I almost forgot to post this today... We're playing more Hoard of the Dragon Queen in about 10 minutes! Come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty to see more of our Hoard of the Dragon Queen game. But in case you missed last week, or if you just need a refresher, here's what happened...

As the convoy travels, Loki speaks to Verther, the man with the Calshite silks that were eaten by silverfish. He’s currently working on something the party had suggested to him... switch from selling goods on the road to selling insurance to the caravan itself. He’s gone all-in on this concept, and his cart is a mess of scattered notes and calculations. Loki has an interest in getting in on the ground floor of his operation and decides to bet on Verther... investing 40 platinum in his business, giving him a hearty budget to start with, and buying a percentage of Verther Insurance with plans for long-term gain on her investment. Meanwhile, Katniss checks in on the Kindheart family, and in particular, the housecat that had been rescued from the safehouse in the Fields of the Dead, whom the family has taken to calling “Lady”. Katniss casts Speak to Animals in order to ask Lady about what had happened, although the cat didn’t see much... only noting that the “Stinky Men” were creating noise outside, and when her human went to investigate he never cameback. Lady also doesn’t seem to fully understand that she won’t be returning to her home, and Katniss uses their magic to help the family bond a bit more with their new pet.

With animals on the mind, Dahlia notices a short, pudgy noble gesturing to their horse, Cake, who had been outfitted with armor from the Wight’s undead steed and who now led the convoy, pulling Jundo’s cart. The noble is revealed to be Cecil Newton, an investor in the Jundo Construction company... but a simple glance from Dahlia’s perceptive eye is enough to see that his own horse is beaten and exhausted. Newton describes his horse as a “lemon”, and is interested in purchasing Cake instead. Dahlia, meanwhile, does her best to admonish Newton for his poor treatment of his own horse, but the haughty noble simply marches off flanked by guards rather than discuss the matter. Katniss arrives to investigate, agreeing to help convince Newton to go easy on his horse. Using Speak with Animals again, Katniss learns that the horse is a nervous wreck... a well-trained riding horse, he’s obsessed with trying to do a good job and his constant abuse has him convinced that he’s simply not working hard enough. With Katniss’s help, Dahlia is able to convince Newton to leave the horse in their care while he rides in a cart, although Newton tries to play it off like it was his idea in the first place.

When the convoy stops for a lunch break Katniss takes time to prepare a poultice to treat the overworked horse. Werond, the young woman whose been spending time with G’houl, checks in on the horse as well. Lamenting that Newton reguarly abuses any animals he’s left with, clearly traumatized by a memory she shares of Newton whipping a horse to death while accompanying a convoy some time ago. While Dahlia has to fight back the instinct to show Newton how that feels, Loki comes up with a more cunning plan. Speaking again to Verther, she convinces him to add a caveat to the contracts for insurance... a steep fine should it be found that the insured deliberately harms any animals in their care. Now the party has a surprising new goal on their journey... sell insurance to as many of their fellow travelers as possible, but especially to Newton.

They arrive in a tiny hamlet in the foothills of the Trollclaw mountains, and in particular they find a small tavern: The Troll Feet. The break gives ample opportunity to examine Newton’s horse, along with Werond, whose in charge of corralling and maintaining the animals for Jundo’s Construction. With the help of Katniss’s poultice earlier, the horse is looking much healthier, although everyone present is upset to see the scars left by Newton’s spurs. Dahlia and Katniss both notice Werond deliberately dropping a handkerchief near G’houl’s feet, and it takes Dahlia using her message cantrip to get him to notice it... returning it to Werond, who immediately insists on G’houl taking her to get something to eat in the tavern. When they get inside, however, Loki tracks them down, making a sales pitch to Werond for insurance on the animals in the convoy. Werond loves the idea, but admits they’ll need to speak to Jundo... and a quick listen makes it obvious that Jundo is already upstairs as his boisterous laughter can easily be heard over the sounds of the busy tavern.

Upstairs, Jundo seems to be working on paperwork with his business partner, Aila Stoneheart. Loki pitches her insurance plan to Jundo, who’s ecstatic about the concept, but Aila is harder to convince, especially since she knows about Verther and his failure with the Calshite Silk. However, she does like the concept in theory, and although Loki fails to convince her to immediately invest, she gives Loki an ultimatum... prove that the concept has legs by selling to at least 3 other merchants, but until then she won’t let Jundo spend his money. With their plan set in motion, the party sleeps for the night... Dahlia had rented one of the few rooms at the tavern, while Loki and Katniss share a tent, and G’houl foregoes his tower for the night and camps near the horse stalls to keep an eye on Newton’s injured horse.

In the morning Dahlia starts by speaking to Beyd, the half-elf man who sells ale to his fellow travelers. The attractive young man continues to flirt with her, increasing Dahlia’s frustration as she feels compelled to keep her Tiefling heritage a secret, and the illusion hiding her horns and tail won’t hold up to any intimate interactions. She also notices that Beyd’s horse isn’t kept in good condition either... although in Beyd’s case she realizes it’s not out of cruelty but simply by being a bit airheaded. However, this revelation about the poor state of his horse is ample motivation to get him to invest in Verther’s insurance, starting them on the path to completing their plan.

A small hitch in the plan arrives when one of Newtons’ guards arrives to demand the return of Newton’s horse. Katniss does their best to let the creature get another day of rest at least, but they’re unable to convince the guard and are forced to return the horse to his abusive owner. As the party reconvenes to discuss who else they could sell insurance to, G’houl looks ahead and sees a worrying sight further down the road... figures engaged in combat, and angry commands shouted in Goblin. Hurrying ahead of their own convoy they find a group of hobgoblins attacking a traveler... what appears to be a noble accompanied by guards... however, the hobgoblins are assisted by what appears to be a living suit of armor. Loki starts combat by hitting a grouping of enemies with a fireball... and although it incinerates two of the hobgoblins the living armor seems to simply absorb the spell. The armor raises an arm, magically summoning Black Tentacles to restrain the party, but luckily G’houl is able to counterspell it. Dahlia rides in mounted on Marmalade, their other horse... and the hobgoblin leader responds by throwing a javelin into Marmalade’s side. The Suit of Armor doesn’t walk, but instead hovers toward the party... Katniss casts Entangle to try and trap the armor, but its too strong for the vines to take hold, and then begins to fly higher to avoid the vines and attack Katniss, but luckily their high dexterity lets them avoid the heavy swings of its sword. G’houl finally recognizes it as a Helmed Horror, a rare and valuable form of animated armor that can be made immune to individual spells. G’houl blasts it with Magic Missiles, and once they see that it’s not immune to those the other party members unload on it as well.

Dahlia dismounts from Marmalade, sending the horse running back to the convoy in order to face the Hobgoblin leader one-on-one. Meanwhile, the Hobgoblins had set their pet Guard Drake to attack the traveling Noble and his guards, and some of the Hobgoblins have prioritized trying to take hostages over facing the party. As the Helmed Horror floats above them, Katniss uses their Wolloping Arrows to knock it to the ground. Not knowing what other spells it might be immune to, G’houl opts to tap into his Orcish instincts... gripping his Staff of Defense made of magically reinforced glass, he slams it down with a Critical Hit on the prone armor, denting its helm beyond repair and dissipating the last of the magics that animate it. The Hobgoblin leader, sensing defeat, orders his men to protect him as he makes his retreat, but the remaining party members make certain none of them escape. The beleagured noble they were rescuing even attempts to help, although his skills with a rapier aren’t on par with Dahlia’s. He introduces himself as “Ian”, and his destroyed wagon was transporting wine, although most of it is lost to the earth now. Loki takes advantage of the situation by explaining how much safer it would have been to travel with some insurance, and the grateful noble is happy to invest as thanks for his rescue.

We're playing our homebrew campaign of Sacrament tonight at 4:30 PM PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. If you missed the last session, here's what happened:

Ricky wakes before anyone else, and takes the time to ritually cast Identify on the pendant that the Night Mother had gifted him. He realizes that the talisman is bound to him, but it also allows him to communicate with the Night Mother with the use of a ritual. Ricky asks Ash to join him in the kitchen… wanting to use her powers of decay to help him brew more alcohol using the drugged cake from the feywild. With her help he brews a beer that tastes like Rum Cake… and using Kanec as a guinea pig, they realize that the worst effects of the drugs have been neutralized, although the drink is still so powerful that it would be dangerous for non-Reavers to consume.

Once their work is done Ricky prepares breakfast and gathers everyone together to inform them about what they learned about the war in Estea, and to discuss their plans for the future. They know that they’re looking for a Merc who, hopefully, can help to cure Corrio’s curse. They also need to travel to the Capital City as quickly as possible, needing to rent mounts for the party. They also need to get access to Holy Water, which Ricky can use to cast Regeneration to prevent Henri’s illness from damaging his body even further. There’s also a long discussion about what Gilly’s daughter, Misty, should be doing… but once Gilly learns that the orphans have all been adopted by Reavers she contemplates telling Gilly to move somewhere else, but they can’t settle on an ideal location.

Once their discussion is complete, the party exits the genie bag and begins asking around town about Mercs, but unfortunately with the war effort they’re difficult to find, as they’re most likely servicing the military. Discussing their plans to cross the desert, Ash playfully teases Kanec about the foolishness of building a capital city surrounded by vast desert, but Kanec explains that it wasn’t a desert when the Capital was built… centuries ago, the nomadic Roma were a united Kingdom of Elves in a lush jungle… unlike the Elvish Kingdom of Ortheia, there was no societal difference between High Elves, Wood Elves, and the Dark Elves (which are distinctly different from Drow). However, a human King fell in love with the Queen… and didn’t much care that she was already married. War erupted as the Roma were captured and enslaved, until the Goddess Hearth intervened. She asked her sister, Aranna, to punish the humans… and Kanec also reveals that Aranna is the name of the Night Mother. The Night Mother causes all the innocents to fall into a deep, mystical slumber… while the human soldiers, and even some of the slaves who are too broken to be saved are slaughtered by her wolves… the land is covered in blood, corrupting it, killing the vegetation, turning the land into a desert. The Roma lost their kingdom, becoming nomads wandering the land. When asked by Crush, Kanec clarifies that there are scattered settlements in the desert, but it’s still a dangerous land to explore.

They notice that Liz is happily flirting with one of the many tall, muscular Reavers. Noting that the city is a bit overly busy with its resources strained by the war effort, the party discusses leaving to see what it’s the nearby villages. Kanec mentions a particularly popular tavern outside of town, and when Liz hears that they have a stage in the center of the tavern that’s open to passing performers, she abandons her flirting to join the party… and also to recoup some of the money she had just “borrowed” from Kanec to pay the crew she was forced to leave behind in the feywild… although how, exactly, she or her manager, Maurice, managed to send the money isn’t clear. Kanec guides the party through a back road, and while on the back road Ash wants to conduct an experiment.

After seeing a Dorse earlier that morning (a Dragon with a horselike build), Ash wanted to see if it was possible to polymorph into the creatures, as they’re known to be the ideal mounts for desert travel. To their surprise, it actually works and she’s able to polymorph Ricky into a Dorse. While most of the party opts to ride in the Genie Bag, Kanec and Azure ride Ricky to the tavern. Ricky tries to push the two of them together, playfully encouraging Kanec to kiss Azure… not realizing that, as a Dorse, he naturally speaks Draconic… which Azure can understand thanks to her Tongue of the Sun and Moon ability, making things even more awkward between them.

Arriving in the tavern, they’re amazed to see how lavish and large it is for a simple tavern. Ricky realizes that night is coming soon, and worried about having people see the effects of his connection to the Night Mother, quickly rents a room for the night while his Mother, Liz, convinces the bar owner to allow her to perform. Crush decides to try Schwarma, a meal that Kanec recommends, while Kanec and Azure plan to enjoy a proper date together. Ash, meanwhile, is eager to finally enjoy her Honeymoon with Fidget… Fidget is also eager to join, but when he tries to give Kane to Crush to babysit the baby gets fussy… and suddenly blurts out his first word in protest: “Da-Da”. Fidget’s paternal instincts overwhelm his romantic plans for the night, and he needs to prioritize putting Kane to bed himself before joining Ash.

Ricky hurries to his own room, casting Private Sanctum to make sure he won’t be disturbed as he attempts to use his amulet to commune with the Night Mother, but unfortunately he doesn’t quite know how to activate the pendant… able to feel her presence from the pendant, but unable to speak to her directly. Crush, meanwhile, sits with Gilly and Maurice, chatting and enjoying the new food. Meanwhile, Azure and Kanec sit together… chatting, enjoying a meal… finally going on a date. As the two hold each other, at long last Kanec gives Azure a kiss, and Azure is happy to return the kiss… only to be interrupted as, suddenly, her Mother bursts into the tavern, screaming about how she had forbade Azure from boys during her quest. Before he can react, she suplexes Kanec, shouting at Azure and creating a scene… which is made worse, as for many of the citizens it looks like a battle between two black-furred Rakshasas. Crush remembers that Gilly knew her and asks her name, and Gilly mentions that her name is “Resourceful Healer”, but most people simply call her “Resa”. Wanting to keep things calm, Ricky approaches, deliberately drawing her ire to distract her so that Crush can force her into the privacy of the Genie Bag… however, Crush fails to catch her, and instead Resa dodges and retaliates with a spin kick to his face. Realizing that his plan isn’t working, Ricky changes tact and tries to persuade Resa to relax and have a seat to talk instead of shouting and making a scene, and she agrees.

Crush tries to help by apologizing to Resa for attempting to put her in the Genie Bag, and also thanks her for raising a responsible and caring daughter, which manages to help calm her, if only momentarily. Ricky, however, helps by casting Enhance Ability to improve Azure and Kanec’s charisma checks. Resa forces Azure to sit by her side as she interrogates her and Kanec. Azure does her best to explain her relationship to Kanec, and also justify the many rumors Resa has heard in her travels trying to catch up with her daughter… she had followed shortly behind the party, and only managed to travel to Tiavet ahead of the party because Azure had sent her a letter explaining their intent to travel there eventually, and the time displacement in the feywild slowing down the party. It’s a struggle to calm her, but eventually thanks to Ricky’s magic the pair are able to calm her down, explaining that the events in Kirei Midori where they found themselves wanted for killing a group of monster hunters was the result of protecting innocent goblin children from a group of state-sanctioned murderers. Once finally calmed she forces Kanec to give her some time alone with Azure… while Kanec joins Crush’s table, where Gilly compliments him on not getting hurt even more in the argument.

Meanwhile, Ash and Fidget are finally able to enjoy themselves after the shouting outside calms down. Ash puts on a thin nightgown as the two share a platter of dates… enjoying themselves as the loving couple finally gets to have their honeymoon. Crush, meanwhile, spends the night carving a gift for Reesa and Elonwee… a set of nesting dolls, depicting the party… but also including Reesa and Elonwee. Ricky, meanwhile, focuses his time on playing music… using the music to help him connect with the Night Mother. He asks her what she wants from him, and what he’s supposed to do… she says that she needs him to bear the burden since the one who carried it before has passed… and Ricky realizes it’s Peeter, his teacher in his bardic college. She tells him it’s the last Amulet of the Priestesses, and that if it is destroyed she will no longer exist. Without worship, Gods have no powers… and warns that the other amulets were smelted and turned into a sword wielded by Sovereign… and with it Sovereign can forcefully command and control the Night Mother. She needs Ricky to keep it in the material plane so it can’t be used against her. Finally, the Night Mother makes one request… take the sword from Sovereign and free her from his attempts to be controlled. She admits a feeling of deep guilt and shame for what she did, but some force prevents her from speaking about the specifics. However, she offers to assist Ricky with the wolf made of stars, which she refers to as the First Wolf, Bow. Ricky promises that he’ll do everything he can to rescue her.

Oh wow, its' been a while. We've finished our Holiday breaks, and we're coming back with another Hoard of the Dragon Queen game tonight at 5pm PST.  So, as always, come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty, and in case you need a refresher, here's what happened the last time we played:

As the party continues to Dragonspear, Dahlia and Loki team up to sell insurance. Between the two of them they sell enough insurance to earn another audience with Aila Stoneheart to get the Jundo Construction Company to sign up for Verther’s insurance. Bringing Verther along, they’re able to negotiate a deal, and the Construction Company signs up... including the clause that demands a costly fee for anyone who deliberately harms any animals involved with the convoy.

Meanwhile, Katniss is prioritizing their guard position to help guide the convoy through treacherous terrain, but is asked by G’houl to assist him with a problem that’s been troubling him... his burgeoning relationship with Werond. G’houl is starting to realize that Werond is looking for a serious, long-term relationship, but his own life is so chaotic and dangerous that he doesn’t want to get her caught up in it. Still... he cares about Werond enough that he doesn’t want to hurt her, but with Katniss’s support he goes to speak to her. Werond is caring for the animals of the convoy and is at first eager to speak to G’houl... but quickly realizes it’s not the conversation she was hoping for. However, as they speak she realizes that G’houl hasn’t joined Jundo’s Construction as a professional guard... but rather, traveling with them on just one trip. When she realizes G’houl is going to continue traveling after the convoy completes its journey the two of them come to the mutual decision to relax and focus on just being friends. Werond is sad, but not upset, but still seems hopeful of one day meeting G’houl again.

The Convoy makes its way to the town of Dragonspear... a Dwarven village near the ruins of Castle Dragonspear, where the skeleton of an Ancient Red Dragon lays draped over the crumbling architecture of the long-abandoned castle. Once in town they find the Dancing Owlbear Tavern, and Dahlia immediately rents a room where she can remove her Hat of Disguise and talk to her allies in private. She believes that the Cult of Tiamat would be interested in the Red Dragon skeleton, and is hoping to leverage it into a means of tricking one of the cult members into revealing more details about their group. She plans to learn more from others in the tavern and jokingly offers her bed to Katniss and Loki... however, the two of them aren’t shy about accepting such an offer and the lovers happily relax beneath the covers while G’houl and Dahlia go downstairs.

Still joking, Dahlia hops on G’houl for a piggyback ride... but with a Nat 20 strength check G’houl manages to easily support her weight even carrying her downstairs... and G’houl is too quiet and awkward to ask her to get off, and Dahlia is too playful to get down on her own. They first speak to the Tavern’s owner... an elegant female dwarf who claims to be descended from the King Dragonspear himself. She’s able to share some tall tales about the castle, but for concret information she directs Dahlia to speak to Professor Commonbrook, a professor of Archaeology from the Library of Discovery in Baldur’s Gate.

Dahlia and G’houl meet with Professor Commonbrook... a female Aarokocra with red plumage who is busy teaching her assistant, a male goblin named Armpit, how to play Dragon Chess. Commonbrook is confused by what appears to be a human woman riding the back of a Half-Orc asking questions about the castle. Still, she’s happy to share what she knows, mentioning that the Dragon Skeleton itself is cursed, as carrying away even a small part of the skeleton curses the carrier with bad luck... to the point that she doesn’t even want to carry away pieces to research. She explains that the Castle was once the top of a large Dwarven city that extended deep below the ground, the tunnels of which were collapsed in war when the Red Dragon attacked. When she realizes the party are adventurers, she requests assistance... her research has uncovered a Royal Forge, but attempts to research it further have been stalled by Fire Elementals who seem drawn to the Forge itself. She explains that her group is looking for one thing in particular... a Forgemaster’s Hammer, a type of magical hammer she believes to be located at the forge. As payment she offers to let the party keep any weapons they find, as the weaponry itself from Dragonspear is already well-researched.

Going upstairs to fetch Katniss and Loki is a bit awkward,but soon the entire group is being led by Commonbrook toward the Ruins of Castle Dragonspear. Dahlia brings out the Broom of Flying she had recovered from the young dragon Venomfang’s hoard. She makes a show of the group’s trip to the Castle, announcing theirintent to examine the Red Dragon Skeleton, hoping to get the attention of Some of the Tiamat Cultists, who have avoided the people in town and set up camp near the deep ravine separating the rest of the town from the Castle. The cultists are careful to avoid interactions with outsiders, and to show any outward interest in dragons or other details that might reveal their true nature. Still, Dahlia’s performance is enough to attract the interest of a young woman they know to be traveling with her “family”, although she conspicuously doesn’t resemble of her “parents”. Commonbrook leads the way across a wide rope bridge leading to the castle, and eventually through crumbling halls reinforced by wooden frames and other researchers.

Partially buried under rubble, Commonbrook guides them to a long hall, although she herself remains behind to reconvene with her fellow researchers. Moving stealthily through the long halls, it’s not difficult to see where the Elementals wait for them as the Fire Elementals glow brightly in the dark ruins. As they sneak closer they first encounter a cluster of Will-o-Wisps... Katniss attempts to clear them out in a single round, but they’re unable to quite deal enough damage on their own. The remaining party members join in, careful not to use any spells or abilities that produce loud sounds or bright lights, preventing the Elementals from joining in. Even holding themselves back in that way, the Will-O-wisps are a small challenge for the party to face.

With the Wisps cleared out Katniss takes some time to apply one of their poultices to recover the harm from the wisps, more to make certain that they’re in top shape to face off against the more powerful Fire Elementals. Unfortunately, as everyone tries to remain quiet and stealthy, G’houl fails his stealth check dramatically by getting some dust in his nose and sneezing loudly. When one of the elementals investigates, Katniss uses their knowledge of the Primordial language to explain that they mean the Elementals no harm... unfortunately, the simple-minded creature is difficult to negotiate with, and instead it attacks. Now that she’s not trying to hide her magical skills from the Tiamat Cultists, Dahlia is free to go all out... tapping into her Levistus heritage to attack them with pure cold energy. Seeing the damage dealt by Dahlia’s cold spells, G’houl grants Dragon’s Breath of cold to Loki who, unfortunately, backs up into a seemingly safe distance only to have more Elementals seep in through thin cracks in the wall and surround her. The battle is rough, with the Elementals repeatedly setting members of the party on fire with a touch. Still, by the end they’re able to defeat the aggressive elementals and examine the Royal Forge safely.

To their surprise, the forge appears to be lit... but on closer inspection they see that a single glowing jewel is in the center, outputting massive heat equivalent to a fully stoked forge, making the room itself hot and uncomfortable. Using Detect Magic, G’houl quickly finds the Forgemaster’s Hammer as well as a spear that emanates Abjuration Magic. Using the Identify spell, G’houl is able to determine that the spear is a “Prototype Dragonspear”... a spear designed for battling dragons which allows the wielder to cast Absorb Elements... with the unfortunate downside that it risks triggering a Wild Magic Surge. Out of curiosity, he also identifies the Hammer, confirming that it is indeed a Forgemaster’s Hammer. Only useable by a Forge Cleric, it reduces the time and cost of crafting and enchanting armor and weapons by half. The glowing jewel, however, remains a mystery... it’s far too hot to touch in order to cast identify on it. However, as G’houl thinks hard on his knowledge of Arcana, he theorizes that the jewel is a small fragment of the Plane of Fire, and they’re not certain if it was creating the Fire Elementals or if they were simply drawn to it. Either way, it’s too hot to carry... even with tongs, the metal begins to heat dangerously. G’houl comes to the rescue yet again... to insulate the jewel enough to make it safe to carry, he places it inside a bucket filled with sand. Loki, however, is less than satisfied with their haul and snags a few other weapons with the intent to reforge them. Dahlia uses her Broom of Flying to give the area a quick flyover, looking for anything else of value... she spots a partially burned crate containing forging materials... platinum coins, Steel ingots stamped with the Dragonspear crest, and valuable diamonds. Loki takes the coins and diamonds, but Dahlia pockets one of the steel ingots to keep as a souvenir.

