The rattle of heavy chains follows the young man, Dardek, as he's led down the steps to the cargo hold of a mighty cog docked in an unruly port town. The yellow light from his jailer's oil lantern reflects off of the smattering of metallic freckles that cover Dardek's cheeks. That otherworldly metallic adornment to his youthful features are one tell-tale sign that he is something more than merely human.
Dardek keeps his eyes down as he's led into the hold, lifting only slightly as he reaches the bottom of the stairs. As he takes in the new environment, he immediately identifies a familiar sight, the open door of a jail cell... To the left and to the right, he sees nothing but barrels and crates and a maze of cobwebs. As he hesitates there at the bottom, he feels a jab against his back - the sailor nudging him forward.
"Alright then..." The jailer says through a ruin of crooked teeth. "Go on in. Make yourself cozy. And be quick about it. I gotta feed the other one."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM - Origins - A Level Zero Adventure
DM - Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
The Forge of Fury - Lehmani (L3 Tiefling Cleric, Forge Domain)
Wild Beyond the Witchlight - Fa'amae(L2 Shadar-kai Druid, Circle of the Spores)
Greyhawk -Tilliman Treewick Toadswaddler the First (L1 Gnome Rogue)
Dardek walks into his cell with his head down. He sits on a crate wondering how Johan could do this to him. He thought Johan was his friend but here is he prisoner once again, this time shackled with no Scrupper to talk to. When the guard leaves, he begins to silently weep to himself into his still shackled hands.
As Dardek is led to his cell, he suddenly sees a figure leap out of the shadows and crack his captor across the head with some sort of blunt object. The blow draws the captor's attention but the sailor seems unharmed.
"Tha **** is this..." The sailor says as he braces for combat.
Dardek calls out in a panicked voice, "It's not me sir....Please don't hit me" He remains, cowering ,where the guard left him looking down at his feet, glancing up to see if the guard is about to hit him or the mysterious attacker.
"Nope, definitely not him!" Calls out the attacker, Ashley, a female humanoid with stunning, fire-red hair. Ashley tosses the sailing block she used to attack the sailor and rushes to grapple the man. "C'mon, help me!" She shouts to Dardek, her words laced with a bit of desperation.
Dardek looks at the mysterious attacker lunge to grapple the guard asking for help. He stands there frozen with terror. He has never hurt another being before ,always being on the other end of the beatings. Dardek takes this opportunity to see if there is something laying around to use to defend himself from either the attacker or the guard... In his panic, Dardek sees nothing but the dusty floor. However he notices that the guard is distracted by the attacker, giving Dardek an opportunity to act...
Dardek starts to cry unsure what to do....Does he stay out of this or help the one trying to free him..... Finally, he raises his manacled wrists up and tries to wrap the chain around the neck of the guard...The chain successfully wraps around the guard's neck but the guard it them before it can be pulled taught. He ducks under the chain to look at the young Dardek with fury in his eyes... But, then he turns to the primary target of his rage... Ashley.
"Back in your cage, you little monster..." The sailor growls through gritted teeth before calling out, "Mates! A little help! We've got a jailbreak!"
The guard's fist flies at Ashley's head... But, in his panic, his punch goes wild, missing her by a country mile. Dardek backs away, moving 10 feet away and looks the guard over for a weapon or keys. He notices a large key ring on the guard's belt as well as a dagger which remains sheathed.
As Ashley sees the punch go by her face, she decides it is time. She flicks her wrist around in a very smooth motion and as the palm ends facing up, a flame is now cradled within it.
Looking over the flame at the deckhand, "Enough! Get in that cage or not only will you burn... this ship will burn..." Her flaming hair glows more brightly as her temper rages and she leans over towards him as she commands. Without looking at Dardek she says, "Take his keys."
In response, Dardek hesitates before obediently and slowly moving to take the keys. While the guard is distracted by Ashley's flame Dardek manages to swipe the keys away without any reaction. After retrieving the keys, he moves back away and hides behind some crates and barrels watching the others.
As he attempts this retreat, the guard pivots towards him and makes an unarmed swipe with the back of his hand but fails to make contact. With panic in his eyes the guard turns back to Ashley, looking at the flame in her hand, attempting a steady tone as he says, "Alright now... Don't do nothin' stupid, here... You know I'm not alone on this ship. What you think Brother Emmitt's gonna do if we have to make a mess of you, eh? So why don't you calm down, get back in your place and we'll all pretend this never happened."
Dardek, hiding behind the barrels and crates, meekly says ”I don’t know why I’m a prisoner sir…I didn’t do anything wrong…please, I don’t even know who Brother Emmitt is...The bald man I met said I wasn’t a prisoner and that I wouldn’t be locked up again…"
"Brother Emmit?" Ashley growls, he eyes blazing. "BROTHER EMMIT?!" She gets closer to the deckhand, bringing the fire to his chin, her eyes looking a bit crazy with the words, "I wonder what he will do to you when this place burns..."and she grins at this last word, the fire between them casting a creepy shadow across her face. She backs up from him to the door of the cell and holds it open, "Now, either get inside or I will set those crates a blaze and then we'll get to see how Brother Emmit reacts and I know as well as you do, he won't want to take it out on his precious experiment." As she says 'Brother Emmit' for the third time, she about spits out his name but waits patiently for the guard to get into the cell.
The guard is too terrified by Ashley's volatility to respond to Dardek's question. Instead, he throws up his hands in defense and quickly uses all of his movement to back into the cell and close the gate behind him. "Alright! Alright!" He shouts. "Don't do anything crazy, or you'll kill us all!"
"Dying would be a relief to Brother Emmit's experiments." Ashley looks to Dardek, "Lock him up, let's go."
Dardek looks at Ashley and obediently nods moving to lock the cell up. Still shackled, he hands the keys over to Ashley while looking at the floor. ”Ma'am what are you going to do with me?”
Ashley smirks then tries the keys in Dardek's shackles to see if any will open them. "You're no longer a prisoner if we can get off this ship." As she says the words a chill runs through her.
”The bald man said I wasn’t a prisoner. I think they made a mistake….I…I don’t know what’s going on. I was taken away from the clerics of Qoneus and put on a ship and now put on this ship…..Are you taking me back to the Grandmaster Terrence?"
With a few tries, Ashley is able to find a semi-universal skeleton key to the shackles that cause them to clatter to the ground. In that time, the guard manages to take cover behind the cot and starts shouting. "Someone get the bloody **** down here! The specimen are trying to escape!"
