After slowly working their way through the ruins of Strongcastle, the group met the vampire only to discover he was the founding king of Fallea, King Kaius. The had not been in charge of the vampires that had attacked Two Rivers and in fact had been imprisoned by Orcus when he tried to foil his plans. The group formed a tentative alliance with the King and he showed them a secret way into the capitol.

Thinking they had arrived with plenty of time, the group made their way to the palace only to see the current king drop hundreds of people into a burning pit. As they screamed and burned, the ground began to shake. Massive earthquakes and violent eruptions razed the land as Orcus rose from the burning pit. The group managed to stay on a piece of land as it broke off from the main continent, leaving them along to face the mighty Orcus as the residents of Fallea tried to flee the widespread destruction.

After an arduous battle, the group slayed Orcus. They were not in time, however, to save the entire continent of Fallea. Nearly all of the cities lie in ruins as most of the land began to sink to the sea. The group was left to decide to stay in the one remaining settlement around Stonelight Monestary, or journey to the continent of Maanosa.

After the battle, the party continued into the city of Two Rivers. Their first stop was the tavern, though they noticed the city was abnormally quiet. In the tavern, they quickly discovered that the town was under the influence of vampires and they were forced to defend themselves. After slaughtering the inexperienced townsfolk, the party went outside to face the vampires responsible. The vampires told them that their master resided in the ruins of Strongcastle Ruins. The group collectively decided to take care of the vampire threat before continuing on their main mission to the capitol.

After the battle, the group split up. Ot began to search for other vampires and places that they could hide while Garrett and Adelle searched the rest of the house. Garrett managed to find a piece of a letter that seemed to insinuate that the mayor had been successful on some sort of elixir. The sign was found amidst signs of a struggle. The party began to worry that Ot had killed an innocent, undead or not.

When Ot was finished searching, he piled the bodies up and set them on fire. The group vacated the house after making sure it was empty of servants and returned to the inn, deciding to rest for a few hours before making their way to Two Rivers. Shortly after arriving back at the inn, the townsfolk were alerted that the mayor’s home was on fire. The group went back out and helped them to put the fire out.

After the combat and the grueling ordeal of putting out the fire, the group rested well before heading out again. As they set out for Two Rivers, they felt as though they were being watched. The closer they got to Two Rivers, the worse the feeling became, putting them all ill at ease. They began to see movement out of the corners of their eyes along with the feeling, though when they turned to look, nothing was there. The next day, when they turned to look, they would see demonic grinning faces briefly before they dissipated. Just before they reached the city, they saw these faces again, though this time, they solidified and attacked the group.

As night fell, the party mad their way to the mayor’s house. Ot led them to the secret room where they found the mayor chained to the wall, looking as though he had been tortured, perhaps by the four cloaked figures about him. Those figures quickly engaged the party, proving to be yet more vampires. In the confusion of combat, Ot made his way over to the mayor and killed him as he was trapped against the wall.

The group reached Crystallyn only to leave the very next morning, not wanting to waste any time in getting to the capitol. They decided to cross the river at the bridge nearest to Crystallyn. On their way there, they encountered another of Orcus’ traps. A death knight mounted on a dracolich with several skeleton minions proved to be their next obstacle, coming after them in the middle of the night. They dispatched the group with little trouble and set fire to the corpses. They moved their camp, not wanting to rest near the charred remains before resting the remainder of the night.

When they reached the bridge, they discovered that the king’s guard had set up a security check at the bridge. With some investigating, they found that the guards were looking for two assassins that had tries to kill the king. The descriptions fit those of Adndraste and Jens. The group decided it would be best to go around the river. They continued on their way and decided to stop off in Mallowward to see if they had any news of what was going on in Two Rivers. While there, they found out that the mayor had been missing for nearly a week. All they could find out about Two Rivers was that people had been disappearing with alarming frequency.

