Days of Darkness
Agnes Silverbrand,
Mal Aspen,
Aranevae 'Nev' Dardian and
Reina Kerdar, all strangers to each other, woke in a
strange forest clearing filled with pools of water, their last memories being of
Tolsta. They were transported through one of the pools back to Tolsta, where they discovered three days had passed with the island covered in magical darkness and many residents bearing a tattoo-like marking on their arms. On investigation they discovered a demon called
Seir had been summoned by
Ambassador Sideri, the grieving husband of the former Lord of Tolsta,
Lord Jura Durrell. Aided by
Latara, a priest of
Persana, they made their way into the underground catacombs to find Sideri with Seir and the partially resurrected Jura Durrell. They defeated Seir, and chose to allow Sideri to leave with Jura.
Returning to the surface, they found the magical darkness had lifted. They also recovered their memories of being at The Seahorse, where Reina had stolen Agnes’s opal stone, and been aided by Nev and Mal to get it back - the ensuing struggle was their last memory before waking in the forest.
The four took on work to investigate the disappearance of a worker excavating the sewage tunnels under the island, who they had discovered had been taken as a sacrifice by Phaerine and Astora, two former allies of Nev.
The Albassa Pearl
Soon after, they were contacted again by Latara who asked them to locate
The Albassa Pearl: a powerful relic which had been gifted to the
Temple of Persana by the rulers of
Albassa, but stolen before it could be delivered. They did some work for
The Swiftblades in exchange for information about the theft, eventually locating the Pearl at Lady San's - just before it was whisked away by
Ishtar. They take several magical items from a secret storage room. Before leaving, they were confronted by
Lady San, who warned them not to speak of anything they had found out about her business.
Ishtar had fled to
Aird with the aid of a sailor, Fearn Torrish. The party met Fearn’s brother
Culrin Torrish, who agreed to take them in pursuit. After a freak storm wrecks their ship, they are washed up on the shore of
Aird, where they encounter naiads, lost souls, and an animated skeleton called Corso, all of whom point them to a hag called
Mother Milucra, who resides in the forest. In exchange for traumatic memories, Mother Milucra told them where they could find Ishtar and the Pearl. Nev also purchased Corso’s soul from her, after which Agnes destroyed his body, freeing him.
They found Ishtar battling a bodak, and aided her in the fight. She told them she has already delivered the Pearl to the Temple of
Hiatea, before using a stone similar to Agnes’s to transport herself back to Albassa. Agnes attempted to use her own stone, and ended up trapped on the ethereal plane. The party made their way through the Temple of Hiatea to find
Cethlenn. They chose to leave the Pearl with him, and he allowed them to try and use it. They all experienced confusing visions in the attempt.
In their search for Fearn, Agnes met the ghost of Etna, Fearn and Culrin’s sister, who guided them to Fearn. Agnes tried to use her stone to return to the material plane, but ended up in
The Feywild instead. The others asked Cethlenn to help bring her back, which he did with a Gate spell. Reunited, they found Fearn in the lair of the young green dragon who had killed Etna. During the following battle Nev was killed.
The New Party
They made their way back to Tolsta, Reina leaving them on
Kimber. Mal and Agnes collected their payment from Latara, who told them to leave Tolsta as
Lord Iona Durrell was looking for them. She assigned
Rae, a guard who had been working for the
Temple, to get them off the island safely. On their way, they rescued
Ahlizz 'Lizzie' Caskshaper from Lady San’s assassins, and he joined them as he was also looking to leave Tolsta.
They made their way to
Ulna, where they visited
Zella Snowpeak at the College of Arcana, exchanging information about the darkness on Tolsta for identification of magical items. She told them
Master Sorrell would be best to help them with a journal they had found at Lady San’s, and that she would arrange a meeting. They then took on a paid job helping rid
The Carramile Druids of a Medusa, and joined an expedition to the Bluefoot Hills.
Master Sorrell informed them that the journal had been written by a former associate of his,
Alric Kota, who had disappeared seven years prior. He asked to keep the book temporarily, promising to return it when they came back from their expedition.
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