Temple of Doom - April 17, 2026

 - Fellowship of the icosahedron. 

 

- While she's sleeping, Niniel has dream that involves a magic girl transformation, but when she wakes up her Periapt of Wound Closure isn't plated gold, so she put her money pouch and the periapt into her Patron Pouch and now the Periapt now gives +1 AC.

- She then goes and finds Soliana in the Arcane Study where she and the new Conjuration specialist Ailas Morrel has arrived and Soliana, Ailas, Tanelia, and Nym are all laying out the new Teleportation Circle so that Ailas can enchant it more quickly.

- There is some talk of money, and then Soliana does a Sending to the stablemaster in Arrandale to call for a carriage for the next day.

- Near the end of the day, Miss Emmyth approaches Soliana and says there is a very upset townsperson at the door. A young elven man is at the door. There is something going on at the temple.

- Something grabbed his brother, and he barely made it out. 

- The Keepers rush to the temple.

- The two double doors leading into the temple are standing open, but the sun has set enough that you can't see very well, but there is an indeterminate greenish glow coming from inside.

- Niniel goes up to a portion of wall on the side of the building and uses her Ghostly Gaze to look through the wall. She can see someone slumped over or sitting on the raised portion of the sanctuary near the lectern. 

- Niniel reports back and then Soliana casts Protection from Good and Evil on Zemma who then strides into the building. Poetry follows, then Caleb, then Soliana, then Niniel.

- The doors closed behind them of their own accord. Poetry's shadows rises up and tries to claw her.

BATTLE AT THE SANCTUARY

- The shadow attacks Poetry and Soliana casts Silvery Barbs on it, but it still gets her for 15 necrotic dmg. Then it claws her again for 19 necrotic dmg.

- Caleb attacks the darkness very successfully for 29 psychic dmg, then he whiffs the second attack.

- Soliana's shadow claws her for 10 necrotic dmg and then again for 15 necrotic dmg.

- Poetry summons Ember on the far side of her shadow dealing 3 fire dmg to the shadow. The fire seems less affective than normal. The light from Ember doesn't affect the creature. Poetry then runs forward towards the lectern dodging another claw attack. The shadow doesn't follow her, but she does generate a new shadow.

- Soliana sees that the lectern / altar thing is the source of the green glow so she Starlight Steps away from her shadow then runs up the stairs to the dais to get a better look. She can see that there are little piles of bones in the corners of the room on the dais and the slumped over Father Powell are all connected somehow. (Arcana 27 - Success)

- Zemma runs to the nearest corner and smashes the pile of bones into dust. (Athletics 24 - Success)

- Niniel casts Wall of Light encompassing the two shadows an extending into the corner behind Soliana dealing 18 radiant dmg and the two shadows are Blinded. Niniel then runs around her Wall of Light to the corner with some bones then she summons her tentacle next to her and it attempts to smash some bones.

 

 - The shadow that started as Poetry's dissolves and reappears next to Soliana and slashes her for 10 necrotic dmg and then again for 12 necrotic dmg and Soliana is now unconscious.

- Caleb runs forward and misses throwing a psychic dagger at the shadow that attack Soliana, then he hits with the second one for 9 psychic dmg.

- The shadow that started with Soliana dissolves and reappears next to Caleb and claws him for 9 necrotic dmg and then it misses. 

- Poetry runs up the stairs next to Soliana taking 12 necrotic dmg as she runs past Caleb's new shadow. She then casts Cure Wounds on Soliana for 12 HP. She then turns and casts Thunder Wave in the corner on the bones, but they move around without being destroyed. (Arcana 11 - No success)

- Niniel's shadow animates but misses her on the first hit, then claws her for 13 necrotic dmg. 

- Soliana army crawls next to Father Powell and casts Dispel Magic on him while calling on Chislev in a non-denominational temple to get him out of the web of magic created by this ritual. The ground around him cracks and vines grow up encasing Father Powell disrupting his connection to the web. She then stands up and Starlight Steps to put her back to the wall to maybe prevent another shadow from forming next to her. (Religion 18 - Success)

- Zemma dashes over next to Soliana and another pile of bones. She then Pounces on the bones (Acrobatics 17 - Success)

- Niniel uses her action to attack the shadow next to Poetry with the Wall of Light for 22 radiant dmg then she casts Thunderclap on the bones and the shadow in the corner. The bones and the shadow are both unaffected. (Intimidation 15 - No success)

- The shadow next to Poetry disappears and appears in the shadow of the table next to Soliana for 13 necrotic dmg (she's unconscious again) then it slashes Zemma for 15 necrotic dmg.