During the first night in Mallowward, Ot decided to go check out the mayor’s house under cover of darkness. He searched the mayor’s bedroom, which is where he had last been seen, and found a secret passage leading down. At the bottom of the stairs was a door and he could see the glow of firelight beneath it. Testing the knob and discovering it was unlocked, Ot quietly pushed it open and saw the mayor standing at a table filled with alchemy tools. He had his back to the door and didn’t seem to hear it open. As Ot moved to take a step into the room, the mayor spoke, telling him not to come any closer. He explained he didn’t want to hurt anyone, but he was hungry. Ot realized quickly that the mayor was a vampire.

Ot ended up chasing the mayor from the room, but lost him shortly after. The next morning, he visited the graveyard and communed with his god before filling in the party and encouraging them to “take care” of the mayor. He told them it would be in their best interest to do so rather than leave him alive to possibly serve Orcus and come after them later. The party agreed to rest during the day and return to the mayor’s home later that night.

Ardent Adventures – Cozy in Crystallyn
Ardent Adventures – KNightly Nuisance
Ardent Adventures – Traveling Troubles
Ardent Adventures – Vampire in the Village
A Paladin’s Endeavor – One More Year Under My Belt
A Paladin’s Endeavor – Sleeping In
A Paladin’s Endeavor – Unexpected Problems
A Paladin’s Endeavor – Dark Discoveries

After the party, the remaining three sat in the tavern planning out their next course of action when Adelle spotted an eladrin woman sitting across the room. The bag that sat next to her carried the symbol of the royal guard. Adelle decided to go over and speak with her and her well-armored companion. When she spoke to them and mentioned seeing the crest, the man and woman became defensive. Once she spoke of their troubles with Orcus, however, the two agreed to meet with Adelle and her friends in a private room. There they shared stories of their capture and escape while the man and woman told them of the king’s plot to sacrifice all of his soldiers to Orcus.

They all agreed to travel together to try and stop the king’s plan and left Linvale the next morning, heading to Bellview. They decided to spend three days in Bellveiw in order to do some shopping, gather information, and try to find others to help them with their cause. After the first day, they found two others who were interested: a sorceress and a gnome barbarian. During the remaining two days, most of them spent time relaxing and preparing for the troubles ahead, but Ot went about and found more information. He found out that the king’s planned sacrifice would be the catalyst to summon Orcus into the world and that there was also something happening in Two Rivers.

When their three days were up, they headed out of the city and toward Crystallyn. The first day of their travel went by without any trouble, but near the end of the second day, they encountered four headless corpses standing atop a hill. As they got closer, the corpses attacked. It was plain to see that Orcus had truly taken noticed and was sending his minions to stop the group.

Ardent Adventures – Parting Party
Ardent Adventures – Prospective Plans
Ardent Adventures – Beautiful Beginnings
Ardent Adventures – Exilirating Excursion
Ardent Adventures – Terrific Tour
Ardent Adventures – Headless Horrors
A Paladin’s Endeavor – More For the Cause
A Paladin’s Endeavor – Returning Home
A Paladin’s Endeavor – Returning to Where it Began
A Paladin’s Endeavor – A City and a Person of Beauty
A Paladin’s Endeavor – A New Friend
A Paladin’s Endeavor – Under the Eyes of Orcus
Tactitioner’s Logbook – New Recruits

After the initial shock of Ot’s betrayal, the group started to plan their escape. At first they tried to get the human slave that was watching them to help, but she was unwilling to do so. Instead, Greed and Shedinn staged a fight in order to provide enough distraction for Arcea to escape. Unfortunately, the girl noticed her disappearance and went to fetch the other guards. Arcea hurried back to the cell and they sat quietly. The guards returned upstairs and Shedinn
unleashed his breath on the girl. In return, she used her magic to zap him right back. While they were distracted, Arcea slipped out again. This time, though, she got out and upstairs, killing the two drow guards. As she sat thinking about what to do next, Ot came into the room. He quickly explained to her that he wanted to help the group get free.

