At the party’s hideout in Balic, the sorcerer-king Andropinis and his remaining templars approached Daqiq, still within the cage. Daqiq was not in a good place, both hopelessly outmatched by the Dictator and because he had witnessed the death of his wife. When the sorcerer-king asked “What shall we do with you?” he sipmly replied that he wanted to search the Gray for Jax. Andropinis, aslo weary of the conflict, agreed and opened a portal for Daqiq, who stepped through into the Gray.

Turning to the unconscious Jarvix, Andropinis, considered his options carefully. Jarvix was stripped of all his possessions and then they waited for his to regain consciousness. When Jarvix did come to, it took only moments for him to realize the severity of the situation. Using the power gained from the magical deck of cards, he turned back time and altered his fate. Instead of being knocked unconscious during the fight, he was barely able to join with Gwyn when she teleported out. To everyone else, that was the sequence of events, but Jarvix remebered the original events as well.

The surviving party members arrived in the plains east of the Pristine Tower, grateful for their escape, but saddened for the loss of their friends. The journey to the Tower was mostly uneventful, save for a few beasts that were no match for the party, even in their weakened state. Gwyn was pleased that she suffered no ill effects from having used the Dark Lens.

At the Tower, they were allowed entry by the Shadow Giants and debated their next course of action. After much discussion, the party decided that the risks were not as great as the potential benefits and they allowed the giants to perform the ritual to re-energize the sun. Taking the Crown of Dust, which contained the souls of both Ul-Athra and Yarnath, and the dangerous deck of cards, the giants worked their magic, which culminated in a powerful beam of energy lancing into the sun and turning it slightly more yellow.

With the ritual complete, Thea could feel a connection to the divine partially restored and the party decided to offer up more items. This time the Censer of the Morninglord and the Axe of Rkard were given to the giants. More energy was injected into the Sun, and the connection to the divine strengthened.

The party began to plan their next move while concerned about the attention that the Pristine Tower might have drawn from the sorcerer-kings and other powerful individuals of Athas.

To the party’s surprise, Andropinis made them an offer. They could surrender their artifcats, including the Dark Lens, and depart Athas, never to return. If they did so, the sorcerer-king promised to resurrect Banoc and insinuated that the world would be a better place. If they did not, the Dictator intended to take the Lens by force and implied that the deaths of the inhabitants of the Tyr Region would be on the party’s hands.

The party was not about to surrender and engaged Andropinis and this templar soldiers (who were surrounding the safe-house). The battle was fierce. The templars were mostly disabled by Jax’s magic, however, the sorcer-king was much more resilient than any other foe they had encountered before. His balck shield of magic and psionic energy absorbed many of the attacks on him. His own magic locked Daqiq in a cage of force, preventing him from participating in the battle.

While the party wore him down, Andropinis was able to defeat many of them. Jax was the first to fall to the sorcerer-king, eventually dying from her wounds. Elleandra fell was well, but was only knocked unconscious. Iorskan was the next to feel the wrath of the sorcerer-king and the party was unable to reach him before his wounds got the better of him. Jarvix faced several of the rallied templars and, being unaccustomed to the front line, was knocked out during the fight as well.

Gwyn sized up the situation and the paryt rallied to her. She remained unwilling to use the full power of the Dark Lens, but did use it to teleport herself and the surviviors out of the fight. Her intended destination was the Pristine Tower, but she was slightly off target, arriving about two days travel to the east.

In the end, Gwyn, Way-lynn, Kira, Thea and Elleandra were able to survive the fight. They had managed to bring Iorskan’s body with them, but the bodies of Banoc and Jax had to be left behind. Jarvix was also left beind, his fate unknown. Daqiq was last seen inside the cage of force facing the sorcerer-king and his surviving templars.

At their safe house in an abandoned building, the party debated what to do and how to proceed without Banoc. Gwyn was unwilling to use the Dark Lens, out of concern about how she might

During the night, Daqiq struggled with the Crown of Dust, and eventually lost to the powerful will of Ul-Athra. He snuck out in the early morning and headed twoards the Sea of Silt. Too late, did the rest of the party notice he was missing, and tossing the Crown into the silt, Ul-Athra began to reform once again.

Moments later, the party ruhsed down towards the silt to find Daqiq struggleing to recover the crown and the massive form of Ul-Athra regenerating. Elleandra used her broom to fly out over the silt and rescue Daqiq and the Crown, while Way-lynn waded out to engage the primordial. Stunned for a few moments, the rest of the party finally engaged with weapons and magic, attempting to stop Ul-Athra from completely regenerating.

They were successful and Ul-Athra’s soul entered the Crown of Dust once again. However, they party suffered many wounds, and without Banoc, the prospect of healing was daunting. While the party wanted to take enough time to fully recover, they were unlucky. After only a few hours, with a loud “boom” the front door to the building burst out of the frame the the sorcerer-king of Balic, Andropinis himself stood in the doorway.

After their fight with Ul-Athra, the party retreated to a safe house in Balic. There, Banoc used much of his remaining spells to cure the party of the wounds they suffered during the fight. While resting, Daqiq attuned to the Crown of Dust, and although it attempted to assert influence over the rogue, the crown was not successful.

While resting, a large disturbance was seen moving from the Guilder’s Precinct towards the safe house, and the party assumed that it might be Ehwahla. Moving out to meet her in the open, they discovered that she traveled alongside a number of silt elementals.

Without any attempts at a diplomatic solution, the two forces engaged in a bloody combat. Although the party had the advantage of numbers, the silt elementals were able to pin down some of the party in sinkholes created in the ground. Banoc was unfortunately caught in a sinkhole and pinned by Ehwahlah, slowing suffocating and being crushed at the same time. Although Thea started to move to try and help him, Banoc urged her to take down Ehwahlah.

Eventualy the party was successful and Ul-Athra’s mate was defeated, however, Banoc also perished. They carried his body back to the safe house and rested once again, attempting to determine what their next move should be.

After the initial diorientation, the party found itself in the city of Balic, however, it was not as they remembered it. Most of the eastern districts were consumed by the Silt Sea. The remaining districts were burned and blasted with minimal signs of life. The level of destruction was far beyond anything that they had expected to see.

Hoping to find Andropinis, the party left he Villa Precinct and headed to the Meagleneon. There were signs of living inhabitants but despite the groups best efforts, they remained hidden, appearing to be afraid to show themselves. At the Megaleneon, the party encountered Ul-Athra, who was slowly consuming the land.

With one of their targets in sight, the party engaged the primordial and a titanic battle ensued, with meteors falling from the sky and Banoc, Iorskan and Way-lynn all being swallowed by Ul-Athra. Despite suffereing many severe wounds, the party emerged victorious and the remains sank back into the Silt Sea.

Gwyn used her magic to store Ul-Athra’s soul in the Dark Lens, Daqiq recovered the Crown of Dust and the party began searching for a place to rest while they planned their search for Yarnath, their next target.

Nibenay was curious about the partys intentions towards himself, the other sorcerer-kings and the world in general. Gwyn and Banoc carefully steered the conversation to avoid potentially dangerous topics and did not want to reveal too much about their specfic plans. During the conversation Nibenay revealed more of the history of the world, Rajaat and the champions, including the true purpose of the dragon’s levy – to power magic that contains Rajaat. If the magic were to fail, Rajaat would gain his freedom and the world would suffer greatly. Nibenay reveled the Rajaat’s plan was to return Athas to the Blue Age where halflings ruled.

