Quick-Shots

Quick-Shots are extremely short single-session missions. They hold a limited number of players and last a few hours, covering one small, straight-forward quest. To ensure brevity, the majority of the QS is usually combat, either with a single boss and a few mooks or with a large amount of mooks. This is likely to change with the addition of more DMs creating Quick-Shots.

Portal
Players: William Zulian, Ragnarok, Al

Plot: All of the players have come to the town of Rosha for some reason or other. The town is clean and well-kept, with the exception of a few houses which have weeds sprouting up. As it is evening, all of them make their way to the inn, the Pepper Pot, to pass the night. After William messes with the other patrons in the inn by using Mage Hand to keep a coin out of reach of those who try to pick it up, he retires to his room, as does Ragnarok. Al, a construct, does not need sleep, and instead stays downstairs spilling hard alcohol all over the floor. The others do not find much rest, either, as a cut-off scream awakens them. Ragnarok and William, after asking each other about it, go downstairs to investigate. The barkeep insists he did not hear anything. The men leave the inn to search out the source, the construct following. Al asks a guard about it, but the guard tells him there was no scream. William knocks on the door of the nearest house, disturbing its busy occupants, and demands to know what the scream was. When the house's owner finally answers the door, he says there was no scream but looks at the guard. Al catches this and tries to further question the guard, but the guard threatens to arrest them. Realizing the guard will not talk, they leave, William using magic to track down the sound of this faint but increasing whooshing.

The sound leads to a house with its basement windows covered. However, one of the coverings is peeling at a corner, and Ragnarok sees a flicker of purple light through it. Al kicks the window in, and Ragnarok tries to look through it. He barely dodges a spell thrown at his face. The trio takes that as an invitation to go around, break in the front door, and go beat up whoever attacked them. This they do, and they find in the basement a drow, a purple swirly thing, and bloodstains. The drow, called Harith of Dreams, makes it obvious he has killed someone to power the portal (the purple swirly thing). The trio engage him in combat, finding that he has already summoned a monster to help him. Between the sorcerer, his monster, and his weasel familiar, Ragnarok becomes severely hurt and poisoned; he runs from the house, asking a guard to take him to a healer. Meanwhile, the portal, which has been gathering power with each passing second, zaps William, who disappears. Al slays the drow, and the portal spins out of control and into oblivion. When the guard brings Ragnarok back to the barracks for healing and an antidote, Ragnarok tells them in what house he had been fighting before passing out from the poison and blood loss. He wakes in a cell, all his possessions and clothes gone. Confused, he pulls a spring from the bed's mattress and picks the lock. Sneaking out, he goes to a tailor for pants before searching for Al.

Upon reuniting, the thief and the construct go back to the jail for Ragnarok's possessions and prepare to find William. In the ensuing fight with the guards, Al spills his barrel of hard alcohol all over the floor and guards before lighting it. Few survive the blast, but Al and Ragnarok do. They find Ragnarok's possessions, free the other prisoners, and hurry out the back as the jail burns. From there, they break into one of the less-kept, weed-infested houses near Harith's and find that the house is not totally abandoned: its denizens are all asleep and unable to be wakened. With one of the sleeping bodies, Ragnarok distracts the guards at Harith's house before he and Al sneak out windows and to the house. Two guards remain; they slaughter one and intimidate the other. This guard confesses that she just wants to leave Rosha's nightmares behind. She says that the guards are intentionally helping out of fear. Harith is dead, but he was just a puppet. She begs them to help her leave Rosha and promises to look for information on what has befallen their friend. They agree; Al and the guard leave while Ragnarok searches the basement for clues before following. They flee Rosha.

Items:Teleportation Rune (Al), Using People as Conduits For Dummies (William), Robes of Magical Resistance (Ragnarok), Glass Symbol (Ragnarok), Glass Wish with a Price (Ragnarok)

Delivery
Players: Giblet Lily-Axe, Sylvie Lynne, Tyrion Sanguinus

Plot: A wealthy merchant has put out a notice seeking mercenaries to transport his wares. Giblet, Sylvie, and Tyrion all show up for the job. After instructing them to take his cargo of building supplies along Rud Canyon Road to the jail in Rosha, he charges them for providing a horse and carriage and the wares, calling this an investment and ensuring his contact will pay them well. They set off, Sylvie immediately bonding with the horse (which she calls Chocolate) while Giblet and Tyrion bicker and disapprove of each other. About a quarter of the way through the canyon, a snake spooks the horse; Sylvie calms Chocolate, Tyrion chops the snake in half, and Giblet disposes of the body. They continue along their way, eventually coming to a rest stop halfway through the canyon as night falls. They park the carriage beside the building and take the horse inside. While it munches on a straw mattress, the trio split rations found in a chest and decide how they will keep watch over the cargo. Sylvie takes first watch and goes outside.