Despite his betrayal, she led him downstairs, knowing that she needed his help. Ot then explained that he had been a prisoner since the battle with Uazil’s daughter. Relieved that he hadn’t betrayed them after all, they moved out of the cell and on to recover their gear. They took the girl with them to prevent her from alerting anyone to their escape and also to give her a chance to lead them safely out in exchange for her own freedom, while warning her that her life would be forfeit if she betrayed them. They recovered their gear and cautiously followed the young sorceress through the drow house. She led them through rarely used halls and passages to a room with a large circle etched on the floor. She instructed everyone to step into it and when they did, she spoke a command word. The circle erupted with magical energy and they found themselves next to the Stonelight Lake…outside!

Rejoicing at the fresh air and the sight of the moon and the stars, they decided it would be best to travel on for a little ways in case the drow tried to peruse. When they stopped to set up camp, they looked over the map. They decided to head south to Linvale to see if they could get news on what had been happening while they were stuck underground. In Linvale, several members of the group revealed that they would no longer be traveling on. Arcea and Brayden decided to go out on their own to start their lives together. Greed had long been saying he would return home and perhaps take a long vacation to Maanosa. The young sorceress left quickly, eager to get away from the group. Even Shedinn decided to strike out on his own; unsure he could continue to watch Adelle and Garrett grow closer. The group had a farewell feast for those that were leaving and bid tearful farewells.

Ardent Adventures – Flight of Freedom
A Paladin’s Endeavor – A Beginning

Almost immediately after the party took their short rest, they noticed a huge dark shadow moving about above them. As it descended down the wall, they took to arms as Uazil swooped down at them. She unleashed her breath weapon again, but this time she landed and engaged them in battle. Blows were traded repeatedly, the dragon holding nothing back. Uazil even managed to dominate Kora, making her attack Mykca. In the confusion, Mykca was able to put part of his plan into effect. He put up a globe of darkness, attacking Kora under the cover just as the dragon breathed again. When the darkness cleared, Kora lay motionless on the ground as Mykca continued to battle the dragon.

When Brayden landed the killing blow and the dragon fell, a red miasma drifted up from the ground along with a dark laugh. As the group watched, the dragon sank into the ground and into the hands of Orcus. Once the dragon sank out of sight, Adelle checked on Kora, finding her slain. The party thought nothing of her wounds, as they could have been made from the claw attacks of Uazil. Shedinn and Garrett stayed behind to try and comfort Adelle while Greed, Brayden, and Ot moved off to seek out Uazil’s horde. After finding it, they gathered their things and carried Kora’s body off with them, back to the cavern with the lava tubes. They had a short funeral and carefully slipped Kora’s body into one of the lava tubes, preventing her from being raised by Orcus.

They walked the week back to the drow city without any troubles. Upon their return to Mykca’s house, they were greeted with cheers and applause. They had a great celebration feast prepared for them, but as Brayden moved closer, he flipped the banquet table over. He declared that the food was poisoned. The drow drew their weapons and a battle ensued. Soon, almost the entire group lay unconscious, fallen victim to the powerful drug on the weapons of the drow. Garrett surrendered when he realized he was surrounded and the only one still fighting. Ot stood with the matron mother of the house, looking on. Garrett and the others were taken down to the dungeons and disarmed. As those who were unconscious came to, Ot visited them. He told them that the matron was planning on sacrificing them. He also mentioned that Kora was the only one that was supposed to be taken…

Ardent Adventures – Death’s Departure
Ardent Adventures – Requiem
Ardent Adventures – Dark Deceptions

The rest of the group’s night went by uneventfully and they continued on their way the next morning. As they traveled closer to Uazil’s lair, Mykca informed them that the area they were coming upon was known to have some volcanic activity and that they should all be more careful. Soon, the tunnels began to slope, becoming hot and humid and moisture began to be seen on the walls and floor. The ground became slick with mold and mildew from the constant humidity and heat. As they traveled, they came to a tunnel that sloped drastically down and was very slick. Each of them descended one by one, slowly and carefully. Most were able to catch themselves if they slipped, with the exception of Shedinn, who slid down the tunnel and barreled into Adelle.