In the catacombs beneath Nibenay, Jax and the other searched for more lost treasures. They happened across many of their corpses and remained confused as to what that meant for them. They found a magical deck of cards and Iorskan and Jarvix drew from it – each was affected by the magic. Jarvix lost some of his intelligence but gained the knowledge he could undue one event. Iorskan ended up loosing all of the magical items he possesed. None else dared to draw from the deck and Thea, being protective of the group, took the deck before any further trouble could be caused.

Way-lynn, Daqiq and Elleandra felt the best course of action was to head to Balic and confront Ul-Athra before the city-state was completely consumed. Having no further need to bother Nibenay, they left, and were allowed to leave without incident. The group reconnected in the catacombs and searched for the remainder of the day, eventually finding the Standard of Arkhosia as well as the Axe of Rkard. A number of other items were found, but they appeared to be cursed.

Iorskan arranged for the unwanted items to be sold and Gwyn used her magic to teleport the group to Balic, hoping they could defeat Ul-Athra and claim his power to help restore the dark sun.

The party left the safety of the Pristine Tower and journeyed west towards the city-state of Nibeany. The increasing heat of the High Sun Season was a shock after the relatively cool environment inside the Tower. Their first stop was Fort Inix, a trading outpost of House Shom. However, instead of finding a decadent fort, they found death and destruction. The fort and been attacked about a week ago, and although there were some dead, the group suspected that many had been taken away. All items of value, save the ceramic coins, had been plundered from the fort. They suspected that githyanki raiders from the nearby Black Spine Mountains were responsible. Although they were curious about the motivations, all felt that sticking to their current objective was the best choice for now.

They continued west toward the Bremil Pass at the southern edge of the mountains. While travelling over the pass, they were setup by githyanki raiders. The raiders were well armed and armored and would have been more than a match for a normal caravan or group of travelers. However, the party easily dispatched them. During the conflict, Kira and Banoc went missing, victims of the githyanki’s planar magic. Both found there way back to Athas – Kira from the elemental plane of Earth where she navigated the merchants in the City of Jewels, and Banoc from the elemental plane of Air.

Despite this setback, the party eventually arrived at the city-state of Nibeany, which they found to have mostly recovered from the cataclysm that had affected it months ago. They split into their two groups and Kira led half the party to the catacombs. In the catacombs, luck was with them as they located the Seventh Sword of Tyr, and Jax merged it with her other swords. Later they discovered the body of Elleandra, still wrapped in the burial cloth. They decided to leave it untouched.

Gwyn led the others into the Temple of Law to arrange an audience with her father – the sorcerer-king. There they were joined by Siemhouk and eventually Nibenay arrived, curious about his daughter’s intentions.

Inside the Pristine Tower, the party got down to the business of gathering information and planning their next moves. Through a combination of magic, the Way and informatoin gained through more mundane methods, they learned about the current state of affairs in the Tyr Region. The process took several weeks, but their combined efforts revealed information regarding…

• Borys, the Dragon of Tyr, and his domain in the Sea of Silt
• Dregoth and his activities in the city-state of Raam
• The city-state of Nibenay and the action of Siemhouk
• The current status of the Blue Waters Oasis
• A bit of information on the history of Sacha and Wyan

After discussing the current situation, the group decided to travel to Nibenay and learn of the Shadow King’s motives and goals, as well as attempt to recover the items held by him. Gwyn planned to take Banoc, Way-lynn, Daqiq and Elleandra to gain an audience with Nibenay. Jax planned to take Kira, Iorskan, Thea and Jarvix into the crypts below the city, where they felt many of their items would be.

Elleandra was greeted warmly by those she know and introduced to those that she had never met before. The excitment of the reunion was dampened by the injuries they had sustained. They were quickly causing transformations into beasts, an unfortunate side effect of the Beastbarrens. None of the cures Banoc tried could remedy the situation. While they waited, the area outside the Pristine Tower was searched, without much success, as only Iorskan had been there before.

Iorskan eventually made contact with the inhabitants of the Tower, the Shadow Giants, who were convinced to allow the party to enter. The inside of the tower was significantly larger than should be possible, with a smal village of white stone, alabaster and quartz contained. After much discussion an agreement was reached and the Shadow Giants cured the corrupted wounds, removing the effects of the transformations.

While the party had some lingering suspicions about the Shadow Giants, an agreement was reached. The shadow giants claimed that with the Dark Lens, they could restore the sun to a former stage. However, it would require a tremendous amount of energy – from the sorcerer-kings or other beings or items of similar power. They told the party how a simple spell, but only one Gwyn could recreate with her most powerful magic, could trap the energy of a slain sorcercre king in the Dark Lens and then recharge some of the crystals in the tower. It would be a long and dangerous series of quests, but the only know way to restore Athas to a new Green Age Green Age.

The party had been missing from Athas for over a month, and their information was out of date. They contemplated their next moves and the information they would need to be successful…

The party moved towards the Pristine Tower, being mindful of their surroundings and vigilent for additional Githyanki forces (or other terrors of the desert). as they approached the tower, passing through different rings of vegetation, they saw a large army of Githyanki, including a red dragon, camped outside the tower. The seige engines left no doubt they were attempting to break in, yet the tower itself appeared undamaged.

The Githyanki scouts quickly spotted the adventurers and moved to engage them. The army outnumbered them, 12:1, but the party did not falter. Daqiq shot arrows, taking down the dragon before it could enter the combat. Banoc unleashed a powerful earthquake causing the land to buckle and heave. Gwyn used her fire magic to contain and incinerate the Githyanki. Iorskan and Way-lynn charged forward into the fray, neither having any weapons that were effective at range. Thea, cut off from the source of her magic, managed to help where she could, creating beams of sunlight from her spear. Jarvix used his skills with the Way to attack from a distance. Jax and Kira occupied the middle ground lending aid with spells and weapons.

The power of the adventurers proved to be more than a match for the more numerous invaders and the Githyanki eventually routed. Their escape was cut off by a large army of metal armored dwarved led by Elleandra! The few remaining Githyanki were defeated and he party contemplated how they might get into the Pristine Tower, when an army of Githyanki failed to do so.

The reunion with Thea was made even more joyous by the nature of Elysium. Everyone shared stories about what had transpired since Thea fell in the Ruins of Pluton. Thea listened with care and sympathy at the struggles the party had endured and they were fascinated by Thea’s dream-like adventures to other worlds and times. Eventually the current situation on Athas was discussed and the party wished to return, except for Birk who elected to remain in Elysium, having endured too much on Athas. Thea offered to join the group not only to help her friends overcome a great evil, but for other reasons, which she elected to put aside for the time being.

Inti guided them across the water to a trading post called Portico where they resupplied and The left to gather her gear. When she returned they feasted and Thea told them of how she journeyed into Avernus to try and help save a city from being consumed. There she met an old friend of the party – Jarvix – who had ended up there after the defeat at the hands of Nibenay. She aslo told how, she encountered the archmage Evan Moreau and his friend Kira who Gwyn and others had adventured with.