- Caleb runs away from the shadow next to him dodging a claw then stabs into the creature with his rapier for 33 piercing dmg. The shadow poofs out of corporeal existence. He then looks around to assess if there is anything else that might be involved with this magical affect, and he notices that the tapestry that depicts the symbology of the gods also had a hidden Hood of Morgion as well.

- The remaining shadow moves to Poetry and misses her then claws her for 14 necrotic dmg. 

- Poetry casts Dispel Magic (5th level) on the bones next to her. Then Ember throws a Flame Seed at the tapestry that Caleb identified and Poetry uses her control of the element of fire to spread the flames very quickly. (Nature 16 - Success)

- Soliana fades a little bit.

- A new shadow forms in the shadow of the tables next to Caleb and misses him twice.

- Zemma claws the shadow that just appeared for 8 slashing dmg then again for 12 slashing dmg

- Niniel uses her Wall of Light to attack the shadow next to Poetry for 18 radiant dmg then she Eldritch Blasts the pile of bones but misses. (Arcana 11 - No success)

 

- A new shadow appears next to Niniel and misses her then claws her for 5 necrotic dmg. She maintains the Wall of Light.

- Caleb steps up onto the stairs and dumps a Healing Elixir into Soliana's mouth for 9 HP. He then without even looking throws a dagger into the lectern. (Sleight of Hand 23 - Success!) The green glow sputters and dies. 

 

- Niniel stabs and stabs and stabs the pile of bones with a trident and then uses up the Wall of Light absolutely destroying them and possibly the floor in that area as well.

- Soliana sits up against the wall and starts trying to clear Healing Elixir out of her sinuses. 

- Caleb and Zemma examine Father Powell, but find that one he is dead and two its not Father Powell just someone dressed up to look like him. 

- They clear more of the vines away and find that the symbol of Morgion (hood with eyes) has been carved into his chest. 

- Soliana casts Sending to Father Powell, "A ritual to Morgion has been cast in the Temple and someone dressed to look like you has died. Where are you? Are you safe?"

- He responds, "Worry not. I am quite safe. I think you no longer need my assistance. Lamarra is a bit too soft for me. I will spread my gospel elsewhere." 

- Grim tells Soliana that she is naive because this guy clearly left a trap trying to kill you for all the trouble you've caused him. 

- Niniel goes to find the boy who almost fell into this trap to heal him. She tells him that Father Powell has left town. 

- Zemma moves the body of the unknown man who died in the temple to a respectful pyre and Poetry summons fire to cleanse his earthly form of the magic that killed him.

 

- 3,000 XP ea for 58,200 XP total ea.

Business Affairs - April 3, 2026

 - Virtual 5k from 2020

 

- When the Keepers and Nym return to the manor, Miss Emmyth tells Soliana that she has a visitor. She dashes off to clean up after the fight in the forest.

- She Prestigdigitates everyone clean and they all head into the parlor.

- There is an elf in a cream, 3-piece suit. He sounds like a southern gentleman. He is Silvarus Duskrin.

- He is her business partner with Château Mystique. The chief Enchanter is Eldrin Thandor (not present). The winery itself is on the outskirts of Arrandale (mountain side).

- The wine is enchanted as it is fermented and aged. It is supposed to make you feel like you are sitting in a park on a warm summer day. The idea was to cheer people up during the winter, but people are somehow getting frostbite and cold damage instead of the park experience. 

- He has a couple of sample bottle of the enchantment gone-wrong for testing.   

- He describes what he knows of the enchanting process. It mostly involves magical reagents that infuse during the aging process. 

- Niniel agrees to drink some For SCIENCE.

- She smells the wine, which is a rosé color, and it smells crisp and floral. It's a bit thin in the mouth feel.

- They proceed to the laboratory and Tanelia and Soliana prepare to watch the process. Soliana ritually casts Detect Magic

- Niniel drinks about 1.5 oz and after a few minutes she feels cold. Then the feeling fades and she's fine.

- Caleb drinks about the same amount. After a few minutes he starts to shiver, then he takes 4 cold dmg. After another few minutes, his stomach starts to cramp and then he vomits ice slush and takes 5 more cold dmg.

- "A dead customer is not a repeat customer." 

- After another few minutes, Caleb starts to feel a weighty oppression in his mind. Kraken bullshit?

- Silvarus also has a bottle or two of a "better" vintage, which Niniel and Caleb are excited to try. 

- The better vintage causes their skin to tingle and they can see little color motes flitting about like fireflies in their vision.

- It apparently makes all of your parts tingle delightfully, so this vintage is particularly popular with young lovers. 

- Tanelia is able to tell that the reagents are some kind of fresh water (maybe fresh rain water or maybe clear mountain spring water) and some sort of seed. Somehow the water seems to have been used salt water instead, giving cold watery depths.

