✅ COMPLETED QUESTS

🛡️ Rescue the Blacksmith’s Daughter

Location: Tannis → Elven Forest → Ancient Tomb
Quest Giver: Sig Rockwell (desperate blacksmith father)

• Track kidnappers north into the enchanted Elven forest
• Investigate the obsidian standing stone and receive vision of landmarks
• Explore the ancient tomb of the Order of Seasons
• Rescue Winry from the Cult of the Eclipse’s dark ritual
• Defeat goblins and bugbear cultists
• Recover Cult medallion marked “Darkness will descend once again”
• Discover hidden chamber of five knights
• Retrieve broken pieces of Summer’s Edge (legendary longsword)

Rewards: Custom magical gear from Sig, future favor owed
Key NPCs: Sig Rockwell (grateful father), Winry (traumatized daughter)

Meeting in Tannis

The Raven’s Perch Tavern smelled like pinewood polish, stale ale, and secrets no one wanted to say out loud. The hearth crackled with half-burned oak logs, sending shadows flickering across a clientele that looked like they’d all seen better days – or at least better choices.

Shadicar lounged near the bar, silver-stringed lute in hand, half-elf ears peeking through a tousle of hair that probably took him an hour to make look artfully unkempt. His nimble fingers danced across the strings as he plucked out a slow, haunting tune that snared the room’s attention one cautious note at a time. He smiled faintly to himself, tasting the silence that followed each note like a sommelier tasting a fine wine.

Meeting in Tannis

• The party meets in the Raven’s Perch Tavern in the small village of Tannis, just south of the enchanted Elven forest.
  • Shadicar - Half-elf bard with a silver tongue, skill with the lute, and some magical talent
  • Skreet - Aarakocra paladin of Signus, awkward but always kind and well meaning
  • Slumpet - Gnome rogue, skilled man of few words always more comfortable from the shadows or a high perch
  • Toby - Half-elf blood hunter, a strong no nonsense woman that dabbles in blood magic to help take out her prey
• The village features an old windmill on the hill, a temple of the Dusk Lord, and a great oak tree in the town square that can be seen for miles away.
• At the tavern, the party meets some interesting folks, including:
  • Lerissa - a red-skinned female Tiefling and retired adventurer.
  • Duchess - Lerissa’s grey pet wolf
  • Serenity - a beautiful dark-haired human singer who performed that night
  • Hurmur Deeprest - a Dwarven archeologist searching for interesting artifacts
  • Jax - a member of the Night Talons thieves’ guild based in a nearby town. Slumpet caught his eye and said to look him up if he’s interested in work in the future.
• Lerissa agreed to let Shad earn a little coin playing his lute for the patrons before the singer Serenity arrived.
• After Serenity’s set, she flirted with her kindred spirit of musical talent: Shad.
• The group’s merriment is interrupted by the town’s blacksmith, Sig Rockwell, bursting in and proclaiming that his daughter has been kidnapped! Sig promises to help outfit the party with the wares from his shop if they can help rescue his daughter, Winry.