Returning to the surface, they reconvene with Commonbrook. She’s ecstatic to learn that the area has been cleared of Elementals, as well as learning that there is a cache of untouched Dragonspear ingots. She’s most interested in the glowing jewel... just removing it from the sand reveals that it has already turned much of the sand to glass, with the sand in direct contact with the jewel heated enough to drip off as a liquid. She agrees with G’houl’s theory that it’s likely a piece of the Fire Plane, and sets about making plans to return it to Baldur’s Gate so it can be researched further. With the researchers safe to explore further, the party is free to return to town and continue their journey tailing the Cultists of Tiamat.

We're playing our homebrew campaign of Sacrament in 15 minutes 4:30 PM PST! Come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty, and i know it's been a very, very long time since our last Sacrament game, so here's a reminder of what happened last time:

As the party is split up in a Reaver Inn, Crush is relaxing in a bath and takes time to carve a marionette, hoping to gift it to Elonwee whenever he can meet up with her in Tiavet. Meanwhile, Azure is dealing with her overbearing mother, Resa. Azure has trouble keeping her mom from worrying, and the two of them eventually start to talk about the plague in Estea known as The Brittles. As a healer, Resa has been carefully monitoring it… she mentions that it causes the skin to dry and flake like overbaked clay. The victim becomes easily agitated and experiences exhaustion. Eventually the fever overtakes them and gives wild mood swings… and also makes them more violent and irrational. After enough time they actually attack others, avoiding other infected. Resa also reveals that she wants Azure to leave the party and return with her to help treat this illness. Azure is unable to convince her Mother that she needs to stay with the Grimveils… however, when she speaks to Gilly Crush returns, joining Gilly and Kanec at a table as Azure and Resa speak to them. Resa knows Gilly and the two catch up… but when it comes to Henri she’s able to give insight on his treatment. She knows that a 7 level spell is needed to treat his illness, Abyssal Rot… but without magic, it requires rare ingredients found in the Abyss itself. Still, she and Gilly go into Kanec’s genie bag to check on Henri.

Once they’re alone, Azure lets everyone know that her Mother wants her to return home. Everyone, unsurprisingly, is against this. Crush encourages them to get the rest of the party involved… Ricky is in his own room, although the rest of the party doesn’t know that he’s been communing with the Nightmother, while Ash and Fidget are still enjoying their honeymoon… and collectively everyone decides that it’s best not to interrupt them. Azure also mentions that someone should check in on Corrio, and Crush volunteers to check on him while Azure goes to speak to Ricky, accompanied by Kanec and Liz, who has been performing for the tavern. Ricky’s room is protected by the Private Sanctum spell, and when he hears about Azure’s plight he has very straightforward advice: He tells Azure to overtly tell her mother “No”, and then explain why being with the group is important to her. Liz is happy to see that her son would dispense such sage advice. Ricky admits to his friends and family that he learned of Peeter’s death… and convinces them that he learned it through a Sending spell, to avoid talking about the Night Mother in front of Kanec.

However, as Crush is checking on Corrio he finds him missing. In a panic, he checks the rest of the Genie Bag as Ricky comes in as well. As they search in a hurried panic they realize Corrio could have escaped while everyone was convening over breakfast, as they never fully checked in on him since. They gather the party, interrupting Ash and Fidget, to go back to town and look for Corrio. Ash casts Polymorph on Azure, transforming her into a Dorse while Ricky uses his Familiar Roads ability to track Corrio using the control rod for the anti-magic manacles he’s wearing. They find that Corrio has robbed a carriage, stealing the horse and creating a path of chaos behind him. He even knows to set up a trap specifically for the party… and Fidget realizes the trap was too complex for an individual to set up, and Corrio most likely has someone helping him… most likely bandits impressed by his violent acts, or worse… civilians he’s forcing to help him. They eventually find that Corrio’s new allies have helped to remove his manacles. No longer relying on Familiar Roads, Ricky uses Enhance Ability to help Azure’s pereception to track by scent. Continuing further the trail gets hazy when Ricky looks up to see a dragon flying above. In a panic, everyone attempts to hide… but Ricky and Azure are unable to hide themselves and the massive beast lands… revealing black scales and yellowish-green eyes. The Ancient Black Dragon is curious about Azure, as she’s polymorphed into the dragon-like Dorse at the moment. Ricky and Azure both submit as best they can, trying their best to avoid upsetting the giant monster. The dragon clearly enjoys toying with them, although it dispels the Polymorph on Azure. Surprised by the sight of a Tabaxi, the Black Dragon becomes even more interested, since Dragons aren’t native to Tiavet… grabbing Ricky, Azure, and Fidget in its massive claws. Ricky uses Message to contact Crush and inform him of what’ s happening. Kanec explains that Dragons in Tiavet aren’t the same as dragons in their home country… They have their own organized society, occasionally abducting creatures of other races not simply to eat (although they do that as well), but also to take as concubines, since Dragons are innately able to shape shift into other forms. As Ricky and Azure calm themselves, they decide to try and speak to the dragon. Azure tries to placate the dragon, flattering him and asking his name… the dragon’s true name is a guttural noise that’s difficult to pronounce for non-dragons, but he consents to being called Facein. However, as the dragon is abducting them, it passes through another Dragon’s territory, which attacks. Facein engages in combat with a strange species of white dragon that breathes lightning. Facein as well has breath of a green fire, rather than the acid of Black Dragons known in the Grimveil Members’ homelands. At first the Grimveils sit back and watch, expecting Facein to win the battle handily… but when they realize how much danger they’re in if Facein loses the fight, or if he chooses to drop them to focus on the battle, Ricky casts Irresistible Dance on the white dragon… which slows it enough for Facein to get a powerful hit, but with their Legendary Resistance the White Dragon takes flight immediately. Ash has a sudden idea… removing anything of value from her Bag of Holding, leaving only her skeletons and some miscellaneous junk she forgot about… then asks for the other party members to add anything else, with others tossing in spare weapons and other heavy objects. She passes the bag up to Ricky, who inverts the bag, pouring its contents onto the White dragon… and Ash’s skeletons manage to catch onto its back and continue attacking. Azure summons her arms, taking attacks of opportunity to fight back. Ricky decides to Polymorph into a Roc… flying to assist, fighting the White Dragon and giving Facein advantage in attacking the White Dragon. With the White Dragon injured, it chooses to retreat, and Facein continues to carry the party forward.

Once safe, Ricky tries to get on Facein’s good side… offering Facein some of the blue faerie beer he had brewed… which, unfortunately, doesn’t seem to agree with Facein’s stomach. Luckily, when he lands in the desert, Ricky uses his magic to conjure a breakfast… and although he produces enough beef to feed 8 people, for Facein it’s little more than a snack. Luckily, though, one of the effects of his magical breakfast is curing conditions and soothing sore stomachs, and Facein is back to normal… although still injured from his battle. With Facein placated he explains he intends to bring the Grimveil’s to his home, so that he can show his hatchlings these strange creatures from another land. With some work… Ash, Ricky, and Crush all push forward different arguments, convincing Facein that he should help them recover Corrio… but to convince him, they also have to promise him the opportunity to meet Liz and see her fantastical performance. With mixed emotions, most of the Grimveils return to the Genie Bag… although Azure’s Mother threatens the dragon to not harm her daughter, although Facein clearly doesn’t take her seriously. Ricky remains outside, his Bardic College abilities allowing him to accurately guide Facein to anywhere he likes… as long as the stars still shine above. Kanec and Azure, meanwhile, can’t resist the experience of riding on the back of a dragon, joining Ricky on Facein’s back. Ricky decides to chat with the Dragon on the ride… asking about his family, and learning about Dragon culture. Facein answers questions bluntly, but still has a formality to his voice. He also reveals that the half-dragon children of dragons and other races are known as dragoons… which can be identified by a jewel visible on their neck, which the dragons of Tiavet all have.

Inside the Genie Bag, Crush attempts to meditate again. He’s struggling… he knew that Corrio had spent a lifetime struggling with berserker instincts he inherited from his Mother, and the two of them had bonded over their shared fear of losing control. When he gets a message from Ricky describing some Lamia they flew over, as well as a sandstorm. Crush stops his meditation to convey those messages to Ash and Fidget, who are spending time with Kane. Kane seems to really enjoy saying “Da-Da”… pointing at everything in the room and saying “Da-Da”. Crush attempts to teach him Crush, but to no avail… until Ash tries, and Kane repeats her name… or as close as he can manage, which is basically just “Ass”.

Outside, Ricky does his best, in spite of the wind, to sketch a drawing of the sandstorm. To pass the time, he tells the story he had been told about where Dragonmarks come from. Ricky was told that they were created in a rare moment when the dragon gods, Bahamut and Tiamat, once attempted to resolved the eons-long conflict… combining powers to bestow a blessing on the worthiest race (Ricky had learned the story from his, admittedly, racist, Halfling-supremacist grandfather), but the treaty didn’t last, and the dragon gods returned to war, but those marked are left with a magical mark of both good and evil influence. Facein recognizes the Dragonmark, although he refers to it as a Blessing… according to Facein, such marks sometimes appear on Dragoons and enter into their bloodlines… a blessing dragons give to their descendants, and a means to guarantee their legacy for all time. The marks themselves are the names of the dragons… Facein is able to read Ricky’s mark, knowing that it says “Galanda”… the name of the Halfling House that Liz and Ricky descend from.

As the sun rises they return to the area where they last saw Corrio’s trail. Facein dislikes the amount of attention he’s been getting from flying, so he shapeshifts into a humanoid form. He appears to be a horned man with grey skin, horns, and long black hair. Traveling along, Crush is able to track Corrio’s group as they continue along the road. They arrive at a toll bridge, and are shocked to find that a Wanted Poster with a crudely drawn picture of Corrio is already displayed. The toll operator informs them that a group of Marauders robbed them last night and continued down the road to a nearby village, which has been ransacked. Hurrying to the village, they ask the villagers about what happened. They learn that the Marauders are a group of barbarians who live in the desert… and this particular group that Corrio has managed to take charge of calls themselves The Scorpions, and they can be distinguished by the scorpion tattoos on the backs of their hands. They direct the Grimveils Northward into the desert, and as they exit town Ricky uses Polymorph to transform into a Dorse… using the increased senses to track Corrio, while Facein is offended at the idea of riding on the back of one of his dragonkin… especially when Ricky starts dancing, so he opts to explore Kanec’s Genie bag… which gets a reaction of shock from Gilly, who was not warned that a strange man would be entering the Genie Bag.

Our schedule is shifting a bit this week, partly because of my birthday tomorrow, but also because our DM has some weird stuff going on at work. We normally play Hoard on Fridays, but instead we're going to start the week with our homebrew campaign of Sacrament. One of the reasons we're doing this is because our last session in Sacrament ended in a hell of a cliffhanger. So join us tonight at 4:30 PM PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty, and if you missed last week's session and want to learn what that cliffhanger was, read on:

When Facein, the Black Tiavet Dragon, enters the Genie Bag, Crush follows inside to explain Facein’s presence to Ricky’s Aunt Gilly and Azure’s mother, Resa. Neither of them are happy to see the dragon, viewing him as more of a threat than anything else, but Crush is able to convince them that he’s better as an ally than an enemy. Facein seems bored with the bag, until Crush shows him the bath. Azure, meanwhile, speaks to her Mother, who demands that Azure get some rest where she can keep an eye on her.

With the situation in the bag mostly calmed down, Crush returns to the training room where Corrio had been locked away. He finds Corrio’s symbol of Eldath left abandoned on the ground. Trying to resist his instinctive rage, he forces himself to sit and meditate. With a critical success, he’s flooded with memories of his sister, Crash… or as those closest know her, Noka. He remembers a time when he lost a fight, and was planning to find and attack the person he lost to. Crash forces him to stop and think about what he’s doing… not just about his pride, but what it will mean for their reputation, and how he’ll feel after the fact. She then forces him to join her in meditation… and he remembers how she had promised him that, no matter what happens, she will always be there for him. And for just a moment he feels her presence with him, her strong hands holding him by the shoulder and assuring him. As memories of his youth fill his head, he drifts to sleep, resting after staying up all night chasing Corrio.

Outside of the Genie Bag, Ricky continues to try and track Corrio into the desert when Ash declares that they should return to the Inn instead. Knowing what it’s like to have a drastic change in personality, she believes it would be best to try and reason with Corrio, rather than run headfirst into a raider camp while the party is exhausted. She sends a message to Corrio, promising not to lock him in a room if he’ll meet with them back at the inn. However, before Corrio can respond, she hears a familiar laughter… the mocking sound of Chao, goddess of Chaos, who magically summons a group of monsters that attacks the group. Fortunately, Ricky, Ash, and Kanec are more than capable of fighting off the beasts. When the fight completes Ash hears Corrio’s response… it seems she was successful in convincing him to at least come speak to him. With their plan set in motion, Ash uses Polymorph to transform Kanec into a hawk (which Kanec assures her are regularly used as messengers in Tiavet), so that he can fly back to the Inn so they can prepare for Corrio’s arrival.

Inside the bag, Ricky informs his family about their plan with Corrio, and Resa is happy for the chance to get her medicine bag. Ricky goes to take a bath… unfazed when he’s warned that the dragon Facein is still bathing… and Kanec’s bath is actually large enough for the full-sized dragon to fit and relax. Ricky joins him in the bath, Facein as well unfazed at the sight of Ricky casually stripping in front of him. Ricky is forced to leave as Facein uses his body heat to increase the heat of the bath… using the heat to clean the emeralds he carries stored within his scales. Ricky is able to convince him to let Ricky keep an emerald… although Facein is careful only to give him the smallest sliver of an emerald. Ricky then finds Crush, seeing him resting and clutching Corrio’s symbol of Eldath… opting to join his brother, sleeping with his Blanket of Rest to recover faster.

Ash, meanwhile, speaks to Gilly about her plans. Gilly expresses concern about both Facein and Ash herself… questioning how she can be a Grimveil if she’s also a servant to Larlock. Ash assures her that she’s intent on doing what’s best for the Grimveils… and part of that, she believes that the secrecy of the Grimveils is proving to be a weakness, not an asset. She wants to speak to the Warlord of Tiavet… share their knowledge of the Depraved Gloom, and perhaps learn more about the Grimveil Shield, which has Tiavet writing on it. Gilly explains more about the shield… how the Shield once had greater power, and could be used to capture the deadly creatures the Grimveil hunted… many of which were once considered Gods themselves. She also admits that legends speak of a shark toothed giant who rode a Griffin… one of the founding Grimveils, who she had long thought was simply a Goliath with unusual teeth, and now hopes to learn more from the Reavers themselves. She also listens to stories about her parents, who were dedicated to the cause of the Grimveils, and who even helped to fund the Starlight Children’s Home.

Taking some time to read a story to Kane, Ash rests as well, falling into a deep trance and not noticing as water starts to overflow from the bathroom and flood the rest of the bag. When morning comes, Crush goes to speak to Facein, who had activated the magical Water Stone to get a steady flow of water for himself… but unfortunately, his massive dragon form also covered the drain, the tub overflowing and slowly leaking into the other rooms of the bag. Crush deactivates the stone, and Facein agrees to help dry things out… which he accomplishes by morphing into his humanoid form and creating intense heat to evaporate the water as Crush helps to push water back into the drain. Ricky, meanwhile, takes some time to speak to Resa… trying to bond with her while asking her to teach him some basics of first aid… and his attempts to speak up Azure are hampered by her unwillingness to converse and instead focus on Ricky’s lesson. Not one to give up, once the water is cleaned Ricky asks Azure to help him prepare a meal… trying to show off to Resa all the new things that Azure has learned, since he’s aware of Resa’s plan to take Azure back home with her.

Meanwhile, Ash and Fidget leave to get some fresh air, with Crush joining them to relieve Kanec, who has been awake this whole time. Ash talks about the enemies that appeared earlier that Chao sent… as Crush is asking her how that happened, Ash has to admit she doesn’t know… just as she accidentally triggers another appearance of monsters, which appear to step out of rips in space to attack the party. They’re an eclectic mix… two human bandits, a goblin, a zombie, and an Oni. The chaotic mix of creatures attack as a unit. As they battle, Fidget kills one of the human bandits, and Ash responds by trying to absorb his soul… only to find that the human’s entire form is absorbed into her body, confirming that they’re not physical creatures. However, Ash casts Polymorph on the Oni, transforming it into a giant sea viper, then Crush takes the amulet of Snakes to Gold and uses it as a weapon to attack the giant viper… and when it transforms into gold, it remains physically present.

With the enemies defeated, the party realizes they can’t exactly transport the giant sea viper… it’s too large to even fit into the Genie Bag. Ash thinks to contact a Merc, hoping to sell the statue outright. The Merc they’ve met is unable to arrive himself, but he passes on the information to his relative. Ash and Ricky use polymorph to change Ricky and Azure into Rocs, using their gargantuan size and strength to lift the statue and help fit the long, thin statue into Kanec’s Genie Bag. With their payment ready for the Merc, they return to the Reaver Tavern to find Liz performing. Speaking to her manager, Maurice, he let’s them know that Liz has already had performances booked for the next month, and even got an offer for a position at a prestigious brothel (a position that gets much more respect in Tiavet than it does in the Grimveils’ home countries).

While Maurice discusses an arrangement with Facein, Ricky and Crush get some ales and discuss whether or not Corrio will arrive. Kanec recognizes a friend of his, Azis. The two of them bond as he introduces his childhood friend to his new friends, and the discussion changes to the War on Estea. He also meets Fidget, and when he learns that Fidget is a Made Reaver, he understands why the party is so intent on meeting the Warlord. However, Fidget and Ash decide to finish their honeymoon… and Ash makes certain she’s not to be interrupted, even for Corrio or the Merc.

Corrio enters, with half of his head shaved and no longer wearing the robes that obscure his armor, along with the Marauders he’s joined… in particular, a Dark Elf with brilliant blue hair who is instantly recognized by Azis. He knows him to be Neo, a well-known criminal with unusual magical powers, but before he can warn the party further Ricky rushes to speak to Corrio… although he hesitates at the last moment. With Crush’s encouragement they step forward to speak to their former ally. Crush is the first to speak, apologizing for the way they treated Corrio after the spell that altered his personality. Ricky speaks up as well, reminding Corrio about his dedication to the Grimveils. This seems to get through to Corrio… but he’s still angry at Ricky for ditching him at the party in the Feywild, still not realizing it was a miscommunication due to the two of them not being able to hear each other clearly in the crowd. Rather than make excuses, Ricky owns up to it… he himself hadn’t tried to clarify things at the time, and when he thought Corrio was upset with him he willingly left him alone. Crush let’s Corrio know that they’re in communication with a Merc who may be able to reverse the curse that Corrio has been afflicted with, but Corrio implies he’s happier the way he is… free of the guilt and responsibility of his morals, even at the cost of his connection to the Goddess Eldath. They’re unable to get him to agree immediately to rejoining the Grimveils, but he concedes to spend the night at the inn and consider their proposal.

Reconvening with Azis, he fearfully warns them about Neo. From what Azis knows, Neo is a former shaman from the Dark Elf tribes, betraying his people to become a criminal and bandit. He seems to have strange mind powers… although Azis doesn’t know exactly how they work. But Neo seems capable of causing guards to simply ignore him, and most bizarrely, Neo is known to have occupied an aristocrat’s home for weeks with no apparent resistance or consequences. The party is immediately concerned that he’s somehow manipulating Corrio, and Ricky, frustrated, feels the need to step outside and get some fresh air.

Following Ricky, the party sees him struggling not just with his feelings for Corrio, but also with the fact that his connection to the Night Mother is causing his eyes to glow with starlight against his will… something any Reavers who see him would instantly identify is monstrous. Even Kanec struggles with his instinctive urge to fight Ricky, but as they speak the group is interrupted by Neo. He tells them that he’s interested in learning more about the party… and intends to probe their minds directly. While the party is incredulous, their desire to avoid causing a scene and potentially upsetting Corrio prevents them from attacking Neo outright. He casts a spell of some kind that surrounds the party with brightly glowing blue flame… forcing them to pass out, only to wake in a mysterious black void, spectral forms glowing as if under a black light… with unusual features visible on each of the Grimveil members present…

Ricky has the image of a waning moon glowing on his forehead… his scar from the day Crash died glowing brightly, and the marks of glowing tears lining his cheeks. Azure’s normally black stripes glow a brilliant white, and seem to float spectrally above her body. Crush appears splattered with blood, and where it rests on his head it changes the red of his “Mask” to match the purple color of his sister’s. Like Ricky, he also has glowing lines of tears from his eyes. Finally, the last Grimveil caught in Neo’s trap is Kanec, who has red lines pouring from his mouth like blood, and the ghostly image of female handprints left on his face. Finally, Neo reveals himself, the image of an eye glowing on his forehead, and line of blood running along the scar he has over one eye. He comments on everyone’s markings, before letting them know that he plans to test each and every one of them.

Our schedule this week has been a bit different, so we're going to be playing Hoard of the Dragon Queen tonight! Come join the party as they make their way into Daggerford, where mystery and intrigue await (with mostly homebrew stuff, because the actual adventure doesn't have anything for towns like this). Come join us in about a half hour (4:30 PM PST) at our home at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. And, as always, here's what happened last week:

Returning from Dragonspear Castle, the party notices one of the Tiamat cultists taking particular interest in their return. Dahlia confronts them, meeting a young woman who identifies herself as Kiley. She’s curious about the Dragon Skeleton that’s draped over the castle, but resistant when Dahlia tries to get closer to her. Katniss tries to connect with her by speaking draconic, but unfortunately this only raises her suspicion and she quickly leaves before they can attempt to learn more about her. Slightly disappointed, it’s still a night for celebration as they make their way back to the Dancing Owlbear Tavern for drinks and food.

Not surprisingly, the tavern is jumping as Convoy members enjoy a night in a real tavern instead of camping in the wilderness. Still, through the crowd the owner, Ahan, recognizes Katniss’s new spear, admiring its quality and mentioning that similar spears are found occasionally, and always sell quickly at a high price. She’s also familiar enough with Dragonspear to recognize the specially stamped ingot of steel that Dahlia is keeping as a souvenir, commenting that they’re exceedingly rare, since Dwarves don’t like to leave work unfinished. When the party asks about food she suggests the taven’s famous Ten Eyed Pig which, much to Loki’s disappointment, is simply a colorful name for a potato stuffed with pork. They also order some Perpetual Stew... a common feature in many taverns of a large stew pot that is kept heated perpetually, with new ingredients added over time so that it gains potentially years of flavor. They also order a few rounds of rich Dwarven Ale to wash it all down.

As the party mostly gets into their drinks, G’houl has a moment of nostalgia as he tastes the familiar earthy flavors of the stew, which is mostly made with root vegetables. Dahlia notices this and asks about his family... as the party knows, G’houl was adopted... his mother a Dwarf and father a human. His parents studied orcish in order to help their son connect with his heritage, and even gave him an orcish name, which translates to “Quiet”, appropriately enough. When G’houl went to the School of Knowledge in Neverwinter to study, his parents moved to the nearby trade town of Triboar... near enough to be close to their son should he need them, but not close enough to be able to visit regularly. As Dahlia has already told the party about her family, and they have actually met Katniss’s, the question of Loki’s parentage comes up. Dismissively, Loki admits to being an orphan with no knowledge of who her parents might be. She seems comfortable with this, proudly declaring that she was raised by the streets, and admitting that being a Changeling helps to both get away with petty crimes, and with the brief period of time when she worked as a prostitute before finding her true calling as a Cleric. Dahlia wonders out loud if it’s possible that everyone in the party is half-human, although G’houl notes that half-Changeling children are almost always born as simply the race of the non-changeling parent, which partially explains the rarity of the race. This is perhaps the last line of intelligent conversation, as the party is getting exceedingly drunk from their Dwarven Ale... all except for G’houl, who is familiar with the strength of Dwarven Ale and has been nursing his first cup the whole night. Katniss and Loki eagerly return to bed together for a night of passion and, with Dusk’s help, G’houl tricks Dahlia into returning to her room before she embarrasses herself.