- It turns out that Caleb Farstar is Caleborn Velathuil Haènenar and his parents are the Lord and Lady Haènenar who helped clear Arrandale of the lingering Drow influence so many years ago. 

- Silvarus makes Soliana a bit uncomfortable so she goes to the other side of the room and then casts Grim's (Nathair's) Mischief on the other half of the room making minuscule droplets of molasses hover in the room making it obscured and sticky.

- She is found out almost immediately.

- At some point Soliana uses Alter Self to show Silvarus what she used to look like. 

- Niniel and Silvarus come to an agreement to send the cold wine to Revelora via Port Carling and have Viceroy Laroth pay for it. 

- Soliana does a Sending to the Viceroy to let her know the Emissary has arranged the purchase of enchanted wine with a cold affect to be forwarded to Revelora (cash on delivery).

- Silvarus and Soliana go out to speak to Ellie as there may be another harvest of grapes this year due to magical shenangians.

- Silvarus then gives Soliana her share of the last season's profits (2,000 GP). 

- Soliana gets Ellie to harvest as much as possible of a short list of plants with latent magical properties (96 GP worth).

- Soliana stores her newfound riches in her Vault of Amber (spell). 

- Soliana takes some (most) of her new components to learn Absorb Elements, Protection from Good and Evil, Snare, and Sudden Awakening.

- Caleb gets a Sending from Sir Foxglove, "Next time your group is in the area, I have some insights that I'd like to share. Also, the navy from Rhoanor has come to blockade the city."   

- Niniel finally gets the circle right for Find Familiar, but the cat comes out with six eyes, squid tentacles (plural) for a tail, and a squid beak at the back of its cat mouth.  

- A long rest is had. 

 

- 2,000 XP ea for 55,200 XP total ea.

More of Morgion's Manifestations - March 13, 2026

- Kitty with dice 

 

- The tree they plant immediately start to grow and get bigger.

- Soliana still doesn't know that this has happened as she's still in the library with Nym on who they might get to come and build a Teleportation Circle.

- Niniel zaps her obsidian kraken broach with Shocking Grasp and she speaks in kraken Tongues for a second.

- Her Kraken Book gets warm. There's a message from the Kraken in there, "The Emissary does well. Our power grows. Soon we will walk the land."

- Niniel write back asking if he's happy about this tree, the ice demon in the locket, or something else.

- After the tree and book stuff are done, Niniel, Poetry, and Caleb head to Father Powell's cottage to spy via talking to plants.

- On the way, they talk to the townspeople who are very enthusiastic about the current situation and are excited for the new magic tree.

- They are browsing the shops near Father Powell's cottage to try to watch and see if he is there. Caleb sneaks over and peeks into a window and sees him inside doing chores like cleaning candles.

- Caleb looks around to the best of his ability to see if there are any signs of Morgion, but he doesn't see anything.

- Niniel and Poetry go into a nearby bakery and buy some bread and cheese and pastries and go sit under a tree between the temple and the "parsonage" and Poetry casts Speak with Plants on the tree they are sitting next to each other.

- The Oak Tree tells Poetry that Father Powell talked to some people about how they needed to work harder on the thing. The tree directs her into the forest, the opposite direction to the garden they are building for Chislev. 

- Caleb has a very boring stakeout where Father Powell does nothing untoward.

- They head back to the manor to get Soliana from the library and Zemma from the blacksmith shop. 

- From there, they sneak through the wood to the area they think they need to go, and Zemma finds a path from the temple out into the woods.

- As they follow the path, the trees and forest get darker and more overgrown.

- Niniel and Zemma are hearing a tapping that is coming from a variety of directions.

- Niniel casts Dancing Lights. With the glowing lights, the sounds stop, but now there are glowing orbs reflecting the light in eye kind of locations, but there are no pupils.

- One of the lights approaches it, and the thing is very large, holding onto the top of a tree. It looks like a monkey crossed with an insect. It has very large claws and its back is covered with chitinous plates with glowing orbs embedded in the plates. 

- Poetry offers some cheese to one of the beings, and it does not want the cheese.

- Niniel offers it some bread, and it starts to climb down from the tree and approach her.

BATTLE WITH MORE SCARY ABERRATIONS IN THE FOREST

- Niniel casts Hold Monster on Aberration1 and it is Paralyzed. Then she runs behind a tree and summons her Tentacle next to A1 which smacks it for 15 cold dmg.

- Poetry summons Ember behind A3 who immediately throws a Flame Seed at A3. 

- A1 fails his Wis ST.

- Soliana casts Tasha's Caustic Brew (4th level) on A3 for 21 acid dmg. She takes a step back away from it, but as it's shaking from the damage one of the orbs on its back falls off and becomes a swarm of larval worms.

