adventurers agreed and traveled to the slums, but were quickly blocked by seven thugs. Azula intimidated them with her hammer, but the leader only drew a dagger and called the attack.

Unimpressed by the petty thieves, the group easily killed or knocked out most of them. Sentry chased and knocked over the leader as he tried to escape, and the man quickly surrendered.

Lira questioned the leader about the acolytes, while the others looted fifteen silver off the bodies. The leader directed them to a nearby house and, after he meekly asked for a reward, Azula returned five silver to him.

The adventurers examined the house from across the street. They noticed voices coming from the second floor, as well as a cleric pacing the roof. Marley climbed the trellis, tying a rope and letting it down for the others. The rogue hit the watchman in the back of the head, but it was not enough to knock him out.

Lira and the others went up the rope to help him, but were significantly slower in climbing. The ranger directed Sentry ahead of her, and the leopard climbed easily to Marley's aid.

After the two had knocked the cleric out, Marley stole his clothing and holy symbol. The group entered a trapdoor and found themselves in an attic that was being used as a storage room.

As Marley helped himself to a box of blankets, Azula noticed a chest and tried to open it. However, it swiftly revealed itself to be a mimic and narrowly missed biting her.

The group fought to subdue the creature quietly and were disappointed to find no items within it. They continued to the stairs, from which they could see four clerics standing around three acolytes bound to chairs.

Marley went ahead and claimed to be a new recruit. The clerics believed him surprisingly, but when they asked him the name of their god, the rogue faltered and hissed for help into the Rings of Whisper.

Still hidden upstairs, Azula, Nicolas and Lira all tried examining the holy symbol but were stumped, despite the former two's religious backgrounds. To all of them, it was only unintelligible lines. Lenirith noticed their blank expressions and spoke up, telling Marley that it was a symbol of the goddess Seti.

When Marley praised Seti, the other clerics relaxed. They shared with him that they were about to perform a ritual to present blood and flesh to their goddess. The rogue hastily asked them to wait for him, and excused himself downstairs.

In the deserted ground floor, Marley upended two of his oil flasks and set fire to the kitchen. After waiting a few seconds, he ran upstairs and yelled that heretics were attacking them.

One cleric accompanied him down to help put out the fire. Marley poured oil into a bucket and doused the flame, causing it to flare alarmingly. The cleric scolded him angrily and sent the rogue back upstairs.

He arrived in time to hear the leader cleric decide that the fire was a rescue attempt. He directed Marley and the other two forward to slit the acolytes' throats. Panicking, the rogue called for his comrades to attack.

Lira and Marley each rushed one of the clerics and restrained them, keeping the daggers away from the acolytes. However, the leader managed to cast Spirit Guardians, which manifested as dark shadows. In seconds, the acolytes died screaming.

As soon as Lenirith killed the cleric she was grappling with, Lira charged the leader with Sentry close behind. After both of them managed to weather the guardians' attacks, the leader retreated and jumped out the window.

Nicolas hurried to follow, landing heavily on the street but taking little damage from the fall. He lashed out at the leader and stopped him before he could run.

Sentry pounced onto the leader from above and knocked him down, just long enough for Lira to cast Hunter's Mark in case he slipped away from them. Marley joined the ranger at the window and fired arrows downward.

Realizing that he was cornered, the lead cleric surrendered. Unsatisfied though, Nicolas tried to knock him out, but the enemy managed to stay conscious. After watching both the paladin's and Sentry's unsuccessful attempts, Lira finally dropped a chair out the window onto the leader's head.

At the back of the group, Lenirith and Azula finished off the last cleric. However, they noticed that the raging fire was beginning to climb the stairs and warned the others to run.

The adventurers grabbed the acolytes and retreated, leaping out the window as the house exploded in flames behind them.

Dwarf in the High Castle

 * Main Article: Dwarf in the High Castle

Bearing the bodies of the acolytes with them, the group returned to One-Eyed Gracie's shop. Though she sadly had the corpses collected for burial, Gracie still agreed to give them a discount. They paid for a Lantern of Revealing and entrusted it to Nicolas.

As they prepared to leave however, Gracie asked the adventurers if they were interested in a second errand. Reminding them that she wanted to buy the Wyrmhunter at the auction, she called forward one of her trustees, a human rogue named Axel.

The rogue was carrying a lockbox chained to his wrist, and Gracie explained that it contained her maximum bid, fifteen thousand gold. In exchange for tickets to the exclusive auction, the shopkeeper only asked that they do their best to win the legendary spear.

The adventurers readily agreed, and returned to their inn to prepare. Nicolas and Azula collected everyone's weapons, since they would pose as bodyguards. All the others, including Sentry, dressed in fine clothing to act as buyers.

When early evening came, they picked up Axel from the shop and were led to a large gated mansion, Glucklicker Ort. The expansive grounds contained a theater, a casino and a gallery; the last of which would host the auction.

As the group lined up with the large crowd of nobles, they noticed that those at the front were being searched before being allowed inside. Only nobles presenting papers for themselves and their bodyguards were permitted to keep their weapons.

Marley swiftly pickpocketed the necessary documents from someone a few places ahead of him. The rogue forged a copy claiming himself, Lenirith and Lira to be non-human siblings adopted by generous human parents. At the back of the paper, he listed the arsenal of weapons Azula and Nicolas were carrying.

When the nobleman who had been pickpocketed reached the front of the line, he was detained. Pitying him, Azula pretended to find his "dropped" papers and returned them.

As the group neared the gates, a finely dressed half-elf approached the guards. He spoke quietly to them with authority, indicating himself to be the estate caretaker, Wesley.

Wesley pointed out the members of their group, and they were allowed in without being searched. Confused, they tried to question him, but the caretaker disappeared into the crowd.

After the gates had been closed behind them, the adventurers noticed many of the nobles gathering at the fence to look outside. They joined them and watched the entire grounds lift slowly into the sky, borne upwards by some unseen mechanism. The edge of the metal fence became a sheer cliff, and rose until the city lights were little more than fireflies.

Since the auction would begin at midnight, the attendees were allowed to explore. Lira, Azula and Nicolas went to the theater, Axel to the gallery, and Marley and Lenirith to the casino.

Lira simply napped in the darkened stage hall, but Azula was dissatisfied by the supposedly "historical" play. After complaining loudly about the inaccuracies a few times, she walked out, blearily followed by the ranger and paladin.

Back on the grounds, Nicolas noticed Marley and Lenirith leaving the casino, apparently disappointed to have lost all their money. He generously lent them another fifty gold each, and the three returned to the games. Lenirith would later proudly show the group her thousand gold winnings.

Curious about the items to be sold at the auction, Lira and Azula entered the gallery. The room was mostly empty, and they only took note of Axel studying a fine pair of daggers on display.