Soon, she sees two figures running from a "wave" of some sort and hears the wave howling and growling. She alerts her companions; when Tyrion draws his glowing sword, the figures see the light and shout a warning and a plea for help. The two crash into the building before slamming the door shut against the wave. They hold the door, along with Tyrion, while Sylvie climbs up to a window to peer out. She sees a bunch of monstrous creatures, canine but with crab claws where ears should be, circular sucker-like lips in place of a normal mouth, and no eyes. The Tallfellow halfling lass, Dahlia, explains that they are her nightmares; a witch gave her a glass symbol to "get them out of [her] head, but [she] didn't think she meant like this". Her companion's state is a silent tribute to just how badly her nightmares went wrong; one of his arms is freshly missing, though the bleeding is stopped. The elven lad, Dillan, explains that they are fleeing Rosha because this is not the only problem with nightmares there. Just as they plan to try to hold out in the building for the night, the monsters ram so hard against the door that the bolt cracks. Sylvie shoves the door open so hard that it throws them back and allows her time to start punching them to death; Giblet attempts to sneak onto the roof from a window but falls and attracts two of the monster's attention. Tyrion stays inside to protect the terrified Dahlia and one-armed Dillan. Before long, the small monsters are almost completely wiped out; however, larger reinforcements arrive. At this, Tyrion emerges to help fight, soon followed by Dahlia with her short sword and Dillan with his healing spells. When they have eliminated all but one, the last howls at Dahlia, frightening her and calling forth even bigger nightmare monsters. While Sylvie and Dillan try to hold them off and Giblet runs away, Tyrion convinces Dahlia to break the symbol. She does so, and the nightmares disappear; however, others stream from the broken pieces and pull her in before the symbol fixes itself. Tyrion pockets it while a distraught Dillan tries to punch him for Dahlia's loss.

Unable to do much else, the trio resumes resting and watching. As they pack up to leave, they take the monsters' pelts and find that two of the crates have been destroyed in the fight. Dillan joins them on their way to Rosha. Three-quarters of the way through the canyon, they encounter bandits that Tyrion immediately begins to fight. They succumb easily before the three heavy-hitters, and Tyrion demands that the one he kept alive for interrogation go the opposite way through Rud Canyon Road, find a church, and repent. He carves the symbol of Pelor into his arm as a reminder. The group make it to Rosha without further incident and deliver the building supplies to the jail, which had evidently burned down a week or so ago. The foreman pays them handsomely, and Sylvie immediately buys Chocolate. Tyrion wishes to go find the witch that gave Dahlia the symbol first thing in the morning and goes to the Pepper Pot to rest and regain his strength (actually, drink himself into oblivion and pass out on the floor as soon as he enters his room). Sylvie rents a stable stall for Chocolate and hurries to the inn. She and Giblet eat dinner and retire to their rooms. The next morning, they go to the witch's hut but find it completely empty of anything, witch or furniture or strange glass symbols. Not knowing what else to do for now, they go their separate ways.

Items: Monster Pelts (all), Glass Symbol (Tyrion), Chocolate the Horse (Sylvie)

Nightmares
Players: Hannalore, Josephine Longbough, Jack Daw, Al

Plot: Al and Ragnarok receive tips from the guard they befriended in the Portal QS about how to free William. While Ragnarok was held up by important business elsewhere, Al returned to Rosha to find a glass symbol, the "key" to William's prison. Meanwhile, three separate adventurers receive letters requesting assistance with an important job. The letters contain a purple piece of glass (glass symbols) and instructions to show this to a guard in Rosha for the job details. Unbeknownst to them, this is a lie and a scheme; people from their pasts have hired a certain Roshan to "get rid" of them: the crime lord Malachi, Hannalore's former boss; member of rival family Nathaniel Talgor, Josephine's spurned lover; and All four adventurers converge in the entrance of Rosha at roughly the same time. Hannalore immediately steals a horse from the nearby stables. Josephine attempts to confront her, but she feigns both innocence and ignorance, and Jack plays along supportively. The three then overhear Al confronting a guard, requesting "the glass". The guard does not understand, but Josephine shows them hers and asks if this is what it is. The guard tells Al to go to a woman who lives in a hut just outside of the nearby canyon's mouth and tells the others to report to the barracks in the morning for full job details, as it is currently dusk. All of them go to the local inn for a time before Hannalore and Jack follow Al to the hut. The woman there, an unnaturally pallid humanoid who mentions having been a worshiper of a god of dreams, gives Al a glass symbol while giving Jack the cold shoulder due to his suspicious questions. Afterward, the three return to the inn, and all four prepare for the night.