- The Larval Worms1 immediately moves over and attacks Poetry for 9 piercing dmg and now she is poisoned until the end of LW1's next turn. 

- Zemma runs up to A1 and Rages (claws). She claws it for 24 slashing dmg. Zemma takes 7 acid dmg from the creature's blood. Another ball of Larval Worms fall off right at her feet. Zemma then claws the swarm of worms and deals 10 (5) slashing dmg. She then misses clawing A1.

- LW2 start crawling up Zemma's legs, but then can't bite through her tough skin (yet).

- A3 takes 22 acid dmg and another swarm is formed (LW3). (The Aberrations are apparently called Tree Stalkers. Very gross.)

- A3 moves to flank Zemma with A1. It claws her for 8 (4) slashing dmg and then stabs her with its proboscis for 22 (11-4) piercing dmg and 26 necrotic dmg. Zemma is now poisoned until the end of A3's next turn. It then shakes and more LWs (4) off its back.

- LW3 also misses biting Poetry.

- LW4 moves to Niniel and misses.

- Caleb moves to flank A3 with Zemma and stabs it for 69 piercing dmg (Crit!! Noice!!) and Caleb takes 10 acid dmg then he Disengages and comes back to guard Soliana.

 

- Niniel Misty Steps away from the worms to a spot behind Soliana and next to a medium-sized tree. She then casts Eldritch Blast on A1 for a total of 10 force dmg. Then she steps farther behind the tree.

- Poetry casts Burning Hands down her own legs onto the worms. LW1 and Poetry both take 5 fire dmg, but LW3 takes 11 fire dmg. Ember then moves to Poetry and Fiery Teleports her 15' and they both take 2 fire dmg. Poetry is no longer poisoned. 

- Soliana casts Wither and Bloom (5th level) centered on the big bunched up group dealing 14 necrotic dmg at A1, A3, LW1 through 3 and Zemma regains 44 HP. 

- LW1 moves to Caleb and starts to eat his legs, but Soliana Silvery Barbs them and they miss.

- Zemma claws A1 for 19 slashing dmg and Zemma takes 8 acid dmg. Zemma then claws LW2 for 9 (4) slashing dmg. She misses the third strike.

- LW2 still can't seem to chew on Zemma.

- A3 takes 25 acid dmg and dies!

- LW3 swarms Soliana and bite her for 24 piercing dmg. 

- LW4 swarms Caleb and bite him for 12 piercing dmg. He is now poisoned. 

- Caleb Disengages from the worm swarms and runs over to A1 and stabs it for 63 piercing dmg. Right in its brain! It's dead now! LW5 and LW6 drop off its back as it falls dead.

- LW5 misses Caleb.

- LW6 bites Caleb for 15 (-7 from the tentacle).

 

- Niniel casts a Careful Sickening Radiance on everything ignoring her friends. All the LWs take 29 radiant dmg. LW1, 2, and 3 are dead. Niniel then uses her bonus action to tentacle LW6 for 6 cold dmg. 

- Poetry casts Scorching Ray at LW4 for a total of 20 fire dmg. LW4 is dead! Ember then runs over and grabs Caleb and Fiery Teleports him 15 feet away and LW5 and LW6 each take 5 fire dmg. LW6 is now dead. Ember takes 

- Soliana runs forward to about 10' from Zemma and then drop Wither and Bloom on Zemma so that LW6 dies and she regains 11 HP for the cost of 1 Hit Die.

END OF BATTLE 

- Niniel allows the breeze to carry away the miasma of her Sickening Radiance.

- The group continues down the path with Caleb scouting quietly ahead. A short walk up the path Caleb sees something glowing just off the path.

- Soliana begin ritually casting Identify on the altar. It also has the symbol of Morgion. It looks very freshly constructed. The symbol of Morgion is painted onto the altar in blood. The Identify spell notes that the altar is humming with Conjuration magic. Soliana fails to Dispel the effect with her last 4th level spell slot, but she succeeds on her second attempt with a third level slot.

- After some discussion, Soliana does a Sending to Nym asking her to meet Niniel at the temple. 

- Niniel waves to Father Powell through the window as she walks past and he comes out to talk to her. She notices that he has some blood on his sleeve. He claims to have snagged his arm on the door. Niniel believes that he doesn't care about the missing people, but she can't tell if he's lying about having cut his arm on the door jamb.

- Niniel gathers Nym and guides her through the woods to the battle site and then brings her the few more minutes to the altar site.

- Niniel has another look at the shoe prints Zemma found, but she can't tell if they are Father Powell's.

- Nym collects a sample of the blood. 

- Once Nym is done, Poetry casts Polymorph on Zemma turning her into an elephant who makes short work of smashing the altar. 