As they moved into the hall, the cleric finally noticed the Spear of the Wyrmhunter exhibited at the back. She and Lira approached it excitedly, failing to notice the hooded figure watching Axel from a corner.

However, Sentry noticed the suspicious character, his head turning sharply as soon as he entered the room. Wanting to protect Axel and the money box, the leopard charged. He pushed the figure over heavily, dislodging the drow fighter's hood and knocking him out.

Only here did Lira notice her companion, though she only nodded approvingly. The ranger left Azula to study the spear, and dragged the unconscious body out of the gallery. She caught sight of Wesley nearby and approached him.

The caretaker was speaking with a drow rogue, a noble named Thelial who had apparently noticed extra weapons displayed in the gallery. Lira excused herself into the conversation and reported the fighter as a security risk.

However, both Wesley and Thelial seemed surprised, and told her that Ulysses was one of the auction's undercover guards. Lira apologized with a shrug, and Wesley roused the drow with a healing potion.

As Azula joined Lira outside, she reported that two hooded figures had just teleported into the gallery. They had stolen several weapons from the exhibits before vanishing, though the items they had stolen seemed to be common ones. Thelial asked which had been taken, and revealed that each was an unregistered exhibit she had noted down.

After he had sent his guards to investigate, Wesley abruptly seemed to recognize Azula. He requested that the cleric gather her friends and the whole group walked to a side building. There, the caretaker opened a hidden door and led them up a spiral staircase.

They eventually reached a long hall, which ended with a revolving chair facing three magical orbs. The chair turned to reveal a middle-aged dwarf, who immediately greeted Azula. Nicolas and Lira stared in surprise as the cleric's older brother Thaldan hugged her.

He introduced himself as the Librarian, the keeper of the three divination orbs called the Esoteries. At their confusion, he explained that the Esoteries could project images of the past, present and future, and that he rationed its three daily charges to several government and royal contacts.

After learning that he owned all of Glucklicker Ort, the group asked whether they could take the Wyrmhunter. However, Thaldan admitted that he only owned the venue, not any of the auction items. He did at least offer the assurance that all the properties were genuine, since he had had them verified out of scholarly curiosity.

At midnight, the group accompanied Thaldan to the auction, where he gave a slightly dragging opening speech. However, before any bidding could start, the lights suddenly flickered and all turned to see a hooded figure standing at the back of the room.

The mage conjured a swirl of cold magic and cast Ice Storm into the middle of the crowd, killing several civilians. Realizing the danger, Lira tried to rush the enemy from the side, but she was thrown back by an Ice Wall that very nearly knocked her out.

The adventurers rallied alongside the two drow security guards they had just met and focused fire on the mage. They killed her within seconds, but several more enemies appeared among them. All were unarmed and darkly hooded, masking any clue of their race or origin.

Nicolas faced the largest of the enemies, a plate-armored warrior. The man bore a glaive that Thelial had earlier noticed to be an unregistered item, revealing that the enemies' weapons had been smuggled in among the auction properties.

Likely due to the strict gate security, most of the enemies they faced were unarmed fighters. One in particular plowed into the crowd of nobles, ambivalently breaking the necks of civilians.

In the chaos, Lira, Axel and Azula were each knocked out by the monks' punches. However, all were roused within seconds, due to the adventurers' newly bolstered numbers.

Lira sheltered near the front of the room, a distance from the fighting, and fired her bow from there. However, after seeing the heavy warrior knock Nicolas out and continue to attack his unconscious form, she realized that none of the adventurers could quickly reach him. She used her Boots of Haste for the first time, sprinting to the paladin's side just long enough to heal him.

As they battled, a finely clothed mage appeared behind them. Azula turned in time to see him cast a spell at the podium, and Thaldan disintegrated into dust. Enraged, the cleric abandoned her duel with one of the monks and threw several Guiding Bolts at the mage.

The group eventually managed to defeat the enemies, revealing the masked creatures as hobgoblins. They questioned one of the few left alive. He revealed that the adventurers had mistakenly been protecting the auction items, since the attack had merely been a distraction for Thaldan's assassination.

They surrendered the prisoner to the local guards and met with Wesley at the front of the hall. The somber caretaker spoke quietly to Azula, then led them all back to the Esoteries hall for her to hear a message from her brother.

Through the orbs, Thaldan revealed that he had intended to hand the Esoteries over to Azula, since she was his only worthy successor. The cleric solemnly accepted the request, inheriting the role of Librarian.

As the group rested, Azula used the orbs' charges to look for Nighith, the Alchemist and Minos in turn. While it revealed the financier to be safe and searching Ibameran for them, the other two targets appeared to have wards against divination.

Since she had decided to separate from the group for a while, Azula distributed her magic items. She passed Lira and Marley each a Ring of Whisper, and gave the Bag of Holding and Polymorph Staff to Nicolas.

The adventurers finally introduced themselves formally to Thelial and Ulysses. After some discussion, they invited both drow along with Axel to leave their hometown of Ad-Nilem and travel with them back to Ibameran.

Best of Women

 * Main Article: Best of Women

The next morning, Glucklicker Ort settled back to ground level and the auction attendees dispersed. Thelial separated from the group temporarily to leave a goodbye message for her parents. Lenirith, tired from the previous night's battle, stayed behind with Azula for the day.

From the gallery steps, the adventurers argued over whether to return the fifteen thousand gold to Gracie. Axel, to whom the lockbox was chained, insisted no, while Nicolas insisted yes.

Uncaring either way, Lira suggested that they leave the decision to fate. Should Marley be able to deceive Gracie about the money, they would keep it. Knowing the low likelihood of the thief's success, Nicolas agreed.

Marley disguised himself as an old man, deciding that he would claim that the adventurers had all died during the auction attack, and that the money had been stolen. After reaching the street of Gracie's shop, the others hid nearby to watch.

The thief tried the shop door, but found it locked securely. He questioned a passerby, who told him that since Gracie was a well-known, powerful wizard, she was often travelling. Upon hearing this through the Rings of Whisper, the group quickly and collectively decided to return the money.

After leaving a note to Gracie saying to contact them for the immediate return of the gold, the group settled at a nearby, outrageously expensive coffee house.

As they drank and watched Marley attempt to steal (and subsequently drop) an insignia tankard, the group heard riders approaching from outside. Five armed guards filed into the room, followed by a young squire and a middle-aged noble. The squire announced the noble to be Baron Chlodwig Sauer, a local senator.

Chlodwig greeted the adventurers, explaining that he had heard of their prowess during the auction attack. He asked whether he could speak with them privately and admitted that he had work for them. They then followed him into a private room.