In the morning, the smell of pork cooking is enough to wake G’houl, while Katniss and Loki both manage to burn off enough alcohol the previous night to avoid a hangover... however, Dahlia wasn’t so lucky, waking with a throbbing headache and refusing to get out of bed. As the other party members go downstairs they meet Jundo, who, aside from enjoying a massive breakfast of his own, also lets the party know that he’s purchased a new horse for himself and returns their horse, Cake, to the party. G’houl is familiar enough with Dwarven ale to know that the best treatment for a hangover is an equal amount of Dwarven coffee, and he orders breakfast and coffee to take up to Dahlia. Dahlia is happy to have breakfast in bed, but even happier for the relief the strong black coffee brings. However, breakfast is extremely awkward for G’houl, as Dahlia doesn’t bother to put on clothes, relying on the blanket to keep herself covered. Annoyed, Dahlia has G’houl turn around while she gets dressed... although to save time she simply puts on her Hat of Disguise and makes it appear as though she’s wearing a nightgown.

With breakfast had and real clothing eventually put on, the party stops by the trading post to grab more rations and also to sell off some of the weapons Loki has scavenged, including the elaborate sword wielded by the Helmed Horror they faced the other day. As they start their journey Dahlia is approached by Lucky and his sister Lucia, who wants to have a ride on Dahlia’s Broom of Flying. After preparing some safety measures Dahlia agrees... although she uses the broom-ride as an excuse to spy on the cultists... using her ability to read lips to learn that Kiley is even more suspicious of them now, in particular because of having Katniss speak Draconic to her unprompted, although her “father” seems to think that Kiley must have screwed up and been heard speaking draconic at some point. More immediately, however, they see storm clouds rolling in, cutting the flight short as Lucia is returned to her family so she can stay safely inside their wagon during the storm.

What follows is three days of wet, miserable weather. Trudging through mud and rain, with frequent breaks needed to keep the pack animals from getting sick or exhausted... as guards for the caravan, the party is forced to remain on their feet throughout, and by the morning of the 4 day they all find themselves exhausted. Getting up groggily as the clouds are finally starting to part, they now find the camp surrounded by quickly growing mushrooms. Before they can stop him, one of the convoy members pokes one of the grown mushrooms before getting blasted win the face with black spores while an inhuman scream erupts from the bursting mushroom. Digging through his memories, G’houl recognizes them as a relative to the dangerous Shriekers... fortunately, they’re not poisonous, but their spores do have hallucinogenic properties that can cause fear and paranoia to anyone who inhales the spores. Not wanting to risk more infections, the party uses a combination of magic and ranged weaponry to clear a path out of the still-growing mushrooms, which, within an hour, are nearly a foot tall. The convoy is led out through a narrow pathway, all the wagons barely able to escape their range as the mushrooms grow even larger before bursting into a massive cloud of hallucinogenic black spores. Ultimately, thanks to G’houl’s knowledge and the quick actions of the party, only a single Convoy member is affected by the spores, and Loki isable to use Lesser Restoration to clear him of his ailment... although the poor man seems unwilling to even eat mushrooms after his experience.

Still tired from their long travel in the storm, Katniss sees a strange sight... amongst a herd of deer they see a shining, golden stag... standing tall and proud, with antlers that shine like platinum paired with golden fur. They recognize that it patrols around the other deer as a guardian. They point it out to Dahlia as well before sneaking close to observe the creature further... remembering the story their brother had said of encountering a glorious stag that he knew would be an amazing trophy... but also instinctively knowing not to hunt it. The other hunters in the convoy start to notice the stag, and Dahlia attempts to convince them to leave the glorious creature be... but in her tired state, she can’t quite connect to all of them. Meanwhile, Katniss casts Speak With Animals before revealing themselves to the Stag... asking if its the guardian of this herd. To their shock, rather than respond through the spell, the Stag speaks primordial... although not directly. Rather than speak itself, words seem to blow in on the wind, surrounding Katniss in the natural sounds of primordial that those untrained in the language may interpret as simply the sounds of nature. It identifies itself as a guardian, and also seems to know that Katniss is a guardian as well. But before they can speak further. An oversized arrow launches through the air, narrowly missing the Golden Stag and striking a nearby doe dead. The Stag and its deer retreat into the woods as Dahlia realizes that the arrow was fired by the female Goliath who leads the Lionshield weapons dealers. Despite Dahlia’s protests, the majority of hunters eagerly rush into the woods to hunt the Stag.

The party reconvenes, and follow Katniss’s lead as they trail the fleeing deer. Katniss is able to appreciate the intelligence of the Stag as it leads its charges in a winding path that leaves little trail. Among the few items left behind, Katniss finds a single strand of golden fur... which is enough to cast Locate Creature, allowing Katniss to follow the Stag directly. Katniss and Dahlia rush ahead to follow the Golden Stag, while Loki and G’houl stay behind, using magic to obscure the path of the deer so the other hunters can’t follow. Meanwhile, Katniss and Dahlia approach the ruins of a long-abandoned temple overgrown with vegetation. The deer themselves appear and guide them forward until they approach a hill with the stump of what was once a massive tree on top. There the Golden Stag is waiting for them, once again communicating supernaturally in the Primordial language. It identifies itself as the guardian of these woods, and also recognizes Katniss and Dahlia as guardians in their own right. It assures them that they’re on the right path, telling them to continue down the River of Gold until they reach the Castle in the Sky. It also warns that the path will be dangerous, and that not all will survive. Before they can ask for more information the Golden Stag vanishes, almost as though it was simply an optical illusion this whole time. However, investigating where it stood, Katniss finds a wand in the shape of a find-pointed stag horn. Bringing it back to the group, G’houl is able to identify it as a Wand of the Golden Stag, a wand that casts random spells that tap into nature to disorient or confuse enemies.

Returning to the convoy, they’ve found that those who didn’t chase after the Golden Stag are largely annoyed with those that did, and with night approaching they opt to simply set up camp where they’re stopped. Dahlia admonishes the hunters as they return, informing them that what htey were trying to hunt was an importang guardian spirit and how they could have potentially cursed the entire convoy. Most take her seriously, but the Female Goliath who leads the Lionshield Coster pays her no mind. Katniss, for their part, feels guilty about ruining the hunt for others... even knowing what the Golden Stag is, they still felt guilty about interrupting what seemed to be an honorable hunt. However, with their exhaustion they struggle to get their point across, and with Dahlia arguing they risk starting a fight with the Goliath. The fight is interrupted by a female human who also works for the Lionshield’s, who manages to talk down the Goliath, who they learn is named Claver. The human woman also introduces herself as Jessie Cotton, apologizing for her ally’s behavior and thanking the party for all that they do. Exhausted and frustrated, the party readies for bed... eager to get some sleep now that the storm has passed.

We're not quite back to our regular schedule this week... but we are back to playing Hoard of the Dragon Queen on Fridays. We'll be playing tonight at 5pm PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. Our adventure last week got a bit intense, so read on to see what happened:

As they travel, the party spends some time checking on some of the friends they made on the road. The tragic deep gnome, Radecere, has learned to open up to others thanks to meeting Loki and Dahlia. They find him sitting with Lasfelro, the quirky man who barely speaks... except to occasionally boisterously sing. They’re enjoying a few drinks from Beyd’s ale wagon along with Tyjit Skesh... an irritable but honest Dwarven woman and fellow guard. Loki in particular is happy to see Radecere overcome his depression... and Dahlia notices the bashful way Radecere acts with the outgoing Tyjit, and helps to encourage the two of them to spend more time together.

Inspired by her matchmaking with Radecere and Tyjit, Dahlia decides to check on Werond, the young woman who had, until recently, been infatuated with G’houl. Finding Werond caring for an injured horse, Dahlia convinces her to open up about how she’s feeling following her breakup with G’houl. Already a bit boy-crazy, Werond admits to being attracted to Samardag... a young merchant who appreciates the simple things in life. Although he comes off as a bit airheaded, he picks up on Dahlia’s nudging to get him and Werond together, and although the two only share a friendly conversation, Dahlia is happy to see that she’s at least put the two of them on the path to happiness together.

Loki decides to check on her business partner, Verther, and his new insurance company. She finds him going through paperwork with Aldor, the shady lawyer who has taken an interest in the business. Loki is suspicious of Aldor, but interrogating him leads her to believe that, while he may not be the most giving or generous person, he does seem to have the best interests of the business at heart. With Loki’s help, the burgeoning business is thriving, and they’re already making plans to get an office in Waterdeep to serve other businesses. Verther has even made some profit already, giving Loki some gold,although it’s only a small fraction of her 40 Platinum investment.

G’houl and Katniss focus on more practical measures. Katniss takes the initiative to do some foraging for supplies while G’houl casts Detect Object to see if Bowgentle’s Spellbook is with the cultists they’re traveling with, but finds that it’s out of the range of the spell. They both use sending to check in with contacts... Katniss contacts Leosin, confirming that the surge of Undead that have swarmed the Fields of the Dead have been largely reduced to their original numbers, although a few intelligent wights have been found in other locations. G’houl checks in with Professor Raphael, and is warned that other Harper Operatives have gone missing near Daggerford recently, and instructs them to look for a halfling woman named Maly Bolge in Daggerford.

After a few days’ travel, Katniss is the first to notice a human head in the middle of the road. Sensing a trap, they get the caravan to stop, and goes with Dahlia on her Broom of Flying, floating over the head to look for any saboteurs or traps, but see none. Instead they notice that the head appears to belong to a human man buried in the ground with the word “Oathbreaker” written in paint above his head. Still careful to keep the other convoy travelers away, Loki and G’houl are beckoned to help dig up the unconscious man. When Loki heals him he awakens... identifying himself as Carlon, he claims that his fiancee belonged to a family of bandits, and when he refused to join them in robbing a merchant they knocked him unconscious and buried him in the ground. However, G’houl is able to pick up on the practiced, insincere delivery, discerning that Carlon is lying. G’houl also recalls that the term “Oathbreaker” is not used lightly... among merchants, it’s a mark reserved for those who assist robbers and thieves, and among Paladins or clerics it denotes those who betray their Gods. Dahlia intimidates Carlon to reveal more... against his better judgment, he reveals a Harper tattoo, hoping the Harpers’ positive reputation will be enough to gain their trust. Not wanting to show her hand where other travelers might see, Dahlia drags the weakened Carlon out of the hole using her unseen tail (since she’s still hidden by her Hat of Disguise), although Carlon clearly believes he’s just signed his own death warrant.

Dahlia makes certain that Jundo will keep the other travelers from following them as Dahlia leads the barely-awake Carlon into a hidden location away from the road. Still not certain if he can be trusted, they demand Carlon tell them if he’s betrayed the Harpers, and again G’houl is able to read him, believing Carlon when he declares he would never. At this point Dahlia finally shows him her Harper ring... the symbol of the harpers hidden on the inside of a simple steel ring. Carlon then tells them the truth... he had been on the same job they had... tracking Tiamat cultists. In fact, he had left only a brief period of time before the party had... tailing what he believes to be a black Dragonborn, but which the party recognizes as Rezmir, the black half-dragon who leads a large portion of the cult. Carlon had taken a risk by allying with a smaller convoy, which could more easily discern a spy, unlike the large convoy the party is traveling with, which offers more opportunities to get lost in the crowd. When he tried to investigate further he was caught by the cultists, but were unable to simply murder him without revealing their true intentions to the merchants they traveled with... instead opting to leave his fate “to the gods”. Once he’s gained their trust, he asks the party for their names... recognizing him as the group that had liberated Wave Echo Cave, admiring them for their dedication to make sure the Forge of Spells isn’t used to make weapons.

Carlon is donated clothes by the other travelers, and Dahlia arranges for Carlon to ride in one of the wagons led by Tobun... a teamster in charge of multiple shipments of goods. The Party is careful not to make themselves appear as allies to Carlon, treating him as bandit victim that they’re simply escorting to Daggerford. By the time they arrive, Carlon is recovered and able to lead them to the Harper’s hidden base in the town tannery. Katniss has a moment of nostalgia at the deeply unpleasant smell of the tannery, as their mother worked as a tanner before her death. Carlon gives the password to the guard, who opens a secret room that leads into a deep basement. Inside, they’re surprised to find a female human, rather than the halfling they had been told to look for. She identifies herself as Bronwyn Daggerford, a female wizard who is gathering supplies for her own adventure in the opposite direction. Maly, the woman they had expected to meet, left a note for Carlon... however, as Carlon reads it, he realizes it’s weeks’ old, and Maly hasn’t been seen since. Bronwyn is on a tight deadline, and leaves quickly to attend to a potential coup in Baldur’s Gate, but makes sure to give the party supplies before Carlon explains the need to find Maly, and Dahlia picks up that their relationship is more deep than simply coworkers.

Maly’s note states that her and a small group of others were investigating Morgian Manor... a long-abandoned mansion outside of the walls of Daggerford. As night falls, they find the windows boarded up from the inside... except for one second story window. Flying up with Dahlia’s broom, they find that the second story is mostly collapsed, but, with some difficulty, they’re all able to enter the manor. Sneaking inside, they find that the front door is watched by a single Tiamat Cultist. Putting on the cult robes they still carry (with Dahlia loaning hers to Carlon, since she can rely on her Hat of Disguise), they simply step out of the shadows to speak to the cultist. He’s shocked at their sudden appearance, but Dahlia is able to trick him into thinking they were simply testing him. Things take a turn, however, when Carlon asks him about the “Halfling Woman”, and the guard dismissively says she was killed by the “Spawn” in the basement. Katniss attempts to persuade Carlon to remain calm, but is unable to stop him as he attacks the guard... nearly killing him in a single strike. Before the guard can call for help, G’houl puts him to sleep. Loki convinces Carlon to stand down, and he begrudgingly restrains the guard rather than finish him off. Once he’s tied up and gagged, Dahlia takes advantage of the Message Cantrip to speak with him mentally and interrogate him further. It takes some intimidation, but he explains that Lady Morgia is a powerful vampire loyal to Tiamat, and one of her spawns is left in the basement to protect her home while she travels. He also says that there are “things” down there with her, but he doesn’t seem to know what they are... only that they are deadly. Content with the knowledge given to them, the guard is left trapped in a large crate, and a group of other cultists found resting are locked into a room and the doors barred.

Making their way to the basement, Loki is able to proceed into the darkness when G’houl casts Darkvision on her, but the human Carlon still needs a candle to see. To avoid ruining their stealth, Carlon remains at the top of the stairs, waiting for a signal to join the party below. As they sneak ahead, they spot the Vampire Spawn speaking to a trio of figures... a Dwarven man, a Halfling Woman, and an Elvish man. However, the figures are acting strange... speaking about a desire for blood and meat. Katniss observes them closely, digging through their years of training in hunting Undead to recognize the creatures... not quite undead, but rather demons that possess bodies and manipulate them as Undead creatures. Dangerous, chaotic demons known as Dybbuk. They warn their party about the creatures, including their ability to induce fear. To protect her party from fear of the Dybbuks and any charm powers the Vampire may possess, Dahlia suddenly bursts into the room, playing her pan pipes in a Countercharm... but fortunatley her performance is so good that it stuns the creatures in shock, allowing her party members to surprise the creatures. Battle ensues, with the Dybbuk-possessed figures moving in disturbing, unnatural ways, laughing maniacally as they attack... although Dahlia’s countercharm is enough to protect her party from fear. Things take a turn, however, when Carlon comes downstairs... recognizing Maly among the corpses manipulated by the Dybbuks.

Carlon recognizes all three of the Dybbuk’s corpses, struggling to bring himself to fight back against his friends and allies. Nearly paralyzed with fear, inspiration from Dahlia finally lets him snap out of his fear... instead resolving to release his friends from the hold of these demonic creatures. The Vampire Spawn is the first to fall, as Katniss focuses their attacks on the more-powerful Undead, eventually piercing its heart and reducing it to ash. The Dybbuks take advantage of a stack of bodies carelessly tossed into a corner to continue to attack by possessing the rotting, fetid corpses. When the battle clearly turns against them, the Dybbuk which had possessed Maly floats upward and out of the basement... unwilling to let it escape, Carlon dashes after it, shouting for the others to know he had found it... inadvertently waking the cultists locked into a side room. Dahlia uses her Broom of Flying to catch up, using her Wand of Magic Missile to finally kill the final Dybbuk... although the cultists beating on the door give them a time limit to complete their work.

In the basement, they discover a raised platform... dust markings make it clear that a coffin once sat there. A closet full of fine women’s clothing and silk sheets is in this basement of death as well, along with writing desk. A letter is left for Lady Morgia, inviting her to an unnamed castle, and, indeed, the writerof the letter is careful not to list any names or locations. However, the letter does explain that the Dybbuk were gifted to Lady Morgia, sealed in a box, with the intent to be left as guards for her home so she can travel more comfortably. At this point, however, they hear the cultist’s escaping and making their way downstairs. Dahlia comes up with a quick plan, having her allies hide in the dark basement, then using illusions to guide the cultists into Lady Morgia’s closet... then quickly locking them inside. Wrapping the bodies of Carlon’s allies in silk sheets, they carry them out of the dilapidated manor before G’houl and Loki blast the home with simultaneous fireball spells, setting the dusty old building ablaze and burning the trapped cultists to death.

Carlon leads the party back to the tannery... the building far from the rest of Daggerford to protect the town from the unpleasant smell. Once finally alone, Carlon collapses, weeping openly over the loss of the woman he loved, but who he had never admitted his feelings to. His sorrow reminds Dahlia of how she felt when she was forced to marry the man who murdered her father to protect her family... hiding her contempt until she could finally kill him. Knowing how she felt as she finally wept when the dark work was done, she gives Carlon what she didn’t get at that time... a simple hug. Carlon clings to her tightly, weeping against her shoulder as she holds him and lets him express his emotions.

With the bodies gathered, Katniss helps to build a bonfire. Before lighting it, Dahlia encourages Carlon to take mementoes from his friends... fortunately, two still wear their Harper rings, but Carlon admits that the Dwarven man isn’t a Harper... rather, he’s a member of the Zhentarim, a criminal organization that normally conflicts with the Harpers, but who Carlon admits to occasionally work with as informants. The Dwarven man, Art, wears what appears to be a pendant of the dragon god Bahamut, but which has a hidden device on the back that changes the pendant into the symbol of the Zhentarim: A dragon crashing into fire. Before lighting the funeral pyre, Loki places a gold piece on each body and prays to Tymora. The connection to her Goddess reminding everyone that to know someone you care about so deeply, who changes your life for the better, even if it’s briefly, is the luckiest thing in the world.

We'll be playing our Homebrew campaign of Sacrament tonight at 5pm PST at our home at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. Come join us life, and read on to see what happened last week:

In the void, the party realizes they don’t have any of their weapons or equipment. Neo teases them, warning them that they’re unable to lie in the Void… and attempts to do so risk having their souls attack and thrown into the emptiness surrounding them, which Azure begins to recognize as the Astral Plane… her studies with the Way of the Astral Self have given her glimpses of the Astral Plane, along with her teacher, Starla. Neo leaves the group alone, unable to move as a vortex of energy appears to restrain them. Meanwhile, Ash and Fidget have finished the start of their honeymoon, and when they attempt to step out of their hotel room to see what’s happened with Corrio she instead finds herself captured by Neo as well. Appearing within the void, Ash’s body glows with skeletal markings all over her body… and streaks of glowing blood splatter… pouring from her mouth, in splotches all over her body, and soaking her arms up to the elbow. Fidget is similarly bloody… his black dragon tattoo glowing with vivid green light, the lingering light of tears staining his cheeks, and his ripped ears dripping with spectral, glowing blood.

With the party gathered, Neo playfully analyzes everyone’s looks and tragedies. Crush asks him bluntly whether Neo has hurt Corrio… and when Neo denies it Crush’s insight is high enough to realize Neo himself isn’t able to lie in this situation. Neo starts the trial by summoning imagery from Crush’s past… showing his darkest moment when he killed Crash. He also shows when Crush was on his year-long bender afterward… in a drunken stupor he’s approached by Liz. A memory Crush doesn’t even remember, seeing how he ignored her demands to be told where Ricky is, and when she angrily declared she should kill him for what he did, Crush simply asks her to do it. They also see the day Crush tried to drown himself in the sea, before rescuing the young Tortles from Merrow… only now with the assistance of Neo they see that Crash intervened directly. Her soul still tied to Crush… and they realize that both souls now reside within Crush in harmony. Satisfied that Crush has proven himself trustworthy, the revelations are enough to complete the transformation with Crush’s shell… the remaining shards of corruption and sin crumble away, revealing a shell closer to Crash’s own… now, both physically and within the astral plane, a natural Yin-Yang symbol appears on his back, in exactly the position it used to be painted on Crash’s shell.

Neo moves on to Kanec, who has only recently begun adventuring. However, his greatest trauma was something completely out of his control… his mother’s death on the day he was born. They are shown visions of his father, Savine, and his relationship with Kanec’s Mother. Kanec is stunned… he had never seen his Mother before this. With a heavy heart the party can do nothing but watch as Kanec is born early… cutting her life even shorter than planned. They see that even with a group of the best doctors in Tiavet, there’s nothing to be done for her. Still… Kanec learns that his mother willingly gave her life for him, and even now her spirit protects him. Neo actually gets a bit choked up from the story, apparently having a weak spot for mothers. With Kanec passing the test, he moves on to Azure.

Unsurprisingly, Azure’s vision begins with her mother, Resa, admonishing her father while Duncan watches. She begins to see many visions of her father repeatedly breaking his leg, and each time, Duncan is present. She sees the memory of her father convincing Resa to let him become a Grimveil… and while she reluctantly agrees, Azure is then shown visions of what it was like for her mother. The long nights… weeks… even months uncertain whether the man she loves is alive. Her belly growing in the visions as she’s pregnant with Azure. Until one night when Resa went into a dark, and silent night to help a voice crying for help… leaving her home abandoned as dark figures enter. Resa returns, unaware that a poison has been left for her… and in the vision the light of Azure’s growing form is visible, twisting painfully as the poison enters her blood. In the vision they’re able to see one of the figures that poisoned Resa… including Raven-styled handle of a blade they know to be carried by Death’s Shadow… the same man who killed Ash and her family. The skeletal light on Ash’s body twists and intensifies as she recognizes the blade that killed her. They see Resa weakly knock over a table of medicine… expertly picking medicine as she struggles to even breathe… aggressively swallowing a strange plant that seems to stop her heart for a moment… the light of Azure in her belly nearly fading before snapping her awake, staving off the worst of the poison, but she’s still weak and dying. Azure’s father is given a painful choice… the doctor could save Resa, or his unborn daughter, but isn’t skilled enough to save both. However, Duncan appears at this time, speaking to her in private. She accuses Duncan… if her husband hadn’t left to join the Grimveils, this wouldn’t have happened… a thought that Duncan doesn’t disagree with. Duncan then brings out a vial… a treatment for the Depraved Gloom’s poison… it will let Resa and the child both survive, but will put Resa in a coma until the poison leaves her body. She agrees to take the medicine, under the condition that her husband no longer work with Duncan as a Grimveil. Azure learns that she was born that day via C-Section… both her and her mother barely survived. Azure was born 2 months early… a sickly kitten, barely able to survive out of her mother’s womb.