- Poetry lets the spell fade, and they walk back to town and the manor. (An elephant wouldn't fit in the dense woods.)

 

- 2,700 XP ea for 53,200 XP total ea.

The Magic is Cocaine? - February 27, 2026

- Long May He Reign

 

- The next morning The Emissary and her entourage are given free breakfast. 

- Two new ritual spells have appeared in Niniel's Pact Tome and Grim may have "dreamed" them into it.

- The Keepers head to Sir Foxglove where Soliana trades him a instructions for how to cast Legend Lore for an 8" long snake fang (ivory stick).

- They tell Sir Foxglove about the Kraken (the Sea Lord), the anomalies being created by the Kraken for power, Tidal Dominion, and then he teleports them to Arrandale.

- Soliana immediately power walks into Mistress Sharai's office and infodumps.

- While waiting for the carriage to Lamarra, Soliana goes and spends her new 500 GP in the Fireside Quill (3 pieces of ivory, 250 GP of incense, 100 GP of chalks).

- They get to town and Soliana asks the first person who greets her about the missing citizens, and so far Thomas Manly, an old pensioner, went out for firewood and never came back and some traders who were passing through the wood also went missing.

- The manor has experienced a good bit of work in the two months they have been gone to sea. It looks a lot less dilapidated now. 

- While Soliana confers with Emmyth, Niniel goes to check on the tree. The air by the tree is warmer, and when she touches the tree it feels like it hums and it slightly warm to the touch.

- Nym hasn't found evidence of a cult or people associated with Morgion in this area, but she still has some feelers out.

- They turn to gossip and Soliana asks who Emmyth hits with a broom when they are being obstinate and it's Rolamine from the Workshop who got hit with a broom, though Tanelia almost forgot she had dish duty once and Emmyth smacked her but just with a hand that time. Nym also thinks Caleb is cute. 

- Tanelia, the Arcanist, shows up in the library to ask if Soliana and her team can create another one of the magical trees on the south side of town to envelope it. It has created a very mild winter in this area, the garden is going crazy, and they are selling vegetables to the townsfolk at an extremely low cost and the fields in the estate are probably going to produce a harvest midwinter. Tanelia just thinks Caleb is "all right".

- Poetry goes to the garden and meets Ellie who shows her the garden that produces enough to feed a large household every day. A full cart goes into town every day.

- Poetry then proceeds to the magic tree and casts Speak with Plants and the tree is manic. Absolutely on crack cocaine. Poetry gets permission to prune a branch and try planting it in a different part of town. It's leaking magic all over the place and it's making everything grow. The tree don't know nuthin' about no kraken.

- There's some kind of grain growing in the fields, maybe a wheat or a rye. It will be ready for harvest in a week or so.

- They get Ellie to cut a branch the proper way and take it to a spot recommended by Tanelia. On the way back they'll get Poetry to talk to some plants outside the parsonage.

 

- 2,500 XP ea for 50,500 XP total ea. 

Something Fishy This Way Comes - February 13, 2026

 - Plain black hoodie over L3Harris polo

 

- The Keepers reappear near the bottom of the ocean where they had teleported away and there are four large lobster-looking creatures are swimming directly towards them.

- Niniel sees Soliana slap her hands over her nose and mouth to prevent herself from drowning, so Niniel breathes for her for the few seconds it takes Poetry to cast Water Breathing

- The four lobster have been sent to help escort them back to the surface and the boat, and there is a little confusion that they are meant to be mounts.

- Niniel asks about her bar, but the lobsters are not familiar with it.

- The sailors are panicking because of the lobsters, so Soliana casts a few Message cantrips to the sailors telling them to calm down and lower the ladder.

- The sailors do calm down and help the Keepers get back aboard the Storm Caller

- Soliana casts Prestidigitation to dry herself everyone who wants it. 

- The Keepers were gone for a few hours this time. 

- Captain Gringamore confirms that they are headed back to Port Carling.

- Niniel realizes that her Patron Pouch has something in it and calls Soliana to come with her to their quarters instead of going to the warm kitchen with Zemma, so Poetry summons a toddler-sized version of Ember to go with them.

- Niniel pulls a piece of fabric that just keeps coming out of her bag, and it's a flag. The flag is a black kraken on a purple field with bright red eyes. It's the kind you would fly from your mast. 

- Soliana ritually casts Detect Magic and Niniel also pulls out the ice demon amulet. The flag gives off mild divination magic, and the amulet gives off strong evocation magic.

- Soliana casts Identify on each object.

- The flag is a flag, but it has just enough magical tingle that allows other creatures to identify it. A sort of friend or foe signal.

- The amulet is a good news bad news kind of situation. 