Dardek covers his mouth in shock ”Specimen? Am…Am I the specimen? I…I’ve been traded from one prison to another?! But that’s not what the bald man said….I can’t be locked up again….” Dardek begins to tear up as he looks done at his feet
Ashley grunts as she sees this other prisoner start falling apart, "Come on, pull yourself together, we are not in the clear yet!"She picks up the shackles and adds it to the few belongings she had already collected when she left her cell and starts towards the stars, "No time to waste!" and with the one in the cell yelling behind them she figures speed is better than stealth and heads on up.
Ashley pushes the hatch open to find herself on another deck of the ship. She can hear the sound of footsteps above and nearby. No sign of anyone in sight, but she catches the enticing scent of food in the viscinity.
Dardek pulls on Ashley's clothing ”Excuse me miss but maybe you should put the shackles back on me and make me your prisoner”
“Good thought," Replies Ashley. "But everyone here knows me. I kind of stand out. They know I’m a prisoner. We need to get off this ship!” Handing the keys over to the man, she points to the West, “Find an open or unlocked door that we can hide briefly.” She then turns to the East and the wooden bracket thing closest to the first East door she focuses on. Flicking her wrist again to produce her flame, she throws it with ease to the square, hopefully igniting it and creating a diversion.
The flame impacts on the surface, making a slight sound, but it's tough to get the structural wood to catch.
Meanwhile, Dardek ever so obedient does as asked, popping open the closest door to find one of the sailor's quarters. He sees a decent-looking bunk, a small foot locker and a with a desk covered in maps, candles and various tools and instruments he doesn't understand.
"Psst….A room with a bed here” Dardek whispers. ”Should I keep looking?”
"No. Get in." Replies Ashley. "We're going to hide in there briefly."
Dardek goes into the room and sits at the desk. He sighs and fiddles with the maps on the desk
At that same moment, Ashley, cursing herself for not having any accelerant, decides to give it one more shot, this time aiming at the first door in the East, then running to hide with Dardek until they can get up to the next level. The magical fire hits with enough supernatural force that it manages to actually kindle the wood... Ashley can see and hear the actual crackle before ducking into the room with Dardek.
A moment later you hear voices calling, "What the blazes!? Fire! Fire!"
As Ashley and Dardek hide in the room, they hear the door in the adjacent cabin fly open and footsteps rush past.
Ashley searches the room for any cloak, cover or anything she can use as a disguise to hide who she is. She finds one heavy cloak, clearly used for heavy weather.
She also finds a small window facing out towards the open water. It consists of a thick pane of glass and just enough space to squeeze through, one-at-a-time with effort.
Ashley grabs the cloak and throws it over herself, turning to the man, "Can you swim?"
”Swim? I uhhh…no…I wasn’t taught a great many things….Oh! I’ve seen a dog swim though!”
"Well, our choices are back out there and maybe get past the guards, doesn't look good though, or jump through the window. What do you think?"
”Uhh yes well umm death by drowning it is. Although I’m still unsure about any of this….but ok yes I’ll jump”'
"You said yourself they promised not to make you a prisoner. Well they lied. I have been a prisoner for as long as I can remember. I'm not going back if I can help it."
Dardek scrunches his nose a bit ”Uh yes…you do have a point. Ok let’s jump”
Meanwhile, out in the hall, raised voices respond to the fire. It's hard to make out the words, but the general tone of, "What the **** is going on?" is crystal clear.
Ashley latches the door, pulls out a 10' length of chain and hands it over to man, "You look stronger than me. Unless you have something better to break the glass?"
Dardek takes the chain and raises it over his head like he’s going to swing it around and whip it into the window. He looks around and figures maybe there’s not enough room for that ”Hmm maybe I wrap it around my fist and give it a good thumpin”
As Dardek considers the possibility, Ashley impatiently urges..."So are you going to or?... Time is a bit of an issue here..."
”Oh right…prisoners"Dardek says. "Stand back. Here goes nothing."
She slams against the glass, but it does no good. The glass is thick and strong.
"Try again?" Urges Ashley.
”I wasn’t warmed up…..” Dardek blushes a bit at his weak attempt, then takes another swing... To very little effect.
Ashley rolls her eyes and then peaks out the door to see what is going on. She can't really get a good view from her angle, but she's able to hear a couple voices down near the door she lit up.
One of them clearly says, "...check on that little firebug..."
Ashley blanches as she hears that, though not surprised and quickly closes and locks the door again. Turning back to him, “Keep going! We’re running out of time, fast!”
”Ok ma'am….maybe set more fires” Dardek says without a thought about what that might do. She takes another crack at the window.. A fissure appears in the thick glass. Not enough to break all the way through, but progress... Dardek wipes his brow and punches the window again, hurrying….
At the same time, Ashley hears the conversation stop as a voice says, "What was that!?"
After making three more feeble blows, Dardek throws the chain at Ashley and hides under the bed.
When Ashley hears the chain clatter on the floor, she turns around_, "Get out from under the bed. Are you daft? Hurry, start pushing the furniture against the door."She picks up the chain and copying his process of wrapping it around her fist, heads to the window, desperation prickling in..
Dardek without hesitation listens to Ashley and starts moving furniture in front of the door Meanwhile Ashley picks up the chain and takes another shot at the window. The window cracks a bit more. A stream of cold morning air escapes from it... but it still holds tight.
Dardek pushes the heavy wooden cot... It moves, but it's going to take a bit more effort to get it all the way to the door. In the meantime, you see the door move. Someone's trying to get in! Whoever it is pounds on the door. "Hey! Who the hell's in there!?" They throw their body weight against the door, trying to break the latch...
Ashley whirls around and goes to help Dardek with moving the cot to the door. Together, theyre able to finish the process of moving the cot to form a barricade. Ashley tenses up as the crack is heard against the door. No..no they can't take me back.. she thinks. Holding onto the chain, she tries again.
She throws the chain at Dardek's feet and pleads, "Please, try again.. we need to get out of here!"She grabs a pair of navigational calipers from the desk and hands them to Dardek, "Here.. in case you need to defend yourself."
Dardek takes the chain and gives the window a whack again. Finally, the glass breaks away in chunks. A few jagged edges remain in the narrow passage. The sky is dark save for the glow from the town, but there's enough ambient illumination to see water lapping against the side of the hull about 10' below.