Pointedly only addressing the men and ignoring Lira and Thelial, the baron explained that his wife Luella had been missing for eight days. He described her to them and said that she had last been seen heading towards Aeden Valley, but he claimed not to know why.

As Marley and Thelial squabbled over the reward fee, Chlodwig addressed Nicolas and crossly asked the assumed commander whether he could keep his troops in line. The paladin calmly told him to ignore the orc, assuring him that they were capable.

After loaning three horses from the baron, the group departed. Nicolas rode at the head with Marley, flanked by Lira with Thelial, and Ulysses with Axel.

However, as they reached a grassy road, they were overtaken by several large shadows. The group looked up and saw riders mounted on giant owls, who circled them and landed in a wide perimeter around them.

The riders each bore a noble's insignia and upon noticing it, Thelial dove off the saddle and hid in the bushes. All the other adventurers stared at her, easily seeing her through the leaves, but the leader of the riders surprisingly missed her until one of his allies pointed her out.

The leader stepped forward, announcing that they had been sent to fetch Lady Thelial and bring her home. The assassin begrudgingly introduced the man to be Ellion, a sorcerer and a childhood friend of hers.

Surprised that Thelial's parents did not trust her, the adventurers insisted on her prowess as a warrior. After some argument, the riders agreed to leave the assassin behind, but promised that her parents would be informed. Ellion stayed as well, claiming that he needed to keep an eye on his friend.

With the additional rider in their group, Nicolas took a moment to cast Find Steed and summon a horse of his own. Lira then took his vacated seat alongside Marley, allowing Ellion to ride with Thelial.

Around noon, the group reached a small town and were met by a panicked elderly man. He begged for their help, claiming that a tall creature had killed the local herds and had disappeared into the forest. He offered them five hundred gold as a reward, but the group kindly refused and took the job for free.

They followed the tracks through the trees until they reached a small clearing. At the far edge, all of them easily caught sight of a large figure hunched over something and apparently eating.

As rogues, Marley and Thelial sneaked up behind the creature and stabbed it with twin rapiers. Lira followed their lead and finished it with a single arrow through the stab wound. The troll fell heavily forward before it had even seen them.

The adventurers followed the tracks of several other trolls and were led to a large cave. Ulysses entered first, but stumbled over a poisoned spike trap. Marley quickly took over for the injured fighter and moved ahead, disabling traps and an alarm tripwire along the way.

They eventually reached a ledge overlooking a large pit. To their left, a narrow passage curved downward presumably as a path to the lower floor.

Below them, three trolls napped or milled around the wide space. The head of a fourth was visible in a large pool at the center of the pit, in which it was being bathed by several goblins.

Deciding on stealth, the orc and elves insisted that the humans wait until they had struck first before activating any light source.

Lira took a hunting trap that Azula had left in the Bag of Holding and set it halfway along the narrow passage. Marley poured an oil flask onto the ground next to it, then set down two more unopened flasks after he realized that the liquid was only soaking into the dirt. He then instructed the phoenix sorcerer Ellion to ignite them once an enemy was in range.

Nicolas and Sentry waited around the corner from the trap, while all the others lined up on the ledge.

As Axel readied a lightning Chromatic Orb for the enemies in the pool, Thelial struck first, hitting the bathing creature with an arrow.

Though one troll headed for the passage as expected, two others climbed the ledge directly. Lira and Marley stumbled back as one crowded into them, while Axel was forced to throw his lightning orb at the other as it swiped at him.

The troll in the passage faltered as the hunting trap closed around its leg, trying and failing to shake itself free. Nicolas and Sentry both attacked, the former wounding it severely with his polearm, and the latter knocking it to the ground. Ellion then finished the creature with a Fire Bolt and a succeeding flask explosion.

From the pit, the bathing creature snatched up a goblin and threw it at Thelial, very nearly knocking her out. It then stood, revealing itself to be a hill giant, twice the size of its troll allies.

Distinctly feeling Azula's absence, Lira busied herself with healing the new recruits in turn as the trolls and hill giant attacked them. In the passage below, Nicolas and Sentry were mobbed by some of the goblins, several of whom landed lucky hits on the paladin and caused more damage than the troll had.

After the goblins had been cleared out, Sentry ran to Lira's side to help against the trolls. Nicolas pressed forward to face the hill giant alone, but realized too late that he had gone out of range of Ellion's Light spell. The giant struck him powerfully, and he fell unconscious.

Seeing the paladin fall, Marley quickly slid down the ledge and landed lightly on his feet. He roused Nicolas with a healing potion, and the two faced the giant from below.

After Sentry and Thelial had each killed one of the remaining trolls, all of the adventurers focused on the giant. Despite being disadvantaged by the darkness of the cave, Ellion was able to finish it with a Scorching Ray.

The dust settled, and they realized that a single goblin had been left alive. As it cowered among them, the new recruits insisted on killing it, but the old guard stopped them.

Nicolas asked the goblin about valuable items, and it immediately pleaded for its life in exchange for the giant's treasure. The recruits finally relented, and Marley, Ulysses and Sentry followed the goblin into a hidden passage.

The stone hallway led to a large pile of bones and carcasses. The goblin dove into the pile and fished out several fine chalices, a tome and a set of dwarven plate armor. After the four returned to the main room, Lira instructed Sentry to carry the goblin far away from the town and release it.

The adventurers returned to the small town, bearing the head of the hill giant they had killed. The villagers, led by the elderly man who had first spoken to them, thanked them profusely and again offered a reward of gold. The group refused again, but settled for lunch and a place to sleep.

The next morning, they asked the elderly man whether he had seen a blue-eyed, pale blonde woman pass by. He identified her immediately as Luella, and directed the group to a dwarven neighbor of his named Denda.

Denda easily revealed that Luella had come through the village around a week earlier, and that she had been accompanied by a man and two other women. The dwarf also mentioned that Luella had been heavy with child, much to the adventurers' surprise.

The group returned to the path leading to Aeden Valley, taking careful note of Denda's directions and her warning of witches in those parts.

As they traveled through the dense trees, Lira picked up on the sound of a group following them. She signaled this subtly to her comrades, and Marley nodded once before slipping from their horse. Lira continued on as if nothing had happened, while the thief waited in the bushes.

Eventually, the second group passed by Marley's hiding place, and he was surprised to recognize the baron. The thief revealed himself and Chlodwig admitted that he had wanted to make sure they were doing their jobs.

Marley called out for the others to wait for him and the baron's men to catch up, and they all regrouped.

The baron called for them to ride on together, insisting that he would join the adventurers for the rest of their search. Suspicious, Lira countermanded him and refused to allow the horses to continue. She insisted that if he wanted them to complete his request, he would need to tell them everything.

However, Chlodwig again only told Nicolas to keep his soldiers in line, much to the ranger's irritation.