Hannalore, the first to fall asleep, dreams of being back home with her husband and child. Rather than a sweet dream, this is a nightmare; their home is ablaze. Before her eyes, the fire consumes her family, there being nothing she could do to save them, before engulfing her. At the moment she "dies" in the dream, it changes. Rather than being in her burning home, she is in a plane of unending purple, with a shadow attacking her. Al, a construct, does not sleep, but his symbol makes him susceptible to waking dreams. The tavern fades to the same purple plane, and he feels that he is falling. At the moment of impact, he finds himself beside Hannalore, facing a shadow of his own. They fight for a time before Josephine and Jack also fall asleep to nightmares. Jack dreams that he is on a ship with every person he ever loved while a sea monster attacks them, plucking away and devouring his friends while sinking the ship. Just as he hits the water and the monster's mouth sucks him in, he joins the others in the purple plane. Josephine dreams that she wakes in her inn room and starts to rise from her bed when her feet hit all manner of vermin. Spiders, snakes, rats, and harmful insects scurry up her body and across every surface of her room, concealing the door and effectively trapping her. They devour every inch of her flesh before she joins the others in the purple plane. Both of them also have shadows to fight. Shortly after they begin, three more appear: a short one, a crooked one, and a powerful one. The ensuing battle is long and brutal, but all of the adventurers manage to defeat their own shadows (and the other two shadows of trapped souls) before defeating the shadow of the person influencing the symbols and their dreams. All of the adventurers wake, feeling achy and tired as though they had been fighting (which they had). They know two things: where the boss's stash is located and that they must leave town immediately.

They retrieve the stash, splitting it amongst them (except Hannalore, who has more money than all of them combined anyway). On their way from the city, they pass Harith of Dreams' old house from the Portal QS. Emerging from the front door are William, zapped by the portal during that QS and immediately taking off out of Rosha, and Dahlia, dragged into her nightmares during the Delivery QS and clutching a severed arm. Crying and hugging the arm as if it were her best friend, she declares that she dreamed about the adventurers and asks if they will escort her from this forsaken city. Taking pity on the halfling, whom they realize due to her height was one of the trapped shadows, they agree. Needing to tell a friend that she is okay, she stops by a house and wakes the sleeping occupant with her knocking. The person who answers the door is Dillan, also from the Delivery QS, an elf who is missing an arm that is presumably the one Dahlia is clutching. Said severed arm is forgotten when Dillan uses his attached one to scoop Dahlia up and spin her around in exuberance at seeing her alive and well. He heals the adventurers in gratitude for saving her and joins them in fleeing the town. Al takes a moment to set Harith's old house on fire, then they all make their way into the nearby canyon. After some travel, they safely loop around to the city of Edgeowood, where Dahlia and Dillan remain.

Items: Horse (Hannalore), Glass Symbol (all)

Rescue
Players: Hannalore, Al, Mud

Plot: Hannalore and Al are in Edgeowood, having escorted Dahlia and Dillan there after the events of the Nightmares QS. Despite having already arrived, they decide to leave the town to come back making a more dramatic entrance. Mounting Hannalore's horse, they ride in with Al playing expertly on a warped lute and Hannalore throwing mints to the people staring. These shenanigans draw the attention of Mud, a druid who happened to be in the nearby woods on the other side of the town. He rides his bear in to meet these characters, driving people back with his stench. Hannalore shoves Al off her horse and attempts to ride away from this reeking person, only for an elderly woman to walk into her path. Hannalore stops before her horse tramples her, and the woman introduces herself as Prudence Lockman, looking for someone to go into the desert in search of her family. They were fleeing all the trouble in Rosha, she explains, and should have arrived a week ago. Hannalore convinces Al to help her find them and asks Mud to join as well, though she has her dragon attempt to convince the bear to clean Mud first. Failing this, they go to Edgeowood General to stock up on canteens, rations, and supplies for dealing with the heat. In the store, they meet Diamante, a flirtatious backpacker who, upon overhearing that they are heading into the desert, asks to join them.

They head into the desert. By the time the sun is heading down, they find the pillaged wreck of a horse-drawn wagon. They horses have been dead for some time, their blood dried and their meat ravaged by scavengers. Hannalore finds a locket with a picture of a family inside. Mud finds a small plant and speaks to it, naming it Sproutling and learning that the family was attacked and abducted. As it is too late to continue, the group sets up camp to gather their strength for tomorrow. Just before they go to sleep (excepting Al, who cannot sleep), a coyote sneaks up to investigate their camp. Mud frightens it away, but it sneaks around to Hannalore's tent, smelling her horse. She has her dragon cast a spell of sleep on the coyote, and Mud feeds the coyote to his bear. The night passes without other events, and they pack up and carry on in the direction of dried blood and plant-pointing. Just before noon, they sight a low building and a thuggish-looking man standing guard at the door. After hostility and a brief skirmish, they kill him and gain entrance to the building. Hannalore leads the way, sensing and disabling traps as they descend into the earth.