Rescue the blacksmith’s daughter

• The party tracks Winry and her assailants through the forest to the north, eventually crossing through the Shimmerwood and over the Misty Run river to Elven territory inside the Enchanted Forest.
• They eventually come to a clearing with an ancient tomb on a hill at its center. Outside the tomb, the party finds a strange standing stone made of obsidian. The stone had a hole near the top, like the eye of a needle. When Slumpet looked through the hole, he saw a huge silver maple tree to the northwest and a prominent mountain range to the southeast.
• The tomb is covered in a mix of vine/floral and raven motifs. The crest of the Knights is a blazing sun overlaid with the silhouette of a flying bird. A mural inside depicts men and elves battling undead and shadows. The oath of the order, inscribed on the mural, read: “We of the Order of Seasons, vow to fight darkness wherever it is found.”
• The party eventually gets to the deepest part of the tomb where they find a Winry being used in some kind of dark ritual. The ritual is interrupted when the party barges into the room “lute first” and slays all of the confused goblins, save for their leader. They interrogate the bugbear chief leading the enemy group and learn they are part of the Cult of the Eclipse. The bugbear reveals that they are led by “the Lady of the Eclipse”, who seems to have some vendetta against the Order of Seasons.
• The party takes the Eclipse medallion from the bugbear chief. Shad used his magic to read the inscription on the medallion: “Darkness will descend once again”
• After interrogating the bugbear chief, the party discovers a secret chamber containing five ornate sarcophagi. Each one seems to be the resting place of a knight dedicated to each of the four seasons. The fifth is more ornate than all the others and seems to contain the leader of the Order of Seasons. Near the leader’s sarcophagi, the party finds magic items including broken pieces of a magic longsword emblazoned with a blazing sun on one side of the hilt and a bird in flight on the other.
• Sig the blacksmith was very grateful after being reunited with Winry
  • Gave Slumpet a masterwork short sword
  • Gave Shadicar studded leather armor
  • Promised to craft a wrist blade for Toby
  • Gave a breastplate to Skreek
    • Mounted Skreek’s holy symbol to the breastplate
    • Will call in a favor from Skreek to recover crafting materials from a dangerous location

Tannis Cursed with Darkness

• The party shows the eclipse medallion and broken sword to Lerissa. She tells them there are folk tales about the Knight of Ravens, who led the Order of Seasons in heroic battles against the forces of darkness. She suggested they seek out more information from the local sage, Vidrir, who lives in a secluded grove in the Shimmerwood. She also asked them to bring a cask of ale to Vidrir as a sign of good faith, mentioning her ale is a favorite of his.
• Lerissa asked the party if they had noticed stars disappearing. The party wasn’t sure but didn’t think they had noticed anything like that the last few nights.
• Lerissa lets the party take a well deserved in the windmill that she uses as a storehouse for her ale and the occasional guest house. After the sun went down, the party noticed that although there were no clouds, only half the number of stars were visible compared to other nights.
• The party awakes to the screams and panic of the villagers. Complete darkness shrouded their entire village. No light could illuminate more than twenty feet in any direction and darkvision didn’t seem to help.
• The party carefully made their way to Lerissa’s tavern in hopes of finding allies. Along the way, they were attacked by large shadowy hands that emerged from the darkness and attempted to drag them away. Then ran into some dead villagers and encouraged the more fortunate to seek out refuge in Lerissa’s tavern.
• Along the way, they learn that a magical barrier has formed around the village, preventing anyone from leaving.
• After checking in with Lerissa, the party sought answers in the church of the Dusk Lord on the other side of town. The church seemed to be the only thing emitting light, but it was being attacked by the shadowy hands. Luckily the church seemed to be magically warded against the creatures, as their attacks seemed to continuously bounce off an unseen shield surrounding the building.
• Inside the church, they met Father Samael who tells the party he recently warded the church from attack. Unfortunately, some of his fellow priests were killed when the darkness descended before the ward could be erected. Samael told the party he was recently visited by a beautiful black-haired woman who was very interested in his holy relics. He remembered showing her his hold symbol, but after that his memory became fuzzy. He can’t seem to find his holy symbol and is concerned.
• He let the party down into the catacombs to see what they could find. The party encountered a very dangerous being of pure shadow that had recently killed several of the priests. The party avoided conflict with the creature, gathered holy symbols from the deceased priests, and eventually made their way down to a hidden level below the catacombs.
• In the dungeons below the church, the party eventually meets the Arbiter, Angel of Justice serving the Dusk Lord. The party convinces her to delay cleansing the town of all life after vowing to investigate the source of corruption plaguing the town and disrespecting her god. The party learns the Arbiter has erected the barrier around the town to prevent the corruption from spreading and to prepare for her cleansing ritual. She marks the party with a holy symbol that will allow them to pass through her barrier and commune with her. As a sign of good faith, the Arbiter then destroys the remaining shadow monsters in town but leaves her barrier in place until the source of corruption is dealt with.
• Skrek takes a Shield of the Dusk Lord from the crypt (+1 shield)