Another loud CRACK raps against the door as the crew members outside throw their full weight against it. Wood splinters and the cot shifts...
Dardek hearing the thud against the door, wastes no time clearing the glass so he can climb through and plunge to the water below ”Set it ablaze”he says while squeezing out
Seeing the window break, Ashley grins, "Well I wasn't going to block us in here with fire if we couldn't get out.. but now.."Her grin widens. Hearing the stranger hit the water, she turns back to the door and attempts to set the cot/door ablaze...
The cot easily lights ablaze and Ashley hears the crew members on the other side start shouting in alarm. Having created an ample deterrent, the two escapees both have time to squeeze through the window and dive into the water below. The urgency of the moment keeps them from adopting any sort of form to break their fall however.
Dardek hits the water first, taking,3points of falling damage.
Ashley as better luck, taking only 1 point of falling damage.
After hitting the water and taking some initial damage, the young man Dardek, having never swam a day in his life, finds himself unable to coordinate his strokes and begins flailing about, helplessly in the sea.
By contrast, the red haired young woman, Ashley manages to summon enough instinctual ability to keep herself afloat... Seeing Dardek's distress, she paddles toward the young man and gets him to wrap his arms around her. Using all of her strength and coughing up seawater the whole the way, she's able to tug him along until Dardek is able to paddle for himself...
Eventually, however, exhaustion takes hold... Ashley's arms become heavy. She starts to fall behind.
Either oblivious or undisturbed by Ashley's plight, Dardek forges onward... 15 feet... then 30 feet ahead... leaving Ashley in his wake, struggling to keep from drowning. As he rounds the aft of the ship, Dardek sees that it is docked at a warf built parallel to the rocky shoreline that rises 20' above the current water level. There's no ladder in sight. He quickly realizes he'll have to scale one of the slippery foundational pillars or risk being pummeled against the rocks by swimming under the wharf to the shore below. He panics, exhausted, unable to decide which landing to go for... His arms grow weak and he starts swallowing water...
Meanwhile, 30 feet behind, Ashley gets a second wind and pushes herself directly toward the rocks underneath the wharf, swimming right past Dardek who continues to flail helplessly in the water. She gets about half-way there before she's struck with a change of heart. She turns back, swims to Dardek and grabs hold of him once again.
...but it's too late. Dardek's limbs stop paddling as his limp form begins to bob in the water. Panicked, Ashley looses her focus and rhythm. She finds herself unable to keep her head above water... She tries to strain her eyes to look up at the warf, desperate for someone anyone to save them.... She tries to scream but only swallows more water as her utterly spent form starts to sink...
Then,, with final a burst of all-or-nothing energy, Ashley pushes herself to the absolute, limit... Her senses become a chaotic, painful kalidescope of red and white strobing light against the roar of the waves.... Unable to work with the current anymore, she sacrifices control for speed, abandoning herself to the mercy of the crashing waves....
The tide pulls her under for a moment and all goes silent save for the sub-aquatic roar and the high-pitched ringing in her ears. The whole world becomes red... Ashley's only awareness becomes the sensation of seawater and rust in her sinuses.... Before she slams into the rocks with mortal force, knocking her into oblivion...
But somewhere in that darkness... she sees the light and feels the warmth of a single wavering flame... a candle flame... the last delicate flicker of her life's force still hanging in the balance... An uncanny, sub-mortal awareness that fate isn't done with her yet... and, though it seems impossible,... She might yet survive...
Ashley is the first to open her eyes. She finds herself staring up at slightly the rotted wood boards - a canopy that covers the simple cot she lies upon. Across the room from her, about twenty feet away, Dardeklay snoring on a similar cot.
The chamber appears to be a dank cellar, or something like it. You hear the echoing sound of running water on the other side of the wall. The chamber smells like ripe bouquet of mold, cleaning product, cheap incense and rotting vegetation. A few barrels are stacked against the wall, marked as different types of wine. Some sparse furnishings, mostly ruined, are set around at random angles without any apparent care or concern. A few stone steps lead to a simple wooden door with no apparent method for latching it on this side.
A pitcher of water lay on a table nearby, along with a crust of bread. Light pours through a narrow window. Gazing though, you see only more stone. The light appears to be coming from an opening of a deep narrow well, and you appear to be at the bottom ofit.
If you had to guess, you'd assume this place is used for storage mostly... but here you are. Who brought you? What do they want? Did they bring you to this place as an act of benevolence... or are you a prisoner once again?
What would you like to do?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM - Origins - A Level Zero Adventure
DM - Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
The Forge of Fury - Lehmani (L3 Tiefling Cleric, Forge Domain)
Wild Beyond the Witchlight - Fa'amae(L2 Shadar-kai Druid, Circle of the Spores)
Greyhawk -Tilliman Treewick Toadswaddler the First (L1 Gnome Rogue)
"I'm.. I'm alive?" as the realization dawns on Ashley, her face breaks into a giant grin. She lays there on the simple cot, listening to the echo of the running water, the smells of mold and other interesting things.. she finally looks over at Dardek when he snores. She isn't sure if he helped or hindered her escape, but either way she was glad she didn't kill him and even more glad not to be alone. Thinking about that, she has always been alone..
Not wanting to dwell on that thought she swings herself out of the cot and takes a long pull of water and helps herself to some of the bread. Looking around and seeing that she was in what appeared to be the bottom of a well, she's at least glad there is a door. She heads over to it and listens at it.
Ears still a bit plugged with water, she doesn't hear anything so she walks over to the stranger and nudges at the man, hoping he is happy about not being a prisoner.
Dardek wakes with a loud snort. He opens the eyes and sees the girl...He shoots up and scurries agaisnt the wall where his bed is "You....I thought I was dead....You are the last thing I remember. You swam by me as I drowned... left for dead. Who are you and what do you want, where have you brought me?"Dardek says with a frightened look
"Calm down. I don't want anything from you and I haven't brought you here." She rubs the back of her neck as he accuses her of leaving him to drown. "Well, I didn't realize you were drowning and when I saw that, I came back for you. I tried dragging you to shore then well, I think I hit the rocks and went under myself." She looks around at their new surroundings, "I woke up here just like you. I have no idea who brought us here. Shall we find out? Oh, I'm Ashley by the way."