Azure witnesses her childhood. The way her parents were so protective of her. And the way her mother began to aggressively study poisons and how to treat them. She sees herself… nearly crippled compared to other children her age. Frequently sick and prone to injury. Raised in a Monk temple, she participates in martial arts training, but is too weak to keep up with the other children. In her sorrow at her feelings, Duncan introduces her to another Tabaxi monk with smooth gray fur… Starla, a master of the Way of the Astral Self. She touches Azure, guiding her into the Astral Plane… a place where the strength of their bodies doesn’t matter, instead tapping directly into their Ki. With the help of her astral form, she even manages to rebalance her physical body, growing strong and healthy… and at 16 she is bestowed the title of Azure the Astral. Neo sees Azure’s reaction and asks her if she’s going to stand up to her mother… and when she says she is she is considered to have passed his test.

When Neo approaches Fidget, the Goblin-Reaver objects to having his memories displayed… but Neo states plainly that he doesn’t get a choice, and warns him not to attempt to lie. Fidget hears his Mother, Pearl’s, voice… a gruff female goblin with a short crew cut of black hair. They’re shown Fidget and his twin brother, Grub, as toddlers… with his mother preparing food for them as Fidget squirms about and Grub throws a fit. They’re interrupted by their father, the Chief of their horde, Grub Senior… who clearly doesn’t care about Fidget, only showing interest in the son who bears his name. Pearl manages to sneak fresh fruit to Fidget… in particular he likes tomatoes, even though the few she’s able to find for him are small and partially shriveled. He sees himself helping his mother scavenging for food, since Pearl works as a cook for the other goblins. He sees a specific day when he was out foraging along with another young Goblette known by Sweet Pea. The day that a human in armor found them… killing Sweat Pea first before attacking the other goblettes. In a rage, Pearl attacks, repeatedly stabbing between the armor to protect the Goblettes, but gets stabbed fatally in the process. Her last word is Fidget’s name… and in true Goblin fashion, when the adults arrive they patiently accept the death of a fellow goblin as an everyday occurrence, looting her body, but not before Fidget manages to snatch her valued Pearl necklace… one pearl of which he still carries, hidden in his mouth.

As the memories shift, Fidget sees the day of his father’s retirement. Fidget and Grub are both unusually tall for Goblins, and unsurprisingly he names Grub as the successor. Upon Grub Senior’s death, Grub enthusiastically takes on the mantle of Chief… and his first order is to command Fidget to give him the pearl left by their mother. When Fidget refuses he fights his brother… and although Fidget wins the fight, the Chief has the protection of others. In a rage, he declares that Fidget is no longer a Goblin, and is considered a slave within the horde. Grub runs his people ragged… those who are injured are left to die, and those who object are forced to labor. Fidget also remembers how he wasn’t allowed to raise his own son… although the child is still mistreated by other Goblins for being his son. He also remembers his daughter, who had been born to a “Horde Hopper”… goblins sent by Hobgoblins to travel across hordes to raise children and build alliances. Unlike many of the others in his horde, Fidget cares deeply for his children… even if they can’t interact directly.

During a ceremonial celebration, Fidget is banned from attending, and instead is forced to monitor a few goblettes, taking them out to teach them about foraging for wild vegetables. The goblettes are the first to find the corpse of an elvish woman… Ash. When Fidget tries to take her engagement ring, Ash awakens, trying to grab Fidget instinctively… while Fidget stabs her in the arm and leads the goblettes away. Investigating further on his own, Fidget finds Ash alone and confused. Despite his instinctive fear, seeing Ash struggling to move or speak, he instead drags her to a cave… trying as best he can to make her comfortable. Neo interrupts here, asking Fidget why he helped her, and he says he felt sorry for her. Fidget stays by her side, not expecting her to recover, but just not wanting her to die alone… but she doesn’t die. And although she’s quiet at this time, she listens to him… responding weakly and absentmindedly. One day he’s nearly caught visiting Ash by a Hobgoblin occupying their horde. The Hobs see the goblins simply as assets to be gathered… and goblin birth rates have been strangely low. The Hobgoblin knows that Fidget is smarter than he looks, and orders him to solve this problem. As Fidget vents to Ash, Ash wraps her arms around him to comfort Fidget… showing their first time together… although Ash objects before the act is seen by everyone present, much to Ricky’s annoyance.

When the two of them are finished, Ash notices a root that the goblins have been using as a spice. Still remembering her knowledge of science from life, she notes that the root is a form of birth control. With the low birth-rate problem solved, Fidget returns to the horde and convinces everyone to stop eating the root… allowing the goblins to continue to enjoy the protection of the Hobgoblins. Unfortunately, the Hobgoblins had a different plan… with the goblins now successfully reproducing, they plan to use the goblettes of Fidget’s horde as decoys. Trying to take advantage of the sympathetic “Long Legs”, and their unwillingness to murder children… although Fidget and Grub should both know clearly that’s only partially true. When Fidget tries to leave with his children, Grub stops him… the twin brothers brawling until Grub’s loyalists intervene. Fidget is beaten nearly to death, and his long, floppy ears are violently mangled… a symbolic gesture used to mark traitors to goblinkind. Fidget uses a knife heated in a fire to cauterize the wound as best he can. He escapes with Ash, although as an Undead they’re in as much danger together as alone. Fidget is forced to take dozens of lives to protect himself and Ash… and a brief moment is seen where Ash speaks to a corpse, and fully awakens as herself. They also see the moment that Fidget was attacked by the Reaver… and how his body became infected with Reaver blood, transforming him into his current form… but they also see that an hourglass is glowing over his heart within the vision. Ripping open his shirt, he sees that his hourglass is nearly empty… Neo guesses that, at best, Fidget has 3 weeks of time.

Neo decides to show Ash’s memories next, since a portion of them are already seen in Fidget’s visions. They see her alive, as Promethea, with her parents. As an infant, Ash was also sickly. The visions move forward to a family trip to Kirei Midori… Promethea the sickly Elf girl watching her brother Argus propose during a cherry blossom festival. Within the memory, Ash sees a dark figure stalking her and her father… the same figure she had just seen in Azure’s visions. Before she can focus more on this memory the visions shift again to Promethea in classes studying magic. As the daughter in a long line of prestigious Sorcerers and Wizards, much is expected of her… but she can’t even tap into the innate magical powers that all High Elves enjoy. While their teacher treats her with condescension, Promethea’s parents side with their daughter, withdrawing her from school to learn elsewhere. The memories shift again… an older Promethea attending college. Hearing whispers… how she’s seen as a jinx. A bad omen. Her only friend is a kindly girl her own age named Mysteria… while Promethea herself has become more sarcastic, and has focused her studies an artifice, since true magic eludes her. When a stuck up girl named Victoria tries to belittle Promethea, she fires back with a well-worded tease about her knowledge about Victoria’s illicit relationship with a teacher. Ash sees again the vision of herself in the special dress designed to resemble a Nightingale… attending a gala where everyone wears bird-themed dresses and suits. However, Promethea picks a locked door to sneak out on a balcony to drink some wine and get away from prying eyes. However, she bumps into an Elvish man in a Snow-Owl-themed suit, including a mask… the day she met Cornelius, her fiancee… and her brother’s best friend/rival, both competing for the honorable position of Archmage.

Promethea and Cornelius begin to date in secret… and although Neo seems interested in seeing some of the more explicit scenes in their relationship… much to Ash’s objection. Neo shifts the vision, jumping around to different scenes, with the quick glimpses revealing that Cornelius wasn’t particularly adventurous in the bedroom. With some prodding, Neo shifts focus to a night of Promethea in tears speaking to Cornelius… distraught as Cornelius, for the 4 time, is rescheduling their wedding so that he can focus on becoming the Archmage. He will reschedule 3 more times, always finding something else to prioritize… and when he isn’t, his mother is “Dying” and needs her son’s full attention. On a shopping trip with Mysteria, she overhears her potential Mother-in-Law bragging to friends about how she had paid off officials to force Cornelius to delay the wedding yet again. In sorrow, she tells her brother what happened… and Argus confronts Cornelius… warning him that another postponement would mean Promethea’s family would no longer allow the two to marry, and Argus himself will step up the competition for Archmage as far as tradition allows. Briefly visible, the vision shows a woman peeking, and when the party pressures Neo he allows them to focus on her, and the realize the woman is Mysterea.

The memories shift forward once again, now a week from Promethea’s wedding. At night she sees the mysterious figure in the trees… the figure that Ash now knows to be Death’s Shadow. She also sees a familiar figure… Piper, her Lady in Waiting, who has another delivery of flowers from her Mother-in-Law… flowers that, those familiar with flower symbolism, would know were intended as an insult. She takes a trip to visit her home she’s building with Cornelius, where Mysterea waits to visit her. Her home is gorgeous, and fitting for the children of two wealthy, ancient Elven houses… including a nursery prepared for them to raise their future children. Analyzing the visions of the memories, Ash is able to discern that Mysterea was withholding information of some kind back then, although as Promethea she didn’t realize anything was wrong. Going about their day as normal… but for the briefest of moments the figure of Death’s Shadow can be seen once again.

With the visions moving forward, Piper lets Promethea know that her wedding dress won’t arrive in time for the wedding, needing to go on horseback to retrieve it herself… leaving Ash without a Lady-in-Waiting for at least a few days. Left alone, a memory that Ash has re-experienced many times plays out before them all. A popping sound heard in the air… the scent of smoke and the sound of battle. Forced, shaking, to again witness her own death. The party members watch intensely, trying to learn something more about Death’s Shadow. They see his expert technique in taking down a powerful sorcerer and well-trained Cleric, and Azure is able to just barely see a little more of his face. They watch as Promethea deliberately puts herself in harm’s way to create a distraction for her brother to escape… making noise as she runs toward a familiar cliffside… the figure of Death’s Shadow… and as Promethea demands to know why they’re doing this, he responds saracastically, “Can’t fly away from this, little Nightingale”. And then his face is visible, only briefly… an elf. Vaguely familiar to Ash, but she can’t place him. Only for an instant before Promethea is run through, then kicked off the edge of the cliff. Landing on the ground of the cliffside near her remote home, which, unknown to her before this, is close to an active goblin horde. Within the vision, a bright light burns in Promethea’s chest… her heart gripped by a spectral snake. Promethea speaks so quietly that even in the visions she can’t be heard as the snake slithers out of her… revealing itself to be Larlock, still a skeletal lich in the vision. Even after raising her, Promethea’s unconscious form is left abandoned at the base of the cliff by Larlock.

However, the sight of her killer triggers more of Ash’s Undead corruption. As a revenant, her instinct is to seek out the one who killed her relentlessly and mindlessly… and it was only through Larlock’s intervention that she retains her sanity. The corruption spreads throughout her body, transforming her into a more monstrous form… more skin blackening, claws growing longer and one of her eyes turning red. Ricky chastises Neo, blaming him for exposing Ash to these memories. But Neo is able to discern that this is a result not just of the memories, but from the chaos Ash absorbed from one of Chao’s monsters. Ricky is still not happy to be here… sarcastically claiming that his memories aren’t worth looking through, as he’s perfectly happy with living relatives… although the lie is enough to cause him pain. Less than enthusiastically, Ricky consents to let Neo show his memories.

The vision shows an infant Ricky being pampered by his Mother. Crush and Crash both come to visit… although Tricky immediately uses their visit as an excuse to go drinking with Crush. Liz spends time with Crash, complaining about Tricky. At an older age, Liz is having some wine and showing Ricky how to draw… both of them immature enough to be drawing ***** on the walls. A drunk Tricky returns home… stinking of booze with lipstick on his collar. The two argue… Liz, a consummate performer, isn’t allowed to sing, instead forced to stay home and raise their child all alone while Tricky enjoys the limelight. He consents to let her sing in the bar, although rather than a proper stage they simply have a gladiator’s ring. The vision moves ahead to a teen Ricky… he listens in on his parents arguing once again… it’s clear that Tricky has manipulated the paperwork of their divorce… giving himself the authority, making it seem that he’s the aggrieved. Forced to leave, Ricky meekly talks to his father… asking about his Mother, but Tricky simply lies to him… claiming that Liz abandoned them all so she can be famous.

Once again, they witness the night of Crash’s death. Crash died protecting Ricky… and Ricky put himself in harm’s way to protect Tricky. Ricky tries to rationalize why he was willing to die… but ultimately Neo realizes there’s more to this story than just those three. He shifts the vision, instead focusing on Ricky and his former lover… the half-elf cleric Jem. The two of them sneaking out and “borrowing” a rowboat to spend time together on a raft while Ricky serenades him with a song. Neo asks how the two of them could ever break up… and Ricky just claims he was a bad boyfriend, which gets him to start to be absorbed into the astral plane, thanks to his lies. Neo shifts the vision again… finding Ricky just moments after Crash’s death. Tricky knows that this will be enough for Liz to return and try to take Ricky away… and Ricky sees the vision of when he met Peeter, the eccentric bard who had been feeble minded. A once-brilliant and still respected (at least on paper) bard who Ricky was left with by Tricky. However, on nights with no moon he became more lucid. Giving occasional moments of insight and teaching Ricky beautiful, haunting music. One day, the chaotic lessons eventually start to get through to Ricky… and he connects with the stars, aware suddenly of exactly where Trost is. Ricky tries to get Peeter to go with him… but Peeter warns him of the danger he faces and says he must stay hidden. He also shows his pendant to Ricky, although at the time Ricky had no idea of its significance… leaving Peeter behind to return to Trost.

From there, they’re shown the vision of Ricky returning to Trost, only to find that Jem has been told that Ricky abandoned him. Too angry and emotional to listen to Ricky’s excuses… forcing Ricky away… the one person he cared about the most abandoning him because of his father’s lies. Something changed in Ricky… the last person he ever expected to turn against him treating him like a criminal after he was the victim of his father’s narcissism. Desperate for a chance to distract himself from his traumas, he stumbles upon Crush… and chooses to take on the role of manager for the returning gladiator. In their travels and training, Ricky and Crush meet with Duncan again… bonding. Ricky opens up about his bisexuality… shocked that, unlike Tricky, Duncan doesn’t care that Ricky isn’t straight. Crush, meanwhile, still isn’t in full fighting form after the injuries he suffered… wincing from a hearty handshake. Duncan leaves when Gilly arrives… their connection to Gilly and Duncan strong enough for the vision to follow them. Showing Duncan and Gilly storm off… chased by cloaked figures, which Duncan and Gilly are able to fight off before the vision fades.

Unlike the others, Ricky’s trauma continues into their adventures. The moments of weakness when he was too scared to continue. The times when he talked himself down, or those times he tried to give up. And finally the battle with the depraved gloom where Ricky and Crush were willing to torture the assassin who killed Corrio’s mother. When Corrio didn’t know how to feel about Corrio… the first time they fully broke up and Ricky tried to return the pendant and stop being a Grimveil. Neo pushes Ricky further, trying to confront him about always fighting so hard to protect himself… digging through Ricky’s memories, he finds the vision he shared with the Night Mother… where she gave him the pendant that once belonged to Peeter… the vision of the Night Mother pushing Kanec to the edge as his Reaver curse compels him to kill the Nightmother and her children. But Neo, surprisingly sides with Ricky and the Nightmother, admitting that the Dark Elves are loyal to the Nightmother, drawing their heritage back to her and the creation of all things. Ricky comes clean that he’ll stop worrying so much about himself… running away from challenges to avoid being hurt, or insulting himself so he won’t feel guilty about failure. Corrio appears within the Astral Plane now, begrudgingly thanking the party for going along with this taste… and also warning that the Reaver member of Neo’s gang is going nuts and needs to be restrained, since he saw Ricky’s pendant of the Nightmother. Ricky warns everyone to shut their eyes, and as they’re released from Neo’s spell he casts Hypnotic Pattern, stunning Kanec and the other Reaver present and letting them be moved safely into Genie Bags to recover.

Neo warns that the guards are on the lookout for him, and encourages everyone to start their journey into the desert toward the Capital of Tiavet as soon as possible. Azure is worried about leaving Liz behind, but Ricky knows that she’s in her element and already has plans to travel to the Capital herself as an entertainer. Crush helps Ricky to ride on his back, as usual, but also walks ahead to speak in private with Ricky. After seeing visions of his life before, he apologizes for helping Tricky get away with so much. But Ricky assures him that he doesn’t blame Crush for any of it, and although Neo draws close enough to tease them about it, the party is ready to continue… reunited with Corrio, despite his change in demeanor, and willing to trust the mysterious bandit with powerful and mysterious magic.

Join us in about half an hour at 5pm PST for more Hoard of the Dragon Queen at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. In case you missed last week's game, read on... things got pretty spicy!

As the funeral pyres burn, Dahlia goes to Carlon’s side, sharing with him some advice... she knows that Carlon has lost the woman he loves, but she encourages him not to let that sorrow consume him. And if he ever experiences those same feelings fors someone else, he shouldn’t be afraid to express those feelings. Not in defiance of his love of for Maly, but in honor of it. Carlon nods solemnly, seeming to take her words to heart before inviting the party to stay the night in the Harpers’ hidden base below the tannery. Inside there aren’t many comforts, but there are hammocks to sleep in, and a woodfire stove to make tea. Dahlia opens up the bottle of Fine Scotch she was gifted by Lord Stonehill in Greenest, sharing a drink with Carlon before he collapses in a hammock... the adreneline that drove him through the night finally wearing off and his exhaustion from his ordeal on the Tradeway catching up with him.

Katnis and Loki are willing to deal with the discomfort of sharing a hammock to be able to hold each other all night long. Dahlia, meanwhile, finishes off her last bottle of wine... frustrated that it hasn’t gotten her as drunk as she was hoping, but still unwilling to drink more of the Scotch, wanting to save it for special occasions. However, she remembers that G’houl was carrying a bottle of wine for her when she got too drunk to open it on her own back in Baldur’s Gate. She wrestles playfully with him, and although G’houl expresses concern about how much she’s been drinking lately, he can’t convince her to stop drinking. Dahlia admits that the feeling of hiding herself in disguise is wearing on her... not only because she hates being forced to hide her heritage, which she normally takes pride in, but also because the nature of her disguise prevents her from enjoying phyical love, which she normally partakes in freely. Still, G’houl stays up with her for some time before eventually going to sleep as well.

In the morning, Carlon prepares coffee for everyone, and the hideout has a loaf of stale bread which Dahlia convinces him to prepare some toast, wanting to use some of the preserves she had purchased in Baldur’s Gate. The party wants to learn more about the Zhentarim, and whether they’re potential allies or enemies in the conflict with the Cult of Tiamat. Carlon admits that the only contact he had with the Zhentarim was Art, the dwarf killed by the Dybbuks. In preparation for an opportunity to lure out more Zhentarim, Dahlia takes some time to use her Hat of Disguise to appear to be Art, along with Carlon advising her on some of Art’s mannerisms and mode of dress, the most difficult to replicate being his use of a peg leg, but Dahlia absolutely nails every aspect of it, surprising Carlon on how much she’s able to imitate a man she’s never met while alive. However, Carlon warns that he shouldn’t accompany the party into Daggerford, just in case the cultists he was traveling with warned any informants about him or his appearance... instead he leaves on his own so he can speak to the families of the friends he lost.

The party makes their way into Daggerford. Katniss listens in on a pair of gossiping guards, learning that the burnt ruins of Morgia manor are still being investigated, but the prevailing theory is that a group of squatters accidentally caught themselves in a fire. Dahlia, meanwhile, holds backon her Art disguise, instead opting to appear as a pink-skinned Tiefling, wanting the freedom to at least look like a proper Tiefling, even if she’s still not appearing as herself. They make their way past the Marketplace to River Shining Tavern... a huge tavern that appears older than all other buildings nearby. Inside they get some breakfast, and Dahlia asks about wanted posters, which the barkeep admits they don’t like to keep hung up, since they set a bad mood, but he has a small stack of them below the bar. Dahlia looks through them,hoping to find hints of Zhentarim activity. Unsurprisingly, no one on the wanted posters is overtly identified as membersof the secret organization, but she puts the pieces together and narrows in on a Gnomish woman... she doesn’t have a picture on the wanted poster, but the crimes listed fit more with organized crime than the simple thugs and bandits the other posters are for.

Dahlia and G’houl opt to check out the marketplace, while Loki sets up a dice game, hoping to lure gamblers to both make some money and also to learn some local gossip. Katniss, meanwhile, takes up a stealthy position on the second floor to observe the crowd. Meanwhile, Dahlia and G’houl step outside and find themselves drawn to a boisterous salesman... a silver dragonborn selling magical camping supplies. He even invites Dahlia to slice a rope in half before pushing the broken ends together, revealing it to be Rope of Mending. And although he sells a variety of useful magical items, their price is a bit too high for most. After some time, Loki is joined by a firsherman named Ol’ Gus. Ol’ Gus speaks at length about seeing a “Baby Dragon” pass through town a week ago... although within his own story he never saw anything more than a single black claw. But he did see the people escorting the “Baby Dragon” in a wagon bring it a bottle of fine sparkling wine. However, as this game is continuing, Katniss notices a group of heavily cloaked figures watching Loki and Ol’ Gus, although their low-stakes dice game doesn’t garner much attention. More importantly, Katniss is able to notice that they’re all wearing pendants of Bahamut that resemble the trick-pendant they recoverd from Art’s body.

Outside, Dahlia and G’houl approach an elderly Tiefling woman selling handmade knitted clothing. She’s kindly and sweet, and seems happy to converse in Infernal with Dahlia, although she doesn’t have much secret knowledge to share when Dahlia hopes to learn more about the Zhentarim from the experienced woman. Still, with Fall coming in and their path taking them farther North, they purchase cold weather clothing for their full party in preparation. As they’re making their purchases, Katniss notices the cloaked figures filing out of the tavern... careful to leave individually so as not to appear as a single group. Following them outside, the party sees them all leave in different directions... one figure is clearly a half-orc, and Dahlia is able to see that the others who are more carefully obscuring themselves seem to be a human, a goblin, and short figure that could be a halfling or gnome. Opting to follow the potential gnome, Dahlia eventually sees her remove her hood, confirming that it apears to be a gnome woman that matches the vague description on the wanted poster. Dahlia approaches, revealing the pendant taken from Art’s body and the trick to make it shift into the symbol of the Zhentarim. Rather than take it as proof, the woman says an unusual phrase: “How long have you lived on this side of the mountain?” Dahlia picks up that this must be a codephrase of some sort, but admits outright she doesn’t know the response, but asks to speak to the Gnome, managing to Persuade her to give Dahlia a chance, at least for now.

The woman agrees, but only if Dahlia will accompany her alone to a private location. With Dahlia’s insanely high perception, she notices that the woman subtly taps a message on a pipe, and just barely sees a cloaked figure following them on the rooftop. The woman reveals herself as Jamna Gleamsilver, and she notes that it must be fate for them to meet, as she’s already planning to follow their convoy to track the Cultists. It was her own idea to do so... the leaders of the Zhentarim simply wanted to kill everyone on the convoy and sort out the wreckage, but Jamna herself was uncomfortable with slaughtering the families and civilians traveling with the convoy. She also clarifies that the “Baby Dragon” was a Black Half-Dragon, although she doesn’t realize that it was Rezmir. Content that Jamna is better as an ally than an enemy, Dahlia invites her to meet with the rest of the party. Jamna thinks their names are ridiculous and is clearly off-put by everyone’s sense of humor, but she trusts them to not get in her way, telling them she’ll catch up with them when the convoy leaves the next morning.