Thea produced a strange cube and using its magic, brought both Kira and Jarvix to Portico. Another sweet reunion between old friends was enjoyed by all. And a plan was hatched – they would return to Athas, attempt to locate the Pristine Tower, bargain with the Shadow Giants there and learn how to use the Dark Lens to recharge Athas’ sun, and hopefully bring about a new Green Age.

Thea used the cube one final time and, guided by Iorskan, they traveled back to Athas, arriving within sight of the Pristine Tower. However, as they traveled through the Beastbarrens, they encountered a large patrol of Githyanki. Although the Githyanki were defeated, the party learned that they had begun to spread out from the Arkhosian stronghold and conquer the surrounding lands.

Exhange of Information
After gathering what information they could on the history of Athas, the librarian Edna approached the party with an offer. If the party would hadn over some of the books of lore and magic they acquired from Sielba’s palace in Yaramuke, the party would be allowed access to some magical tomes to enhance themselves. While eager for the opportunity, Gwyn and Way-lynn were reluctatnt to hand over the information on the defiler metamorphosis. Eventually it was agreed upon for the party to hold the dragon magic tomes and Birk and Phyll would not be allowed access to the magical tomes.

River Cruise
After a week studying the magical tomes, the party departed the Library of All Knowledge and, guided by Gem, made their way back to Krigala and to the banks of the River Oceanus. On they banks of the river, the party said goodbye to Gem and boarded a boat captained by an elephant creature called Inti.

Elysium
After several weeks of travel through strange lands filled with wondrous sites, the boat approached the waterfall leading to Elysium. Although the drop was dangerous, Inti was an experienced captain and her boat was sound.

Arriving in Elysium, ther found themselves in a paradise of crystal clear waters and scattered islands, home to the warriors of good who served their causes faithfully. Banoc prayed for guidance and, to his surprise, the vial of tears he carried led them to a tropical island.

On the island they found a simple dwelling with a solitary figure asleep. They recognized the friend Thea! She was in a deep, magical slumber, but a drop from the vial caused her to wake. With tears of happiness, she embraced each of her friends and introduced herself to those she did not know.

The feeling of pure joy they all felt upon their arrival in Elysium, swelled within them.

Shortly after their arrival, Gwyn’s dragonling flew off on its own down a game trail. The party decided to follow seaching for signs of life. They saw numerous animal tracks and heard many sounds, but no animals were found. As they traveled, each felt a hunger within to partake in a hunt and feel the wind on their face. Although the sensation was powerful, each resisted the urge.

A Test of Morality
After many hours of travel the sounds of a struggle and a cry for help broke through the background noise of the mangrove forest. When they moved to investigate, they saw an odd sight – a large jackalope was perched on a limb of a tree. Below it was a fox, also of large proportions, which was trying to attack the jackalope.

The jackalope looked over to your group and shouted – “Help me, this foul beast intends to make me its meal!” Equally strange, the fox turned to the party as well and spoke – “This vermin is my lunch and has great treasure. Help me defeat it and I’ll let you have first pick of his loot.”

After a heated debate, and many questions, the party decided to try and diffuse the situation by offering the fox, Lizzy, some gems in order for it to stop attacking the jackalope, Herman. Jax hoped that the animals might provide information or be guides in the strange land. Before too much more could be discussed, there was a disturbance in the forest, and two new creatures appeared.

New Friends
Bursting through the underbrush two creatures emerged. A tall, muscular and hairless male humanoid with opalescent green skin and white-feathered wings, brandishing a massive sword appeared first. It was followed by a small creature that appeared to be a miniature elephant with luminous gold fur and small, rapidly fluttering wings.

The humanoid, Abehk, and his companion, Gem, learned what had transpired and then revealed the situation was a test of the party’s intentions. Abehk appeared satisfied that the party was of a generally good heart and agreed to provide information and assistance. They party learned many things…

• They were in a place called Krigala, on another plane of existance called the Beastlands where all manner of beasts can be found. The beasts here are the souls of animals and others of kindred lives who have died.
• Abehk appeared unconcerned about the activities of Trinth and her Githyanki, as it was a mortal matter.
• Abehk and the others served the god Zivilyn and were totally unfamiliar with Athas.
• Abehk suggested that the knowledge the party sought might be found in a different level of the Beastlands called Brux, in a place know as the Library of All Knowledge.

Gem agreed to escort the party to the library and the party set off travelling through the Beastlands and now seeing a stunning variety of animals many of whom struck up conversations as they passed by. After a few days of travel the swampy mangrove forest became a temperate forest of decidious trees. A day later Gem announded they had reached the passage to Brux and, passing between two large trees, disappeared. The party followed.

The Library of All Knowledge
The party found themsleves in a similar forest, but now in twilight with the trees stretching towards the western horizon where the sun was setting. The contrast to the perpetual noon of Krigala was intense.

After another day, the Library of All Knoweldge was reached, a massive structure the size of a city. Animals and humanoids roamed the book-lined halls, going about their business. While the party did get a lot of curious looks, they were generally left alone. They obtained the assistance of the librarian, Edna, who escorted them to a particularly dusty section of the library where the history of Athas could be found.

As the literate members of the party, Gwyn, Iorskan, Jax and Way-lynn led the effort. Birk, Banoc, Daqiq and Phyll did their best to assist in locating tomes and scrolls as best they could. A week of searching finally allowed many of the pieces to fall into place and the party learned about the Blue Age and the Green Age as well as the start of the Cleansing Wars and the start of the Red Age.

The party passed through Trinth’s portal and found themselves in a chamber looking at Trinth and her guards. The queen was an impressive figure, standing over 9 feet tall. She was dressed in clothing and armor that could purchase a city on Athas. She held a scepter with a pulsing ruby in one hand and a large silver greatsword in the other.

I have decided to allow you a rare honor – to become my Adlishar, the first of many who will serve me. Kneel before me and pledge your undying fidelity me.

The party debated the lich-queen’s offer, but were split in their opinions about the best decision. They questioned Trinth and believed that she was not completely honest about her intentions. Birk, Phyll, Daqiq and Jax felt allying with Trinth was the better option, as the destruction of the sorcerer-kings would be for the benefit of all Athas. Gwyn, Way-lynn, Banoc and Iorskan felt that exchanging one tyrrant for another was not an acceptable option.

The situation changed when Birk knelt and Trinth used her scepter to magically compell him to follow her orders. This was unacceptable to Phyll, Daqiq and Jax who decided to leave, however, Trinth’s true definition of freedom was death and a battle ensued. Banoc, who was severely injured from the arena fights dropped to a lightning blast from Trinth. An attempt was made to push past the guards and Trinth, but the party was cut off.

Gwyn used the last of her magic to wish the party back to the gateway they used to enter the Astral Sea. Once again, her focus was off and they all arrived in a remote and empty region of the Astral Sea. They stabilized Banoc and rested, recovering their strength. For lack of any better option, they followed Way-lynn’s lead and started moving through the Astral Sea. After over a day of travel, they happened across an emeral green portal. Entering the portal, the party found themselves in a dark forest growing from swampy, brackish water. Phyll believed that they were now all in the outer plane known as the Beastlands.