Dardek stares wide eyed “You tried to save me? I don’t understand. Uhh I’m Da….Dardek. What should we do? How would we find out? Maybe we should just wait for our saviors to come check on us?”
"What isn't there to understand? I wasn't going to let you drown... well at least I tried. Dardek, nice to meet you. I didn't want you to have the same fate as I have had for well.. as long as I can remember. I'm just glad and shocked we are both alive to be honest. Wait? No.. I'm not good at waiting, let's try this door." And Ashley heads over to the door again and tries to open it.
The door opens with ease On the other side Ashley finds a 15' long narrow passage ending in a set of grey brick steps leading up about 10' to another wooden door.
The walls of this passage are solid slate, with the occasional dinner-plate sized circular opening high overhead. Some of these openings are covered in metal grates. Some are not. Wastewater drools out of each of them, running in calcium-marked cascades down the slate wall into a 6" wide grated gutter that lines the corridor. Ashley sees a rat peek out of pipes and then duck back inside. The smell of sewage is not quite overwhelming, but much more distinct here.
Reverberating throughout this passage Ashley can hear the echo of music... a small pipe organ playing a simple, sublime melody somewhere nearby... something reminiscent of Bach's Goldberg Variations creating a notable contrasts to the rest of the environment.
Ashley looks down the nasty smelling tunnel then looks back to Dardek, "What were you saying earlier? They promised not to make you prisoner again? What happened to you? I've been a prisoner my whole life, under Brother Emmit's research. At least that's what he calls it. More like torture." She closes the door and looks at him, she has only had herself to really think about and this was a new development she hadn't considered.
Dardek cautiously follows Ashely out into the hall "Yes the bald man said I wouldn't be treated like I was under the control of the clerics of Qoneus.....I have been captive as long as I can remember by the clerics....I was not allowed to leave their hold...they....they were unkind.....This Emmit, you called him brother? What god does he follow?"
Ashley stops dead in the hallway and turns around to face Dardek. "Clerics of Qoneus? I don't know anything about them other than Brother Emmit's disdain for them. And it sounds like our time in captivity is similar." She looks down as she says this, as if not able to meet his eyes. "You say a bald man? Does he have a close shaven beard and wear robes? That could be Brother Emmit." She smirks a bit and comes back to meeting Dardek's eyes on his last question, "God? Well," she chuckles, "he worships alright, he believes in absolute sovereignty of mortalkind"saying that last part in as good of an imitation of the man she can muster.
Finally noting Dardek's hesitancy on leaving the area, she asks with a bit softer tone than she has been addressing him, "You alright to continue? I just don't want to be a sitting duck for whoever might want us next."
Dardek continues to follow looking over his shouder at the empty room "Yes then your torturer was my savior....Oh I knew I should have just stayed. I could have been treated better and healed people....he cut his hand and I healed him to show him what I could do...It was forbidden where I was kept unless I was being.....tested.....Qoneur....the God of Knowledge...the God of Gods....No? Doesn't ring a bell? This Brother Emmit hated them?" Dardek's shoulders slump unable to help wonder if he should have stayed behind "Where shoud we go continue through there?"
"I.. I'm sorry he tricked you into believing where you were going was better." She doesn't know what else to say. As for the God of Knowledge, she shrugs, "Yeah, some big God that he thought had desperately meek and mewling followers. Some kind of Eternal Father type?" she turns back to the stairs leading out of the tunnel, hearing that Dardek didn't refuse to continue and was going to take that as a yes.
She heads to the top of the stairs and listens at that door, trying it just to see if it is locked.
Ashley pushes the door in slightly to test whether it's locked and sees a remarkable sight on the other side... Something akin to a museum storage room. Priceless and eccentric looking items line modest wooden shelving units or sit piled haphazardly on tables. Oil lamps line the walls to provide illumination. The air is thick with incense smoke, making it distinctly more bearable than the corridor beyond. The only visible egress is a stone door on the opposite side of the room. There's so much to look at, it's a bit overwhelming...
Fortunately, for Ashley, her eyes have a very obvious point to draw focus... The large dragon-headed humanoid sitting in front of a makeshift pipe organ, apparently constructed from broken plumbing and other salvaged parts.
The dragon-like humanoid gracefully glides their taloned fingers over the keys, gently humming along to the sublime melody as they play it. Apparently aware of your presence, the dragonperson holds up a warding finger.
"Be with you in a moment," they growl at you in a gentle, gravely voice that is neither masculine nor feminine but sounds thick with both streetwise toughness and almost noble gentility.
Finishing the movement with a delicate flourish, the dragonperson finally swivels on their bench to face you, one side of their face curling into what might be a smile (hard to tell on such a strange creature) "You're awake..."The dragon-person stands up, moving to a small kettle sitting on the long cluttered table in the center of the room. They use it to pour some tea into a small, handle-less earthen cup. "How 'bout your friend? Still sleeping?"
The question is barely out of their mouth before the dragon-person suddenly turns their head in your direction and says with some insistence. "Listen, be a chap and either come in or don't come in. If you keep the door open like that it lets the bloody stench in. Please." They end the request with a smile, but it's clear they're serious about not letting the smell in.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM - Origins - A Level Zero Adventure
DM - Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
The Forge of Fury - Lehmani (L3 Tiefling Cleric, Forge Domain)
Wild Beyond the Witchlight - Fa'amae(L2 Shadar-kai Druid, Circle of the Spores)
Greyhawk -Tilliman Treewick Toadswaddler the First (L1 Gnome Rogue)
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Click for Ambiance
The rattle of heavy chains follows the young man, Dardek, as he's led down the steps to the cargo hold of a mighty cog docked in an unruly port town. The yellow light from his jailer's oil lantern reflects off of the smattering of metallic freckles that cover Dardek's cheeks. That otherworldly metallic adornment to his youthful features are one tell-tale sign that he is something more than merely human.
Dardek keeps his eyes down as he's led into the hold, lifting only slightly as he reaches the bottom of the stairs. As he takes in the new environment, he immediately identifies a familiar sight, the open door of a jail cell... To the left and to the right, he sees nothing but barrels and crates and a maze of cobwebs. As he hesitates there at the bottom, he feels a jab against his back - the sailor nudging him forward.
"Alright then..." The jailer says through a ruin of crooked teeth. "Go on in. Make yourself cozy. And be quick about it. I gotta feed the other one."