With their mission to meet with the Zhentarim resolved, the party returns to the marketplace, with Dhalia and Katniss pooling their funds to buy a Rope of Mending. They also find a cart selling fireworks, with both Katniss and Dhalia again purchasing fireworks... in particular, “Spark-Bangs”, which are simple fire crackers, and “Sky Rockets”, which shoot explosives into the sky. Their shopping finished, everyone returns to River Shining Tavern... Dahlia rents a room near the balcony so she can watch some of the fireworks later that night, and when she learns the room rental gives her use of the Taverns baths she immediately leaves to enjoy a rare hot bath. Loki rents a room for her and Katniss, and after ordering one of everything on the menu to share with Katniss she teasingly declares that G’houl will simply be sharing a room with Dahlia... something which G’houl doesn’t contest, not wanting to be alone after seeing the Dybbuks the previous night. However, G’houl does order food for himself and Dahlia... knowing her love of spicy foods, he spends 10gp on an order of Cockatrice Wings, an intensely spicy meal that is potentially dangerous to eat.

After Dahlia finishes her bath, the party reconvenes to relax and enjoy their dinner. Dahlia and Katniss both eat an order of Cockatrice Wings... enjoying the intense spiciness, but when they share a taste with G’houl and Loki neither of them can handle the flavor. G’houl picks through his knowlege of monsters to remember that Cockatrices are normally inedible, as their powers of petrification are difficult to neutralize... but the intense spices used to prepare the cockatrice wings makes them safe to consume... although it still partially petrifies the eater’s stomach, making it so they don’t need to consume any food for the next 5 days. The remaining party members take some time to enjoy some baths as well, while Dahlia prepares to share a room with G’houl, uncertain of how the two of them can platonically share a bed without making things awkard between the two of them.

When G’houl returns from his bath, the air outside is suddenly lit with fireworks... far too many for a non-holiday, although the sound of guards chasing children make it clear that this is the side-effect of a childish prank. Still, under the flashing lights streaming in through the nearby window, G’houl finally admits that he’s had a crush on Dahlia for some time, and after seeing Carlon’s sorrow at never admitting his feelings and hearing Dahlia’s advice to him, he simply can’t remain silent any more. Dahlia is shocked... although she’s enjoyed physical affection frequently and casually, she’s never had a real, emotional relationship before. It takes some effort on G’houl’s part to convince her that he’s genuine... that he cares about her not just physically, but for her outgoing personality. The way she always puts others ahead of herself. Her sense of humor and just so many other things that make her special. As the fireworks are cut short by the guards finally catching the hooligans creating the noise, Dahlia warns G’houl that he’d better be ready... because if he wants to be with her, she’ll have a lot to teach him. Playfully, G’houl calls her “professor” and asks to learn, and his familiar Dusk quickly vanishes, giving them the privacy as the two of them share a bed for the first time.

This will basically be our schedule for the foreseeable future... Hoard of the Dragon Queen on Friday nights, and our homebrew campaign of Sacrament on Sundays. We're about to start streaming, 5PM PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. If you missed last week's game, however, read on to see what you missed:

As the party makes their escape from the Reaver tavern, Neo and his men use Pass Without a Trace as they lead the party to a secluded location. Meanwhile, Kanec is still struggling to remain calm after seeing the Nightmother… his Reaver curse overwhelming him and triggering an involuntary fight-or-flight response… he even ends up yelling at Resa whens he questions him. Azure is desperate to calm him, but she’s uncertain of how to calm him. In the end she gives him a tight hug, calming him enough to get him to join her in meditation to soothe his intense nerves. Outside, Neo leads the party out of the city and into the wilderness… whistling to summon giant bats. Fidget and Ricky are enthusiastic to ride… although Crush needs to ride in Kanec’s Genie bag due to his weight, and Ash has to join him now that her necrotic touch has gotten more intense. Neo explains that bats are the only creatures that can safely fly at night without risk of being attacked by guards.

Inside the bag, Crush goes to check on Kanec, while Ash immediately goes to Kanec’s room, the people in the bag shocked to see her altered appearance… her body further corrupted by the necrotic force that keeps her alive. She explains to Gilly her plans to write to their allies, including Mayor Coldforge, her own brother, Lady Annabelle, and even Kanec’s father Savine. Gilly, however, expresses surprise at Coldforge’s name… someone that close to Duncan’s home town, and an important political figure, would likely be someone that Duncan would have mentioned if she was an ally.

As Ricky and Fidget ride the bats, Ricky starts to realize that the bats have faintly visible tattoos on their wings… a shining blue color. Neo orders his men to stand down, but tells Ricky to bring his friends. Crush has joined Azure and Kanec in their meditation, but they get pulled out to join Ricky outside, although Kanec is left inside. Outside they approach a statue of the Nightmother, surrounded by a deep pool, protected from the Reavers by the Goddess of Peace. Neo explains that the Nightmother created the Dark Elves… a guardian goddess who protects the creatures that live in darkness. She is far more than just a moon spirit, as she’s sometimes described. The dangerous creatures created by the Nightmother, the Lycans, were meant to be guardians. When the Nightmother’s temple was assaulted by the Reavers, the weakened Nightmother cried for help… her attempt to empower her followers cursed them with madness. Soverign is a God of War… but also a God of Paternity. However, the other Gods do not consider him a God… considering him instead a Divine Revenant. Neo claims that the Nightmother was the first God… predating Hearth, the Goddess of the land itself… the Goddess of dreams. Ricky takes a moment to focus… staring up above… seeing that she’s not a Goddess of the stars… but rather, of the darkness in between. The force that supports the stars. If Sovereign kills the Night Mother… the force will fall apart, and reality itself may begin to crumble. He also reveals that, to his people, she is known as Oranna. And at one time, she was the lover of Sol, god of the Sun… the source of many creatures and even other Gods. However, as the creatures began to worship the Gods, Sol grew to love being worshiped. The sun growing brighter the more it is worshiped, until his light outshone the other gods… even the light seen in the darkness was credited to Sol.

Ricky swims to the statue of Oranna… the water of the pool made of tears streaming from the statue itself. As an offering, he sings a sorrowful song… with Neo mentioning that Oranna was a musician herself. After hearing Ricky’s song Crush mentions that he believes that something has been guiding them together to this point… in the dreams they’ve shared, and the stories that made them. Ricky… who has connected directly to the Nightmother. Azure, with her ability to connect from the material plane to the astral plane. Ash as a Reaver who retains her sense of self, not a slave to her need for revenge. And Crush… a being whose heart was shattered, but was put back together with the help of another soul. As an experiment, Crush lowers below the water… using his connection to the sea to breathe in the water of Oranna’s tears. A flood of sorrow washes over him… a sorrow he hasn’t felt since Crash’s death. In that sorrow he hears weeping, and a single phrase… “I’on… Satuu… No La’vii”, which Azure is able to translate as, “I am sorry, my love”.

As they make plans to head to the Reaver Capital, Neo clarifies that it’s not the capital of the country itself. Rather… the country doesn’t have a proper name. For the people who live here, it is simply the World itself, with different cities known simply by literal descriptions. Neo won’t be accompanying them fully to the city, but he does guide them in the right direction. However, as they walk… Ash speaks to Fidget, addressing the thing both of them have been afraid to say… if anything goes wrong, they’ll both die, driven mad by the very forces that keep them alive. And with them both gone, Kane would be left without parents. They can’t reach a solid decision, but Kane is clearly struggling to stay awake and Fidget returns to the Genie Bag to put Kane to sleep.

With Fidget in the bag, Ash opens up about her plan to deal with Oranna and Sovereign… she believes the only opportunity will be to have them meet through a neutral third party… most likely the Goddess Hearth. As this is being discussed, Ricky opens up about what he promised to Oranna… to take back Sovereign’s Sword, which is made from the smelted pendants of untold followers of Oranna… the pendant Ricky carries is the last one in all of the material plane. They also realize that, with the druid Kalea’s help, they could find a way to communicate with Hearth. However… it’s still dependent on finding some way to contact Sovereign and either convincing or tricking him into going along with this plan.

The debate then shifts to Chao, the Goddess of Chaos. Her realm is the Hell for Reavers… those who defy Sovereign’s will or dishonor themselves are sent to the land of Chaos to battle her monstrosities for all eternity. Neo tells a story about Sovereign’s Left Hand Man… a man whose name is not even recorded in history, but it’s known that he has defied death itself. Living forever, killing for his own entertainment and sowing chaos. Crush theorizes that Chao would love nothing more than to kill Oranna… destroying the unseen fabric that holds the stars in the sky. Neo doesn’t think it’s possible for Chao to kill Oranna, as she’s much older and more powerful… but Crush asks about creating an assassin by corrupting someone else. Neo mentions that this is something he’s only ever seen before as something done by Hag covens trying to manipulate others into doing their bidding… bringing everyone’s minds back to the Depraved Gloom, which takes its name, and indeed many of its members, from an ancient Hag coven.

At this point, Neo isn’t willing to travel with the party any further. He steps toward a tree and vanishes, telling the party good luck with their “company”. Worried about how he said that, Azure looks around… able to see fleeting images of furry creatures in the woods, but can’t get a clear view of them. However, a human man comes stumbling out of the woods… his body bloody and his movement erratic. Crush goes to check on him… but finds the man unresponsive. Azure does a medicine check, realizing the man isn’t injured… rather, he seems to be transforming. Azure steps back as the man transforms into a werewolf and attacks. Battle ensues… the first werewolf going down quickly, but the others rushing out of the woods to attack. With Azure’s quick eyes, the party is able to avoid being caught by surprise, but the creatures are particularly dangerous for their ability to infect others with the Lycanthropy curse. As they fight them off, Ash casts Finger of Death on one of them… killing the werewolf and converting it into an undead follower, maintaining its werewolf form.

The werewolves killed revert to their human forms… the party moves the bodies off to the side of the road. Ash uses her Whispers of the Grave invocation to cast Speak with Dead to one of them… learning that he’s from a nearby town and worships Hearth, and doesn’t seem to have any memory of his time as a werewolf, seeming to only remember screaming and pain. They opt to burn the bodies, just in case… Ash also realizes that an Undead Werewolf could prove to be more trouble than it’s worth, especially in Tiavet, where Reavers instinctively attack those influenced by the Nightmother, and has Crush execute the zombie. The group continues, with Ash presenting Corrio with the idea of using his shift in personality as a means to reconnect with some of Larlock’s other minions, luring them into a trap of some kind. However, she’s unable to persuade Corrio to put himself in harm’s way for that purpose. Seeing that the nearest town is about 6 hours away, they make plans to polymorph into a Giant Bat and fly the rest of the way. Ricky takes the first role, flying as a bat while Fidget and Corrio ride on his back… with Corrio making Fidget horribly uncomfortable now that Corrio’s alignment has made him more selfish and willing to grope his friend. The two of them chatting eventually, discomfort changing into friendly ribbing and teasing.

Within the Genie Bag, Crush carves wooden caps for Ash to wear over claws… a small measure to allow her to touch Kane without risk of harming him with her necrotic touch… although they can see the caps begin to deteriorate slowly at her touch. Still, even with the caps, she’s afraid to try and touch Kane… frightened of what it means for her and Fidget’s future, since she knows her nature as a Revenant means she’s destined to die once she gets her vengeance. Crush takes advantage of Kanec’s greater knowledge of Reaver culture to ask what would happen if Ash and Fidget were to bind their souls through the Reaver tattoo ceremony, and also if Fidget would be able to get his soul balanced with the help of the Warlord… would that be enough to balance Ash’s soul as well? Kanec doesn’t know for certain, but he knows that, even if it doesn’t work the way Crush is hoping, that their souls will still be bonded and the two will be joined in the afterlife.

As they’re discussing this, Azure speaks to her mother, Resa. Resa is still being very demanding and judgmental, not wanting to treat her daughter as an adult. Azure gathers her courage to confront her mother… finally stating outright that she wants to stay with her fellow Grimveils instead of following Resa back home. She recounts the vision she had seen in the Astral Plane of her mother’s poisoning. Resa is shocked to hear about all this, struggling to maintain her composure. Azure tries to convince her that she wants to stay with the Grimveils, but Resa stubbornly refuses to listen… both agreeing to wait and discuss it again later. Meanwhile, Crush reminds Kanec that he yelled at Resa earlier… and a deeply embarrassed Kanec steps out to apologize to her for losing his temper. Resa accepts his apology and seems impressed that Kanec continues to speak to her, undeterred after she hit and suplexed him.

As the party nears a town, Ash casts Spending to contact her brother… learning that he’s in contact with the Warlord, already working as Liaison between the Reavers and the country of Kirei Midori.

Trying to get in the habit of announcing streams ahead of time. We'll be streaming more Hoard of the Dragon Queen tonight at 5pm PST at our home of twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. In case you missed last week, however, read on:

As morning comes, the party is mostly interested in sleeping in, but Katniss can’t help but wake with the sunrise, thanks to their regimented training. As Katniss tries not to wake Loki, they take a moment as they step out to quickly tell Loki that they love her before quickly dashing out, too shy to see if there’s a response. Going downstairs, Katniss notices the large, shaggy dog sleeping on a pile of lost coats near the bar. Katniss casts Speak with Animals, learning that the dog is named Bojangles... chatting a bit, but Katniss also asks the experienced old dog for advice... mentioning that they said something earlier without thinking and wasn’t sure how to feel. The old dog thinks for a moment, before replying that, if they said it without thinking, then it must be the truth. Satisfied with that advice, Katniss and the rest of their party gather for breakfast... and although neither Katniss or Dahlia require food after eating the extra spicy cockatrice wings the night before, they both still dig in to some breakfast after a night of passion with their lovers. Loki doesn’t respond to Katniss’s earlier confession, and it’s not clear if she even heard it... however, both Loki and Dahlia are delighted to learn Bojangles’ name, since both of them had repeatedly called Bowgentle, the Wizard whose lost tome set off this adventure, “Bojangles” when his real name slipped their minds.

Returning to the convoy, they find everyone already packing up, ready to get to Waterdeep, which is now less than a weeks’ travel away. The going is slow and steady, but as the convoy passes through a wooded area of dead trees and gnarled roots, Dahlia makes her rounds with G’houl through the civilian wagons, taking advantage of her routine to spy on the Tiamat cultists. To her surprise, she sees that the man who calls himself Malcolm has taken on a passenger... something none of the cultists have done so far. She introduces herself to the strange man, noticing that he wears thick clothing and a heavy wool cap that mostly obscures a large bluish tattoo on his forehead. He is less rude than the cultists, introducing himself as Azbara, and Dahlia, through her travels, recognizes his tattoo and accent as coming from the country of Thay. He is also accompanied by two armed men who wear red cloaks... Malcolm clearly doesn’t want his guest conversing with Dahlia, and as Dahlia steps away she is suddenly joined by Jamna, who seems to appear from nowhere. Jamna warns Dahlia to be careful, as Red Wizards are not to be trifled with... G’houl instantly recognizes the term, knowing them to be a dangerous sect of wizards who seek power for power’s sake, and at any cost. Jamna also warns to of his protectors, which she refers to as his Redbranded Guard.

Before they can discuss this further, a crash can be heard near the back of the convoy. The full party rides over to find one of the cultist carts tipped over, and a human woman yelling angrily at their Deep Gnome friend Radecere, who is trying to helpfully gather some spilled objects for them. As the woman yells at Radecere, Dahlia interferes... using some sleight of hand to see some of the treasure that has spilled without the cultists realizing she knows more. Dahlia is able to talk down the cultists, seeing as its the supposed family cliamed by Kiley, the young woman she spoke with in Dragonspear. However, Dahlia and Katniss are both able to see that, among the crowd that has gathered to assist with the broken cart, several of the other known cultists have started watching Radecere aggressively. They hear a scream from the other end of the convoy warning of a spider attack, and rather than leave Radecere behind Dahlia immediately scoops him up and carries him along.

As they make their way up, they see that distant carts are being attacked by Giant Spiders led by Ettercaps... strange, humanoid spiders. Many of the carts already captured in giant webs... the ettercaps focus on trying to release horses and lead them away into the woods, while the Giant Spiders focus on attacking and restraining guards. The party has to make their way forward... the Giant Spiders and Ettercaps falling quickly to powerful Fireball attacks, but their sheer numbers make them a major threat. The battle ensues, and the Gargoyle that accompanies Lasfelro actually joins the battle as well once Lasfelro’s cart is put in danger. Eventually the Ettercaps start to run away, leaving their Giant Spiders behind to slow down pursuit... unfortunatley, the Ettercaps manage to steal a few horses... lassoing them with webbing and guiding them into the dead forest, choosing to lead the horses away rather than drag the large creatures.

With the threat quelled for now, the party makes certain that Radecere stays with the Kindheart family while they track the spiders further into the forest... webs slowing them down more and more the deeper they get inside. They manage to catch up to the terrified horses, brought before a massive mother spider, surrounded by bundles of web... some that Katniss is able to identify as corpses, and others that they identify as egg sacs. As the frightened horses are being webbed, Dahlia interrupts by casting Conjure Woodland Beings, summoning a pack of Blink Dogs to protect the horses from Giant Spiders and Ettercaps. Battle ensues once again, the party low on spells after protecting the convoy. Still, they perservere, barely able to move in the woods choked with spider’s webs. Using her Broom of Flying, Dahlia confronts the Mother Spider directly, and when it bites her and injects her with its venom, she retorts with Hellish Rebuke, killing the enormous spider. With the brood mother killed, the remaining Ettercaps flee.

Cutting the horses free, Katniss and Lokie take some time to examine the bundles... finding them to mostly be filled with large beasts, although they do find the corpses of two humans and some gold they were carrying. More worrying, they find a dead tree choked with webs... and a dead Dryad inside suffocated. G’houl thinks to his education, remembering that Ettercaps are dangerous monstrosities that aggressively attack and torture Fey... the Dryad wasn’t even eaten, simply trapped within her tree and starved to death. They realize the trees surrounding them aren’t simply leafless from the Autumn weather, but rather this woods’ guardian was starved, and the land along with her. With no way to revive the deceased Dryad, Katniss knows the best thing to do is simply to burn the dead lands so that new life can rise from the ashes. They choose to fire one of the fireworks at the egg sacs... the spider webs igniting. As the fire spreads to the Dryad’s tree they see it burns in a variety of vivid colors, clean white smoke arising as the land is cleansed of the influence of the spiders.

Returning to the convoy, they find that the spider webs have mostly been cleared away, and Radecere is staying with Lucky Kindheart, the Wizard-in-Training who has been using his meager magical knowledge to clear out more of the webs. Radecere is confused by the sudden concern for his well-being, but seems excited when he’s invited to spend time with the party that night for some gambling, and encouraged to invite Tyjit, the female Dwarven Guard who Dahlia has picked up on as being flirtatiou with Radecere. Lucky is a bit more insightful, picking up that something is going on with Radecere, but the party is able to convince him that he’s better off not knowing the specifics, but do encourage him to be careful. As night draws near, Katniss uses their expert survival skills to guide the convoy toward a natural spring... the less-shy members of the convoy immediately stripping and jumping into the cool, fresh water.

G’houl magically summons Galder’s Tower... much to the surprise of Lucky, who had thought it was a one-time cast, since G’houl had only summoned it the one time so far... although G’houl admits he’s been hesitant since the last time he did he got harassed by guards who asked him about building permits. Katniss decides to try and settle their argument with Claver, the Goliath in charge of the Lionshield Coster. Katniss feels guilty about interrupting Claver’s hunt, even though Claver had intended to hunt the guardian spirit they had found earlier in their travels. Claver is brunt, but not necessarily rude, and works with Katniss to hunt for a few boars. G’houl makes certain to produce another kitchen that can be used by his fellow travelers, but since they have access to the spring he instead creates a lounge on the second floor, and upcasts the spell to add a third story which he keeps as a secret for now.

Radecere and Tyjit join Katniss and Loki, plus Dahlia and G’houl for a triple date in G’houl’s tower. Radecere pulls out some cards, everyone enjoys a few drinks and share stories as they play a few rounds of cards. Dahlia, however, takes advantage of the situation to push Radecere and Tyjit closer together... not just because she likes the play matchmaker, but also because she’s worried for Radecere, and knows that Tyjit, as a guard, could help to protect him. Her efforts pay off, as Radecere leaves with Tyjit, the two clearly intending to spend the night together. Happy that Radecere will be safe for tonight, Katniss and Loki leave as well, intending to find a private area to set up their tent and enjoy their night together. Katniss takes the initiative, realizing that the best place to set up their tent is actually above the short cliff where the natural spring comes from. As the two set up for a night alone Katniss again confesses their love for Loki, who shyly admits that she feels the same way. The two lovers embracing and going to their tent for a night of passion.

In G’houl’s tower, he’s finally ready to reveal the third floor to Dahlia. It’s a room he prepared specially for her... on one side a four post bed with dark purple curtains and an astrology theme for the bedding. Against the wall is a magically controlled fireplace, and finally, a large bath with hot, bubbling water. Dahlia is impressed, but is still getting used to the idea of a more emotional relationship, after a lifetime focused purely on the physical. Still, there’s no reason they can’t have both, and she quickly pulls G’houl close to teach him more as his “Love Professor”.

Sacrament! Roll20! Twitch! Come join us! twitch.tv/afterdisbooty in about 10 minutes! As always, here's what you might have missed last week from our Homebrew campaign:

Kanec lets the party know that they’re heading toward the town of Azha, a small town near the outskirts of the Desert of Lost Bones. Kanec also notices that, in approximately 24 hours, it will be the Day of Unluck… a superstitious “holiday” in Tiavet, which is normally seen as a day to take the day off because Chao is particularly active. He also mentions that the Amor festival is coming up soon as well… by coincidence, arriving the day after the day of Unluck. The Amor festival is a celebration of love in honor of the Goddess, Amor.

Outside, Ricky, who has been polymorphed into a giant bat to travel faster, reverts to his true form… unfortunately, a bit too high off the ground for his own good, crashing along with Fidget, Kane, and Corrio. The party then continues on foot toward the town of Azha, spotting some creatures in the dark, such as a cat-sized scorpion and even a flying snake. Suddenly, however, all sound stops around them… and once again the mysterious figure appears to confront Ash… the being that long ago confronted her, inviting her to the afterlife. The grey-skinned, humanoid figure speaks… saying “You don’t Belong Here” when confronted by Ash. In response to that, Ash simply marches past it… although she whispers to it that she can’t leave until her preparations are complete. Crush realizes it seems to be some kind of avatar of death… most likely a reaper of some sort. Still, theres’ nothing to be done about it for now but continue into the town of Azha.

Near the outskirts of town, they find a Temple of Amor decorated in anticipation of a wedding on the Day of Amor. The Dwarvish priestess watching over the temple allows everyone in… even Ash, who cannot hide her Undead nature, is given special invitation to allow her inside. She introduces herself as Sister Dawn, and offers to let the party store their Genie Bag in the temple so they can rest comfortably. However, before they can, a female Kobold bursts into the temple… complaining that someone is worried about the upcoming wedding and creating a scene. Sister Dawn gives them some pink medicine to help the bride relax, and although the party is curious, they have little reason to involved themselves further.

Crush opts to rest in the Genie Bag, not having much else to do. Ricky, meanwhile, occupies himself by starting on a wedding portrait for Ash and Fidget. Sister Dawn is immediately impressed, encouraging Ricky to offer his services as an artist to the Bride, who has apparently been searching for a portrait artist for her wedding. Ash asks Ricky for some Inspiration before climbing into the Genie Bag as well to relax. Stepping inside, she finds Fidget and talks to him about the Reaver tattoos. Telling him that she wants to bond her soul to Fidget’s rather than let her Patron seal her soul into a phylactery. The two of them also discuss what will happen with Kane if neither of them survive their curses… mostly trying to decide whether it makes sense to leave Kane with Kanec, since he would know better about raising a Reaver child, or with Crush who has experience volunteering at his sister’s orphanage and seems to get along with children.