At the end of the stairs, the adventurers find nine other people who look undeniably like stereotypical bandits. Hannalore tries to sneak-attack one but fails splendidly, barely recovering well enough to ensure that nothing happens. Al, on the other hand, skewers one with a crossbow bolt. Alerted to the players' presence, the bandits draw weapons and prepare to fight. Mud transforms into a tiger while Hannalore and Al stand in the doorway with ranged weapons. Ducking down, Diamante shoots arrows through the gaps between their legs. After a drawn-out fight in which the bandits' numbers almost overwhelm Mud before Hannalore and Al also engage in melee, the characters manage to wipe out the entire bandit clan and gain access to the hall across the room. They find two cells: one with the Lockman family, whom they free, and one with unnaturally pallid humanoids with purple things embedded within their bodies. They appear to be dreaming and physically fading. The group carry these to the surface, but when they emerge into the sun, they whither faster. The purple things melt within them, boiling their bodies and erupting from them in a gas that puts the three Lockman children and Hannalore to sleep. Mud, Al, and the Lockman parents all become immensely drowsy, but Mud transforms into a camel to help carry the sleepers (along with the bear and horse), and they carry on back to Edgeowood.

Upon arriving in the wee hours of the morning, they find Prudence's house and reunite her with her family (and the family locket). She rewards them with knitted goods. They mumble in dissatisfaction at their mundane rewards, but a paladin emerges from an alley. She says that she saw what they did and would like to reward their good deeds with something that will help them continue to do good. Enchanting their preferred weapons (or, in Al's case, himself) with wands, she makes it easier for these weapons to land blows. Then, she shows them a drawing of a woman that Hannalore recognizes as Toni. She is seeking this woman and requests Hannalore to tell her everything she knows about her. As the others go their own ways, Hannalore and the paladin discuss Toni until the sun rises. As the paladin thanks her and leaves to continue her hunt, Hannalore sees two familiar faces, people who had missed her and come to find her: her husband and their child.

Items: Sproutling (Mud), Knitted Socks (Hannalore and Mud), Enchantment to preferred weapons (all)

Witch
Players: Elros Hawklight, Garland Black, Karas Arcus

Plot: The players have heard rumors of glass symbols that influence people's nightmares. These rumors have drawn them to the city of Rosha for various reasons: Elros wants to stop these items from distressing/harming people, Garland feels his usual anger stoked by the items' reputed existence, and Karas wants to use their power for his own gains. Upon arriving, each goes about his own method of seeking information. Karas seeks shade to protect his dark dwarf skin and formulate a plan; Elros goes to talk to the nearest shady-looking character (who happens to be Karas, in every sense of the word "shady"); and Garland heads to the nearest drinking establishment. After Elros and Karas ask each other questions to which they are both seeking answers, Elros eavesdrops as Karas interrogates a worker at the stable. Though nervous, the worker whispers that the guards are not to be trusted and that a witch outside the cavern mouth is responsible for passing out the glass symbols. Meanwhile, Garland makes a scene questioning the barkeep, resulting in guards being called and the other two character investigating the nonsense. After what can only be described as a bar fight with weapons, the three run from the inn and from Rosha, explaining to each other on the way that they need to visit a witch.

They reach the witch's hut and are welcomed inside by a pallid humanoid, Oneiro. She shows them the glass symbols, explaining that she believes them to be beacons for her god, the Dream-Giver, and that the bearer's dreams will help the god to find itself and return to this world. In characteristic aggression, Garland bites one. It shatters, and his head fills with nightmares as the piece pulls him in before mending. Oneiro explains that he is not in the piece but in a world of dreams. Karas takes it, wishing to learn how to use it to send people to different planes. Unsure how to proceed, they head back to Rosha, Elros noticing the many mirrors on the witch's walls on the way out. Back in Rosha, Karas show the piece to many people who react with fear and refuse to speak about it. When asked about the witch, the barkeep says that she came around a few months ago, but that the hut has been there for as long as anyone remembers. Elros learns that another person has come investigating the witch and her connection to nightmares: a paladin also staying at the inn. He decides to wait for her return and ask her what she has discovered.

After Karas returns from reverse pick-pocketing the piece onto someone else, he and Elros discuss what they know until evening, when a woman in armor enters the inn. Elros rightly assumes she is the paladin, Morrigan, and she agrees to assist with dealing with Oneiro and rescuing their companion. In a room for which Karas gambles (and later rents at half-price for the night to use his binds), the trio make plans for the morning. When it arrives, they eat breakfast, buy potions, and head out on a witch-hunt. The witch is as indifferent as the previous day about their questioning until Elros (having discerned the images of sleeping people, including Garland, in the mirrors) makes clear he wants to stop her from using innocent people against their will and Karas wants to burn down her hut. Refusing to let them interfere, she summons the shades of sleeping people, including Garland, to protect her and destroy the infidels. While Garland lives through nightmare after convoluted nightmare, his image nearly kills the party, along with four others. Oneiro, though she has already stated her clerical powers disappeared with her god, uses wands to fight as well.