 

The Amulet of the Bound Rime Fiend

- Requires attunement.

- Resist to cold dmg

- Advantage on ST against grappled, restrained, or paralyzed.

- Immunity to the effects of extremely cold environments

- Vulnerability to fire dmg

- The Amulet has three charges. You can spend a Reaction and 1 charge to use Winter's Rebuke. 3d8 cold dmg and with a failed Con ST, speed halved for 1 turn. If you use Winter's Rebuke, you take one level of exhaustion. Recharges daily at dawn.

- Break at your own risk. 

 

- Niniel write a note to the Kraken through her book asking if she can wear it.

- The response is, "Use the power. Dominate all those who oppose you."

- Niniel puts it on. She gets double resistance to cold dmg.

- Soliana at some point conjures a new Healing Elixir.

- By and bye about two weeks pass. 

- Niniel does some Sendings to Gin who says the bar says that there is all kinds of stuff coming into the bar. New booze from all over the place and foods she's never even seen before.

- Niniel Sends to Emmyth asking about the tree which is the same as ever, but there are 3 or 4 people who have gone missing in the forest. 

- One of the days, one of the sailors comes and gets the Keepers because the captain wants to see them on deck.

- Up ahead the ocean looks like a field of black. It looks like a swarm of tentacles.

- Niniel runs and gets her flag and holds it over edge of the boat, but nothing changes. She hands off the flag to Caleb to give to the captain to try to fly it and see if they can sail through the tentacles, but Niniel dives over to go talk to the tentacle beasts if possible.

- The creatures are not sapient, they just say hey a bunch.

- Niniel Sends to Soliana, "These tentacles just say hey. But they're only about 5' deep, so I'm gonna swim under." 

- "Captain Gringamore is going to hoist your flag, and then we're just going to try to boat through."

- Niniel attempts to swim through them, but they twist around her and grab onto her, and it's very difficult going.

- Niniel doesn't see any boats on the bottom, so that's something.

- Back on the ship, as the ship moves forward, the tentacles part and let it through.

- While on the way into port, Soliana Sends to Mistress Sharai, "Um, Mistress Sharai, did you ever have a chance to get in contact with that cleric we spoke about before?" The response is, "Yes, I have information for you when you get back into town."

- The Storm Caller pulls into port and Niniel gets her flag back. 

- The port seems dead. Very few people around.

- The tentacles showed up about two weeks ago. 

- Only one ship has come into port in that time, and it (The Black Curl) is also flying a Kraken flag. Someone from that ship went to the governor's mansion, and the ship is still here.

- Niniel goes and walks aboard the Black Curl and talks to the tritons who are on board.

- Niniel introduces herself and they kind of recognize her. She finds out that the port is being blockaded to coerce them to join the Dominion. The Negotiator, Marcelle, is the one who went up to the governor's mansion.

- After a little inter-group discussion, the Keepers decide to head to Sir Foxglove. 

- Insert exposition here.

- Everyone gets 500 GP each for their troubles, and he can send them to Arrandale tomorrow. 

- As the Keepers are finalizing this transaction, there is shouting from outside. There are children shouting for everyone to come outside.

- The Keepers follow the crowd to the town square area, and there's a triton standing with the govern, a tired and worn looking older man, who announces that an agreement has been reached with the Tidal Dominion. They will be working in concert with the Sea Lord, and they will have free passage again in the ocean. Mistress Larothe (Marcelle) also promises the encroaching creatures will end. All ships will be getting a new banner.

- Marcelle waves to Niniel from the balcony.

- Niniel waits for the crowd to disperse a bit, and then she and Marcelle meet up. Marcelle confirms that Port Carling will be sending tithes to the Tidal Dominion and Marcelle will be remaining in Port Carling as Viceroy. 

- Marcelle is the 8th viceroy to be installed in the name of the Tidal Dominion.

- The Keepers head to the Captain's Keep to sleep.

 

- 2,500 XP ea for 48,000 total ea. LEVEL 9

I Wizarded All Over Him - February 6, 2026

- Long May He Reign

 

BATTLE AGAINST THE ANTLERED DEMON

- Demon says, "You have destroyed my property and you will submit." then throws a ball of cold dealing 13 cold dmg (6 to Poetry and Niniel).

- Soliana casts Banishment on the Demon and he blinks out of existence. Five people teleport into the space where the demon left. Arvid (lg), Arvid's brother (7), and Arvid's three children, two boys (aged 5 (2) and aged 15 (1)), and a girl (aged 9 (3)).

- Caleb asks Arvid, "Where did y'all come from?" "We were at home." They are unnerved by the city made of bone.

- A minute passes, and the demon comes back from his Banishment.