DM - Origins - A Level Zero Adventure
DM - Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
The Forge of Fury - Lehmani (L3 Tiefling Cleric, Forge Domain)
Wild Beyond the Witchlight - Fa'amae (L2 Shadar-kai Druid, Circle of the Spores)
Greyhawk - Tilliman Treewick Toadswaddler the First (L1 Gnome Rogue)
Dardek walks into his cell with his head down. He sits on a crate wondering how Johan could do this to him. He thought Johan was his friend but here is he prisoner once again, this time shackled with no Scrupper to talk to. When the guard leaves, he begins to silently weep to himself into his still shackled hands.
As Dardek is led to his cell, he suddenly sees a figure leap out of the shadows and crack his captor across the head with some sort of blunt object. The blow draws the captor's attention but the sailor seems unharmed.
"Tha **** is this..." The sailor says as he braces for combat.
<BATTLE MUSIC>
Dardek calls out in a panicked voice, "It's not me sir....Please don't hit me" He remains, cowering ,where the guard left him looking down at his feet, glancing up to see if the guard is about to hit him or the mysterious attacker.
"Nope, definitely not him!" Calls out the attacker, Ashley, a female humanoid with stunning, fire-red hair. Ashley tosses the sailing block she used to attack the sailor and rushes to grapple the man. "C'mon, help me!" She shouts to Dardek, her words laced with a bit of desperation.
Dardek looks at the mysterious attacker lunge to grapple the guard asking for help. He stands there frozen with terror. He has never hurt another being before ,always being on the other end of the beatings. Dardek takes this opportunity to see if there is something laying around to use to defend himself from either the attacker or the guard... In his panic, Dardek sees nothing but the dusty floor. However he notices that the guard is distracted by the attacker, giving Dardek an opportunity to act...
Dardek starts to cry unsure what to do....Does he stay out of this or help the one trying to free him..... Finally, he raises his manacled wrists up and tries to wrap the chain around the neck of the guard...The chain successfully wraps around the guard's neck but the guard it them before it can be pulled taught. He ducks under the chain to look at the young Dardek with fury in his eyes... But, then he turns to the primary target of his rage... Ashley.
"Back in your cage, you little monster..." The sailor growls through gritted teeth before calling out, "Mates! A little help! We've got a jailbreak!"
The guard's fist flies at Ashley's head... But, in his panic, his punch goes wild, missing her by a country mile. Dardek backs away, moving 10 feet away and looks the guard over for a weapon or keys. He notices a large key ring on the guard's belt as well as a dagger which remains sheathed.
As Ashley sees the punch go by her face, she decides it is time. She flicks her wrist around in a very smooth motion and as the palm ends facing up, a flame is now cradled within it.
Looking over the flame at the deckhand, "Enough! Get in that cage or not only will you burn... this ship will burn..." Her flaming hair glows more brightly as her temper rages and she leans over towards him as she commands. Without looking at Dardek she says, "Take his keys."
In response, Dardek hesitates before obediently and slowly moving to take the keys. While the guard is distracted by Ashley's flame Dardek manages to swipe the keys away without any reaction. After retrieving the keys, he moves back away and hides behind some crates and barrels watching the others.
As he attempts this retreat, the guard pivots towards him and makes an unarmed swipe with the back of his hand but fails to make contact. With panic in his eyes the guard turns back to Ashley, looking at the flame in her hand, attempting a steady tone as he says, "Alright now... Don't do nothin' stupid, here... You know I'm not alone on this ship. What you think Brother Emmitt's gonna do if we have to make a mess of you, eh? So why don't you calm down, get back in your place and we'll all pretend this never happened."
Dardek, hiding behind the barrels and crates, meekly says ”I don’t know why I’m a prisoner sir…I didn’t do anything wrong…please, I don’t even know who Brother Emmitt is...The bald man I met said I wasn’t a prisoner and that I wouldn’t be locked up again…"
"Brother Emmit?" Ashley growls, he eyes blazing. "BROTHER EMMIT?!" She gets closer to the deckhand, bringing the fire to his chin, her eyes looking a bit crazy with the words, "I wonder what he will do to you when this place burns..." and she grins at this last word, the fire between them casting a creepy shadow across her face. She backs up from him to the door of the cell and holds it open, "Now, either get inside or I will set those crates a blaze and then we'll get to see how Brother Emmit reacts and I know as well as you do, he won't want to take it out on his precious experiment." As she says 'Brother Emmit' for the third time, she about spits out his name but waits patiently for the guard to get into the cell.
The guard is too terrified by Ashley's volatility to respond to Dardek's question. Instead, he throws up his hands in defense and quickly uses all of his movement to back into the cell and close the gate behind him. "Alright! Alright!" He shouts. "Don't do anything crazy, or you'll kill us all!"
"Dying would be a relief to Brother Emmit's experiments." Ashley looks to Dardek, "Lock him up, let's go."
Dardek looks at Ashley and obediently nods moving to lock the cell up. Still shackled, he hands the keys over to Ashley while looking at the floor. ”Ma'am what are you going to do with me?”
Ashley smirks then tries the keys in Dardek's shackles to see if any will open them. "You're no longer a prisoner if we can get off this ship." As she says the words a chill runs through her.
”The bald man said I wasn’t a prisoner. I think they made a mistake….I…I don’t know what’s going on. I was taken away from the clerics of Qoneus and put on a ship and now put on this ship…..Are you taking me back to the Grandmaster Terrence?"
With a few tries, Ashley is able to find a semi-universal skeleton key to the shackles that cause them to clatter to the ground. In that time, the guard manages to take cover behind the cot and starts shouting. "Someone get the bloody **** down here! The specimen are trying to escape!"
Dardek covers his mouth in shock ”Specimen? Am…Am I the specimen? I…I’ve been traded from one prison to another?! But that’s not what the bald man said….I can’t be locked up again….” Dardek begins to tear up as he looks done at his feet
Ashley grunts as she sees this other prisoner start falling apart, "Come on, pull yourself together, we are not in the clear yet!" She picks up the shackles and adds it to the few belongings she had already collected when she left her cell and starts towards the stars, "No time to waste!" and with the one in the cell yelling behind them she figures speed is better than stealth and heads on up.
Ashley pushes the hatch open to find herself on another deck of the ship. She can hear the sound of footsteps above and nearby. No sign of anyone in sight, but she catches the enticing scent of food in the viscinity.