When she is finally defeated, the shades vanish, and noises travel from the back room. Garland awakes there with four others, the bodies of the shades from the battle. As they emerge, Oneiro's body rises in the air and speaks, almost to itself. It says that Oneiro was wrong; that the pieces are not beacons but part of itself. It becomes clear that the Dream-Giver has possessed Oneiro's body as it goes on to list other places pieces of itself reside, including a portal since closed, nightmares forced from the head of their dreamer, a pit fiend, many pockets, and this body. A glass symbol erupts from within Oneiro's chest, and the body drops. Someone takes the bloody piece before looting begins in earnest. Other than the wands, there is little of interest in the hut. Thus, Morrigan offers them all rewards for purging this (non-evil) threat and shows them a wanted poster of the woman she is hunting. Elros notes that she resembles someone he knows, Sonrisa Day, and tells her so. Morrigan instructs him to accompany her to Rosha and tell her everything he knows. They leave as Karas begins to ignite the hut.

Items: Cleric Wands [2] (Karas), Booklet of Skill Knowledge (Karas), Moderate Health Potion (Garland), Potion of Bull's Strength (Elros)

Darkness
Players: Michael, Theo Godbrand, Pytir Koidyn

Plot:  The players are summoned to an inhospitable frozen tundra known as "The Wastes" by a man calling himself Duvain. They are told nothing of the job they are to undertake except that he requires skilled men or women, and there will be a great reward. They travel together to the shrine of the Ancient god Daechir, Lord of Darkness, where they find their employer waiting for them. Duvain is an unusually tall, handsome elf who begins to greet them enthusiastically. However, when he realizes exactly who answered his summons, his excitement very quickly evaporates. He'd been expecting powerful warriors, and instead received an old pacifist, a bard, and a Reaper. Disappointed but out of options, Duvain explains to the party their task.

They are to enter Daechir's shrine and get rid of the people who had occupied it when the god disappeared. Namely the Children of the Wastes, a group of crazed cultists that worshiped the land. They also must locate three fragments of some kind of crystal (for reasons the elf doesn't reveal). Duvain originally intended to wait outside for them to finish their task, but because he wasn't exactly impressed with their appearance, he decides to accompany them. He opens up the shrine's strange black door and ushers them inside. They find themselves in a small chapel-looking room that's mostly empty, apart from some pews and a black altar draped with red cloth. They look around for a bit, but before they can get very far, they are interrupted by a drunken shout. An obviously intoxicated cultist stumbles towards them from a hard-to-notice door and demands to know what they're doing. Duvain practically begs the party to kill the man, which Theo is all for. Pytir, however, decides to negotiate with the man and convince him to leave. He does so, shambling out into the Wastes. Investigating the room he came from, the party finds an absolutely trashed store room. Duvain is disgusted by this and orders them to clean it up and get the trash out of the shrine. While Michael and Theo do that, Pytir uses a broom, his staff, and a large sheet of paper to write a banner proclaiming a message of peace.

The chapel thoroughly cleaned, the party begins exploring. They locate a staircase and decide to go to the upper room first. Theo carries Michael's scythe, Michael carries Pytir, and Pytir carries his banner. Duvain just sighs. The upper part of the shrine appears to be an apartment of sorts, complete with couches and a kitchen. Theo does not hesitate to raid the pantry for food. Duvain directs them to the back room, which they find to be a bedroom. Inside, there is a hooded man believed to be the Children of the Waste's leader. When they fail to reason with him, Michael and Theo kill the man in an incredibly bloody fashion. The party finds one crystal fragment while Duvain locates a small kitten that had been hiding from the cultists. He tells the party that the cat's name is Calen and that she's very important. He places the kitten on his shoulder, and the party heads to the basement.