Since he was also unwilling to let the baron reach his wife, in case he had some ill intent, Marley decided to deceive him. He took two chalices and gave one to Lira, claiming to Chlodwig that he could use the "magic items" to communicate with them.

Realizing his plan, Lira played along. She spoke to the thief from a distance using the Rings of Whisper, but pretended to use the chalice. Chlodwig consented, taking a chalice and leading his men back the way they had come.

The adventurers rode on and eventually reached a clearing. A dilapidated tower rose at its center, surrounded by a vast encampment. The crowd was made up of varying races, but all seemed to be drinking and celebrating.

They advanced openly and dismounted, but no one accosted them. The group met two men at the outskirts of the camp, who greeted them cheerily and invited them to toast the "new life."

Lira warily only pretended to drink, but was unable to detect whether the ale was drugged or poisoned in some way. Marley noticed her examining the cup, but after checking it himself, revealed it to be common drink.

As they pressed forward through the camp, they stopped several feet from the tower to remain hidden in the crowd. Marley went forward alone and peeked into a window adjacent to the door. Abruptly, he reeled back and promptly began to mimic the others in the camp, dancing and proclaiming the new life.

Only here did the adventurers study the crowd and realize that all of them were men.

As the only two women in the group of seven, Lira and Thelial moved ahead and flanked the tower. With Sentry at her heels, Lira approached Marley's side, while Thelial moved to the opposite wall. As the ranger passed Marley, she took his Ring of Whisper and tossed it to Nicolas.

The paladin retreated again to a safe distance, and Lira looked into the same window the thief had. Just inside, she found an elderly woman wearing a shining pendant. Beyond her stood two others surrounding a woman on a table, whose stomach was distended unnaturally, even for a pregnancy.

The presumed witch with a pendant noticed Lira, and insisted angrily that she leave. The ranger only warned into her Ring of Whisper that she was about to try something dangerous, then lunged forward.

Before Lira could reach the window however, she was frozen by a petrification spell. Sentry hissed in anger and leapt through the window, knocking the witch prone.

The others charged out of the crowd and positioned themselves around the door, which Ellion kicked open. Only Axel veered off, circling to Lira's side of the tower to attempt to rouse Marley. The arcane trickster kicked him viciously between the legs, but the thief only fell and continued to whimper about new life.

As her comrades attacked, Lira managed to resist the petrification. Moments later, Nicolas, Ulysses and Ellion were all struck by a charm spell. All except the sorcerer began dancing, just like Marley and the other enthralled.

Thelial fired on the witches through her window, but one managed to see her hiding below the ledge. The witch followed her outside and hit her with Polymorph, turning her into a pig. Ellion noticed this immediately however, and rescued his friend by breaking the caster's concentration.

On the opposite side of the tower, Axel and Lira focused on the witch with the pendant. The arcane trickster snatched the necklace with his Mage Hand and floated it out the window towards himself. However, its owner retaliated with another petrify, leaving the pendant hovering by Axel's outstretched fingers.

Lira hurried to help, grabbing the pendant out of the air and smashing it between the wall and her sword hilt. Marley, Nicolas and Ulysses immediately came to their senses and rallied to join the fight.

With their numbers restored, the group managed to kill two witches, but the third teleported to safety, swearing vengeance for her sisters.

As they investigated the tower, the adventurers read that the Sauer couple had evidently found themselves barren, and had asked for the witches' help. Almost as if signaled, the baron and his men then burst into the room, apparently too impatient to wait for their chalice call.

The baron crooningly greeted his wife and their soon to be born son, but Lira was still cautious of him. She approached Luella from the other side, asking her quietly whether she was all right. The woman only weakly begged for death, apparently realizing that she was carrying an unnatural creature.

As Chlodwig threw their payment onto the tower floor, he insisted that the adventurers leave immediately, since they had finished their work. Marley quietly collected the fallen coins as the others debated whether they should object, concerned as they were for Luella.

Eventually, they consented to the baron's request and left peacefully. As the group had subtly agreed though, Marley fired a shot from outside the window. The arrow missed Luella's vitals and she screamed, alerting the baron and his men.

Before any could move however, a homunculus crawled free from Luella's body. It swelled alarmingly in size, snatching up Chlodwig and swallowing him whole. The baron's men panicked and stumbled into each other as they tried to flee.

The adventurers all attacked from the windows, unwilling to approach the homunculus. Knowing that the three rogues would benefit from his proximity to the creature though, Lira directed Sentry back into the tower. The leopard, despite his heavy injuries, attacked the homunculus and very nearly dragged it down prone.

The group eventually managed to kill the creature, and Nicolas rushed into the tower. He found Luella barely alive and used Lay on Hands to stabilize her. They all quickly collected several magic items, including a broom and the baron's sword and cloak.

The adventurers rode hard for Ad-Nilem, noticing the rest of the encampment dispersing in bleary confusion. They found treatment for Luella and saved her life, though she did not regain consciousness before they left.

They returned to Glucklicker Ort, bringing a heavy load of equipment to Azula for identification. The recruits took majority of the items, which included a Tome of Clear Thought, a Gust Fan, Arrows of Dragon Slaying and a Cloak of Displacement. Marley and Nicolas took the equipment suited to them; a Broom of Flight, the Dwarven Plate and a Flametongue longsword.

Unraveled

 * Main Article: Unraveled

The group traveled through the Ad-Nilem marketplace to resupply, and were eventually met by Lenirith. The sorceress had finished recovering in Glucklicker Ort, and Azula had sent her to them with the message that their friends had arrived.

As they wondered who she meant, they caught sight of Minos, Cassana and Ashvell approaching them. They greeted the familiar faces, marveling that they had been separated for so many weeks.

Cassana reprimanded them for making her wait in the tomb, and said that she had eventually looked for them in Ibameran. She revealed that the inscriptions she had been translating were written in an ancient form of Elvish, and that she needed to research in the Mage Republic's tower library.

Just as the adventurers agreed to meet up with the three afterwards, they saw a pillar of smoke rising toward the north. They hurried toward its source, and found a docked ship ablaze. The ship alongside it was also struggling to escape the spreading fire, but appeared to be too undermanned to set sail.

All of the adventurers hurried to help put out the fire, except for Lenirith and Lira. The former instead charmed three passing men to help in her stead, while Lira ran to the ship beside the fire. She admitted to the few crewmen that she could not sail, but could climb faster than any of them, and they immediately put her to work on the sails.

Having received a Gust Fan, Ulysses blew the fire away from the escaping ship. However, the wind was strong enough to push both Ellion and Thelial off balance, and they scolded the fighter for their resulting burns.

After several minutes, the second ship managed to sail out of range, and the fire was doused soon after.