Dardek pulls on Ashley's clothing ”Excuse me miss but maybe you should put the shackles back on me and make me your prisoner”
“Good thought," Replies Ashley. "But everyone here knows me. I kind of stand out. They know I’m a prisoner. We need to get off this ship!” Handing the keys over to the man, she points to the West, “Find an open or unlocked door that we can hide briefly.” She then turns to the East and the wooden bracket thing closest to the first East door she focuses on. Flicking her wrist again to produce her flame, she throws it with ease to the square, hopefully igniting it and creating a diversion.
The flame impacts on the surface, making a slight sound, but it's tough to get the structural wood to catch.
Meanwhile, Dardek ever so obedient does as asked, popping open the closest door to find one of the sailor's quarters. He sees a decent-looking bunk, a small foot locker and a with a desk covered in maps, candles and various tools and instruments he doesn't understand.
"Psst….A room with a bed here” Dardek whispers. ”Should I keep looking?”
"No. Get in." Replies Ashley. "We're going to hide in there briefly."
Dardek goes into the room and sits at the desk. He sighs and fiddles with the maps on the desk
At that same moment, Ashley, cursing herself for not having any accelerant, decides to give it one more shot, this time aiming at the first door in the East, then running to hide with Dardek until they can get up to the next level. The magical fire hits with enough supernatural force that it manages to actually kindle the wood... Ashley can see and hear the actual crackle before ducking into the room with Dardek.
A moment later you hear voices calling, "What the blazes!? Fire! Fire!"
As Ashley and Dardek hide in the room, they hear the door in the adjacent cabin fly open and footsteps rush past.
Ashley searches the room for any cloak, cover or anything she can use as a disguise to hide who she is. She finds one heavy cloak, clearly used for heavy weather.
She also finds a small window facing out towards the open water. It consists of a thick pane of glass and just enough space to squeeze through, one-at-a-time with effort.
Ashley grabs the cloak and throws it over herself, turning to the man, "Can you swim?"
”Swim? I uhhh…no…I wasn’t taught a great many things….Oh! I’ve seen a dog swim though!”
"Well, our choices are back out there and maybe get past the guards, doesn't look good though, or jump through the window. What do you think?"
”Uhh yes well umm death by drowning it is. Although I’m still unsure about any of this….but ok yes I’ll jump”'
"You said yourself they promised not to make you a prisoner. Well they lied. I have been a prisoner for as long as I can remember. I'm not going back if I can help it."
Dardek scrunches his nose a bit ”Uh yes…you do have a point. Ok let’s jump”
Meanwhile, out in the hall, raised voices respond to the fire. It's hard to make out the words, but the general tone of, "What the **** is going on?" is crystal clear.
Ashley latches the door, pulls out a 10' length of chain and hands it over to man, "You look stronger than me. Unless you have something better to break the glass?"
Dardek takes the chain and raises it over his head like he’s going to swing it around and whip it into the window. He looks around and figures maybe there’s not enough room for that ”Hmm maybe I wrap it around my fist and give it a good thumpin”
As Dardek considers the possibility, Ashley impatiently urges..."So are you going to or?... Time is a bit of an issue here..."
”Oh right…prisoners" Dardek says. "Stand back. Here goes nothing."
She slams against the glass, but it does no good. The glass is thick and strong.
"Try again?" Urges Ashley.
”I wasn’t warmed up…..” Dardek blushes a bit at his weak attempt, then takes another swing... To very little effect.
Ashley rolls her eyes and then peaks out the door to see what is going on. She can't really get a good view from her angle, but she's able to hear a couple voices down near the door she lit up.
One of them clearly says, "...check on that little firebug..."
Ashley blanches as she hears that, though not surprised and quickly closes and locks the door again. Turning back to him, “Keep going! We’re running out of time, fast!”
”Ok ma'am….maybe set more fires” Dardek says without a thought about what that might do. She takes another crack at the window.. A fissure appears in the thick glass. Not enough to break all the way through, but progress... Dardek wipes his brow and punches the window again, hurrying….
At the same time, Ashley hears the conversation stop as a voice says, "What was that!?"
After making three more feeble blows, Dardek throws the chain at Ashley and hides under the bed.
When Ashley hears the chain clatter on the floor, she turns around_, "Get out from under the bed. Are you daft? Hurry, start pushing the furniture against the door." She picks up the chain and copying his process of wrapping it around her fist, heads to the window, desperation prickling in..
Dardek without hesitation listens to Ashley and starts moving furniture in front of the door Meanwhile Ashley picks up the chain and takes another shot at the window. The window cracks a bit more. A stream of cold morning air escapes from it... but it still holds tight.
Dardek pushes the heavy wooden cot... It moves, but it's going to take a bit more effort to get it all the way to the door. In the meantime, you see the door move. Someone's trying to get in! Whoever it is pounds on the door. "Hey! Who the hell's in there!?" They throw their body weight against the door, trying to break the latch...
Ashley whirls around and goes to help Dardek with moving the cot to the door. Together, theyre able to finish the process of moving the cot to form a barricade. Ashley tenses up as the crack is heard against the door. No..no they can't take me back.. she thinks. Holding onto the chain, she tries again.
She throws the chain at Dardek's feet and pleads, "Please, try again.. we need to get out of here!" She grabs a pair of navigational calipers from the desk and hands them to Dardek, "Here.. in case you need to defend yourself."
Dardek takes the chain and gives the window a whack again. Finally, the glass breaks away in chunks. A few jagged edges remain in the narrow passage. The sky is dark save for the glow from the town, but there's enough ambient illumination to see water lapping against the side of the hull about 10' below.
Another loud CRACK raps against the door as the crew members outside throw their full weight against it. Wood splinters and the cot shifts...
Dardek hearing the thud against the door, wastes no time clearing the glass so he can climb through and plunge to the water below ”Set it ablaze” he says while squeezing out
Seeing the window break, Ashley grins, "Well I wasn't going to block us in here with fire if we couldn't get out.. but now.." Her grin widens. Hearing the stranger hit the water, she turns back to the door and attempts to set the cot/door ablaze...
The cot easily lights ablaze and Ashley hears the crew members on the other side start shouting in alarm. Having created an ample deterrent, the two escapees both have time to squeeze through the window and dive into the water below. The urgency of the moment keeps them from adopting any sort of form to break their fall however.
Dardek hits the water first, taking, 3 points of falling damage.