Knowing that they need the assistance of a Priest of Amor, they resolve to ask Sister Dawn to assist them in applying the tattoos. Stepping out of the bag, Ricky isn’t certain what they’re planning, but seeing Ash’s determined face he casts Enhance Ability to grant her Eagle’s Splendor. It proves useful, as Sister Dawn is hesitant to agree to administering the tattoo and blessing, considering Ash’s Undead nature, but with the help of Ricky’s magic Ash is able to convince her to agree.

Suddenly, two other Priestesses enter… Sister Jade and a Halfling woman who seems to be from Estea. Sister Jade is an elven woman, who seems boisterous but generally nice. However, she does tell the party they need to leave while they prepare for the wedding… all except for Fidget, who needs to have blood drawn for the binding tattoo… the process of which is quite painful, and would be potentially deadly to a non-Reaver. As Fidget gives blood the rest of the party steps outside, intent on doing some shopping before they get some rest. Ricky finds a restaurateur decorating in preparation for the fesitval, and volunteers to help him set up so that they’ll be ready sooner.

Meanwhile, Crush decides to finally address his lost coinpurse, selling the Rhinestone Cup and t-shirt for the Diva De Luna, considering it tacky to carry your friend’s merch. He’s able to convince a trader of its value, using the money to get himself a leather coinpurse, as well as feed for Thaco. Azure and Kanec, however, take interest in a sweets seller, who has specialty items prepared for the Festival of Amor. Ash takes interest as well, although Crush prefers his favorite treat… a whole pineapple that he simply eats raw using his powerful snapping turtle jaws.

Ricky rejoins the party, and as they banter they can’t help but notice an attractive half-elven woman watching them. They can’t quite tell why she’s looking so intently at them, but Fidget theorizes that she’s a prostitute. Intrigued, Ricky takes immediate interest… but as he flirts he realizes that she seems to recognize him. She calls him by his name, and tells him not to give up on “Him”. Ricky is thrown off by this, admitting what he heard to the party… Crush jokingly suggests she might just be Amor here to enjoy her festival. The party makes their way to the restaurant Ricky helped to prepare in order to get some food… in particular they’re interested in trying Curry, which Kanec has talked up multiple times.

The food is delicious, and as they sit and chat they hear loud crying outside. Ricky goes out to investigate, finding the Bride they’d heard about earlier in the day crying profusely. Apparently her groom has gone missing and should be arriving from the North by now. Ricky suggests the party should help, and although there’s some concern about the need to get to the Reaver capital as soon as possible for Fidget’s sake, Ash remembers her own sorrow from her delayed wedding, and the joy she felt when she married Fidget, and she actively volunteers the party to assist. Using Polymorph to turn Kanec and Azure into Dorses, they ride to the North, looking for a sign of an oasis where the groom would be hunkered down. However, Ash and Fidget opt to ride in Kanec’s Genie Bag, taking advantage of the downtime to bathe the baby Kane.

The party finds the oasis where the groom’s party is waiting. However, only Azure is able to realize that the civilians are tied up, and figures can just barely be seen buried in the sand. As they draw close the Depraved Gloom reveal themselves, catching the party by surprise. However, they weren’t prepared for Crush and Corrio (who, since losing his connection to Eldath, has fallen back on his instincts as a Berserker barbarian), who use their Rage to force themselves into battle. Crush unleashes critical attacks against one of the Depraved Gloom’s brutes, nearly felling it in a single turn. However, the party is still overwhelmed by sheer numbers… Crush in particular is swarmed, slowed considerably by the poisoned weapons the Depraved Gloom carry. Kanec as well is pinned down with magic, and unfortunately, when he escapes the magic he has taken enough damage to trigger his Reaver Blood Rage. Battle is rough, with fireballs flying and every single party member knocked below half their health. Ash uses her Finger of Death spell to kill one of the Depraved Brutes… and also to convert it into an Undead under her control. With the brute’s help the party is able to fight back, and perhaps fortunately, Kanec is knocked unconscious before his rage turns him against his own allies, and Azure finishes the fight by slamming the last brute with her astral arms, while Ash captures one of the assassins to interrogate.

So, one of our players was feeling sick on Friday, so our usual Hoard of the Dragon Queen game has been rescheduled for Monday night, and tonight we're going to be playing our homebrew campaign of Sacrament. If you need something else to watch while you avoid the Superb Owl, you can join us tonight at 4:30 PM PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty

For those who missed it, read on to see what happened in last week's game:

Ash hurries to prevent the Depraved Gloom spellcaster from swallowing his suicide pill… successfully keeping him alive, although her necrotic touch harms the assassin, causing him to shriek in pain… clearly frightening the tied up hostages, making it difficult for Ricky to convince them that the party isn’t here to harm anyone, but once they’re untied it’s not much trouble to get on their good side. Meanwhile, Corrio joins Ash in interrogating the Spellcaster, assisted by the spellcaster’s own freshly Undead brute. Ash learns that the Depraved Gloom were expecting the Grimveils in Tiavet, but a curse prevents him from answering when Ash asks who sent him. They were told where to find the party, rather than tracking them directly. He is, however, able to confirm that they aren’t led by Zephyr… although his response makes it clear that he knows who Zephyr is. She also takes a moment to send a message to Azure’s mother, Resa, letting her know that her medical experience would be appreciated.

Ricky, meanwhile, asks Crush to keep the civilians distracted… some of the Depraved Gloom had bled in the oasis, and Ricky doesn’t want their disease to spread from this precious source of water in the desert lands of Tiavet. He pours in some of the tears of the Night Mother he had taken in a beer bottle from the oasis that surrounded her statue… praying as he feels the sorrow of the NightMother spread in the water. He doesn’t think that it worked, but at the very least he tried. Meanwhile, Crush checks on Ash, who has decided to ask if the Depraved Gloom are behind the Brittles… able to convince their prisoner to admit that they indeed were, although doing so causes visual injury to appear on his body… babbling about a coven as magic continues to injure him. Ricky shows him a drawing of Larock, but the assassin doesn’t recognize the face. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know much beyond his direct orders, and is unable to reveal more about his direct superiors. Frustrated, Ash kills him while the others work on getting ready to return to town with the rescued hostages.

However, before they can get going, Resa arrives. As expected, she immediately yells at Azure and frightens the civilians. Ricky reminds her about the importance of bedside manner, especially with normal people ambushed and captured by supernatural assassins. He gets through to her, and she uses her skills as a Way of Mercy monk to heal the party and some of the injured civilians. True to his Mark of Hospitality, Ricky shares some food with the civilians, although he learns that the Groom they had been sent to rescue is ritualistically fasting. After the civilians are cared for, Ash takes Resa aside to inform her that Depraved Gloom are the ones behind the brittles… using a combination of viruses and magic granted by the Hag Coven at the center of their organization. The knowledge is valuable to a healer like Resa, and she requests use of the party’s feather of sending to communicate with allies back in Ortheia.

The question of what to do with Ash’s Undead thrall still looms large. Crush suggests that they could either bring it along so that Resa could investigate the disease infecting its body… or try to just polymorphing it into a snake and turning it to gold. Resa mentions she would only be interested in studying the eyes, tongue, and brain of the creature… at which point Ash simply orders it to give those organs to her. To the surprise of everyone, rather than rip them out, the Undead flesh itself animates, the tongue and eyes ripping themselves from the body before falling limp once separated from the necrotic magic in its core. It then violently ejects its brain right out of its nose. Satisfied, Ash decides that it would be safer and easier to travel with if it was a skeleton, since bones would dry out and not carry the blood-based disease the Depraved Gloom are filled with. She orders it to shed its muscle and organs, converting it into a giant skeleton… with Azure quickly directing the civilians away so they don’t see the disturbing sight.

Returning back to town, the long journey has the sun beginning to set as they return as heroes. Crush tries to play the crowd, but with the injuries he sustained his bravado doesn’t have quite the weight it normally does. They find the bride, Jasmine, crying with joy as her fiancee is returned… although her husband-to-be, Nicola, partly is frightened at the knowledge that his wife sent such powerful individuals after him. They invite the Grimveils to their wedding, although they’re hesitant to stay, considering the strict time limit they have with both Fidget and Ash’s curses. Before they can answer, Ash wants to speak to Ricky’s aunt Gilly for more information.

They find Gilly at the local healer’s, where a few of the groomsmen have already been taken. The doctor present introduces himself as Alum Voyra, an elf with dark skin and a thick accent. They find Gilly with Henri, as well as an old woman who goes simply by Grammy. Ash is immediately suspicious of the kindly older woman, especially since she might be listening in on their discussion about the Depraved Gloom with Gilly. However, Henri had a difficult night thanks to his illness, and Gilly is insistent on staying with Henri and letting him rest for the night… with Gilly busy, Ricky volunteers to help Grammy return home. However, they first stop back at the restaurant, where Crush has been entertaining the crowds and Azure is preparing to speak to her Mother… although Azure is clearly too uncomfortable to broach the topic.

Meanwhile, Ricky first leads Grammy to the town’s only restaurant, since she’s in need of some food. Ricky sits with Corrio, who is dismissive and certain that Azure will be leaving with her mother back to Ortheia soon. Ash has dinner with her husband, Fidget, and her son-in-law, Kane, discussing her frustration at being unable to learn more from captured Depraved Gloom members, considering both their curse and the lack of knowledge the operatives are left with. Ash also seems certain that the next day, “The Day of Unluck”, on Friday the 13, may interrupt attempts to communicate using Sending or the Feather of Sending.

Crush is continuing to share stories of his various adventures, in particular telling of the tournament at Seamont, where he defeated a Reaver warrior during the tournament, and his finale battle against Azure, “The Astral Tiger”. This gets a few of the patrons to want to speak to Azure, chatting about her fights, and mentioning her resemblance to a Rakshasa… dangerous demons who also resemble humanoid tigers, albeit with tell-tale reverse hands (with their palms facing outward). Resa is put-off by these stories of her daughter engaging in unnecessary combat, and asks her daughter once again to return to their home in Ortheia to help her treat the Brittles as the disease ravages the country. Azure tries to convince her mother to let her stay, but still can’t bring herself to actually say “No”. Resa doesn’t take her seriously, and warns that she’ll stun Azure and drag her along if necessary. Nearby, Ricky finds himself drinking with Grammy, the older woman casually enjoying her alcohol… stating that she doesn’t expect to live forever anyway, so she doesn’t mind over indulging. Ricky, however, can’t quite keep up and finds himself getting sloshed… awkwardly flirting with the older woman out of habit. She finds it more humorous than anything else, and as the discussion moves on to where they intend to stay for the night, Grammy volunteers to let them stay at her house. On the way out the Elvish woman who called Ricky by name makes her way into the restaurant… Grammy recognizes her as Zaunta, and encourages the party to speak to her directly. They learn that she’s a fortune teller who specializes in love predictions… Crush dismisses the concept, as he considers himself too young to care about such things. Still, at Azure’s insistence, he allows her to read his palm. She’s able to sense the second soul residing in his heart from his sister Crash. She also notes that he will find love with someone who shares an element with him, and his path has many potential ends, but there is one path where he will have 8 eggs, one of which he will name after his sister. She also knows his birth name of Kaa, and being called that by a stranger, considering Ricky, his closest family, doesn’t even call him by that name (even though he calls Crash by her birth name of Noka). The only person to call him Kaa in decades was his sister… hearing the name out loud causes him to thank her but excuse himself to escort Ricky to Grammy’s house.

Azure is next to have her fortune read. Zaunta detects that Azure already knows her true love… proclaiming that her true love will admire, above all else, the color of Azure’s eyes… the same intense blue for which she was named. She predicts 4 children in Azure’s future, including twins… a genetic trait that’s common in her family. However, Zaunta detects a near-death experience that will prevent Azure from having more children… she finishes by advising Azure to “show her teeth” more freely. Fidget is the next to have his palm read… his particular future difficult and confusing. Zaunta can tell that his true love is already dead, and Fidget’s own lifeline is skewed… his destiny was to die at 43, a respectable age for a goblin, but the influence of his curse means his life will either end soon, or extend for much, much longer. He’s assured that his children will live, but she warns that Fidget’s most likely future is to take the lives of many others when his life ends… she also calls Fidget by his name, and like Crush, calls Ash by her birth name of Promethea.

Outside, Crush is still feeling nostalgic. He explains that his sister was named Noka… the name Crash wasn’t just a clever nickname… it’s a partial translation of her name, which is the sound of a Crashing Wave. Crush’s own name, Kaa, ironically is the sound of a gentle wave. Grammy leads the party to her home… she hasn’t been in the town of Azha for some time, and her home is dusty. Crush asks about it, and finds himself volunteered to help clean. Not wanting to leave it alone to Crush, Azure joins in as well. Ricky, meanwhile, is feeling particularly sick… he had drunk some gin… which contained Juniper, something Ricky is allergic to. Ricky gets sick, vomiting into a bucket… Crush, Azure, and Ricky opt to stay in Grammy’s guest room… Corrio accepts Grammy’s offer to stay in her own bed, as she prefers to sleep in her chair. Ash and Fidget, meanwhile, opt for Kanec’s Genie Bag for the night, preferring a little more privacy. As a storm rolls in, Crush expresses worry, considering the Depraved Gloom have arrived and the Day of Unluck is upon them once midnight hits… suggesting they sleep in shifts, just in case. He takes time to meditate… connecting with the storm. It feels unnatural to him, and the soul of his sister lets him know it’s a good night to stay awake.

Ash and Fidget realize they still need to complete their soul-bonding tattoo… something they’d like to do before midnight. The two of them are willing to risk the storm to return to the Temple of Amor, where the priestesses have prepared the ceremonial ink for them, which contains some of Fidget’s own blood. They find the priestesses preparing for what they expect to be a difficult weekend, with the Day of Unluck immediately followed by the Festival of Amor. Still, they take time to perform the ritual… bonding their souls together, reminding them that this means their lives will end simultaneously, and that they will enter the afterlife together. Unusually for the clergy, they are accepting of Ash’s Undead form, believing that love does not have the same limitations of other beliefs (although her form is still quite frightening). Their hands are bound by a red ribbon as their bodies are tattooed. The ceremony takes an hour, but as the two bond their souls Ash feels a warmth she hasn’t experienced since her death and, only once, as she holds her husband’s hand, her heart beats. With the ceremony complete, they warn them to seek shelter before the Day of Unluck arrives… and also that they should fast on the Day of Unluck. For Kane’s sake, however, they provide a single rose… blessed by Amor, it will allow a child like him to fast without suffering.

Returning to Grammy’s house, they note how dusty her home seems to be. Crush pokes his head out when he hears the door opening… checking to make sure that no one unexpected is coming in. Ash mentions fasting for the Day of Unluck and Crush realizes that Kanec didn’t manage to eat after the fight that knocked him unconscious. Luckily he’s managed to rest enough to recover since then, and Crush wakes him up and introduces him to Grammy. He also wakes Azure, since it’s about time for her to take watch as well… she’s worried for Ricky, who has been vomiting the food he had earlier that night. Pulling from her medical knowledge, she knows that it’s worth interrupting Ricky’s sleep to make sure that he has food in his stomach. As Crush returns to sleep, the other party members gather, with Grammy volunteering to grill up some beef for everyone to share. As Ricky also returns to bed, Kanec and Azure stay up to keep watch, enjoying a sort of date together as Grammy insists on sharing plenty of food before midnight comes. She actually stops Azure and Kanec, letting them know as midnight hits… the day of Unluck brought on by the sound of crashing thunder… a supernatural wind blowing through the house and snuffing all the candles.

Azure and Kanec retire back to the shared bedroom, intent on keeping watch together for now. Kanec notes that the beds in the house seem to be of Reaver make, despite the only occupant being a human woman. Kanec and Azure are excited by the sensation of sneaking alone in the dark and stormy night… sitting together on a bed to cuddle and kiss. Ricky uses his Blanket of Rest to complete his sleep sooner… to avoid interrupting Azure and Kanec, he turns invisible and sneaks out. However, Grammy hears him, the two chatting about the Day of Unluck… a day controlled by Chao, although Grammy is careful not to call the Goddess of Chaos by name, since it risks summoning her. Almost on cue, they hear the sound of glass breaking… followed by a scream. Ricky chooses to distract himself by continuing to work on the portrait he had started of Ash and Fidget… despite working in the dark relying on the Nightvision granted by his enchanted pendant, he does well. Grammy comments on the fact that Ash is Undead, apparently aware of her condition, although Ricky doesn’t make much of her observation. She also mentions the Nightmother casually, clearly sympathizing with the tragedy of her relationship with Sovereign. Grammy shares a lot of wisdom and knowledge of the world with Ricky. However, their casual conversation is interrupted as they hear the sound of large beasts traveling outside in the storm… they even identify the sound of a cow being slaughtered. Grammy recognizes the sound as werewolves.

As the two discuss Grammy’s casual reaction to such horrors, she explains that she’s lived a long life. However… as Ricky is distracted by the knowledge of werewolves’ nature as corrupted followers of the Nightmother, Grammy casually uses her knitting needle to tap his clothing… right above the pendant of the Nightmother he’s wearing… even identifying her by her true name, Aurana. Grammy seems to know far too much, but Ricky doesn’t want to be rude or risk creating more trouble by asking for more information. She mentions that she can’t stay much longer and will need to return home soon, but deflects when Ricky asks her where home is. She talks about how good it was that someone finally saw Aurana… seeming to know intimately how lonely the Night Mother is. Before Ricky can ask more she holds up the scarf she’s been working on… it’s an “infinity scarf”… the type designed to have a twist that connects both ends together, making an endless loop. She offers the scarf to Ricky, who finds it incredibly comfortable… and Ricky finally asks who she is. She still doesn’t answer directly, instead simply saying that she’s followed them for some time. She says she’s heard of the party in whispers and messages… learning this from someone who regularly speaks to their Mother.

At this, Grammy changes to her true form… an androgynous, vaguely elven figure. Glowing with light, they thank Ricky for chatting with them. Ricky doesn’t want them to leave without thanking them first… offering them an illustration he drew of a particularly lewd flower. The being is thankful, and mentions that they have talked to the Sea itself, hearing from Kalea, the Tortle Druid who helps to protect the sea. Amor also reveals that Sune, the Goddess of Love and Beauty from the characters’ homelands, is their estranged sister. The figure also explains that they already blessed two of Ricky’s party… letting Ricky realize that before him stands Amor, the genderless God of Love. Amor regrets that they have a part to play in the storm that ravages the country… unable to embody the warm, comforting god of love, instead forced to embody the chaotic, selfish energy of lust. With Amor’s exit the warmth and comfort of the home disappears… even the fresh fruit that Amor had provided now becoming stale. Ricky realizes that, without the God of Love literally escorting them, the abandoned home they’re all staying in is that much less safe as the minions of Chao stalk the night, calling on Azure and Kanec to help keep watch.

Come join us in half an hour, 5pm PST, at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty Tonight we're back to Hoard of the Dragon Queen, which had to be rescheduled from its usual Friday Night slot. In case you missed last week's game, here's what are wacky group of Mostly-Harpers got up to:

After enjoying a night of passion... G’houl and Dahlia in the third floor of his magical tower, and Katniss with Loki in a private spot where they set up their tent, the party starts their morning by checking in on friends and enemies alike. Dahlia in particular goes out of her way to intimidate the cultist, who goes by the name Matilda Allans, into not acting out, especially considering the racist manner in which she talks about Radecere. Speaking of Radecere, Dahlia checks on him as well, finding that while he didn’t sleep with the dwarven guard, Tyjit, over the night, he still shared a tent with one of the male guards, protected from the cultists for the night. Dahlia carefullly warns Tyjit to protect Radecere, and although she’s careful not to tell Tyjit exactly why he’s in danger, she’s able to put on a persuasive enough tone and facial expression to get Tyjit to take her warning deathly serious.

The party also speaks to the Zhentarim agent, Jamna, who reveals that she’s in contact with more agents via carrier pigeon, and that she can arrange aid once the party arrives in Waterdeep. However, as part of that support, she needs the party to reveal to her which of their fellow travelers are cultists. Katniss takes some time to scope out the known cultists... in particular, the Tattooed Thayan man, Azbara, who recently joined the cult and seems less secretive than the others. They are able to see that Azbara spends some time with a man they believed to be a potter traveling with his apprentice, discerning that the Potters are also members of the Cult of Tiamat. The party able to share the identies of 9 separate wagon parties that they are confident belong to the Cult, all of which is shared with Jamna.

As night approaches, Katniss directs the convoy toward a small creek surrounded by a small orchard of naturally growing edible berries. G’houl finds himself surrounded by expectant travelers... now that they know he can continue to summon Galder’s Tower at night, they wait impatiently for him to summon it again, with G’houl conceding, providing a kitchen and baths for travelers to enjoy... to the annoyance of Loki, who thinks he should be charging money. The party actually foregoes using the third floor of G’houl’s tower to rest, instead prefering to camp so they can help keep watch. The party prioritizes keeping an eye on Radecere and the Allans family, certain that some bad blood risks erupting between them. Fortunately, Radecere makes it through the night unscathed... unfortunately, they find that the Potter Katniss had only recently identified as a cultist was killed in the night, his body left leaning against his cart as though he was simply sleeping in the open air.

To the surprise of no one, Matilda Allans immediately accuses Radecere. As a Deep Gnome, at some point he may have raised suspicion, especially with the reputation attached to beings from the Underdark. But with the party’s help Radecere has opened up and found friendships among his fellow travelers, and even a budding romance with one of the caravan guards. Tyjit steps forward to defend Radecere, and the passionate Dwarven Woman risks getting into a fight with Matilda, but Dahlia is able to calm the situation, convincing everyone to allow her and her allies to investigate the scene. Knowing this is an ideal situation for information gathering, she decides to cast Detect Thoughts on herself... however, as she’s still attempting to keep her skills as a bard hidden, she attempts to stealthily cast the spell when no one is watching her, but unfortunately she’s seen, immediately garnering suspicion from the cultists. Still, they’re unable to identify which spell she cast, allowing Dahlia to freely interrogate the cultists present. The Potter’s Apprentice doesn’t seem bothered by his “master’s” death,and instead is more concerned that their wagon may be searched, and also seems afraid that someone named “Father Derrick” will punish him for this. He asks Dahlia about the spell he saw her cast, but Dahlia is able to skillfully redirect the conversation to keep the suspicion off herself.

While Dahlia interrogates the Apparentice, G’houl and Katniss work together to investigate the crime scene. They determine that the victim had been stabbed in the back... the wound too large to be a dagger, most likely belonging to a shortsword, but it could easily be a long sword. More importantly, they’re able to determine that the ground was carefully swept, and no obvious prints were left behind. Katniss in particular is certain that this was the work of an experienced killer. As they’re finishing their investigation, Dahlia takes advantage of her spell to interrogate Matilda, who is dismissive and uninterested in helping, but Dahlia is more interested in detecting her thoughts. Unfortunately, the spell is reaching the end of its duration,and Matilda thinks to herself in the Draconic Language... although Dahlia is careful to memorize what she hears, intent on asking Katniss to translate later.

As the question rises as to what to do next, Dahlia suggests that the Potter’s body be carried by his apprentice in the back of their cart, and the convoy continue to Waterdeep. Surprisingly, Azbara steps forward flanked by his red-cloaked guards, volunteering to help the young man, who he refers to as Rulf,in both loading his former master and helping him to guide his wagon forward. As the convoy continues on the road, the party remains intent on investigating further and checking on allies. Dahlia begins to search for Jamna,finding her relaxing in the back of Beyd’s beer cart. Jamna seems unaware of the murder, dismissing it as none of her business until Dahlia reveals that the victim was one of the Cultists. Dahlia asks if Jamna was the one who killed him, which Jamna denies before immediately asking Dahlia if she was the killer. Seemingly satisfied with Jamna’s response, Dahlia continues her flight to search for more information.