One of the city guard gratefully handed out two gold to each of those who had been at the burning ship, save for Marley. The thief had climbed the mast to search for survivors, but the firefighters had only seen him as a nuisance.

A little belatedly realizing that she had been separated from her group by several lengths of water, Lira meekly asked to be returned to shore. The captain agreed, and paid her three gold for her assistance.

The adventurers questioned the foreman about the fire, learning that the victim had been a courier ship and that the fire had not been magical. Lira noticed a suspicious young man looking at the burnt remains and confronted him. He nervously admitted that he had seen the captain leave his ship right before the fire.

When asked why he had been there, the young man said that he was one of the delivery boys of the ship. The captain had taken a green stone from one of his boxes before disappearing into the city. They asked to examine the box, but only found it lined with felt indented by the missing stone.

The courier revealed that the box had been intended for One-Eyed Gracie's shop, thus they decided to question her.

Still uneasy about possessing both her money and the Wyrmhunter she had intended to buy, the group sent Ellion in their stead. Since they had met the sorcerer outside of Ad-Nilem, they knew that Gracie would not know that he was part of their group.

Ellion decided to pose as a city investigator, thus Marley forged a licence for him before joining the others in a coffee shop across the street. However, after the sorcerer spoke to Gracie, she saw through his deception almost immediately. She cast Detect Thoughts and saw the adventurers in his recent memories.

Immediately yelling for Axel, she grabbed Ellion and teleported them directly onto the group's table. Startled and contrite, they followed her back to her shop.

Marley managed to convince Gracie that they had not been able to win the Wyrmhunter at auction - an easy, indirect lie, since they had taken the spear for free - and Nicolas returned her money. As an apology to her, the group agreed to take another job.

She revealed that she was quite close to the drow of the Undercity, and that they had recently been having nightmares. The children in particular had seen visions of a dark cloud and a lake, unsettling the community.

Announcing that she and Axel needed to talk, Gracie sent the rest of them to work.

Knowing that drow were usually uncomfortable around humans, the adventurers turned both Nicolas and Ellion into direwolves. The beasts followed at the heels of Thelial and Ulysses, the two drow of the group, who also led the way to the Undercity.

After passing through a hippodrome that had been converted into a slum, they entered the sewers. As they waded through the shallow, murky water though, a tentacle suddenly shot out and dragged Thelial forward.

Ellion immediately bounded forward to bite the creature, but stopped when it addressed the assassin by name. The froghemoth only licked Thelial fondly, and she introduced it to them as Francis, the gatekeeper to the city.

Though Francis spoke slowly and could only give them limited information, they learned that a stranger drow in robes had recently visited the Undercity. Soon after, families had started disappearing, and a tall house at the center of the city had begun to glow at random intervals.

The group headed cautiously toward the two-story building Francis had pointed at; the tallest structure in the silent cavern city. They inspected a couple of the houses they passed, and found them clean and organized. Evidently, the families had not been forced out, but neither had they brought essential food or belongings.

When they came within a few steps of the house, several crossbow bolts shot out from its windows. Most of the group dove behind the cover of nearby houses, but as the hardiest, Lira, Marley and Nicolas stayed out in the open. Lira readied to fire as soon as she had a shot, while direwolf-Nicolas charged in the front door and Marley used his Broom of Flight to enter above.

Marley quickly discovered five drow hiding in the upper floor, one of whom he recognized. He called to his fellow villager Otheric, but the drow only looked at him with blank eyes. The thief quickly fled back out the window and Lira covered his retreat.

Unwilling to kill the enemies with arrows or spells, the rest of the group charged into the house and up the stairs. They staggered from crossbow and lightning bolts but managed to subdue the drow; surrounding the last one tightly as Sentry knocked him prone and Marley knocked him out.

In the quiet that followed, the adventurers noticed a teleportation circle etched into the floor. It was powered by five small stones, which Lenirith observed could be charged with one simple spell on each.

To avoid being surprised, the group pried out the stones and tied up the unconscious drow. After scheduling a watch shift, they all rested.

When Otheric awoke some hours later, he finally recognized Marley, Nicolas and Lira. He revealed that, like the drow of the Undercity, he had dreamed of someone calling him toward Mount Visiga. Soon after, his and Marley's home, the Village by the Mountain, had been attacked.

Otheric described the Black Dread, an elf bearing a gem on his forehead who was building an army of drow to dig into the mountain in search of a tomb. For a week now, the elf would use his gem every morning to charm the drow to obey. At this, the adventurers realized that Nighith had found his master's tomb, and was attempting to unite Eon's soul with his body.

Knowing the danger posed to the whole continent, the group decided to petition for help. They met with Minos, Cassana and Ashvell at the Tower, and learned that the Mage Republic was run by several senators. Since they were local nobles, Ellion and Thelial decided to confront Senator Thuan in particular. As the most persuasive of the group, Marley and Lira joined them.

Minos, Cassana and Ashvell accompanied them, though the adventurers noticed that the latter two did not seem to be on speaking terms. Lira attempted to question Ashvell, but he only excused himself abruptly and left. Minos meanwhile pledged Zephyrus' considerable armies to their cause, insisting that they did not need help from the Mage Republic or Auhros.

While the four waited for an audience, Lenirith, Nicolas and Ulysses left to look for Gracie, since she was a powerful wizard who would possibly have an item that could break a large-scale charm. They remembered that Gracie had told them she had volunteered to erect protective wards around Glucklicker Ort, thus sought her out in Azula's new home.

The guards stopped the paladin and fighter at the gates, but the sorceress managed to persuade them to let her in alone. Lenirith spoke with Gracie, who apologized that she could neither go with them nor give them anything to free the drow. However, the wizard did bequeath her with a Carpet of Flying.

Meanwhile, after speaking before the Mage Republic senate, the adventurers managed to gain the service of ten clerics knowledgeable in breaking charms, though they knew this was far from enough against an army. After waiting for Lenirith, Nicolas and Ulysses to return, they discussed their options.

Cassana had a teleportation scroll that would bring them to her inn, but they were unsure how well guarded the village was. Otheric, despite admitting he would be traveling further north and would not return to the Village by the Mountain, at least revealed that the Undercity teleportation circle led to his manor by Mount Visiga.

Since traveling to the mountain would be shorter from Zephyrus than from the Mage Republic, the group decided to return to their journey's starting point. As a government official assured them that the ten senate clerics would follow that night, they teleported out of the capital.

Despite reeling from the effects of the teleport, the group realized that they had arrived at the castle of Zephyrus. They were led to the crowded throne room, where the adventurers had first been told about the Godslayer. Here, Lira mused that when they had accepted the quest, they had never actually met the prince who had sent them on their search.

Minos climbed up to the noticeably empty throne and faced the adventurers, joining the crowd in a bow as he welcomed Nicolas, their prince, back home.