The lower level of the shrine is dimly lit, but they are able to make out four hooded figures surrounding a stone slab and chanting some nonsense language. They ascertain quickly that the cultists were in the middle of some macabre ritual involving a corpse and several knives. Theo turns invisible with a twang of his lute, leaving his party to try and negotiate with the cultists. Pytir does his best to convince them to leave, but they seem pretty set on staying and "finishing the ritual." Meanwhile, Theo sneaks around and grabs the corpse still located on the altar. He lifts it up and lets out a demonic screech, all the while flailing the body's limbs in a ridiculous fashion. The cultists lose their minds in terror and flee from the "reanimated" body. Michael is somewhat put off by such a blatant display of disrespect for the dead, but holds his tongue. While Pytir, Theo, and Duvain enter the tiny library located at the far end of the room, the Reaper burns the body to prevent it from being resurrected. They find what they're looking for -- another crystal shard -- and make their way to the last unexplored area of the shrine. They reenter the front entrance to find another group of three very confused cultists standing about, discussing what was going on. The party convinces/intimidates them into leaving as well, and they enter the last room, that Duvain explained was where priests of Daechir would stay. Theo thinks up the ingenious plan to disguise himself as the cult leader before entering, but alas, no one else remained. They locate the last crystal shard with ease and leave the shrine.

Duvain attempts to repair the crystal, but when it appears he cannot, he demands the party accompany him to the city of Sylem, just south of the Wastes, to speak to his "blacksmith buddy." They travel to the city without incident, and once there seek out what appears to be an abandoned weapons shop. Duvain introduces the party to his friend, another unreasonably tall elf with firey red hair and orange eyes. The blacksmith, who Duvain calls Lachon, addresses Duvain as Daechir. He agrees to repair the crystal and retires to the back room. Michael asks Duvain about the name, and he confirms that he is, in fact, the Lord of Darkness (no one is surprised. He is very bad at subtlety). Once his crystal -- which he explains is the source of his divine power -- is repaired, Daechir summons our cylindrical objects, which he offers to the party as a reward. He tells them that they're extremely powerful weapons. Michael and Pytir ask instead for a monetary reward (Pytir gives his to the homeless), and Theo asks if he can have all of the weapons. Daechir is very tired of them at this point, and wants nothing more than for them to be out of his hair, so he agrees. The group, satisfied with their rewards, parts ways.

Evil
"Do you want ''to be smited by the goddess of boring?" - Del''

Players: Father Eli, Nuranna Haeds, Arnold the Black Knight

A group of very bad people have been locked in a high security prison after committing horrible crimes, as is to be expected. They have failed to escape and are awaiting execution in their cells, their only company each other and a rather rude guardsman. However, they are saved from their horrendous fate by the deus ex machina that comes barging into the room in the form of a tall, blond, handsome elven man. He seems to be in high spirits and asks the party if they want to get out. Before they can agree, though, the guard starts freaking out. The elf asks if anyone would object to him melting the man, and they express that they would rather kill him themselves. Instead, he knocks him out for the time being.

The elf introduces himself to the party as Del, the Ancient elven god of Evil. He tells the group that he will release them if they agree to do a little job for him. He explains that someone in the city of Arahl has stolen certain godly items and begun selling them. He wants them to put a stop to this in any way they see fit, and they should cause as much mayhem as possible. Should he be entertained by their antics, he promises to offer them a boon. He also warns that there is a shrine to Arahael, goddess of "all things good and boring", in the city. He explains that if they defile the shrine in any way, Arahael would be allowed to personally intervene. Since everyone is quite eager to escape death, they agree to his terms. Del destroys the magical barriers that serve as their cells and allows them to murder the guardsman. He tells them that he will be listening in if they need any information and to have fun before disappearing.

The party leaves their holding cells -- Nuranna taking the guard's heart and Eli turning the corpse into an undead creature -- and reclaim their belongings. The Black Knight steals other prisoners' money as well. The three begin to leave the prison when Eil notices a group of lesser, more petty criminals still in their cells. In the back of his mind, he hears Del explain that they had refused his offer on the grounds of "risking their mortal souls" or something ridiculous. Eli decides to liberate them through murder. He kills the prisoners, gets Arnold to open the cells, and then reanimates them. Eli also notices Nuranna's missing hand. He offers her a new one, and when she accepts, he grafts a corpse's hand onto her stump, using necromancy to make it functional.

The party leaves the prison, scaring many people away as they head to the edge of town. Before they leave, however, Nuranna looks for a shady store from which to buy lockpicks. She finds a back alley hovel claiming to be a "Thief Store", leaving the others to their own devices while she shops. The man running the shop is a suspicious individual who tries to sell her the picks for five platinum, but when Nuranna "asks nicely" for a discount, he is more than happy to lower the price to five copper. Arnold and Eli, who had created an undead band and made a good amount of coin doing so, eventually join her in the shop. They terrify the man into giving them the entire building, into which the Black Knight carves his name.

After those shenanigans, the group seeks out a carriage, scaring a young woman into giving them a ride to Arahl. The journey passes without incident, apart from a few odd noises as they cross the bridge from island to mainland. Upon arriving at Arahl, they are greeted by a woman calling herself Tira, goddess of Chaos. She had apparently made a bet about whether good or evil would triumph, and since she does not want to lose, she offers them aid in the form of her knife. Nuranna happily takes it. Tira bids them good luck as they enter.