G’houl, meanwhile, sends his familiar, Dusk, to tail Matilda. He finds her reporting to “Malcolm Johnson,” the scarred man they know to be a high ranking Cult of Tiamat member. In private, she calls him Father Derrick, and again expresses her suspicion that Radecere is behind the attack. Father Derrick, meanwhile, is furious at her for making a scene and potentially attracting suspicion. He assures her that “Lord Azbara” will take care of things. While G’houl is seeing and hearing through Dusk’s eyes, Loki takes advantage of the opportunity to style his hair into cute pigtails, complete with ribbons. Katniss, however, wants to see what can be found in the Potters’ cart. It’s difficult to get inside.... the cart is driven by two figures, and Azbara’s guards are also monitoring the cart. Fortunately, with their Cloak of Elven Kind, Katniss is able to successfully sneak inside. They find that the victim’s body has been wrapped in cheap linens and tossed carelessly in the back of the cart. Unsurprisingly, the cart doesn’t contain any pottery or, indeed, any potter’s supplies... instead, itsimply has several heavy looking chests with large padlocks. Katniss isn’t able to discern what the chests contain, as they had such a tight window to make their attempt, managing to sneak out and avoid being seen.

Dahlia hurries to check on Radecere,who has resumed his original preferred position... sitting on the back of the last wagon in the convoy, staring forlornly at the road behind him. As a man who has spent years wallowing in guilt for the people who died due to his choices, being accused of murder so overtly has triggered many intense and overwhelming feelings for him. Dahlia has some trouble convincing him to open up more to Tyjit... Radecere clearly frightened to tell her the story of his wife’s death, and his denial when she returned as a Mind Flayer which led to the deaths of his entire village. To help Radecere to appreciate the danger he’s in, Dahlia reveals some of her secrets to him... admitting that she’s using a disguise and she’s not just a guard... she’s tailing a dangerous cult, and she believes Radecere is the target of their ire. She’sa able to convince him to keep her secret, and also to stay close to Tyjit’s side... not only for his own safety, but also for the sake of his own happiness.

More interviews and investigations follow, but the party doesn’t learn anything they haven’t learned before. Reconvening, they discuss plans going forward, knowing that they’re planning to follow the cult even beyond Waterdeep, they realize that they can’t do more than observe for now and continue to tail the cultists... but they need to up the guard to make certain no one else gets killed. They briefly consider telling Tyjit about what they’re doing and why, but Katniss and G’houl both realize that the passionate Dwarf wouldn’t be able to resist acting if she knew the truth, especially with Radecere in danger. Still, they ask that she make certain the guard is doubled for the night, and although she doesn’t know everything, she knows enough to trust the party and takes their advice to heart, promising as well to keep an extra eye on Radecere. With the sun setting, Katniss seeks out a campsite for the night, finding a valley pressed against a sharp cliff facee, pulling the carts into a semi-circle, and a command from Dahlia is enough to even get the cultists to join the rest of the travelrs within the circle.

Feeling suspicious, Dahlia seeks out Azbara. She finds him near Beyd, the beer-seller’s, wagon... the same wagon Jamna has been traveling with. Azbara is more social than the other cultists, sipping a beer and talking to others who seem to be curious about Rulf and his master, with Azbara speaking well of the dead and lamenting the loss of a great craftsman. Dahlia approaches Azbara carefully... trying to needle him for information without showing her own hand. When Azbara mentions that he recognized her use of a spell earlier in the day, Dahlia counters by asking how he knows about spellcasting (especially since the spell she cast produces no visible effect). Azbara dismisses this concern, claiming that he has only a small amount of training, making a large show of the effort it takes him to cast Mage Hand. After some more niceties, Dahlia convinces Azbara to speak with her in private, although she can see clearly that his guards keep their distance, but stay within eye line. Dahlia presses Azbara further, questioning how he’s able to connect with the convoy members that have been so incredibly standoffish. Azbara claims to be a business partner of Malcolm Johnson, complimenting his skills as a jeweler and even producing a ruby pendant he claims was crafted by Johnson. He also uses this to explain his relationship with the Potter, claiming that he regularly invests in merchants and appreciates fine craftsmanship. Dahlia struggles a bit... her usually unflappable deception rolling lower than average during this tete a tete. Azbara ends the conversation, intent on returning to the conversations he was having before Dahlia’s arrival.

Returning to her party, Dahlia informs them of what she learned. More importantly, she recognizes Azbara’s attitude... a common deception used by Lords and other upper class charlatans. Katniss, who also has experience with upper class society, agreed. However, Katniss also has someone she wants to speak to. She approaches Jamna, who is playing the part as bartender for Beyd’s wagon. Katniss carefully asks Jamna, through circuitous dialogue, whether or not she was the one who killed the fake Potter. Jamna denies the accusation, but hesitates a bit against such an earnest, unflappable person as Katniss, with Katniss able to discern that Jamna was, indeed, the killer. Rather than admonish Jamna, however, Katniss expresses understanding, having little sympathy for the cultists. Rather, they’re interested in what Jamna was able to learn... finding that she had broken into the Potter’s cart, but when she was caught she killed him to protect herself. Jamna confirms that their cart contains nothing of value to a Potter, but plenty of miscellaneous stolen goods from dozens of towns from across the land. Katniss assures Jamna that they will support the murderous gnome, especially since, unlike their allies, Katniss is not a Harper.

Change of plans: It turns out a different player is feeling Unwell so we'll have to delay again

Okay, so things have been a bit weird lately. We have several players located in Texas so things have been a bit chaotic this week. Hopefully things should be back to normal going forward, but at the very least we're back to our homebrew campaign of Sacrament on Sundays, and Hoard of the Dragon Queen has been rescheduled for Monday (which is Rainbow-Flyer's birthday). We're starting a bit later than usual tonight, so join us at 6pm PST at our home of twitch.tv/afterdisbooty for more Crits for Breakfast. In case you missed our last Sacrament game, or if you just need a reminder, here's what you missed:

As Friday the 13, the Day of Unluck, causes a storm to rage over the small town of Azha, Ricky lets his allies, Kanec and Azure, know about his interaction with the Goddess of Love, Amor. Although Kanec is concerned… knowing that on the Day of Unluck, Amor becomes corrupted by Chao, forcibly transformed into the Goddess of Love’s sinister shadow, Lust. Ricky taps into his Dragonmark, using it to cast the Private Sanctum spell to protect the home further… but as he does so lightning strikes the building itself, nearly breaking his concentration before completing the spell’s casting time. As the house is damaged, they decided to interrupt everyone’s rest to reconvene and discuss what to do now that they know of Amor’s presence. However, lightning strikes again, this time setting a wooden table on fire, and the Grimveils find themselves struggling against the bad luck of the night. Azure uses her astral arms to absorb the fire and extinguish it before it can spread through the dusty house the party is spending the night in. Ash casts Spider Climb on Crush so he can work on repairing the hole in the roof, but when he sticks his head through the hole he comes face to face with one of the werewolves that have gone mad in the Day of Unluck.

A precarious battle begins, with the bad luck making it difficult to fight back against the werewolves. Even with Spider Climb allowing him to climb the walls, the slick, unnatural rain causes Crush to lose a grip on his axe, flinging it into the distance as he tries to battle the werewolves on the roof. When one of the werewolves tries to break in through an open window, Ash polymorphs it into a harmless garden snake. The battle rages, until there’s just one werewolf left standing outside the house… which Crush kills by hitting it with a body slam from the roof, slamming down onto it with his full 500 pound weight.

At this point Ricky completes the Private Sanctum spell, and the party focuses on trying to repair the holes left behind. Ash and Fidget reveal the magical rose they were given, which can be used to prevent hunger, since it’s tradition to fast on the Day of Rest. However, when it comes time to feed Vanity, Ash’s pet viper, it instead aggressively bites Kanec. As a Reaver, he is fortunately immune to poison… but unfortunately it has an intoxicating effect on him. As Kanec stumbles into his Genie Bag to rest, the party discusses whether Ash’s patron is working with the Depraved Gloom, although she admits she has no way of knowing for certain. Ricky also casts Identify on the scarf left to them by Amor… learning that it provides a modest boost to constitution, the scarf’s most important power is that it can be used once to revive the dead with True Resurrection. They discuss briefly whether this can be used to revive Ash to true life, or if the spell is powerful enough to overcome the Reaver Curse on Fidget should he die, but ultimately they decided it’s better to keep it as an Ace in the Hole in case of emergency, rather than try to use it right away.

With the house relatively secured thanks to Ricky’s spell, the Grimveils try to complete their rests. Thanks to his Blanket of Rest, Ricky is already fully rested, and after loaning the blanket to him, Crush soon joins Ricky to keep watch… the two share a few conversations, but things take a turn when Crush notices a tornado hurtling toward them. The two attempt to hide in a smaller room with only one window, but the tornado is too powerful for the rickety old house they’ve been staying in. The roof ripped right off the top, and even Crush’s 500 lb body is picked up and thrown by the winds. However, he’s at least able to protect Ricky from much of the flying debris, at the cost of his own health.

When things calm down Ash exits the Genie Bag to figure out what’s going on… more annoyed at the loss of the house they were staying in than anything else. With nowhere else to go, they first check the hospital hoping to check on Ricky’s aunt and uncle, who are staying inside, but find it to be too secure to enter. Instead they make their way to the temple of Amor, which is protected with magics and is willing to take in those seeking sanctuary.

Inside they meet with the Priestesses of Amor, who are impressed when they hear that the party has been visited by Amor. As they discuss the conflicts of the Gods, Crush thinks to check on his Grimveil pendant… finding that the jewel in the center is flashing colors seemingly at random. Seeing that, Ricky thinks to pull out the Grimveil Shield… finding that the words written on the Shield are lighting up wildly as well. Sister Dawn, one of the Priestesses, is interested in the relic, noting the text written in Dwarvish. She also notices writing in Tiavet, the language of the Reavers, and is shocked to learn that the shield comes from the country of Estea beyond the Eternal Storm. Crush also thinks to ask about Griffins, and Dawn mentions a special breed of Silver Griffins known for being able to fly through storms… and some were believed to have actually flown through the Eternal Storm.

However, as they’re discussing this they see that the shield has suddenly started to react… the Tiavet text carved into the side lighting up with red magical essence. Picking it up, they use it to find the direction it’s aiming… looking out a window to see an 11 foot tall Reaver carrying three separate Greatswords on his back. Sister Dawn identifies him as Archerd… an ancient Reaver General who once served alongside Sovereign, but was banished from his army, and even from Paradise itself as punishment for his cruelty and viciousness… slaughtering an entire town of innocents out of sheer boredom. Still, his skill was second only to Sovereign himself, and he has evaded death for millenia.

However, Archerd passes through the town, although he’s unfazed by the raging storm that surrounds him.

There is some concern, as he seems to be moving in the same direction the party is already moving. But, within the safety of the magically protected temple, the party is left with little more than time on their hands. Staying alert and attempting to avoid anything too potentially dangerous, in case the bad luck from the day should cause injury. Crush risks any self injury he might sustain by carving a figurine out of wood, while Azure focuses on completing the decorative armor she had been working on for baby Kane. Ricky goes into the Genie Bag to spend time with Omelette, the Emu he had adopted but hasn’t been able to spend much time with. Ash and Fidget remain in the temple, discussing elven culture and religion with the Tiavetan priestesses. It’s revealed that, in Tiavet, Elves have large families, in direct contrast with Ortheian elves, where it’s considered an ill omen to have more than one child within a single century… Ash herself is the second child of 3 within a single century in her family, and the fact that she was born to a family of illustrious sorcerers with no innate magic of her own and the circumstances of her tragic death seem to prove this superstition accurate.

Eventually, all this talk about religion gets Crush to ask the priestesses about what advice they would give to someone who lost their faith. They ask for more details, and he tells them about what happened to Corrio… about the curse that altered his very soul so that his alignment is changed to evil, and how he lost his connection to his Goddess, Eldath. Everyone has been afraid to talk to Corrio about the topic… they only barely convinced him to continue adventuring with them, and they know it’s a sore topic. Despite these concerns, Ricky realizes it would be best to communicate with him about this… steeling himself before he chooses to enter Kanec’s Genie Bag to discuss Corrio’s faith and his plans for the future.

Hoard of the Dragon Queen is coming tonight! Join us tonight at 6pm PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty, and read on if you missed our last session:

With the night winding down, G’houl once again summons his tower... creating the usual kitchen in the first floor that has made him extremely popular with his fellow travelers, and for the third floor he creates a modified Observatory that can be used by guards to keep watch of the camp after the disturbing murder of the previous night. However, for the second floor, G’houl creates a private lounge separated from the rest of the tower by a locked door. Inside, they discuss their plans for the remainder of their trip. Dahlia discusses a particularly extreme plan... she intends to spend the next morning nude, save for illusory clothing created by her Hat of Disguise, her intent being to discern whether or not any of the cultists they were following were capable of seeing through the illusion. Katniss also carefully reveals that Jamna Gleamsilver, the Zhentarim agent they are working with, was responsible for the murder the previous night. Rather than become upset, the party is supportive of Jamna, and Dahlia actually goes out of her way to include Jamna in their plans. Once she’s retrieved, Jamna thinks Dahlia’s plan is ridiculous, but can’t deny that it’s a smart way to weed out whether the Cultists or the Red Wizard they appear to be allied with can tell she’s been traveling with a magical disguise throughout this entire journey.

Through the night they still opt to take turns keeping watch, paired with other Guards on top of G’houl’s tower. They find that many other convoy members are keeping watch at night as well, the murder putting everyone on high alert. Thankfully, this also meant that fires are kept burning through the night, making it easy to keep watch. However, when G’houl’s turn to keep watch arrives, he realizes a negative side-effect of the fires... looking up to the sky, he finds that the lights have attracted a Peryton. Along with Orvustia, a perky young human guard who seems eager to learn from the more experienced adventurer, they manage to attack the creature... not killing it, but at least harming it enough to fly away and tend to its wounds. The shriek of the creature causes some degree of chaos, but the rest of the night still passes peacefully.

When morning comes, Dahlia enacts her plan, stripping down to nothing more than a pair of boots and a scarf (along with her Hat of Disguise)... requiring a bit of help to get through the crowded kitchen floor of the tower without anyone bumping into her and feeling through the illusion. Dahlia braves the gradually lowering temperature and makes a show of visiting Azbara and the cultists, although they give no indication of seeing anything beyond the illusion she wears. Katniss, however, with their high perception, notices an Elven man staring with jaw dropped when Dahlia flies overhead. Once satisfied that the cult hasn’t seen through her disguise, the party decides to interrogate the Elven man. They find that his name is Selvek, a mute elf traveling with his brother, Noohar. The brothers are talented woodcarvers, traveling to sell their fine crafts in Waterdeep. Selvek was born unable to speak, but his older brother speaks freely and endlessly, translating for his brother using Sign Language. According to Noohar, Selvek has always had visions and sees things that aren’t there, and seems unable to see Illusionary magic. G’houl, however, is able to realize that, for unknown reasons, Selvek possesses True Sight. Dahlia also discovers some of the limitations of spells like Message... as Selvek has never spoken for his entire life, he’s unable to reply properly through the spell, instead conveying broad concepts and ideas. When she attempts Detect Thoughts she finds that he communicates through imagery... if she closes her eyes and focuses, she can see him clearly commuincating through written words appearing in her subconscious. Although she’s careful not to reveal her party’s true allegiance, she is able to convince Selvek to use his True Sight to keep an eye out for anything suspicious... although for now the only observation he has is about Dahlia’s true form (a detail he has never discussed with even his brother, since he never realized she was meant to be disguised in the first place), and also noting that G’houl’s familiar, Dusk, isn’t a “Real Cat”.

Speaking of Dusk, as the convoy begins to travel once again, G’houl has Dusk sneakily follow some of the cultists, hoping to find any other secrets. Riding with Dahlia on their armored horse, Cake, G’houl uses his magic to see through his familiar’s eyes... following the woman called Kiley Allens as she sneaks out to do some hunting. He observes her using a crossbow to fire on a rabbit... deliberately delivering a non-lethal blow to cripple the creature before torturously stabbing the helpless creature in painful, but non-lethal ways. Dusk fails to stay hidden, and Kiley shoots him with another crossbow bolt, destroying Dusk’s physical form and returning his essence to the Feywild. Dahlia mounts her Broom of Flying and angrily flies in Kiley’s direction, following the screams of pain from the dying rabbit. At the same time, Katniss also moves in the direction of the screams... although they don’t know about Kiley yet, their high perception and survival skills are enough for them to realize the shrieks of pain were coming from a single rabbit experiencing terrible pain. Unlike Dahlia, Katniss approaches stealthily, although does briefly reveal themselves to Dahlia as they notice that Kiley was the source of the scream.

Dahlia angrily confronts Kiley, who is nonchalant about Dahlia’s accusations of animal torture. Kiley teases and mocks Dahlia, subtly threatening to kill her and steal her Broom of Flying... which Dahlia responds to by grabbing Kiley and pulling her 15 feet into the air, attempting to frighten the cruel young woman into behaving herself going forward. Kiley, however, pulls out a knife, ready to attack Dahlia... fortunately for Dahlia, Katniss is faster on the Initiative, making the incredibly difficult shot to disarm Kiley without harming her with a critical attack. Dahlia shouts for more guards to come assist her, and Kiley responds by going limp in Dahlia’s arms... with Dahlia unable to support her weight, dropping her 15 feet to the ground just as the guard Solesdeg arrives to investigate. Kiley performs very well, deceiving Solesdeg into believing she’s far more injured than her relatively short fall would imply. Katniss tries to lie about what the group was doing following Kiley, since they didnt’ want to risk revealing too much to the cultists. This, however, creates some conflict between Katniss and Dahlia, since Dahlia is perfectly willing to admit her motivation was to keep an eye on the suspicious young woman and frighten her as punishment for torturing the rabbit. Kiley even refuses Loki’s attempts to heal her. Because the party has created such a positive reputation for themselves, and since Kiley travels with known trouble makers, the guards aren’t willing to arrest Dahlia outright... instead requiring a sudden trial to decide what happens next.

A small council of authority figures is assembled... Jundo, as their employer and the organizer of the convoy, joins Solesdeg, representing the guards, Claver, the female Goliath leading the Lionshield Coster carts, representing the merchants, and Azbara managing to involve himself as a representative of the civilians. The Allens family is also present... Matilda playing the part of loving, concerned Mother for Kiley, who does her best to appear as a helpless little girl needlessly assaulted... although even this dramatic event isn’t enough to break the straight backed, stern expression of Abernath Allens. Matilda demands that Dahlia, and all her friends, should be arrested and kept in chains. As the judges debate, Claver quickly takes control of the situation... as she has no obvious biases for or against Dahlia or her friends. Dahlia is able to convince her that Kiley was, indeed, needlessly torturing the rabbit, and as an experienced hunter, Claver is able to examine the body and see the clear signs of physical abuse. Claver counters, however, that while she agrees it’s likely Kiley tortured the rabbit, there’s technically no law against that, and it certainly doesn’t justify lifting someone into the air and dropping them.

The debate then shifts to Dahlia’s intent... she maintains that she never intended to harm Kiley, and it was Kiley herself who went out of her way to become injured when guards were called. It’s mentioned that Kiley was the first to draw her weapon... the dagger she pulled has also been recovered, and Claver knows Katniss well enough to believe that they are fully capable of shooting a weapon out of someone’s hands, even investigating the knife closely enough to find the impact mark of an arrowhead on the blade. Dahlia makes the argument that there would be no reason to call for more guards if she intended anything untoward... noting that she was perfectly capable of assaulting and killing Kiley in secret. And although the Allens try to play up what Dahlia said as a veiled threat, it makes perfect sense to the practical-minded Goliath, especially since Kiley is less convincing about her claims that she didn’t try to fall on purpose. Claver recommends that Dahlia should be fired from Jundo’s employ and no longer have the authority of a guard for their trip... she doesn’t believe that Dahlia is a danger to the rest of the convoy, but does think that Dahlia over-stepped her authority, since it’s not a guard’s place to police the morals of the people they’re charged with protecting. Jundo and Solesdeg are unhappy with this, but can’t deny that it makes the most sense... Azbara, however, remains silent thorugh most of the proceedings. This doesn’t satisfy Matilda, who insists that not only Dahlia, but all of the friends she travels with should be stripped of their weapons and put in chains. A panicking Jundo is struck with inspration, since he’s the only member of the jury aware of the party’s true mission as Harpers... he suggests, since they’re so close to Waterdeep, everyone involved simply seek out the Waterdeep Police, and allow the courts of the big city to decide. Dahlia and Katniss are both able to see that the thought of involving authorities clearly panics the Allens family, and Matilda withdraws her demands for more punishment. In the end, the other party members remain free to finish the remaining three days to Waterdeep unimpeded, although Dahlia finds herself officially fired from Jundo’s employ. What that means, considering the guard position she held was always a front to hide her true duties as a Harper, remains to be seen.

Things have been hectic the past couple weeks, but we should be back to our regular schedule! So that means we'll be streaming Hoard of the Dragon Queen tonight at 6pm PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. If you want to learn what happened in Monday's game, however, read on: 

As the party tries to return to normal following the trial orchestrated by the Allans family of cultists, they find that other Cult Members are starting to listen in intently on the events... a task accomplished easily when Tyjit, the Dwarven Guard, learns about their situation. She rants angrily, making it clear thatt he guard will be watching the Allans family much more closely going forward... not only because Tyjit believes that Dahlia was framed for the supposed attack on Kiley Allans, but also because Matilda Allans had a racist outburst against her suitor, the Deep Gnome Radecere. Dahlia, meanwhile, goes out of her way to keep suspicion off of herself by playing into the idea of being an irresponsible drunk who simply drinks beer and flirts with others once she no longer has the responsibility of being a guard.

As night falls, G’houl again summons his tower so the party can gather and plan what to do going forward... as well as to have a private location to resummon his familiar, Dusk, who had his corporeal body destroyed by Kiley. As they observe the convoy setting up camp for the night, they notice that the cultists, who are normally careful not to be seen as a cohesive unit, have gathere their carts in a secluded area away from the rest of the camp... with the Allans family cart surronded by the other cultists. Suspecting foul play, They make a plan for Katniss to sneak into their camp, accompanied by Dusk. Between Katniss’s Cloak of Elven Kind and their ability to cast Pass Without a Trace, it’s not difficult to get into the reclusive cultists’ location. Once inside, They witness Malcolm Johnson (who the other cultists refer to as Father Derrick, while Dahlia sarcastically calls him Chuckles) accompanied by Azbara Jos enter the Allans cart. While the cart is too small for Katniss to successfully sneak in without being seen, despite their skill with stealth, but Dusk is able to sneak in, remaining unseen as G’houl watches through Dusk’s eyes.