- Zemma Rages, and then runs up to the Demon and gets right in his knees. She claws him for 19 slashing dmg, then misses.

- Poetry uses her new staff to cast Fireball on the Demon and Zemma. The Demon takes 26 fire dmg and Zemma takes 13 fire dmg. 

- Niniel summons a Water Element to flank with Zemma and it bashes the Demon for 11 and then 13 bludgeoning dmg.

 

- The Demon frost touches Zemma and before he can put an icicle straight through her torso Soliana casts Silvery Barbs. He then inhales some life force from the Vintersons. The littlest boy is already looking rough. Then it rakes its talons one across Zemma 4 (2) piercing and 2 cold dmg to her.

- Soliana casts Summon Aberrant Spirit (Slaad) which then attacks the Demon twice for 11 and then 12 dmg and the Demon cannot regain HP until the start of the Aberration's next turn. At the end of Soliana's turn the Demon teleports himself next to the tentacle that's in front of her. 

- Caleb runs over to the Demon and stabs him with his rapier for 19 piercing dmg and then bonus actions the F away.

- Zemma runs over to the Demon and claws it for 11 slashing then slashes again for 18 slashing, then slashes again for 9 slashing dmg. The demons stabs her with an icicle for 9 cold dmg.

- Poetry moves forward casts Healing Spirit (level 4) and Zemma regains 14 HP.

- Niniel casts Eldritch Blast on the Demon for 22 force dmg then misses with the second bolt, then the tentacle smacks the Demon for 2 (0) cold dmg and his speed is reduced by 10ft. The Water Elemental then moves up and bashes the Demon twice for 32 bludgeoning dmg.

 

- The Demon slashes Soliana with its claws for 4 (-1 from the tentacle) and 3 cold dmg. 

- Soliana runs a bit to the side and casts Thunder Wave at the Demon, but it resists taking only 4 thunder dmg. She then Starlight Steps as far toward the temple as she can and then runs 20ft up the street. The Aberrant Spirit moves up to flank with the water elemental. The Demon sucks more life force out of the Vintersons. Soliana yells at Arvid again for them to run seeing this.

- Caleb darts in to flank with the Ab Spirit and stabs the Demon for 22 piercing dmg. Then he Disengages and backs off. The Demon teleports out of the melee again.

- Zemma gets 6 HP from the Healing Spirit. She chases the Demon and slashes him for 8 slashing dmg, then misses, then she slashes one last time for 13 slashing dmg.

- Poetry summons Ember and then then Healing Spirit moves to follow Zemma and gives her 7 more HP. 

- Niniel steps a few feet forward and casts Eldritch Blast for 13 force dmg and then misses with the second bolt. She moves her tentacle next to Zemma and smacks it for 0 cold dmg and its speed is reduced by 10ft for one round. The Water Elemental moves to flank with Zemma and bashes for 16 bludgeoning dmg and then it misses. The Demon sucks more life force from the Vintersons.

 

- The Vintersons finally start running down the street to get away from the Demon. 

- The Demon casts Coldball (fireball, but cold dmg) on Soliana, the Ab Spirit, Zemma, and Caleb for 11 (or 5) and 12 (or 6) cold dmg depending on success or failure.

- Soliana casts Wither and Bloom (level 3) on the Demon and Zemma for 5 necrotic dmg to the Demon and 21 HP to Zemma, then she moves back 15ft. Then the Ab Spirit moves up and claws the Demon once for 9 slashing dmg and the Demon cannot heal until the start of the Ab Spirit's next turn.

- Caleb throws a psychic dagger at the Demon for 17 psychcic dmg. His second dagger does not hit. Caleb backs toward Soliana to interpose himself. The Demon stabs an icicle into Zemma for 14 cold dmg.

- Zemma regains 6 HP from the Healing Spirit. She then claws the Demon for 10 slashing, then slashes again for 8 slashing, then slashes again for 9 slashing dmg.

- Poetry casts Firebolt on the Demon, missing. Ember moves forward 30' and throws a Flameseed at the Demon for 15 fire dmg.

- Niniel casts Eldritch Blast at the Demon hitting once for 8 force dmg. The tentacle hits the Demon reducing its speed by 10ft. The Water Element bashes the Demon for 11 and then misses.

 

- The Demon stabs Zemma with an icicle for 16 cold dmg. 

- Soliana runs past Caleb and casts Tasha's Caustic Brew (Wizarding all over him) so that it only hits the Demon and it gets covered in acid. The Ab Spirit then slices the Demon into ribbons filled with acid. The Demon disintegrates. 

END OF BATTLE 

- Soliana hands off her Healing Elixir to Niniel to bring to the littlest boy, and he gets 12 HP from it. 