The three enter the city -- after Arnold unleashes an earth elemental -- and go to the inn to find information. The citizens there are frightened but willing to point them in the direction of a new shop that opened recently that is selling magical items. They head that way, passing the remains of an earth elemental and scaring a small child. The shop, called "The Ancients' Wealth", is little more than a tree house. The shop owner shows them all of his goods, including but not limited to Del's gauntlets, the Circlet of Eden, the Thinking Cap, the Wrath of the Ancients, and the Sword of Bullshit. Instead of legally purchasing everything, the Black Knight simply kills the shopkeeper. Nuranna takes Del's gloves and several other magical items, while the others take the rest. During this whole transaction, Del is in their minds making snappy comments and giving vague explanations.

Their next task is mayhem, and thus the three split up in order to maximize chaos output. Arnold sets the entire guard shack on fire, killing everyone inside, before setting the rest of the town on fire. Meanwhile, Nuranna takes over the inn and pretends to offer refuge to the fleeing citizens. She sends the children to Arahael's shrine, then locks everyone else in their rooms. She burns the inn to the ground with the people trapped inside. Eli, however, is having a less pleasant time as he is attacked by one of Arahael's followers intent on bringing him to justice. They begin combat. Before he can finish the Arahaelite off, Arnold appears. The Black Knight, with magic to enlarge himself into a thirty foot rampaging... thing, steps on Eli's foe.

Eli attempts to assault the people seeking refuge in the shrine, but the appearance of the goddess of Good and Del's warnings keep him from doing something stupid. Instead, he travels with Arnold to the town hall to await their reward. Del teleports himself and Nuranna (who cannot walk outside at night) there as well, and he offers the three either money or power as a reward for entertaining him and getting his gauntlets back. All three choose power, and he bestows upon them the ability to turn into dragons. Before he leaves, Nuranna strikes a deal with him to keep her out of Literal Hell when she dies. Tira then appears and gives them presents for not making her lose her bet. Nuranna keeps her knife in exchange for the occasional ritualistic sacrifice, the Black Knight learns information on his armor, and Eli receives a reagent that can speed up, stop, or reverse decomposition of corpses.

Everyone wins. Except those that died horribly.

Order or Chaos
Players: Karas Arcus, Selta Merthon, Michael, and a Naked Man

The party is suddenly and inexplicably teleported to a mysterious castle in the middle of the night. They wake up to find themselves fully clothed and armored (well, almost all of them), with all of their belongings. Although all of them are fairly sure they did not fall asleep in a creepy, overgrown courtyard in front of a magnificent castle, that is where they are now. After brief introductions, they attempt to find a way out of the courtyard. They discover that the gate is magically locked, and as soon as they reach that conclusion, the doors to the castle swing open. They attempt to ignore the literal glowing arrows directing them and explore on their own, which only makes the glowing arrows angry. Eventually, after much angry-arrow-flashing, the party makes their way upstairs and into the main throne room. Inside, four Elven gods are waiting for them (the goddesses of Order, Chaos, and Life, and the god of Death -- the four 'neutral' gods, as it were). It is revealed that Tira, goddess of Chaos, had been put in charge of recruiting for this mission, and suddenly the baffling party selection makes sense (in that it does not make sense who let a Duergar in here seriously Tira that man is not wearing pants).

Arryn, Tira's twin and the goddess of Order, explains that they have been summoned to help stop a war. Del and Arahael were in the middle of a 'disagreement' about whether the gods should remain among the mortals or be locked up again. After Del hired a group of crazy, powerful, evil people to destroy Arahael's city, the 'disagreement' spiraled into all-out war, with many innocent people getting caught in the middle. Arryn wants to resolve the situation peacefully. She proposes they seek out both gods and convince them to come to a peace summit where they can compromise and air out feelings. Tira, on the other hand, thinks that idea is boring and stupid. She suggests the party unleash the Elven gods' ancient foe, forcing them to unite in order to defeat just like in the old days.

Selta, Michael, and Naked Man (henceforth known as NM someone remembers his name) are all for Arryn's plan. Karas, who wants chaos and does not like the Elven gods anyway, casts his lot in with Tira's plan but is outvoted. Thus, the party heads to the ruins of Arahl in order to speak with Arahael. Before they leave, however, they are each given gifts as signs of goodwill. Michael speaks briefly to Metphen, as he worships another death god.