Ashley as better luck, taking only 1 point of falling damage.
DM - Origins - A Level Zero Adventure
DM - Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
The Forge of Fury - Lehmani (L3 Tiefling Cleric, Forge Domain)
Wild Beyond the Witchlight - Fa'amae (L2 Shadar-kai Druid, Circle of the Spores)
Greyhawk - Tilliman Treewick Toadswaddler the First (L1 Gnome Rogue)
After hitting the water and taking some initial damage, the young man Dardek, having never swam a day in his life, finds himself unable to coordinate his strokes and begins flailing about, helplessly in the sea.
By contrast, the red haired young woman, Ashley manages to summon enough instinctual ability to keep herself afloat... Seeing Dardek's distress, she paddles toward the young man and gets him to wrap his arms around her. Using all of her strength and coughing up seawater the whole the way, she's able to tug him along until Dardek is able to paddle for himself...
Eventually, however, exhaustion takes hold... Ashley's arms become heavy. She starts to fall behind.
Either oblivious or undisturbed by Ashley's plight, Dardek forges onward... 15 feet... then 30 feet ahead... leaving Ashley in his wake, struggling to keep from drowning. As he rounds the aft of the ship, Dardek sees that it is docked at a warf built parallel to the rocky shoreline that rises 20' above the current water level. There's no ladder in sight. He quickly realizes he'll have to scale one of the slippery foundational pillars or risk being pummeled against the rocks by swimming under the wharf to the shore below. He panics, exhausted, unable to decide which landing to go for... His arms grow weak and he starts swallowing water...
Meanwhile, 30 feet behind, Ashley gets a second wind and pushes herself directly toward the rocks underneath the wharf, swimming right past Dardek who continues to flail helplessly in the water. She gets about half-way there before she's struck with a change of heart. She turns back, swims to Dardek and grabs hold of him once again.
...but it's too late. Dardek's limbs stop paddling as his limp form begins to bob in the water. Panicked, Ashley looses her focus and rhythm. She finds herself unable to keep her head above water... She tries to strain her eyes to look up at the warf, desperate for someone anyone to save them.... She tries to scream but only swallows more water as her utterly spent form starts to sink...
Then,, with final a burst of all-or-nothing energy, Ashley pushes herself to the absolute, limit... Her senses become a chaotic, painful kalidescope of red and white strobing light against the roar of the waves.... Unable to work with the current anymore, she sacrifices control for speed, abandoning herself to the mercy of the crashing waves....
The tide pulls her under for a moment and all goes silent save for the sub-aquatic roar and the high-pitched ringing in her ears. The whole world becomes red... Ashley's only awareness becomes the sensation of seawater and rust in her sinuses.... Before she slams into the rocks with mortal force, knocking her into oblivion...
But somewhere in that darkness... she sees the light and feels the warmth of a single wavering flame... a candle flame... the last delicate flicker of her life's force still hanging in the balance... An uncanny, sub-mortal awareness that fate isn't done with her yet... and, though it seems impossible,... She might yet survive...
DM - Origins - A Level Zero Adventure
DM - Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
The Forge of Fury - Lehmani (L3 Tiefling Cleric, Forge Domain)
Wild Beyond the Witchlight - Fa'amae (L2 Shadar-kai Druid, Circle of the Spores)
Greyhawk - Tilliman Treewick Toadswaddler the First (L1 Gnome Rogue)
1st of Mathair "Feast of the Mother Moon"
Time of Day -- ???
(Ambient Sound)
Ashley is the first to open her eyes. She finds herself staring up at slightly the rotted wood boards - a canopy that covers the simple cot she lies upon. Across the room from her, about twenty feet away, Dardek lay snoring on a similar cot.
The chamber appears to be a dank cellar, or something like it. You hear the echoing sound of running water on the other side of the wall. The chamber smells like ripe bouquet of mold, cleaning product, cheap incense and rotting vegetation. A few barrels are stacked against the wall, marked as different types of wine. Some sparse furnishings, mostly ruined, are set around at random angles without any apparent care or concern. A few stone steps lead to a simple wooden door with no apparent method for latching it on this side.
A pitcher of water lay on a table nearby, along with a crust of bread. Light pours through a narrow window. Gazing though, you see only more stone. The light appears to be coming from an opening of a deep narrow well, and you appear to be at the bottom ofit.
If you had to guess, you'd assume this place is used for storage mostly... but here you are. Who brought you? What do they want? Did they bring you to this place as an act of benevolence... or are you a prisoner once again?
What would you like to do?
DM - Origins - A Level Zero Adventure
DM - Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
The Forge of Fury - Lehmani (L3 Tiefling Cleric, Forge Domain)
Wild Beyond the Witchlight - Fa'amae (L2 Shadar-kai Druid, Circle of the Spores)
Greyhawk - Tilliman Treewick Toadswaddler the First (L1 Gnome Rogue)
"I'm.. I'm alive?" as the realization dawns on Ashley, her face breaks into a giant grin. She lays there on the simple cot, listening to the echo of the running water, the smells of mold and other interesting things.. she finally looks over at Dardek when he snores. She isn't sure if he helped or hindered her escape, but either way she was glad she didn't kill him and even more glad not to be alone. Thinking about that, she has always been alone..
Not wanting to dwell on that thought she swings herself out of the cot and takes a long pull of water and helps herself to some of the bread. Looking around and seeing that she was in what appeared to be the bottom of a well, she's at least glad there is a door. She heads over to it and listens at it.
Ears still a bit plugged with water, she doesn't hear anything so she walks over to the stranger and nudges at the man, hoping he is happy about not being a prisoner.
Dardek wakes with a loud snort. He opens the eyes and sees the girl...He shoots up and scurries agaisnt the wall where his bed is "You....I thought I was dead....You are the last thing I remember. You swam by me as I drowned... left for dead. Who are you and what do you want, where have you brought me?" Dardek says with a frightened look
"Calm down. I don't want anything from you and I haven't brought you here." She rubs the back of her neck as he accuses her of leaving him to drown. "Well, I didn't realize you were drowning and when I saw that, I came back for you. I tried dragging you to shore then well, I think I hit the rocks and went under myself." She looks around at their new surroundings, "I woke up here just like you. I have no idea who brought us here. Shall we find out? Oh, I'm Ashley by the way."
Dardek stares wide eyed “You tried to save me? I don’t understand. Uhh I’m Da….Dardek. What should we do? How would we find out? Maybe we should just wait for our saviors to come check on us?”