The swarms of cranium rats attacked both physically and psychically, their massive numbers causing the party to be worn down by the repeated attacks. However, with the continued support of Iorskan and Birk, Gwyn and her allies were able to emerge victorious.

The final two doors were opened and a massive tree blight and black dragon emerged. Trinth justified this with the party having “cheated” by allying with Iorskan and Birk. Fighting two creatures after the swarms caused the party to adjust their tactics. These fierce creatues were tough and strong and during the fight Banoc Ma’an fell, but was kept from dying by Jax.

Following the death of the dragon, Trinth addressed the party…

Congratulations, you have survived my trials and earned your freedom. I am surprised by your fortitude and prowess in battle, perhaps you Athasians are not as primitive as we suspected. Exit the arena through the doorway before you so that you may kneel and receive my blessing. Should you not wish to join my cause and liberate Athas, you shall be granted your freedom.

The battle in the arena of Trinth continued. The golems released from the white door were defeated with great effort as the creatures were resistant to the majority of the weapons and spells used by the party. The red door was opened next, revealing a group of gladiators from Athas and other lands. Two of these gladiators were known to Gwyn – Birk and Iorskan – her former adventuring companions. Birk and Iorskan joined forces with Gwyn and the others, easily dispacting the other gladiators.

More winnings were exhanged and additional bets were placed on the outcome of the next battle. Despite the turn of events, Trnith continued to look on and appeared to be satisfied with the outcome of each fight.

The green door was opened next and a monstrous undead lizard appeared. Although this lizard was capable of swallowing gladiators and vomiting forth zombies, the beast was defeated with ease.Only a three doors remained, their odds of finding freedom increasing with each combat.

The purple door was opened next and massive swarms of rats emerged. The rats had a strange purple glow about them, which could be seen coming from their exposed brains…

In the arena, the party was given magical daggers to defend themselves as their weapons were still in the possession of Trinth’s guards. Phyll’s spear was availabe to him and he was able to create a crude bow for Daqiq. Jax was able to summon her Sword of Tyr into the arena, but the rest were left without their weapons. Way-lynn in particular felt the hardship. Banoc detected that there were undead behind the green door, but no other door registered anything unusual.

Each door that was picked released a different creature that the party. The yellow door released a multi-headed draconic creature that attacked with claws and breath weapons. The block door released another draconic creature, made of an unusual black metal, which attacked with beams of radiant energy.

The party successfully defeated their two opponents with a mixture of cheers and jeers from the audience. Most were placing bets on the outcome of the matches. The lich-queen Trinth looked on commenting on the performance of the creatures and the party.

The third door opened, the white door, revealed a small group of constructs – golems made of flesh or stone.

Stepping through the portal the party found themselves in the Astral Sea, a new experience for Phyll, but somewhat familiar for the others. As they looked out onto an endless silver sea numerous color pools were visible. The spellcasters felt cut off from their sources of magic, without land or access to the elements. As the contemplated their next move, a shape began to form in the distance. As the shape came closer it appeared to be some type of sailing ship, moving through the Astral Sea, accompanied by a large winged lizard with deep red scales.

Prepared for battle the party was surprised to find the crew of the ship somewhat friendly and eager to talk. They learned that the crew of the ship were part of an army lead by a queen with plans to rule over Athas. The captain, Raskine, invited to party to return to their city and learn more their queen and her plans. Along the way some of the features of the Astral Sea were discussed including color pools that allow travelers to enter other worlds and the psychic wind which assaulted the mind more than the body.

Eventually the group arrived at Galanaki, the city of the Githyanki in the Astral Sea. Their shipped docked at a tall tower and the group was escorted through the city towards the large central palace. Once their more guards joined the procession, which eventually ended at the throne room of the queen, Trinth. Trinth questioned them regarding what she called the unusual powers of the mind that the people of Athas possessed. After additional questions and answers, the party came to the decision that Trinth, although not trustworthy, might prove to be a valuable ally against the sorcerer-kings and a potential tool to bring about a change and a new Green Age.

Offering themselves to Trinth, the queen agreed to accept their service, if they could prove themselves in an arena. The party agreed any they were dropped some 30 feet into a large area with numerous colored doors. The queen proclaimed "You must now choose your fate. One of these doors leads to freedom, the rest have an inhabitant that will be most pleased to see you. You must select the correct door, or die trying. If you choose incorrectly and survive, you may choose again.”

“See, I told you they wouldn’t be able to handle this!” Wyan said with a sneer. “They either were killed, captured or fled like scared crodlu.”

“It would appear that they did manage to defeat some of the simulacrum.” Sacha countered, nodding over towards the piles of sand in the large octagonal room. “I’m guessing they left for some reason, as all the door here are still closed.”

“Kalid’Ma’s forces probably just closed the doors behind them. Who knows where they are now! I don’t want to waste any more time on them.” Wyan sighed heavily, “We’ll have to start looking for others who will be able to help defeat Borys. Let get out of here before we get into trouble.”

Wyan and Sacha headed back to the elevator passageway leading back down and they floated down the passageway and out of the tower.

The room was quite for many long hours, then with a pop Gwyn and her allies teleported back into the tower, using the teleportation circle as a focus to avoid the mishap that had brought them to the stony barrens near the ruins of Yaramuke. They searched through the six doorways using Banoc’s magic or Way-Lynn’s strength to open them. Two doorways had warnings of evil and were not opened.

Each of the six rooms beyond appeared to contain portals to different locations. Although none were experts on planar travel, they deduced a few of the locations: Astral Sea, The Lands within the Wind, the Elemental Plane of Fire, and the Elemental Plane of Earth. Phyll greatly desired to journey to the forests of the Feywild, Daqiq was curious about the evils contained (and if they might actually be allies for the party). However, Jax and the rest felt that the Astral Sea should be the first portal they explored.

“Well, it was worth a try, and she did say yes.” Wyan said as he spat out fine sand from his mouth. “I guess Kalid-Ma hasn’t perfected his technique yet.”

“Not surprising as his talents always did focus on the Gray.” Sacha commented.

“They just went up a short time ago, I’m sure you could catch your friends.” The Elleandra simulacrum mentioned casually as she returned to the couch and continued to read her book.

“They are not our friends!” the two heads said in unison.

“As you say, it really isn’t any of my business. Nor is your desire to see Kalid-Ma and Li-Am defeated.” And with that the Elleandra simulacrum paid Sacha and Wyan no further attention.

“Kalak squandered the wealth of the city on building his ziggurat, I wonder what he’s done to the rooms the next level up. I doubt that they are full of treasures once again, unless Kalid-Ma brought some with him from the Gray.” There was a mixture of curiosity and anger in Sacha’s voice.

“Maybe more guest rooms? This was a surprise to find her here,” Wyan’s floating head sharply turned and his top knot jerked in the direction of Elleandra’s simulacrum. “and it appears that this Li-Am is far more social than the sorcerer-king.”

“He’ll have to get over that if he wants to attain real power. I’m sure there are banquet halls, recreation rooms and library for entertaining.” What started as a chuckle quickly turned into a dry cough. “The blood just doesn’t last like it used to does it.”