In the next room, they discovered that the cavern floor was covered with holes which proved to be lava tubes. Some were still active, while others had hardened. Mykca told them to be careful and check the ground in front of them, lest it only be a thin layer of crust that could give away and send them to their deaths. As they continued on carefully, they heard shouts for help coming from one of the holes. They discovered two people stuck in one of the hardened lava tubes and helped them out. After brief introductions and a short explanation of how they came to be there, the two joined the group, seeing more safety in numbers.

They rested not long after, finding a large enough area in the tunnel to accommodate them. As they were setting up camp, a group of 10 kobolds with 2 purple dragon hatchlings wandered into view and a battle ensued. The battle proved to be less of a challenge than the group first expected upon seeing the hatchlings that were as tall as they were. They cleared away the bodies and continued setting up camp, taking advantage of the small natural spring in the corner to wash away the sweat and grime from their travels.

The next morning, they discovered more of Uazil’s eggs, and decided that although they were unborn, it would be best to break open and slay the dragons. They continued on for a short time and found themselves at the beginning of Uazil’s lair, having recognized it from the sketches in Slogoth’s journal. As they slowly and carefully moved through the tunnels, they came to a ledge that overlooked a huge cavern. As they looked on, Uazil flew over them, using her breath weapon once before flying away before they had a chance to retaliate. Sobered by the sudden attack, the party continued on even more carefully.

The next cavern they came to smelled suspiciously of wet dog and they encountered a pair of hell hounds that posed little challenge. Finally, the part made it to the main chamber and were ambushed by 2 minotaurs and a roper. As they battled the creatures, Uazil made another appearance, swooping down behind them and snapping at Greed. Greed quickly moved away as Garrett grabbed out his grappling hook and rope, determined that the dragon not get away again. He managed to hook it around her serpentine neck and climb up to sit on her back. His victory was brief as the dragon turned her head and looked at him, sending him to a prison of her own imagination where he was constantly assaulted by strange creatures.

Ot, trying to enrage the dragon and get her to make mistakes, pulled out the collection of her children’s heads that he had kept and taunted her. She roared and moved forward, breathing again over the group only to fly off again and leave the party to finish dispatching the other creatures. A few moments after Uazil’s departure, Garrett appeared in midair where he had been sitting on the dragon and fell to the ground. The party took a short rest, heavily wounded from the encounter and left wondering if they could really face Uazil and successfully take her down.

Ardent Adventures – Slippery Slopes
Ardent Adventures – Enveloping Emotions
Ardent Adventures – Killer Kobolds
Ardent Adventures – Dangerous Den
Ki Focusing – Draconic Clash

After discussing the situation some more, the group decided to refuse the drow’s offer to teleport them directly to Uazil’s lair. Rather, they decided it would be best to have Mykca lead them through the winding tunnels for the week on foot to reach her lair in hopes that the travel would better prepare them for the battle. During their discussion, Garrett also revealed that during the battle with Slogoth, he had spoken to one of the demons. The demon revealed to him that they were not working for Slogoth, or even Uazil, but Orcus. Dismayed by the news, the party mostly decided to worry about that piece of information after their battle with Uazil.

Their first day of travel through the tunnels passed by uneventfully, but the second day they came across a large cavern. Mykca warned them to be wary, as there had been a history of encountering some frightfully dangerous creatures in that particular cavern. No sooner had that been stated then he told the group to arm themselves as two floating heads came into view. Each of these heads had a large mouth filled with razor sharp teeth, one giant eye, and several stalks each topped with more eyes. The group was able to dispatch them without too much trouble and they hurried their way out of the cavern, lest they attract more.

After that, two more days went by peacefully and they came upon a widened part of the tunnel that was ideal for them to set up camp in. During the second watch, the party was attacked by a small army under the servitude of Orcus. Two death-priests and 9 zombie hulks of Orucs surrounded the camp, but did not prove enough of a force to stop the group’s advancement. It became apparent, however, that their activities had finally caught the attentions of the Prince of the Undead…

Ardent Adventures – Eerie Eyes
Ardent Adventures – Creepy Caverns
Ardent Adventures – Zoinks!! Zombies!
Ki Focusing – Whispers From Below