"What isn't there to understand? I wasn't going to let you drown... well at least I tried. Dardek, nice to meet you. I didn't want you to have the same fate as I have had for well.. as long as I can remember. I'm just glad and shocked we are both alive to be honest. Wait? No.. I'm not good at waiting, let's try this door." And Ashley heads over to the door again and tries to open it.
The door opens with ease On the other side Ashley finds a 15' long narrow passage ending in a set of grey brick steps leading up about 10' to another wooden door.
The walls of this passage are solid slate, with the occasional dinner-plate sized circular opening high overhead. Some of these openings are covered in metal grates. Some are not. Wastewater drools out of each of them, running in calcium-marked cascades down the slate wall into a 6" wide grated gutter that lines the corridor. Ashley sees a rat peek out of pipes and then duck back inside. The smell of sewage is not quite overwhelming, but much more distinct here.
Reverberating throughout this passage Ashley can hear the echo of music... a small pipe organ playing a simple, sublime melody somewhere nearby... something reminiscent of Bach's Goldberg Variations creating a notable contrasts to the rest of the environment.
DM - Origins - A Level Zero Adventure
DM - Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
The Forge of Fury - Lehmani (L3 Tiefling Cleric, Forge Domain)
Wild Beyond the Witchlight - Fa'amae (L2 Shadar-kai Druid, Circle of the Spores)
Greyhawk - Tilliman Treewick Toadswaddler the First (L1 Gnome Rogue)
“Oh uhh ok…Would you have me follow Ashley or stay here?” Dardek asks hoping she tells him to stay put
Ashley looks down the nasty smelling tunnel then looks back to Dardek, "What were you saying earlier? They promised not to make you prisoner again? What happened to you? I've been a prisoner my whole life, under Brother Emmit's research. At least that's what he calls it. More like torture." She closes the door and looks at him, she has only had herself to really think about and this was a new development she hadn't considered.
Dardek cautiously follows Ashely out into the hall "Yes the bald man said I wouldn't be treated like I was under the control of the clerics of Qoneus.....I have been captive as long as I can remember by the clerics....I was not allowed to leave their hold...they....they were unkind.....This Emmit, you called him brother? What god does he follow?"
Ashley stops dead in the hallway and turns around to face Dardek. "Clerics of Qoneus? I don't know anything about them other than Brother Emmit's disdain for them. And it sounds like our time in captivity is similar." She looks down as she says this, as if not able to meet his eyes. "You say a bald man? Does he have a close shaven beard and wear robes? That could be Brother Emmit." She smirks a bit and comes back to meeting Dardek's eyes on his last question, "God? Well," she chuckles, "he worships alright, he believes in absolute sovereignty of mortalkind" saying that last part in as good of an imitation of the man she can muster.
Finally noting Dardek's hesitancy on leaving the area, she asks with a bit softer tone than she has been addressing him, "You alright to continue? I just don't want to be a sitting duck for whoever might want us next."
Dardek continues to follow looking over his shouder at the empty room "Yes then your torturer was my savior....Oh I knew I should have just stayed. I could have been treated better and healed people....he cut his hand and I healed him to show him what I could do...It was forbidden where I was kept unless I was being.....tested.....Qoneur....the God of Knowledge...the God of Gods....No? Doesn't ring a bell? This Brother Emmit hated them?" Dardek's shoulders slump unable to help wonder if he should have stayed behind "Where shoud we go continue through there?"
"I.. I'm sorry he tricked you into believing where you were going was better." She doesn't know what else to say. As for the God of Knowledge, she shrugs, "Yeah, some big God that he thought had desperately meek and mewling followers. Some kind of Eternal Father type?" she turns back to the stairs leading out of the tunnel, hearing that Dardek didn't refuse to continue and was going to take that as a yes.
She heads to the top of the stairs and listens at that door, trying it just to see if it is locked.
Perception 15
It's clear the organ music Ashley heard earlier is definitely coming from the other side of that door. Hard to hear much through that.
DM - Origins - A Level Zero Adventure
DM - Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
The Forge of Fury - Lehmani (L3 Tiefling Cleric, Forge Domain)
Wild Beyond the Witchlight - Fa'amae (L2 Shadar-kai Druid, Circle of the Spores)
Greyhawk - Tilliman Treewick Toadswaddler the First (L1 Gnome Rogue)
(ORGAN MUSIC)
Ashley pushes the door in slightly to test whether it's locked and sees a remarkable sight on the other side... Something akin to a museum storage room. Priceless and eccentric looking items line modest wooden shelving units or sit piled haphazardly on tables. Oil lamps line the walls to provide illumination. The air is thick with incense smoke, making it distinctly more bearable than the corridor beyond. The only visible egress is a stone door on the opposite side of the room. There's so much to look at, it's a bit overwhelming...
Fortunately, for Ashley, her eyes have a very obvious point to draw focus... The large dragon-headed humanoid sitting in front of a makeshift pipe organ, apparently constructed from broken plumbing and other salvaged parts.
The dragon-like humanoid gracefully glides their taloned fingers over the keys, gently humming along to the sublime melody as they play it. Apparently aware of your presence, the dragonperson holds up a warding finger.
"Be with you in a moment," they growl at you in a gentle, gravely voice that is neither masculine nor feminine but sounds thick with both streetwise toughness and almost noble gentility.
Finishing the movement with a delicate flourish, the dragonperson finally swivels on their bench to face you, one side of their face curling into what might be a smile (hard to tell on such a strange creature) "You're awake..." The dragon-person stands up, moving to a small kettle sitting on the long cluttered table in the center of the room. They use it to pour some tea into a small, handle-less earthen cup. "How 'bout your friend? Still sleeping?"
The question is barely out of their mouth before the dragon-person suddenly turns their head in your direction and says with some insistence. "Listen, be a chap and either come in or don't come in. If you keep the door open like that it lets the bloody stench in. Please." They end the request with a smile, but it's clear they're serious about not letting the smell in.
DM - Origins - A Level Zero Adventure
DM - Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
The Forge of Fury - Lehmani (L3 Tiefling Cleric, Forge Domain)
Wild Beyond the Witchlight - Fa'amae (L2 Shadar-kai Druid, Circle of the Spores)
Greyhawk - Tilliman Treewick Toadswaddler the First (L1 Gnome Rogue)