“I’m afraid not. Let’s head up and see if Gwyn and her friends have somehow managed to survive.” Sacha floated over to the concealed stairs and began to silently ascend.

“After you.” Wyan commented as he followed. He paused and looked back at the Elleandra simulacrum. “I wonder where the real you is and if she’d let me take a tiny little sip.”

Two old friends silently moved down a corridor in the Under-Tyr. Their normally withered and parched skin looked almost healthy, and were they not literally two disembodied heads, they would have appeared almost jubilant.

Licking its lips to recover a small spot of dried blood, the head with the top-knot speaks to his companion. “I bet they didn’t follow our advice Sacha. I’ll bet they just went into the false tower and didn’t follow the signs of their Veiled Alliance. How typical.”

“Well Wyan,” Sacha retorts, “you could have made it easier for them and just told them where to go.”

“They’ll need to clever if they are to defeat the sorcerer-kings and bring about their new Green Age. And besides,” he nods in the direction of an open door and floats closer, “they defeated Kalid-Ma’s simulacrum and didn’t die. They might be capable after all.”

“We’ll see.” Sacha snorts. “I wonder of Kalid-Ma has kept up all of old defenses or if he’s been so obsessed with revenge on Manu and Borys, that he hasn’t taken the time.”

Wyan floats around to the back side of the tower towards a concealed door, slowing as cautiously tests the threshold. “Well, he doesn’t appear to have strengthened them, at least not as far as I can tell. We should go in and see how things have changed.”

“You’re not thinking of going in to help them are you? I thought you’d decided to test their cleverness.”

“Oh, they are on their own, but should they succeed, I have a feeling we’ll have much to discuss.”

“And if they fail?”

“Then hopefully we can drink the last of their blood before it get’s too cold.”

“Fine with me.”

Combat with the Anathema began with the monstrosity taking a particular interest in Jax. Daqiq unleashed arrows while Jax and Gwyn fired off spells and Way-lynn mercilessly cut at it with his axe. Banoc did his best to damage the fiend while keeping his party members standing. After the Anathema was defeated, the party raced after Phyll.

Phyll continued to chase down the defiler, encountering more Yuan-ti along the way. The defiler drew life out of Phyll’s body to fuel the arcane spells he cast. The defiler was eventually caught in a flooded cavern and dispatched with a series of blows from the Heartwood Spear. From the water emerged another multi-headed creature – a hydra. The beast was able to inflict some wounds on the party, but was banished to another realm by Gwyn’s magic.

With the Hydra and Anathema vanquished, the remainder of the Yuan-ti proved little threat to the battle-hardened adventurers. As they cleared the temple they uncovered additional prisoners who had not yet been sacrificed to Dendar the Night Serpent, the god of the Yuan-ti. The temple also contained a modest amount of treasure, however, the defiler carried a longsword with a crystalline hilt. Banoc and Jax recognized this as the Sixth Sword of Tyr. She took the sword and performed the ritual to combine it with the other swords.

Romila was very pleased with the success of the quest and started preparations for moving their headquarters. The party assisted over the next week with the purification and fortification of the Fane. Banoc formally joined the Veiled Alliance of Tyr, having proven himself to be an ally. Romila was true to her word and provided the party with the location of a secret tunnel that would lead them to the sublevels of the Golden Tower of Kalak. She did warn the party that her information might be slightly dated as she had no knowledge of what Kalid-Ma may have changed since is occupation.

They checked in with Karlen and learned that his contacts were able to procure one item, a magical crystal ball of scrying. Although it was exorbitantly expensive, they had acquired a tremendous amount of treasure from the ruins of Yaramuke and the party was able to pay Karlen’s asking price. Phyll took possession of the crystal ball and began to study its properties.

After a week of rest the party now felt prepared to enter the Golden Tower and deal with Li-Am and Kalid-Ma…

Phyll stood guard as the rest of the party tried to recover their strength while discussing what to do about the petrified Banoc. Some of the options discussed were rather gruesome as none had any experience dealing with this condition before. Before a plan of action could be initiated, they were interrupted by a small patrol of Yuan-ti who spotted Phyll and engaged. The rest of the party soon woke to the sounds of battle and joined in.

The fight raged down the hallway, alerting more Yuan-ti, who had moved around in their stronghold while the party attempted to rest. The Yuan-ti fought along with their broodguard and undead minions, including a pair of minotaur skeletons and an undead skeletal snake. Phyll and Way-lynn led the attack to the Yuan-ti and the minions, taking the brunt of the attacks. Daqiq’s arrows were deadly as ever and Gwyn unleashed several fireballs, decimating their opponents. Still suffering from the previous fight, Jax stayed back and supported as best she could.

After the combat was over, Gwyn used her magic to restore the health or her companions and simultaneous restored Banoc to life. They proceeded to explore more of the stronghold and discovered evidence of a horrible ritual having taken place while they were attempting to rest. Phyll suffered hallucinations of snake imagery after attempting to determine the nature of a foul liquid in one chamber. Following the sounds of chanting, they came to a large cathedral with a pool of blood and several Yuan-ti who were finishing a ritual of some kind.

Wasting no time Phyll started to attack and Daqiq dropped a heavily armored Yuan-ti with two arrows. Way-lynn tossed a Malison into the pool of blood and the remaining Yuan-ti fled casting a fireball at the party. His defiling nature was clear and Phyll pursued him down a narrow passage. Arising from the blood pool, a horrible creature with six snake head arose, splashing gore throughout the room and onto the party members.

The group stared at the foul abomination and wondered what it was capable of…

After resting and recovering from their combat with the Crimson Knights, the party prepared to cleanse the temple of the Yuan-ti for Romila and the Veiled Alliance. Banoc communed with his elemental patrons and learned that the Yuan-ti were not the only dangers they wound face within the temple but that there were items of value within the temple that would aid them in their struggle against the sorcerer-kings, including a Sword of Tyr.

With the preparations complete, the party journeyed in the Under Tyr for an hour and arrived at a pair of bronze doors embossed with snake images. Banoc detected no magical wards and Daqiq could not locate any physical traps, so Way-lynn used his massive strength to open the doors, revealing an entry hall with several humanoid, snake-like creatures, who were caught by surprise. Combat ensued and the commotion of spells and weapons drew additional defenders including a giant crocodile, a pair of basilisks and an air elemental. Gwyn’s magical summons of an incendiary cloud spelled doom for the bulk of the forces and the rest were quickly defeated.

However, Jax suffered numerous poisonous attacks but Phyll was able to save her before she perished. Banoc was turned to stone from the gaze of the basilisks and none of his allies could reverse the condition. With a moment or two to catch their breath, the party dragged Banoc into a side-chamber and attempted to rest for a bit.

However, they were not so lucky…

In the Under-Tyr, the battle with the crimson knights continued to attack Way-lynn, Daqiq, Phyll and Jax. The knights absorbed hit after hit, showing little damage and no sign of stopping. They pressed forward as the party moved back, hoping that the advance would halt. Phyll should have fallen to the attacks, but somehow managed to keep standing.

While the rest of the party continued to retreat, Gwyn joined Banoc in exploring the structure, looking for something to help their friends. They found altars with a few lit candles on them and eventually realized that there was a candle for each of the knights. Hoping they could help their friends, the pair started to extinguish candle after candle, and when each was snuffed out, a knight crumbled to the ground.