Inside, Dusk witnesses the Allans family... the “father”, Abernath, and “Mother”, Matilda are begging for their lives, but Kiley has been tied up and gagged at some point. But when Chuckles orders them to obey in service of their Queen, the cultists agree. Azbara’s assistants begin gathering chests of treasure from inside the Allans cart, tranferring them to a Bag of Holding that Azbara is carrying. Azbara also produces a small satchel with strange looking mushrooms inside... adding them to a pot of stew that Abernath and Matilda willingly ingest. The cultists convulse in seizure as the poisonous mushrooms kill them almost instantly. Watching through Dusk’s eyes, they realize that Kiley will be forced to consume the same poisonous stew. Despite her cruel nature, the kind-hearted adventurers try to rescue her. Loki casts Message to contact the trusted guard, Sulesdeg, telling him he needs to check on the Allans family immediately.... unfortunately, he’s currently far away, especially since the cultists have deliberately set up camp away from the rest of the convoy. Dahlia, meanwhile, decides to lean into her “drunk girl” persona... using her Hat of Disguise to appear to be topless, flying wildly through the air on her Broom of Flying and flying toward Chuckles, who she had been teasingly flirting with since meeting him. However, despite their efforts, Azbara needs only seconds to cast Command... forcing Kiley to drink the poisoned stew. Katniss attempts to intervene, not realizing they’re too late to rescue Kiley... stepping out of stealth to confront Chuckles. They speak to him in Draconic, using the code phrase “Long Live the Queen” in an attempt to to pose as a fellow cultist and intervene to save Kiley’s life, but Katniss is not skilled in deception and he immediately sees through their ruse. Without hesitation, Father Derek draws his sword and attempts to murder Katniss, unaware that guards are already on their way to their location.

Combat ensues. Dahlia is already flying toward the Cultists’ circle of carts, and Loki has also run after her on foot, trying to play the part of a concerned friend just trying to talk down their drunk ally. G’houl, however... is on the second floor of his tower, hundreds of feet away, observing through Dusk’s eyes, he sees that Azbara chooses not assist his allies, instead casting invisibility on himself and exiting. As a familiar, Dusk can cast Touch spells for G’houl, but unfortunately, he doesn’t know any that would be of any use in combat. G’houl finds himself dashing at full speed to help his allies, but when every second counts, 300 feet might as well be a mile. Katniss finds themself, at least briefly, all alone, surrounded by cultists. Fortunately for Katniss, this leg of the journey is largely trusted to unskilled and weaker cult members who can easily pose as normal civilians, and their dexterity and magical armor provides enough protection for Katniss to evade attacks and use the Wand of the Golden Stag to knock some of the cultists to the ground with the Earth Tremor spell. As Dahlia, Loki, and even Tyjit herself approach, the cultists realize the jig is up. As they’re only 3 days ride now from Waterdeep, the cultists abandon their camp and mount horses, making a break for it. However, Father Derek remains behind, unable to escape Katniss.

The majority of cultits escape, but they’re limited in their escape only to the carts that still have horses secured. Father Derek, seeing the fight turning against him, chooses to sacrifice himself in the name of Tiamat, stabbing himself in the throat with his blade... however, he has high enough constitution that the wound isn’t deep enough to kill him instantly, and Loki stabilizes the unconscious cult member with Spare the Dying. Two other cultists are also captured, but they are of much lower rank. G’houl finally catches up to his allies just in time to explain what he saw through Dusk’s eyes to Tyjit, who is able to examine the Allans cart. The cultists were interrupted before they could stage the scene to look like an accident with unskilled scavengers stumbling on poisonous mushrooms, and with Kiley’s corpse still tied up it’s clear that the cultists aren’t who they claimed to be. Examining the cart reveals hidden compartments where treasure was once hidden, and only the bare minimum of supplies and comforts for a 3 person family. More importantly... G’houl investigates carefull, looking for any evidence left behind by Azbara. He barely finds the tiniest red scrap on a loose nail... remember Valarus’s gift of the Locate Object spell, he casts it to sense that Azbara is riding North, heading toward Water Deep.

Tyjit helps to carry the unconscious Father Derek toward G’houl’s tower while Sulesdeg is trusted to gather the cultist’s abandoned carts and check them for stolen goods. The party finds Jamna, the Zhentarim Agent they’ve allied with, waiting in their tower. And while Jamna isn’t happy about involving a guard, she still supports the party, and appreciates that they don’t reveal her true allegiance, and even play along when she blames the murder she perpetrtated on a cult member on the other cultists. They’re able to satisfy Tyjit’s curiosity without revealing too much about their true mission, but they do reveal the identities of all the cultists they had identified in their travels. Tyjit leaves them alone with Father Derek so she can check on Radecere and tell the guards the identities of the cultists, just in case any of them tried to hide amongst the rest of the convoy instead or escaping North.

Father Derek is bound in rope before being healed by Loki... the cultist shocked to find himself still alive. He’s tight lipped, unable to be threatened or coerced into revealing any information. Luckily, Loki is able to cast Charm Person on him... tricking the cultist into believing they’re allies and sending everyone else out of the room (although Katniss, Jamna, and Dusk remain inside, stealthily hiding while Loki distracts the cultist). It takes some careful wording and clever manipulation, but she’s able to learn at least some of the cult’s plans. She knows that none of the cultsts who traveled this leg of the journey are going to accompany the treasure any further... instead it will be taken to a warehouse somewhere in a section of Waterdeep known as The Wide, and the treasure will be taken further along by more faithful (and powerful) members of the cult. He knows that the treasure is eventually destined for a location known as Carnath Roadhouse, and while Father Derek knows that’s not the final destination, its the last location that he, personally, is aware of.

With Derek pumped for as much information as they can, the rest of the party returns just as Loki drops concentration on Charm Person. In a rage, Derek loosens his ropes enough to attack Dahlia, who is teasing him most aggressively out of her party... although he’s only able to bite her in the leg. Enraged, G’houl slams Derek in the face with his magical staff... landing a critical hit, and with his Orcish instincts he breaks the man’s nose and knocks him unconscious again. Relying on Loki’s Spare the Dying cantrip, they casually toss and drag his unconscious body toward the guards, reconvening with Sulesdeg, who confirms that the cult left behind 5 carts, each one loaded with at least 1000 GP each, and an uncertain amount of other treasures. He could not identify anything magical in nature. He also reveals that the Lionshield Coster has volunteered one of their carts as a prison cart... the Coster already has much higher security than any other carts in the convoy, and since they’ve been making sales gradually through their journey, they’re able to disperse the contents of one cart to free it up for use. The party is careful to warn Sulesdeg about Derek’s suicide attempt, and he promises he’ll make certain that they aren’t able to harm themselves in custody.

Once the guards are away, Jamna speaks up, mentioning that the Zhentarim will expect as much of the cultists’ abandoned treasure as they can get their hands on. The party seems to understand, and while Dahlia laments the loss of her job, Jamna reminds her that the people who objected to her employment are dead and revealed to be members of a murderous cult, so odds are good that Dahlia can have her job back. Although Dahlia takes a moment to lament that she’s stuck working, despite this entire adventure being part of an extended vacation for her.

Crits for Breakfast is playing more of our homebrew campaign of Sacrament tonight at 5pm PST. We're at our home of twitch.tv/afterdisbooty, and as always, here's what happened in last week's game:

Ricky enters Kanec’s Genie Bag to check on Corrio. He checks in with Azure’s mother, Resa, who seems content to just wait in the bag for the day to pass while Ricky finds Corrio relaxing in the bath. The two have an awkward conversation for a bit until Ricky builds up the courage to apologize to Corrio… taking responsibility for what happened between the two of them. Ricky also assures Corrio that he wants to help him get his powers back, but Corrio remains upset that his Goddess abandoned him when his alignment was forcefully changed. Corrio mentions that the Depraved Gloom actually offered to bestow upon him the power of a Warlock… something he honestly considered, even though they were the ones who cursed him to begin with. Ricky also asks if Corrio will let him cast Identify on him to check on the curse Corrio had been hit with. However… Ricky realizes that it is not a persistent spell. Rather, the change was instantaneous and permanently altered Corrio’s alignment… no enchantment remains on Corrio to be dispelled. The two of them spend some time discussing family and other issues on their mind, before Ricky steps out… taking time to cast Unseen Servant and choosing to spend his time cleaning the Genie Bag.

Outside of the bag, Crush expresses his desire to check on the state of the town of Azha, but before he leaves, he gifts to the priestesses of the Temple of Amor a small carving of Grammy… the elderly woman that the Goddess Amor disguised herself as when she spoke to the party the previous night. Before he can leave, however, they hear the sound of stones rumbling and voices screaming… including a child. Crush and Kanec are the first to hurry outside, finding the restaurant they ate at the previous night being attacked by a huge creature known as a Gulper… a scorpion-like monstrosity with mouth that stretches open to swallow creatures whole. Its strong carapace is resistant to most damage, and its stinger contains deadly poison. Azure finds herself the first unlucky target of the Gulper… swallowed as the rest of the party panics and tries to free her. Within its belly her Astral Form helps to protect her from its powerful stomach acids, while Fidget luckily ends up the target of its stinger, his Reaver curse protecting him from the poison. Its a rough battle, but the party overwhelms it, and Ash finishes it off with a Blight Spell, the necrotic energy dissolving its face, which thankfully makes it easier to extract Azure. Resa panics as her daughter emerges, finding Azure’s clothing partially dissolved. Crush asks if the Gulpers are edible, and Kanec explains that their legs are considered a rare delicacy, comparing the flavor to crab.

The party returns to the Temple of Amor to rest and recover as night falls. Ash takes a moment to contact her brother, who is also visiting the country of Tiavet. He confirms that he’s safe, and that he’s been allowed to observe an autopsy (something considered taboo in her home country). Ricky also asks for some Holy Water, as he needs it for the spell that helps to treat his Uncle’s disease. As they wait for midnight they see a few other creatures pass through town, but none that create more trouble. As Midnight rolls in everyone feels a palpable sense of relief just before bells ring, announcing the end of the Day of Unluck. The people of Azha gather after fasting for the day for a large potluck… Ricky helps the Restaraunt owner, using the noodles purchased from Kirei Midori to create the first ever Curry Ramen, flavored with the rare meat from the Gulper legs. Crush entertains the crowd, recounting the battle with the Gulper, aided by illusions from Ricky. The small city is eager to get together… as it is now the Day of Love, people are extra generous and willing to help one another. Crush asks about finding a cart to travel, and learns that the best time to get one would be after the wedding scheduled for the next morning. The party decides that it would be best to camp somewhere for the night and wait until after the wedding to maximize their travel through the desert.

Finding a secluded location near the city they set up camp, and they sit together to discuss their plans for the future. Gilly explains more about the history of the Grimveils… clarifying that their goal is to establish balance, not simply kill monsters. She notes that the creatures captured by the Grimveils need to be held with the 9 level spell, Imprisonment.

The group also strategizes about their plans for their journey… they realize that they need to do all they can, now that they know for certain that it is the Depraved Gloom who created the Brittles disease which is ravaging Estea and Ortheia… a disease that has been considered a chemical weapon which was the catalyst for the sister countries to declare war on the Reavers. But if they can convince the military leaders of the truth about the Depraved Gloom, then all the nations of the worl might unite to turn against the Depraved Gloom. With Ash’s brother in Tiavet, his deep ties to both the country of Ortheia and to the country of Kirei Midori make him uniquely qualified to aid in peace talks. He’s also a skilled enough spell caster to cast the Imprisonment spell the party needs to learn in order to stop the monsters the Grimveils are bound to stop, although Ash is hesitant to involve her brother directly, especially since it was her parents’ relationship with the Grimveils that got them (and her) killed in the first place. There’s also talks of Kanec’s father, Savine, who is a trusted military leader and close confidante of the Reaver Warlord, holding rank as the Warlord’s Right Hand Man. He’s still stationed in Ostea, but since he owns a feather of Sending Kanec is able to communicate with him.

Gilly has contacts she can meet with as well, but is more concerned with her daughter, Misty, who is still in the city of Trost, at risk of both the Brittles and the encroaching war. She also doesn’t think that Henri can handle the long travel through the desert, especially since Kanec warns that Genie Bags can become dangerously heated when traveling under the scorching desert sun. Crush also recommends that, if anyone can treat Henri’s illness, it would be Resa. They begin to debate whether the three of them should return to Tiavet port to sail back to Estea when they’re interrupted by the distinct, heavily accented “Hello!” of one of the Mercs.

With the Merc arriving they offer to pay him using the giant golden snake stored in Kanec’s genie bag, which he values at 50,000 gold. However, that impressive payout is quickly spent… first purchasing the ingredients for the medicine Henri needs, and organizing teleportation services for Gilly and her family, although where, specifically, everyone is being sent is told only to the Merc. The medicine needs to brew for a full day, but once again for a steep price the Merc is able to accelerate time for the mixture, preparing a stinking purple fluid that must be consumed. Ricky assists his uncle, using Prestidigitation to mask the unpleasant scent and flavor. When Henri is finally cured and healthy again, Gilly spends some time alone with him in the tent they had borrowed from Crush. Meanwhile, Crush asks the Merc about some method of reversing the alignment shift that had been forced on Corrio… although Corrio angrily storms off when he hears Crush asking for it. Ricky follows him, trying to talk Corrio down… struggling to get the stubborn dwarf to relax. Ultimately, Corrio is convinced to come out so he can purchase a new weapon for himself, since he had been getting frustrated at the power of the mace he originally carried as a Cleric. After purchasing himself a magic Greataxe from the Merc, Crush again asks about a magic item that can undo Corrio’s alignment change. Corrio is too distracted by his new weapon to object, and for nearly half of the money they were paying the Merc, he is given an enchanted crystal along with written instructions on how to use it. Corrio again objects to being forced against his will to change his alignment, having already experienced that feeling once. But instead, Crush simply gives the jewel to him… explaining that he knows what it’s like to be a bad person, and more importantly, how it feels to change… and says how much he wishes he had something like this years ago before he killed Crash. Corrio appears to appreciate that Crush is leaving it up to him to decide when, if ever, he changes back to his old self.

With nearly all their money spent, Gilly and Henri step out of their tent in order to be teleported away. However… Resa doesn’t realize that she’s expected to travel with them. Azure deliberately avoiding the confrontation with her ill-tempered mother, the last thing heard being her scream of protest as the three of them teleport back to Estea.

It's Friday, and we're trying to stick with our proper schedule of starting at 6pm PST. Come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty to join our adventurers as we play Hoard of the Dragon Queen. The party has finally made their way to Waterdeep, and if you missed last week's heartwarming game, here's what you missed: 

The party makes certain that Derek and the other cultists are secure in the custody of the Lionshield Coster, which is busy redistributing the contents of the cart they willingly emptied to make room for the prisoners. Large bolts needed to be installed to secure their manacles, but all three of the unconscious cultits are secured. The party also speaks to Claver, the Goliath who leads this group of Lionshield merchants, and Jundo, who organized the convoy and is technically their employer. Once aside they reveal their true position as Harpers to Claver, who doesn’t seem to particularly care for the Harpers, but seemsto hold no ill will toward them. She does, however, recognize the Cult of Tiamat, which has been causing chaos and strife across the lands in recent months. Claver isn’t interested in getting involved any morethan she already is, but is willing to keep the party’s secret.

At this point, Dahlia proposes a controversial opinion... worried he may have magic abilities that make him an even greater threat, she asks if Derek should be executed before he can contact his fellow cultists. Even without magical powers, she’s familiar with the Sending spell, and if someone chooses to contact Derek he could reveal even more information. Jundo is immediately against such an idea... the thought of executing a man clearly making him uncomfortable, especially when they’re so close to Waterdeep. Claver, however, considers it perfectly reasonable, but has no serious stake in the matter either way. While this is debated, even those advocating for execution aren’t enthusiastic about the idea, viewing it more as a grim necessity than anything to celebrate. Eventually Jundo mentions that the area surrounding Waterdeep is patrolled by the City Guard, including the Griffon Cavalry... within the next day or so they’ll likely see some flying above, and he has flag signals he can use to call them down. Satisfied with this answer, the party leaves the criminals in Claver’s care and return to the tower to rest... briefly encountering Jamna who, to the surprise of no one, was stealthily listening in on the entire conversation. Surprisingly, she also encourages keeping Derek alive, believing the information he could reveal to be worth more than mere gold.

Inside the tower, Loki and Katniss both immediately collapse in exhaustion after the stressful night... but Dahlia leads G’houl away for some private time. They find their way to a nearby pond, watching the stars on the clear water. The lovers share a passionate moment under a tall tree, Dahlia filled with desire after seeing G’houl defend her so aggressively when Derek tried to bite her. The cool air makes it a bit difficult, but luckily G’houl’s prestidigitation provides enough heat, and the two of them choose to “borrow” one of the abandoned cultist’s tents to spend the night. In the morning as the party reconvenes they’re approached by Lucky, the Halfling wizard-in-training also traveling in the convoy who asks them what happened to the group of merchants and civilians who, prior to last night, did not appear to even know each other. Honoring their wish for privacy on the matter, the other guards had kept it a secret that they were members of a deadly cult. Lucky, who earlier figured out that the party is more than they seem, although he doesn’t know specifically about the Harpers, plays along when they tell him to let the other passengers know that this other group simply got impatient and rode ahead to get to Waterdeep ahead of the competition.

The party makes certain that the Cultists didn’t leave anything dangerous in their tents before continuing onward. Throughout the next day of travel they take the time to examine the carts left behind by the cultists, which are being driven now by volunteers from other groups in the caravan. They discover over 6,000 pieces of gold, and hundreds of pieces of both copper and silver. Katniss observes that, despite its higher value, no platinum is among the treasure... remembering that the cult does not include platinum in its gifts to Tiamat, in respect to her rivalry with her sibling god Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon. G’houl also manages to find an ornate scroll case inlaid with silver Gnomish designs... he finds no other magical objects among the hoard of treasure, and it seems this scroll case was only included because of its intricate design. Inside, howver, he finds three magical scrolls... Mirror Image, Alter Self, and the high level spell, Magic Jar.

Traveling for a day and a half, eventually a patrol of Griffon Riders is seen and flagged down. The leader of this particular patrol party is a Tiefling woman named Dharxes, and her faithful companion, Dr. Beaks. As they seek out a hidden spot to explain their situation in detail Dharxes actually spots Jamna trying to sneak in and listen, earning her respect for being so alert and perceptive. Once they’re alone Dahlia removes her hat of disguise, as well as revealing her Harper ring. It’s not hard to persuade Dharxes to help... she and her group are able to take the prisoners to Waterdeep using their griffins, and the City Guard have prison facilities that are immune to scrying and other magics. She also agrees to help the Harpers arrange some kind of deal with the other guards, but warns that many of the higher ups are less kind to the Harpers... viewin them as an unpredictable vigilante group. Still, she promises to do all she can to prepare for them in Waterdeep, and even agrees to check to see if a group matching the description of the escaped cultists arrived recently. Although throughout this Dahlia can’t help but pet and cuddle with Dr. Beaks, who seems to appreciate the attention. The prisoners are trusted to the care of the Griffon Cavalry, and the convoy continues safely now that all the cultists are gone.

On the last night of travel before arriving in Waterdeep, the convoy stops in a designated campground for everyone to enjoy one last night together. Dr Mysterio’s Circus of Wonder sets up their stage one last time for their captive audience, drawing attention from other nearby campers. G’houl creates the tower once again, allowing fellow travelers access to its magical kitchen. They are first approached by the Kindheart family... the group of Halflings thanking them for all their hard work, as well as providing them with Lady, the lost cat they had found in the Fields of the Dead whose original owner had perished. Little Lucia begs for another ride on Dahlia’s broom, and just for fun G’houl also casts fly on Lucky so the siblings can soar through the sky together. Briefly flying over Dr. Mysterio’s circus, slightly annoying the ringleader, but Dahlia manages to play it off like it’s all part of the show, earning some good will. Dahlia makes an off-hand comment about needing new boots and, as an experienced Cobbler, Johnathan Kindheart is eager to return their generosity, finding a pair of sturdy, well-insulated boots for Dahlia to wear.

Next Loki checks in on Verther, the merchant-turned-insurance-salesman she invested in earlier. She finds him sitting with Aldor, the only slightly shady lawyer who has joined Verther as a business partner. Verther gets a bit choked up as he thanks Loki for believing in and helping him, especially after he lost everything when the Silks he was originally planning to sell were eaten by Silverfish. He gives her a cut of the profits, although it’s still far from the 40 platinum she initially invested. Still, she’s happy for the comraderie, and makes certain that Verther knows her address in Phandalin so that he can send her more profits in the future.

Dahlia seeks out Lasfelro the Silent, the strange thin man who seems so quiet, except for those moments where he’s boisterously singing. He’s easy to find, sitting and enjoying the music near his cart protected by his equally mysterious gargoyle. He’s happy to see Dahlia, and when she asks to perform with him he requests an upbeat song. As she plays her pan flute he seems to go into a trance, taking a deep breath before belting out loudly: “Thank you for being a friiiiiend!” Singing energetically... nearby travelers recognizing the song and joining in. Jundo’s loud trumpet of a voice. Tyjit’s enthusiastic, if off-tune howling, and even Katniss joins in with a few signs, although when their soft-spoken voice gets drowned out they embarrassedly sneak away. And finally, an earnest call from Radecere, thanking them all for being a friend. As the crowd cheers in delight and laughter, Dahlia laments that she didn’t get to know Lasfelro better. Lasfelro, hower, simply states that She Did, and Dahlia seems satisfied as well, knowing that a song can be the best way to get to know anyone.

After the song, Katniss gathers their group together to discuss what’s actually to be done about all the treasure. For once, Jamna doesn’t sneak along to join them... but when Dahlia messages her about it Jamna rushes up to discuss treasure with them all. Katniss recognizes that there’s simply too much gold for their group to carry,and suggests distributing it amongst the convoy. And while Jaman considers that a waste, the party is pleased with the idea... plannign to keep 400 GP each, then deliver 400 GP to each of the major groups traveling in the convoy, and give 80 GP to the individual familes and merchants. Jamna also has a plan for the non-coin treasures included, recognizing that, since the party has involved the Harpers as well as the City Guard, that she likely won’t be able to secure the rest of the treasure for the Zhentarim. However, she proposes that any treasure lacking a seal, crest, or logo be forfeited to the Zhentarim, as it will be virtually impossible to return it to its rightful owners anyway. The party agrees to this arrangement, although it remains to be seen if the Harpers and City Guard will feel the same way.

The party spends some time distributing the gold amongst the convoy, met mostly with disbelief and shock at the sudden gift of a small fortune to everyone present. Dahlia and G’houl visit Dr. Mysterio’s circus, watching an Elven woman perform sleight of hand tricks while her coworker... a lovesick orc wearing a clown costume and gathering tips watches enraptured. Dahlia senses the attraction and encourages him to admit his feelings, but the shy orc isn’t willing to take the plunge just yet. Still, she leaves a sack filled with 400 gold in the bucket he carries for gathering tips, the muscular orc not even noticing the sudden weight in his bucket. As they return to the tower G’houl had summoned they encounter a young man they had dubbed “Bad Luck Tony”, a fellow guard working for the Lionshields who found himself consistently on the receiving end of various difficulties through out their journey. He thanks the group profusely for everything they did for him and the convoy... noting that he would have died several times over if not for their direct intervention. He has a shy sincerity... uncertain how to react to people like them and all they did. He also mentions that Claver has already distributed the money given to the Lionshield coster to the various employees.

Just as Tony is leaving, the party meets up with two people who had become their closest allies on this journey... Tyjit and Radecere. Tyjit, without a hint of shyness, weeps openly and gives everyone in the party an aggresive, back-cracking bear hug... and she wasn’t even yet aware of the gold given to the other guards. Radecere thanks everyone again for everything they did for him... becoming his friends when they saw how lonely he was. Protecting him from the cultists when he drew their attention. And simply being there for him when he confessed his tragic backstory. Dahlia and Loki both show him their true forms, not wanting to leave any secrets between them all. The grateful Deep Gnome smiles and holds out his arms, inviting them for a hug, with everyone present sharing a big warm group hug on the last night of the Convoy’s travel.