Unrivaled (Part 1)

 * Main Article: Unrivaled (Part 1)

As the adventurers stared at their paladin comrade, who had told them he was a common soldier, the throne room doors opened behind them. The king of Zephyrus and the heir-apparent Prince Duilus entered; the latter of whom greeted Nicolas as his younger brother, Prince Daveth.

The king welcomed his son home, mentioning that it had been Nicolas' idea to search for the Godslayer. Minos, apparently the royal swordmaster, reported that they had lost the legendary weapon but had plans to retrieve it.

The royals moved toward the front of the room together, leaving the adventurers behind with a tiefling bard who had been shadowing Duilus. Marley recognized him, and exuberantly introduced the bard as a fellow pirate of his, Thymenos.

The bard hesitated, seeming to recognize the thief, but admitting that he did not remember how they had met. Marley conceded that they had been separated after he had accidentally detonated their own ship during an attack, sinking it, though the adventurers still doubted his honesty.

The king called for their attention, inviting them to occupy the guest wing since night was approaching. Nicolas subtly warned the castle guards about the orc, and two of them flanked Marley as he left the room. The thief noticed them but he only proudly accepted them as his personal bodyguards.

As Nicolas separated from the group to speak with his family, the others chose rooms for themselves. Cassana and Marley each took a solo room, while Thelial decided to room with Ellion, and Lira with Lenirith.

Lira, remembering Cassana's falling out with Ashvell, asked her whether she wanted to come in and talk. Cassana hesitatingly suggested that they ask the servants for drinks, and the ranger and sorceress readily agreed. Thelial peeked out of her room as the wine arrived, and the other women enthusiastically invited her in with them.

As they drank, Cassana revealed that Ashvell had confessed to her, but she had not felt the same way. The wizard asked Thelial how her own relationship was going, but Thelial only yelled that Ellion was not her boyfriend. The others calmed her down, but bemusedly agreed with her attitude.

Laughing, the women loudly toasted the stupidity of men.

Across the hall, Marley eventually grew bored and decided to explore the castle. He passed by the women's room, curious of the indistinct giggling, before searching for Thymenos.

The thief eventually located the bard's room, but found it locked. He knocked without any luck, but even after his two bodyguards excused themselves momentarily, he refused to invade his friend's privacy.

Instead, Marley visited the kitchen. He tried and failed to con expensive plates from the cook, before settling with a pair of metal ones. Upon deciding to return to his room though, the thief became hopelessly lost in the maze-like castle, only managing to limp back to his room around midnight.

In the royal quarters, the elderly king returned to his room to lie down, leaving the two brothers to talk. Since he had been tasked with writing a ballad for the older prince, Thymenos also stayed.

Nicolas asked his brother to rally their armies to fight against Nighith, but Duilus told him that they were already occupied. He sourly said that the younger had already had enough time in the spotlight, when he had defended their walls from the last Auhros attack.

Duilus declared that it was his turn for glory, and that he planned to bring the army to take back one of their southern cities. The city, once previously Zephyrus territory, had been ruled by Auhros since before their peace treaty. This angered Nicolas, since Duilus seemed willing to sacrifice the age of peace the land had enjoyed.

As the younger prince turned his back and stormed into their father's bedroom, Thymenos spoke quietly to the elder. The bard inflamed Duilus' suspicions that Nicolas wanted the throne, reminding him that the Godslayer he sought had been owned by an ancestor king. Wielding the legendary weapon would possibly give him a stronger right as heir.

Inside the king's quarters, Nicolas hugged his sister, Princess Cornelia, the second child of their family. Nicolas asked again for an army, but his father only repeated the previous engagement. However, he agreed to convene with the generals in the morning and rally the reserve troops for him.

Nicolas then returned to his own room, but found General Quintus waiting for him there. Since he was an old teacher of his, Nicolas openly spoke about Duilus' campaign and scorned his brother's stupidity.

Quietly, the general agreed and admitted that something needed to be done. The paladin immediately realized that he meant assassination, but he did not commit, claiming that he needed time to think. Quintus nodded, understanding, and bade him good night.

The next morning in Ad-Nilem, Axel followed Gracie into the Glucklicker Ort tower. There, the wizard incapacitated Azula with a petrify spell, commanding Axel to bring the cleric and the also-petrified Ashvell to Zephyrus. Though confused, the arcane trickster obeyed.

Gracie opened a teleportation circle for them, and the three soon appeared at the peak of the castle of Zephyrus. At this, the petrification wore off and a nearby guard just managed to stop Azula from punching Axel. After politely urging them for manners, the guard assumed the three to be guests for the morning banquet and led them to the gardens.

The other adventurers had already joined the nobles at the banquet. The women were surly and hung over though, and Thelial in particular (as a drow in the morning sun) yelled irritably at a flower.

When the group noticed Azula, they greeted her enthusiastically, since the week they had been separated had felt like several months. Given that most of the court were busy eating, Nicolas discretely led them all to a meeting hall in his wing of the castle.

Nicolas revealed the assassination plot on his brother, admitting that Duilus was an idiot but still his brother. Cassana, however, was impatient about staying to help the prince, concerned as she was for her village. The wizard sought the support of the others, particularly her drinking companions, but all reluctantly agreed that the assassination was their priority.

Realizing that she was about to make a dangerous choice, Marley stood up as the others argued. He slipped past Cassana on his way to the door and pickpocketed her teleportation scroll.

Cassana finally exasperatedly gave up on convincing them, but when she reached for her scroll, she discovered its absence and immediately yelled for Marley. Realizing that he had vanished, she angrily rushed upstairs toward the teleportation circle at the castle peak.

The group quickly realized that they would not be able to follow Cassana if she teleported, since only she knew the location of the village circle. Nicolas sounded the alarm, commanding all nearby guards to apprehend her.

After a brief chase, the adventurers and several castle staff cornered Cassana at the foot of a spiral staircase. Thymenos started to cast Calm Emotions, only wanting to stop the wizard peacefully, but she saw the incantation as a threat.

Cassana deftly Counter Spelled the bard, then retaliated with a Fire Ball into the middle of the adventurers. At the front of the group, Thymenos and Lenirith very nearly fell unconscious, but were saved by their infernal heritage.

The group continued to attack non-lethally, however, Ashvell still grew protective of his friend and struck out to defend her. After staggering from a blow from the fighter, Nicolas was forced to knock him out first.

The castle guards eventually managed to restrain Cassana, who tearfully continued to insist that she needed to return home. Marley stepped forward and managed to convince her to give them twelve hours - the rest of the day - to resolve Nicolas' concern, then they would leave with her.

Cassana finally agreed, and was led back to her guest room under guard.