With the knights defeated, the party regrouped inside the structure and was startled by the arrival of a lone figure, that Gwyn recognized at Romila, a member of the Veiled Alliance. There was initially a good deal of hostility and tension as the party learned that the knights were defending an Alliance safehouse and that they could not be restored by any known methods.

Romila filled in the party on the events leading to the destruction of the Veiled Alliance and the terrible news that the safehouse they were in might be the last of the Veiled Alliance in Tyr. When Romila learned of the groups desire to infiltrate the Golden Tower and deal with Li-Am and Kalid-Ma, a bargain was struck. If the party could help clear out a new safehouse of the Yuan-ti that currently inhabited it, the party would be shown a secret way into the Golden Tower.

With the bargain struck, the party purchased some supplies and items from the Veiled Alliance and headed out…

The party ventured into the Under-Tyr entering from the Warrens district. After many hours of searching through the catacombs and sewers of ancient Tyr, they began to sense ancient protective magics and started following the traces. Eventually the party arrived at an ancient structure that appeared to be temple dedicated to some, long-forgotten gods. Way-lynn was able to open the doors with their massive strength and a half-dozen undead knights appeared to block their entry. The creatures simply stated that only those who were pure of heart would be allowed to pass.

Banoc entered the structure without resistance but when Phyll attempted to do the knights attacked him. Daqiq, Jax and Way-lynn engaged the undead guardians as they were sure that “pure of heart” did not apply to them. Gwyn had a vague recollection of this area from her initiation into the Veiled Alliance, but was more concerned with defending her friends than attempting enter the structure. Phyll took the the brunt of the attacks and suffered serious injuries, forcing him to start retreating.

After attempting to disguise themselves, especially Phyll, the party ventured out onto the streets of Tyr to get a feel for the city and attempt to make contact with the Veiled Alliance. At the Drunken Giant, Banoc and Gwyn attempted to find members of the Alliance, but they were unsuccessful. It appeared that the Alliance in Tyr was driven into hiding following the occupation of the city by Kalid-Ma and were even more suspicious of outsiders than normal.

Gwyn headed to an old ally, Karlen, at his store, Karlen’s Eye. They found him still running the shop and he provided information on the current state of Tyr. He told them of the arrival of Kalid-Ma and his high templar Li-Am from the south and their easy defeat of the city’s guard. With a sorcerer-king once again in control of the city, the old ways had returned – templars and nobles were scheming as even and the brief freedom enjoyed was gone. Kalid-Ma had only just returned from his defeat at Urik in the north, although Karlen mentioned that the sorcerer-king had returned from the south.

Karlen agreed to fence a number of items the party had discovered and use the proceeds to try and obtain useful items and components need for Gwyn to create powerful magic tattoos. With some relief, Banoc gave up the Blade Perilous into Karlen’s care. It would be a few day’s before his contacts returned with the items the party requested.

While they roamed the city, Phyll sensed the powerful primal energy of the sorcerer-king’s gardens and suspected that there were many Trees of Life there. Had the rest of the party not intervened, he would have attempt to open the garden to the city, surely earning the wrath of Kalid-Ma. As they made their way back to Free City Tattoo, they encountered a press gang, conscripting citizens into Kalid-Ma’s new army.

The party decided that enough was enough and a fight ensued. The thugs of Kalid-Ma were tough, but not a match for the seasoned adventurers. The combat was over quickly, with Way-lynn, Phyll and Daqiq making a good show of defeating their opponents. The crowd of citizens watch with a mixture of awe and horror. Daqiq, Jax and Phyll freed the prisoners, gave them weapons and told them to earn their freedom.

Leaving before more templars and guards arrived, the party headed to the Warrens and the Under-Tyr in an attempt to find the Alliance and escape pursuit.

The discussions continued late into the night. The success a purifying the water and the brief rains that fell had invigorated the party and the survivors of the curse, which now numbered almost 200. The optimism was an unusual feeling for everyone. Everyone had their plans regarding the Blue Waters Oasis and their next steps…

• Banoc selected this oasis as his new home.
• Phyll was eager to help Phabum start training druids.
• Gwyn was eager to return to Nibenay and reclaim their lost possessions.
• Jax was eager to research the lore that was recovered from the ruins of Sielba’s palace.
• Way-lynn was concerned about the defense of the Oasis and began preperations for fortifying the area and training defense forces.
• Daqiq desired to return to the ruins and reclaim more treasure.

The following morning, Way-lynn awoke to a surprise – they had returned to a half-giant. The Scroll of Blue Waters appeared to have reversed the effects suffered during their time in the Ruins of Pluton. They also were surprised by the arrival of a contingent of half-giants on a nearby ridge. When they were approached the party discovered that Siemhouk, the high templar of Nibenay, was with the half-giants.

The young girl was her usual mysterious self, however, they learned from Seimhouk that Dregoth was active in Raam, Kalid-Ma had indeed been defeated at Urik and retreated and that Balic was being destroyed by the forces of Ul-Athra and Yarnath. She implied, in an unsubtle way, that if the party didn’t clean up the messes they made, she would expose this Blue Waters Oasis to Nibenay. Hostilities almost broke out, but Daqiq was a calming influence on Banoc.

Siemhouk left the party to decide their fate and after much discussion, they elected to help Tyr out first. Gwyn teleported them to the Free City Tattoo shop they once called home…

After a long, slow march from the Ruins of Yaramuke to the Black Waters Oasis, the party encountered a strange hermit named Phabum who they learned was a druid that tended the Oasis. The party was able to convince him to assist in the purification of the water and they began to cast the spell from the Scroll of Blue Waters. As they did so, hundreds of undead began to rise from the ground and attack the party.

Phyll protected Phabum and Banoc as they worked to complete the ritual. Daqiq and Way-lynn attacked the undead, attempting to thin the numbers as best they could. Gwyn used her magic to summon a ring of fire around the casters, attempting to shield them from attacks while blasting other undead with fireballs. Jax used her magic to push back the mass of undead and summoned spiritual guardians to protect the party as they fell back into the oasis to protect Phabum and Banoc.

The spell was completed and the scroll melted into water and the oasis turned a healthy shade of blue. Some of the zombies faded into dust, but those remaining become rejuvenated and are alive once again. A thundercloud formed above the oasis, lightning crashed, hitting the monument, and rain fell for a few moments. Phyll caught Banoc and Phaebum as they fell to their knees, exhausted. The rain renewed the refugees’ health and Gwyn and Way-lynn found that they were now fully alive.

All enjoyed the cool, clear waters of the Oasis and discussed where they would go next…

In the ruins of Sielba’s palace, they party found no rest, for what they thought were the denizens of desert that were howling and screaming was more in their minds. This haunting persisted and they eventually gave up and continued to search the lowest level of the palace. There they found something more precious than the gold above – knowledge. Sielba’s chambers were filled with wonderous knowledge of magic, nature and otherworldly machines. There were also tomes of history that appeared to contain knowledge of Athas that none but the sorcerer-kings knew. They, somewhat reluctantly, dropped most of their coins so that they could bring this knowledge back to the surface.