- Soliana is too busy muttering to Grim as she flips his pages fervently. The amulet is brought to her. She mutters things about Vault of Amber and Magic Circle not even noticing the amulet being put into her hand.

SKILL CHALLENGE to bind the demon into the Vinterson amulet.

- Soliana uses Arcana to figure out the magical solution faster than she has ever figured out anything in her life. (Arcana - 18 - Success) The statues on the rooftop blink a little bit closer to the square in front of the temple.

- Zemma sees a statue on the roof almost directly above the wizard. She jumps and climbs right up to the roof and knocks the statue over. (Athletics - 16 - Success)

- Niniel calls over the Vinterson teenager and uses a sharpened seashell to slice his arm and leak blood onto the amulet to call the demon into it. (Intimidation - 21 - Success). She starts feeding one of the antlers left behind by the Demon into the amulet. Another statue appears right next to Soliana. 

- Caleb interposes himself quickly and destroys the statue. (Acrobatics - 15 - Success).

- Poetry uses a Thorn Whip to destroy another statue. (Arcana - 18 - Success). 

- All the statues stop where they are and start to crumble. Zemma easily destroys the one closes to her.

- Niniel heals the teenager she cut for 8 HP. 

- Arvid refuses to take the amulet back. So Soliana puts it in the bag of holding and the world swirls.

 

- 5,000 XP ea for 45,500 XP total ea.

This is Fine #MakeBoyMooseGoWah - January 9, 2026

 - Shit's fucked dinosaur hoodie over plain black tee

 

- Once Niniel awakens, Soliana presents a plan to get her one new spell (Banishment) to try to use on the Prime Spirit to break the bargain with the Vinterson family rather than having Arvid breaking the amulet which might give them extreme negative consequences.

- As Soliana is saying she needs something with a little bit of inherent magic, there is a small earthquake.

- The Keepers head out to see Arvid, who says the creature is still hungry. 

- Soliana presents her idea to Arvid, who is reticent to agree, but does agree to the experiment of not wearing the amulet while Soliana examines it. 

- While Soliana is ritually casting Detect Magic, Niniel gets bored and wanders down to the river to collect some magic moss for Soliana who needs it to feed Grim for magic learning. But mostly to play in the river with her elemental summon. She has fish for breakfast.

- Arvid feeds everyone who is not Niniel some breakfast, and they set back out to go to the Outpost picking Niniel up from the river where she has gathered 99 GP worth of magic moss for Soliana's magical purposes.

- As the Keepers are walking, there is another earthquake that seems a little bigger. 

- They discuss some contingency plans as they walk.

- By and bye the keepers reach the door to the Outpost. 

- Caleb easily picks the lock again.

- Soliana sits down with the moss while everyone else rests and warms up. She adds Banishment to her repertoire. 

- They head down the stairs lined with teeth and enter the hallway lined with tiny stone boxes full of desiccated hearts.

- Before they hand one of the boxes to Zemma to smash, Caleb sneaks ahead to the far end of the hallway to the overlook and there are a couple of statues sitting there. There are no signs of the broken ones that Niniel destroyed any more.

- Caleb hears in his head as soon as he can see the statues, "Have you come to join us?"

- Caleb declines their offer and asks what happens if there are no more sacrifices, "That is not an option. Proceed to the Temple."

- Caleb starts creeping back away from the opening to the city overlook while whistling as nonchalantly as possible. His friends are immediately suspicious of why their stealthy friend is giving away his stealth.

- While he was doing the sneaking, Soliana and Poetry wait at the start of the wall of hearts while Niniel and Zemma head about 160' down the hallways to set up heart destruction with a Wall of Fire from Poetry and a Lightning Bolt from Niniel.

- As the boxes and hearts are destroyed, there is another earthquake that shakes the whole place quite a lot. It is clearly more significant than previous ones.

- Caleb hears in his head in the multi-voices, "That was a mistake."

- It goes back to being ominously quiet.

- Then Caleb hears, "You've made your choices. Come and face us."

- The stairs end of the tunnel begins to collapse and pushes them towards the underground city of bone. ("This is fine." - Katie)

- At the overlook, the statues are not there any more. Caleb and Zemma see that outside in front of the Temple there is a very tall, horned (branching like a deer) creature (flesh not stone) with overlong limbs. 

- The Keepers begin approaching the creature with Zemma in the lead. Caleb and Zemma see statues here and there through the town watching like in a noon show down in the Old West. 

- The creature looks like a humanoid deer with no skin or internal organ, only a deer skull head and long arms with claws that reach nearly to the ground of its 14' height. 

- Everyone hears in their heads, "Proceed to the table. If you do not go willingly, you will go in piece."

 

- 2,000 XP ea for 40,500 SP total ea.