The adventurers hurried into the castle courtyard in time to see Duilus and his army riding toward the city gates. As the prince rode past her, Lenirith called to him flirtatiously. Already having eyed the sorceress when they had first met in the throne room, Duilus only considered her briefly before offering her an arm up onto his horse.

The rest of the group scrambled to ready their own horses and army, and followed Duilus.

Several precious hours had passed before they managed to catch up with the army at its first encampment. Nicolas spoke with General Quintus and volunteered to finish off Duilus himself. He commanded the general to wait for his signal before making any attempts, then returned to the group.

After Lenirith coyly asked the eager Duilus to wait for her in his tent, the adventurers rode hard back up the road to Zephyrus.

They collected Cassana from her room and took the castle teleportation circle to the Village by the Mountain. As Lira looked around the basement of Cassana's inn, she recalled that the last time she had been there had been with Rob.

As the group waited cautiously in the basement, Marley scouted ahead. He returned within seconds however, reporting that the village seemed deserted.

They climbed up to the streets and looked around, until Sentry caught the scent of an unusual beast. He directed Lira's attention to a large dark shape visible just around the corner of a house. Marley and Thelial climbed to the roof, and reported that the creature was eating a small, bloody carcass, and that it appeared to be a drow, but with an elongated body and extra pair of arms.

The group rushed to attack it non-lethally, but after they had knocked it out, Azula identified the creature as a draegloth; a half-drow, half-demon formed through a ritual. They mourned that the transformation was permanent, and could only hope that not all the drow they had come to rescue had been turned.

Unrivaled (Part 2)

 * Main Article: Unrivaled (Part 2)

After silence had fallen again, the group more closely examined their surroundings. Lira noticed that the plants she had seen at the village months ago had become overgrown and thorny, an unnatural transformation. Azula then pointed out that an area claimed by a dragon was steadily turned into a lair that matched it.

Since some of the others had been injured by the draegloth, Cassana cast Leomund's Tiny Hut to let them rest. Since she had been in the back lines of the fight, Lira was unhurt and thus volunteered to keep watch. Ashvell joined her, and the two posted themselves at either side of the street leading toward the hut.

After Ellion had fallen asleep, Thelial stole his blanket and napped beside him. Only after an hour had passed did she realize that she had taken his Cloak of Displacement and had accidentally attuned to it. Regardless, the sorcerer allowed her to keep it for the day.

Just as the others roused themselves, Ashvell abruptly warned that someone was approaching. They all fell into formation, but after a minute of silence had passed, Lira began to doubt the fighter's senses. However, as she glanced at Sentry, she noticed that he was sniffing in the direction of the street and growling quietly.

From the front, Nicolas gestured to the mud on the street, where footprints were being formed by unseen boots. Just as Lira started to aim at the tracks, the adventurers were swallowed by a Darkness spell. Thelial vaguely recalled the magic to be inherent to drow, though she had never used it herself.

Marley rose over the bubble of darkness on his Broom of Flying and confirmed Thelial's suspicion, calling loudly down to the others that he could see a robed drow down the street. This made him a target though and several drow dropped their invisibility to fire crossbows at him.

Within the darkness, the group ran around blindly. They each attacked the other figures they ran into, only taking a moment to ask their name to hopefully avoid attacking a comrade.

Following Marley's direction that the caster of the spell was somewhere ahead, Thelial pushed forward until she stumbled back into the light. When an enemy knight recognized her as one of his kin though, he tried to tempt her to the other side. The assassin refused however, alternately attacking and fleeing from him as the fighter continued to chase her across the street.

After Nicolas finally broke through the enemy line and reached the caster, he interrupted his concentration and freed the adventurers from the dark. Seconds later, they killed the last of the enemies.

Thelial shared what the knight had been telling her, and they realized that not all of the drow had been charmed by Nighith. They mused on using Azula's Zone of Truth in the aftermath to separate the innocent from the cultists.

The adventurers followed their attacker's footprints up a muddy street and into a large house. Though they quickly discovered a draegloth sleeping inside, they ransacked the house openly since the creature was caged. Over the snarls of the beast, they found a map depicting a path up the mountain.

The map displayed two distinct markings on the road, one roughly two-thirds along it and one at the end. They theorized that the marks indicated guard posts.

After falling into single file, the group made their way up the mountain. Lira and Azula, as a ranger and an outlander, guarded either end of the line. Lira led her comrades through the copses and seas of towering grass, while Azula herded the inexperienced trekkers (Nicolas and Marley particularly) who wandered or fell behind.

Within a stand of particularly tall trees, Lira quickly called a halt when she noticed Sentry bristling and sniffing the air ahead. The three rogues crept forward and discovered a cat-like creature with six legs and three tails, as well as an oddly shimmering hide. Axel recognized it, meeting his fellow rogues' eyes mutely and tugging on Thelial's Cloak of Displacement.

After they had reported their findings, Lira realized that Maeve's bow was most likely to hit the flickering Displacer Beast. She thus fired first, breaking its illusion long enough for the rogues to attack the now-vulnerable creature together and wound it badly. Sentry then rushed forward to finish it, bearing it to the ground with his fangs in its throat.

Since they had finished the fight silently and within seconds, the group was able to continue on unchallenged.

However, after several more hours of pushing through dense foliage, Nicolas, Marley and Thelial became exhausted. Knowing they were little match for Nighith in that state, the adventurers began to set up camp.

Azula took the time to review the map, and realized belatedly that they should have passed the first marking several minutes ago. She questioned Lira about it, but the ranger only shrugged since she preferred navigating on the fly.

The cleric backtracked on her own, searching for any landmark of interest, but she was startled at a sudden flash of arcane light. She immediately recognized Minos and several fellow clerics, and realized that the marks were for teleportation circles.

Minos greeted her with some annoyance, since the adventurers had left his group behind. He introduced his companions as the senate clerics from Ad-Nilem that they had requested. Though they had asked for casters capable of breaking charms, the only ones the government had been able to spare were acolytes armed with scrolls of Greater Restoration.

Since the senate clerics had almost a dozen scrolls, the adventurers asked for three to be used on their exhausted members. Thus rejuvenated, the group took down the partially pitched camp and began to walk forward.

However, they had barely gone a few steps when Minos asked them in confusion why they were not using the Carpet of Flying from Gracie. The adventurers meekly admitted that they had forgotten about it.

Night was fast approaching and light would give away their position, thus the group loaded all the humans onto the carpet with Thelial and Lenirith as their Darkvisioned drivers. Lira and Azula resumed their positions around those remaining.

Just as Thelial coaxed the carpet into the air behind Marley on his Broom of Flying, a roar resounded from up the path. Lira, Azula, Nicolas and Marley froze, recognizing the sound. Seconds later, Nighith came soaring down the mountain just over their heads, painting the path with its acid breath.