Banoc discovered a powerful scroll that he was barely able to decipher. This Scroll of Blue Waters appeared to be capable of reversing the curse on the Black Waters Oasis as well as restoring those who had drank from it. They needed to be journey to the oasis to use it, and the spell was so complex that Banoc was not sure he could successfully use it. Knowing that their refugees were running low on time, they hurried back to the surface.

Their path was blocked by animated obsidian statues that appeared to have been activated by the group attempting to leave with the treasure. Although the party could have defeated them, their animation also triggered a collapse of the ceiling. Daqiq lead the charge with Phyll and Way-lynn covering the rest of the party as they attempted to escape. Jax was brilliant and used her magic to temporarily banish the golems from Athas to avoid the majority of them. Gwyn used her staff to create an impenetrable wall of force blocking their pursuit.

Eventually clear of the ruins and running as fast as they could through the rising heat of day, the party reached the gith water cave and began to mobilize the refugees. They could only hope to reach the oasis and complete the spell before the golems caught up with them.

With the last rays of the setting sun, the Cerulean Orb and the Eye of Earth blazed to life and illuminated the entrance to the palace of Sielba. The party decided to leave the refugees in the gith cave as they were deteriorating quickly and would likely be of little use in the palace. Banoc feared that without additional intervention by Gwyn, the refugees would not last more than 2 days.

The party made their way through the palace finding little of interest, save for some loose coins and half-giant skeletons that appeared to be guarding long-forgotten chambers. Much to Phyll’s dismay, there was not sign of the druidic lore rumored to have been sequestered by Sielba. A secret door was discovered leading down to a lower level and Daqiq lead the way.

The lower level held the treasury of the sorcerer-queen and many more skeletons, who were alerted to the groups presence by a crack of thunder created by Jax. Banoc blasted the majority of the skeletons into dust and the rest were destroyed by a combination of Gwyn’s magic and Way-lynn’s weapons. Hundreds of metal coins of all types were found in the rooms and they all loaded up as much as they could carry.

In a magnificent bedroom, which they assumed belonged to Sielba, another stairway leading down was uncovered. As hour was getting very late, they only briefly looked below before retreating to a safe room to try and rest before exploring further

The party continued to explore the ruins in an attempt to location the proper positions for Earth’s Eye and the Cerulean Orb, and although they encountered many difficulties, they faced no opposition. Gwyn detected a spectral sensor that was trying to spy on her. Banoc fell into a trap and found himself stranded in the Astral Sea for some time. Phyll fell into a sinkhole and would have suffocated had he needed to breathe. Daqiq and Way-lynn discovered a warehouse with construction supplies and an unstable floor filled with obsidian shard lined pits.

Jax located the statue with an outstretched hand that accepted the Cerulean Orb and they were confident they found the location of the tower to hold Earth’s Eye. As the tower was in ruins they didn’t know the height that was needed to reveal the palace of Sielba. Banoc communed with his elemental patron and narrowed down the location, but when the sun set the beams did not converge.

Their night was interrupted with screams so horrible they none were able to get rest. The following day they continued their search and discovered a mural depicting the statue and tower as it was during the rule of Sielba. With this information they could accurately place the Eye. And at the next sunset, the beams united to reveal the entrance to Sielba’s palace.

WIth the ruins of Yaramuke the adventurers have embarked on a quest to recover knowledge stolen by the sorcerer-queen Sielba from druids and preservers of old. They hope to use the knowledge to reverse a powerful curse on the nearby Black Waters Oasis and possibly to bring about a new Green Age of Athas. They race against the hours as their survival supplies are limited an the cursed refugees continue to wither, despite the efforts of Banoc and Gwynn.

At the Temple of Earth, the party wrestled with how to obtain the Earth’s Eye from the Dwarven Banshee guarding it. They had learned that in order to reveal the location of Sielba’s palace, they would need the Earth’s Eye and the Cerulean Orb in their proper places as sunset. However, the structures had been destroyed when Yaramuke was sacked by Hamanu, making it impossible for task to be completed. After all their attempts to reason with the creature had failed, Daqiq resorted to sleight of hand, but the Banshee was not deceived and attacked. The party was easily able to defeat the undead and gained possession of the Eye.

The following day, the group continued to explore the ruins, discovering a cave inhabited by silt runners. The weak reptilian humanoids were easily defeated by Banoc and Jax who took their supply of water for their own. Gwyn and Way-lynn were less successful in finding anything of interest, but were affected by some strange magic which hurled Way-lynn into the air and caused Gwyn to temporarily grow a third eye.

In the afternoon, the party unearthed the ruins of a museum containing many displays of art from the past. After exploring rooms filled with mirrors and statues, they removed rubble blocking a chamber containing many different orbs of all makes, shapes and colors. Using a dagger they found the templar barracks days earlier, they were able to deduce which of the orbs was the object of their quest.

Now in possession of both Earth’s Eye and the Cerulean Orb, the party only needs to discover how to use them to reveal the palace of the sorcerer-queen…

The Gith Cave
Given the size of the ruins of Yaramuke, the party decided to split up to cover more ground and hopefully locate a safe place to rest.

Daqiq, Jax and Gwyn searched in the northeast corner of the ruins but found nothing except an aggressive patch of spider cacti. They suffered a few injuries, but nothing too serious.

Banoc, Way-lynn and Phyll had more success and discovered a cave entrance in the side of a small cliff. Alerting the other half of the party, they headed in. The cave showed signs of inhabitants, and they were quickly discovered to be gith. The gith tried to ambush the adventurers, but it was no contest. After having slain all but two of the gith, the party explored the rest of the caves and discovered a room with gith young cowering in fear.

Taken aback, the party tried to make amends, but the gith were not willing to trust those who had invaded the caves and slaughtered their family. In the morning the party left, leaving the gith and their treasure behind. Phyll created extra food for the gith, to appease the guilt.

The Temple of Earth
Banoc and Phyll used their magic to try and learn about the ruins and what else they may encounter there. Banoc’s elemental spirits lead him to believe that the palace was protected by powerful magics making it difficult to discover even when the city wasn’t in ruins. Phyll sensed a strong elemental presence and the party headed towards it, having no better course to take.

Eventually they found what appeared to be the entrance to a temple. The doors were barely visible and covered in an immense pile of sand and rubble. The party and the refugees worked for several hours to clear it all out and gain access to the interior.

Inside the discovered several rooms each containing an ancient relic from the past. One room contained an ancient fountain that still had stale, but drinkable, water. Another room appeared to be a workshop of some type that had several desiccated corpses.

The final room held an altar to the elements of earth and resting atop was a large crystal sphere made to look like an eyeball. Pictograms of mountains and earthen wonders decorated the white of the eye. As the party moved to take the orb, a corpse emerged from the shadows . The party recognized it as a dwarven banshee and prepared for combat. The creature instead spoke, warning the party to not disrupt the eye.

The conversation continued and the party learned that the dwarf was tasked to place the eye atop a tower which allowed Sielba’s palace to be blessed and its location revealed. As the tower was destroyed the dwarf was unable to fulfill his focus and became cursed to undeath. The dwarf was stubborn in death, presumably as it was in life, and unwilling to entertain alternatives to his focus.