Arahl is in an understandably sorry state, with destroyed and burnt buildings everywhere, and some mysterious giant footprints. Karas stops by the ruined inn in order to do some Binding. NM watches in fascination. Selta and Michael chat while they wait outside. Binding done, they head to the city's Shrine. There they find two scared teenagers guarding the door. Frightened by the Duergar's presence, the kids call for help. The party is attacked by Celestial bouncers intent on their destruction. It is a difficult fight, but they defeat the bodyguards. Arahael herself shows up to see what all of the commotion is about. She only speaks directly to Selta, the only Good aligned party member, and Selta's snake. When the ranger explains that they want her to go to peace talks, the goddess is skeptical. As she is unwilling to leave her Shrine unguarded, she will only go if her brother goes with her -- allowing her to keep an eye on him. She allows the party to rest along with the other survivors from Del's attack in the Shrine before they depart. They manage to get into several shenanigans involving a mirror, an elf, at least two demons, and a snake.

After a brief rest, the party is sent to Deriah, Del's home city. It is a seedy cesspool of miscreants and ne'er-do-wells, as is to be expected. Del's Shrine is guarded by a reflection of the evil god himself, which NM gladly wrestles. After proving their worth (or really just entertaining the god) they are allowed to enter. Del and several of his siblings are in the middle of what appears to be a strategy meeting. Michael recognizes Daechir, and the two exchange brief greetings. When they inform Del of the peace talks, he says he needs time to think and tells them to come back in an hour or so. In the meantime, Michael and Selta go on a date, Karas harasses some youths, and NM climbs a mountain.

Upon their return, Del tells the party that he will go to the talks, but each party member will owe the Literal Elven God of Evil, elf equivalent of Literal Satan, a favor that he can call in at any time. Should they refuse to do the favor on moral grounds (or for any reason), then Del will just stick around until he calls things even. Everyone is totally on board with having Literal Elf Satan in the back of their minds for an indefinite period of time, and they go to fetch Arahael. The siblings bicker all the way back to the ancient castle.

Arryn greets the new arrivals. She explains that they will now be locked in the throne room and not allowed to leave until they reach a decision. She offers everyone a boon of their choice for their aid in this matter, argues with Karas, then teleports them all back home.

Recovery
Players: Vera Tam Baldwin, Sophia Miron, Marros Vicden

Plot: Daizemor has problems. The people of Daizemor wish to reclaim an island lost by their ancestors centuries ago. Thus, the resident Enchanters' Guild requests aid finding an artifact that will facilitate this reclamation effort. One resident of Daizemor, Marros, and two people passing through, Vera Tam and Sophia, respond to the call for work, as does an unknown warrior. The request is to go to a long forgotten Hold near the mysterious Shadow Peaks and find a talisman of a great Daizemoran wizard, Teiva. Vera Tam tries to point out the wickedness (despite being rather prejudiced against the given races this would be used against) but is ignored. After Marros stocks up on pastries, Sophia steals a couple of apples, and Vera Tam decides to steal the talisman and hide it for the protection of all, they set off for the mysterious mountains found on no map and which no sunlight can touch.

Upon arriving, the adventurers face a stone golem that kills Vera Tam's eagle Tai. After vanquishing the golem, the adventurers press onward into the mountain vault. They find traps and treasures, and one room features a staff that allows for shrinking and growing. Sophia uses the shrinking ability to use a miniature door, which leads to a room with a key for another door. Upon finding this door, she uses the growing ability to make the key large enough to fit into and turn the lock. Through this door, they enter a labyrinth, complete with a minotaur. In the battle with this creature, both the unknown warrior and Vera Tam die. The remaining two manage to defeat the minotaur and find the talisman on the opposite side of the labyrinth. They take this back to the city, Sophia scheming along the way.

When they reach the city, she creates a distraction and tries to run away with the talisman. She hides her cloak and disguises herself as a man before Marros catches up to her. She tells a guard that she was rushed by a woman of her own description, who ran in a direction away from there. Marros, overhearing this, tries to find out more but becomes suspicious. When he finds the cloak she had stashed, he begins to understand what has happened. He follows them as the guard leads her away to make a report. Sophia, however, wants no part in remaining in a compromising situation and attempts to run away. The guard calls for back-up and chases her, as does Marros. When they find her, she is attempting to create a distraction by setting a house on fire. The guards stop her, and she fights back. This leads to her arrest for theft, arson, and assault against a guard. They haul her away to prison, giving Marros the talisman.

Returning to the Enchanters' Guild for his payment, he asks what will befall his former partner. When it is revealed that she may well be executed for the gravity of her crimes, he offers to bail her out. The price is loftier than even his reward, however, and he must make a different bargain to save her: a lifetime of service branded into his body in exchange for reducing her sentence to exile. He agrees and informs Sophia. They discuss their recent actions: Sophia tried to steal the Talisman because two people (and a bird) died for it, and it is likely that many more will; Marros has just signed up for a lifetime of service, with no choice regarding what that service is, and wants her help freeing himself. After this tense discussion, they leave, one of them going home and the other going away.