Though the dragon had missed the carpet completely, Thelial was startled to see Lenirith sway beside her and tip out into open air. The assassin failed to react quickly enough to catch her, and the tiefling hit the path. Azula hurried to the unmoving form and realized that she was deeply unconscious. Though she was unsure why, the cleric suspected that it was related to Lenirith's black draconic sorcery.

Lira, the death of Scout still a fresh scar to her, aimed at Nighith's retreating form but was only frustrated as it flew out of range. Instead, the Black Dread left six dragonlings in its wake, all of which dove down to attack the adventurers.

Nicolas made good use of the Wyrmhunter, throwing and summoning the spear in quick succession as the dragonlings swept around them. Since Thelial had landed the carpet to pursue Lenirith, the still-airborne Marley again found himself as the most obvious target. Four dragonlings surrounded him, but the thief was able to weather all their attacks before he fell.

The adventurers hid in the tall grass flanking the path, and eventually forced their enemies to land and search for them. Sentry, who had been unable to attack any of the flying creatures, enthusiastically leapt to attack the first one, but missed and landed in Azula's arms.

After the last of the dragonlings had fallen, the group collected themselves and gratefully receiving healing from the senate clerics. Since none of them could rouse Lenirith, they decided to leave her behind and posted Ellion and a cleric as her guards.

The group eventually reached a large excavated hole nearly forty feet across. In the dead of night, the yawning pit revealed little more than faint wind and a single ladder anchored at one corner.

Lira stood opposite the ladder and dropped a stone, listening hard but unable to hear it hit the bottom. Across from her, Azula peered down the ladder and reported that it led to scaffolding that spiraled steadily down along the pit. However, her words were interrupted by an explosion of fire. The group readied for an attack, but eventually realized that the ladder had simply been trapped.

Lira and the other grounded party members began the slow trek down, while those on the Broom and Carpet of Flying continued ahead. Lira also placed Sentry onto the broom behind Marley, directing him to help the thief perceive any enemies.

Though the acidic smell rising from the pit made the leopard cough, he was still first to notice the presence of two drow on scaffolding a few feet below. Thelial dropped off her passengers and hurried back up to ferry Lira and the others down.

The group crouched just out of hearing range above the drow, realizing that the two were guarding a tunnel into the wall of the pit. Since they were wary of innocent drow being forced to work for Nighith, they held their fire.

Azula offered to cast Detect Magic, but the scaffolding loop below them was beyond the spell's short range, and the cleric hesitated to sneak down with the rogues. Instead, Thelial cast Darkness on the Broom of Flying, and Azula slowly lowered herself directly over the guards' heads. Since the sphere of darkness was over the drow, the cleric was able to approach and return undetected.

Back on solid wood, Azula revealed that only one of the drow was charmed. Thelial remembered the drow knight who had tried to recruit her at the village, and volunteered to act as the guards' ally. Since only Azula could use the Greater Restoration scroll on the charmed, the assassin also brought both her and Marley as her prisoners.

Thelial approached confidently, managing to convince the guards that she was a new recruit. As the guards told her to bring Azula and Marley into the tunnel with the other prisoners, Azula rushed the charmed to deliver the touch spell. Her target noticed her though and tried to alert his partner, but Thelial quickly pretended to trip and distracted the other guard.

Azula broke the charm successfully, and the four easily knocked the other guard unconscious. The freed drow introduced himself as Layt and told them that several of his kin had been forced to dig the hole they were standing in. He also informed them that the black dragon lay deeper below, and warned Thelial in particular that Nighith seemed to have a way with drow.

The group continued into the tunnel, pausing just outside the jail as Thelial resumed her guard disguise and brought Marley as her prisoner. The warden told her to disarm the thief, but Marley objected, offering that he could join them as well. A guard only gave him a ringing slap in response, nearly knocking him out. At this, the others hurried to attack from the doorway and keep the guards from killing the two rogues.

After the battle, Cassana eagerly freed her fellow villages. She and Minos offered to escort them out and, knowing that the wizard was equipped with Dimension Door for her to return, the adventurers readily agreed. Layt gave the adventurers enough directions to avoid the heavily guarded barracks, before leaving with the other prisoners.

They continued lower, bypassing a few more tunnels before coming level with the face of a large statue. Lira recalled her bow attunement dream and realized that the stone depicted Eon. As they reached the last loop of scaffolding, the adventurers finally saw the bottom of the pit, which held a large pool and a roughly hewn ritual circle.

The rogues targeted two of the priestesses chanting around the circle, with the assassin taking one for herself. As the shots flew through the air, killing Marley's and Axel's target, Nighith burst suddenly from the hot spring.

All the adventurers rushed the ritual circle except for Nicolas and Lira, who held their ground against Nighith on the scaffolding. However, as Thelial passed the dragon's gaze, it revealed a glowing gem on its forehead and hit her with a charm spell. The assassin stabbed Lira on her way down, and rushed to defend the priestesses.

Nicolas began lancing Nighith several times with the Wyrmhunter, while Lira opened fire with Maeve's bow. However, she noticed that Nighith was only staring towards the ritual circle, tilting its head as if trying to find something in the thick crowd fighting below. She realized that the dragon could not find any angle for its breath attack that would avoid its allies, and she taunted it openly, receiving the full acid breath herself for her troubles.

One of the adventurers finally managed to knock Thelial to her senses, and she began using her Dragonslaying arrows on Nighith. Whenever her few missed shots landed in the scaffolding, Lira hurried to collect them and fire them a second time.

Eventually, Cassana and Minos appeared from a Dimension Door, with the former running to help with the priestesses and the latter standing against the dragon. Since she was less hardy than Nicolas, Lira eventually stumbled from the dragon's attacks, nearly falling unconscious. Cassana called to her from below, asking if she trusted her. The ranger nodded and the wizard cast a Sphere of Force around her to protect her.

Soon after Marley had thrown a plate and missed Nighith, Nicolas threw the Wyrmhunter a final time. The spear pierced into the black dragon and killed it, its body splashing heavily back into the hot spring.

As the drow around them shakily seemed to regain their own senses, the adventurers heard tentative footsteps above. They looked up to see several more enthralled coming to watch them, likely having been in the other tunnels. While Cassana and Thelial discussed providing refuge for the drow in both Ad-Nilem and the Village by the Mountain, the adventurers helped themselves to Nighith's hoard.

Lira collected a griffin-shaped Figurine of Wondrous Power, feeling some retribution for her mount Nighith had killed, while Thelial claimed an oddly glowing rapier. Azula cataloged a druid staff none of them could use and the thirty-four thousand gold coins to store in the group's Bag of Holding. Nicolas meanwhile retrieved the long-lost sword of the Godslayer.