The party pondered how to obtain the eye…

Reflections
Looking out over unending stony barrens, the party realized they were nowhere near Nibenay and only had Gwyn’s sense they were north of Nibenay to help. To the north and east, the land appeared to give way into scrub plains while the south and west appeared to be all stony barrens as far as they could see. Although the scrub plains might have been slightly more hospitable, they decided to travel south in the hopes of getting their bearings.

Phyll proved to be a valuable asset as his mere presence invigorated the party and allowed them to travel longer during the days. He also used his primal magic to create some food and water which helped stretch their supplies. Having fled the Shadow Viper quickly, they were low on the essentials needed to survive in the hot deserts of Athas.

As the party traveled for days, their thoughts turned towards the recent events and they reflected on their actions and the consequences…

• Gwyn felt overwhelmed and that she had betrayed her personal beliefs. Their actions regarding the giants and dwarves horrified her.
• Daqiq cared less about the dwarves and gaints and felt they were simply obstacles for a greater good. He was worried about the return of Ul-Athra and the safety of people in the cities.
• Jax shared her husband’s worries about the common people but that the ends justify the means. She was slightly more hopeful about the eventual outcome.
• Way-lynn was rather stoic, but admitted leaving behind the crew of the Sinful Kraken was wrong. They felt unfocused and really wasn’t sure what they were fighting for.
• Banoc felt lost and as questioning his beliefs. He had no real issues with leaving behind the crew as he admitted to himself he was somewhat of a coward.
• Phyll simply wanted to restore Athas and put an end to the defilers, no mater the cost.

During their first night Banoc communed with his elemental and felt better about their decision to travel south. According to his divinations, they had enough supplies to reach civilization and that going further north would not have been helpful for their cause.

Kenku Traders
The following morning, the group awoke to a horrific discovery – Gwyn’s lips and nose had fallen off leaving her face terribly disfigured. Too shocked and disturbed to offer any guidance, Gwyn stood still as Banoc used his magic once again to restore her body. They worried about her deterioration but could think of nothing to do except try and repair the damage once it happened.

During the following day, they happened across a group of Kenku traders. These merchants only communicated using phrases they had heard before, but the general meaning was ascertained without too much trouble. The party purchased a large number of supplies to make their journey easier as well as provide some comforts – wine, food and water were to top priorities. Banoc purchased some diamonds to use with his spells and a toy Wooshwagon was found a purchased by Way-lynn.

They parted ways with the Kenku and continued south until they needed rest. Banoc felt as if the elements had spoke truly to him and that the Kenku were some form of a blessing.

The Walking Dead
The next morning came with more horrifying events. All of the goods obtained by the Kenku had turned to ash overnight. The food was gone, the water was gone, the diamonds were gone, everything. Phyll was on watch and there were no intruders in the camp. They could only guess that they had been deceived by the Kenku. Daqiq was furious and wanted to track them down for revenge. The rest of the party decided that while they were poorer of coin they were richer of knowledge and that is was best to let the Kenku go. Reluctantly Daqiq agreed.

Additionally, Gwyn’s ears had fallen off over night. Once again Banoc’s magic was able to reattach her body parts, but he still could not determine for sure what was causing the decay. The parts that he had previously restored appeared to be just fine, although every so slightly more draconic in appearance. Gwyn suffered no pain or other debilitating effects, so no believed it was the same affliction that Thea suffered from.

This next day and night were without incident or encounter and the following morning Gwyn remained whole.

Around mid-day, the party encountered a group of thirty individuals wandering from the southwest and the two groups approached each other. Never had they seen such a dismal lot of humanity. Mostly humans, they were all limping and walking somewhat erratically. As they got closer still, the traveler’s tattered clothes became apparent and their exposed flesh was seen to be covered in boils and suppurating abscesses of the skin. They were moaning unintelligibly at first, but soon a few words could be made out – “food” “water” “help us”.

The leader introduced himself as Sil Dresh, and Way-lynn knew of him from their time in the Shadow Guard of Nibenay. They learned that this group was made up of refugees from the battle at Urik, which did not go well for most of the troops, even though a shadowy dragon was driven off with the combined power of Hamanu, Lalali-Puy, Nibenay and the Dragon itself. This group had fled and wandered for several days before coming upon the Black Waters Oasis. So great was their thirst that they drank from the cursed waters and now were wasting away.

Phyll tried to help by making more food and water. Although the refugees were able to eat and drink, they were unable to hold down the food and came back up within seconds. Gwyn dared to use the Dark Lens to try and restore the refugee’s to health, but even her wishes were unable to completely restore them. They symptoms decreased in intensity, but the underlying affliction remained. Whatever the cause, it was more powerful than her wishes.

The Ruins of Yaramuke
The refugees elected to remain with the party as they had no better option and felt that the party was their best chance for salvation. They party was glad to have the extra hands as they decided to head toward the Ruins of Yaramuke, which were just north of the Oasis. They now knew their approximate location and that gave them a slight bit of hope.

Jax knew a little of the story of Yaramuke, a tale that she had heard from another bard. Phyll knew a little as well, that the sorcerer-queen Sielba was particularly vengeful in the purging of the druids and preservers, but that it was rumored she kept their knowledge for herself rather than destroy it like the other sorcerer-kings. They hoped that her knowledge might help in their quest to restore Athas.

With the refugees following them, the party made the journey to the ruins of Yaramuke, arriving there in the early afternoon of the following day. The treacherous ruins would not provide a safe place to rest, unless an intact building could be located. They prepared to search the ruins, looking for a secure place to act as a base of operations. The size of the ruins and their treacherous nature would likely require days to explore.

Gwyn falls into a dreamlike state as she is transported across Athas by her Wish spell. Though the Teleportation is instantaneous, it is as though she has hours to contemplate her journey.

Where are we going? I can tell just by the pull of the wind that we aren’t headed to Nibenay. Why should we be? What’s one more thing going wrong? Shit.

Gwyn sees the forms of two noble men, each decorated with the signets of great houses of Athas. They rise up toward her from the desert, before vanishing into dust.

Even as a child among the Sky Singers I knew I had the power to preserve, to respect and maintain balance among the life contained within my arcane gifts. As I mastered this art I came to believe that it might allow me to become a hero…to bring growth and vibrancy to this place. Was that too naive? Perhaps in the unforgiving dryness of Athas no one is able to become a hero. Vinara, Morg, Elleandra, Jarvix, Kelvor, Thea, and the others…they came so close, and now they are dead. And for what? So that I and my current compatriots can let loose Ul-Athra? Allow a sorcerer-king to roam the Silt Sea and do as he pleases with our crew? I fear we have made one too many mistakes.

Gwyn has visions of two hideous floating heads bouncing around in the ether – each growling hungrily. One of them snarls, “We will never taste your blood now.”

I’ve never believed in fate. My mother and my birth father were both evil – I never once allowed myself to think I would go down a similar path, instead believing that I would make my own meaning. Now I question whether there is even such a thing. After leaving Moil, which nearly broke me, I was ready to start anew, taking flight on these scaled wings and moving ever faster toward our triumph – toward a brighter day for Athas. Now I can’t bring myself to imagine that this day will ever come.