Season 3, EP 3: The First Pillar of Aegis

The battle was a brutal, psionic assault, pushing the adventurers to their absolute limits. At one point, Wong was nearly feasted upon by the Mindflayer.

The group was ultimately victorious. As the Mindflayer reeled from the final blows, its body transformed back to its noble visage of Leyon Runeshire.

He laid there in his last dying moments recognizing Crystal as his descendant. His voice fading, he spoke of Legion and how it must be stopped and that all of Regalia was in grave danger. His final, desperate plea was directed at Crystal:

"Find Cyradyll’s final resting place in the Eastern Wood, along a blue-stoned road leading to an extraordinary tree with leaves the color of golden hair, for my legacy was buried there."

With these enigmatic, heartbreaking words, Leyon’s essence finally vanished, leaving the party stunned and burdened by the weight of his revelations.

Wong looked up at the Pillar, a glowing rock floating above an upside down pyramid, "It's a shard of some sort."

"Somehow I thought it'd be bigger." replied Goen.

"It looks heavy, I'll carry it." Wong said as he carefully pulled the shard from its resting place and into his backpack.

The group made their way back to the Overlook Harbor with two new allies, Vyska and Aldous.

Lacking teleportation, the group decided to return to Gale by ship, but with the next vessel not due for a week, they used the downtime to assist the town with side quests. During this period, Thane, ever drawn to those in need, led the charge to aid desperate desert refugees fleeing the relentless advance of Formians from the north.

With the refugees secured, the adventurers prepared for the long sea journey back to Gale. They secured passage on the Cordwainer Cog, a stout galleon captained by the seasoned Barnabus. His crew was a colorful lot, including Lawson Aeryn Smitz, the pragmatic second-in-command; Zana-Rook, a half-orc tattooist with a keen eye for detail; Nog, the gruff but surprisingly talented half-orc cook; Viper, a nimble human rogue whose movements were as swift as her namesake; and Bosun "Bombs," a dwarven tinkerer and gun expert who maintained the ship’s modest arsenal. The open sea, however, held its own perils, and the journey was far from peaceful.

Mid-voyage, the Cordwainer Cog was intercepted by a menacing figure: a Kraken Priest. This fanatical servant of abyssal power launched a terrifying assault, his dark magic summoning the very wrath of the deep. However, as the fight raged, the Kraken Priest suddenly ceased his assault, sensing an ancient power he recognized being held in Wong's backpack. He realized that the party was not an enemy but rather integral to a larger, unfolding destiny. He delivered a cryptic prophecy, linking all six of them: Crystal, Sam, Thane, Wong, Goen, and Vyska, in a shared, critical role against the impending "blood moon" that would spell their ultimate fate. His words hinted at the interwoven threads of their lives, suggesting their existence was crucial for Regalia's future.

After the months-long voyage, the Cordwainer Cog finally docked in Gale. But when they arrived, they saw that Gale was recovering from an attack from Mardu Orcs. Gale's forces had a hard time getting information out of the orc that was being held captive. So, Sam and Thane took it upon themselves to conduct an interrogation. After some coercing, the orc revealed that they are working for Legion and that their base was nearby: The Silverspring Mines.

The group immediately took action to take back the mines and get to the bottom of this attack. They hired a number of recruits to help them in this fight including: Blake, Carter, Elhanna, Harrim, and Tarmo.

Within the mines, they uncovered the hidden cult, fanatically devoted to the Legion’s cause. The cultists were not merely worshipers; they were actively engaged in maintaining a sinister device: the Wring Apparatus. Written on the blueprints of this device was D.S.. After defeating Krusk, their barbarian leader, the group made their way back to Gale to seek answers. Specifically, Goen, who was getting more interested in tinkering, sought Bombs regarding this "Wring Apparatus".

"D.S. stands for Dagon Stormbrewer," Bombs said with confidence, "Very famous inventor, renown, in fact. But, last I heard, he was drinking his life away up in Kaldenhal. He lost his business to a bad bet he made on an invention that he claimed would automate the likes of these babies." She pointed to the two boom-sticks tucked at her side. "Needless to say, the presentation didn't end well. He had to close his shop, but that was nearly a year ago."

During this time, Goen and Sam became obsessed with the uses of such a device. They spent days scouring the library at the Golden Quill for any answers, until Sam came upon a book simply titled: Pneuma.

Sam nerded out to the group, "I found numerous ancient texts discussing something called Pneuma. It's described as a vital lifeforce, or even a soul. These texts indicate that, long ago, in ancient Regalia, humanoids were actually capable of harnessing this Pneuma. We're talking about an entire continent of powerful magic users."

Crystal, ever the historian herself interrupted, "So like the Netherese or the Red Wizards of Thay?"

"Yes, exactly!" Sam nerded out more, "But as technology advanced and society changed, the practice of Pneumology withered away. It was forgotten, but the Pneuma itself never left; it just became unutilized, dormant within everyone! This Wring Apparatus is a testing device. It extracts Pneuma from humanoids. Pneuma is the power that was being suppressed by the Pillars of Aegis."

Thane chimed in, "But how is that any different than what we do now?"

Sam shook his head, "This...this Pneuma is different. It's not tied to our use of magic. I get mine from Crowley, you seem to pull from the Shadowfell, but this Pneuma...it's within us. All of us. We just...forgot."

Goen stood up, "Our single and only lead is this inventor, Dagon, and he lives in Kaldenhal."

"Not so fast!" Crystal jolted, "We need to seek out my ancestor's gravesite in Brittlewood!"

"Not to mention, isn't Runeshire in danger of the Blood Moon?" said Thane.

"Yes, lass," Wong mentioned, "We don't have much time. We get your ancestor's ring, then head back to Runeshire."

Crystal looked to the group with pride, "Agreed."

With new information and a new sense of urgency, the group quickly made their way to the last stop before the final stand against the Blood Moon: Brittlewood and the Eastern Wood. Cyradyll's final resting place.