Meet Vidrir

• After getting directions to the sage’s grove from Lerissa, the party uses the Arbiter’s marks to pass through her barrier. On the other side of the barrier, the party finally sees the light of day again and begins making their way through the Shimmerwood in search of the sage, Vidrir.
• The party meets Vidrir, who treats them warmly once he learns they are friends of Lerissa. He tells them they have gone on several adventures together and she is as good with a bow as she is brewing ale.
• The party learns that the large purple-winged ravens they have seen watching them in the forest recently had been Vidrir’s allies.
• Vidrir tells them the broken sword they have is called Summer’s Edge and confirms it was once wielded by the champion of the Summer Court of the Fey. The sword has become a symbol of hope and courage for the people of the Summer Court, and it is believed that as long as the sword remains in the hands of a true Guardian of the Summer Court, the realm will remain safe from the undead and other dark forces that threaten it. He believes it was broken during the last battle of the great war against the undead, an age ago. He said only the master smiths of the Elves would be capable of reforging the blade.
• Vidrir also examines the Eclipse medallion taken from the bugbear chief. He discovers it has a spell cast on it which allows it to be easily tracked. Virdir detected the tracking spell’s origin was deeper in the Enchanted Forest, to the north west.
• The party take a rest in Virdir’s grove after enjoying some tea and folk tales.
• Skreek asks Vidrir about his quest to find a stolen holy relic. Vidrir says he’s heard rumors of djinn in the desert to the south looking for elemental artifacts.
• Before the party leaves, Virdir asks to hold the broken sword. When he does, the sword lightly glows and his hair slightly stands on end as a warm smile washes over his face. He thanks the party and just says that sometimes weapons have “souls” that may react to other living things.

Find what’s been tracking the party and aid the pixies

• The party takes Vidrir’s advice and starts moving through the forest in the direction of the tracking spell related to the Eclipse medallion. Coincidentally, that was also taking them in the direction of the large silver tree Slumpet had seen through the hole in the standing stone next to the Order of Seasons temple.
• Along the way, Slumpet befriended a pixie, Fannie, who was practicing a prank using illusion magic. They bonded over making the other members of the party look foolish.
• Fannie told them the forest has been getting strange lately, especially an area to the northwest. When Skreek scouted the area from above, he noticed a desaturated section of the forest to the northwest. All color seemed to have been leeched from the forest. The effect seemed centered around a clearing about a day’s travel away.
• Fannie also asked the party to help her friends that had been captured by these “grey-skinned jerks”. She said that sometimes pixies are hunted for their dust, which some try to use for its unique magical properties.
• The party agreed to help Fannie rescue her friends. Fannie helped by turning Toby into a dinosaur to help them storm the camp. This plan was a great success as Toby made short work of quite a few of the enemies. The enemies turned out to be Darklings in service of the Cult of the Eclipse. They were attempting to use the pixies for a ritual. The party found religious texts in the camp that mentioned “the Great Shadow” gathering power against the allies of the light. It was unclear if this text was a prophesy, a historical event, or fiction.
• The party also found some magic weapons (2 x Dagger of Darkness) and a note from a mysterious “L” to one of the cultists. The note spoke of using a ritual to elevate one of their ranks to greater power in order to take advantage of the increased fear in the region.

Cabin in the greyscale woods

• Having rescued the pixies, the party continued deeper into the greyscale woods. Eventually, they found a cabin being guarded by a Flameskull. After a long battle with the Flameskull, Slumpet pocked the crushed skull as a trophy and the party broke into the cabin.
• Inside, the party found a desk with notes and several spell scrolls. They also found a chest with bedding and clothing. Some of the clothes looked very similar to what the party last saw Serenity, the singer who visited Tannis, wearing when they last saw her.
• While investigating the cabin, the party was attacked by a Rug of Smothering that was guarding a trap door. In memoriam, the party would remember the rug as “Sassy Tassels”.
• After defeating the rug, the party descended below to discover an altar to a shadow dragon with a magical crystal orb sitting atop. Gazing into the orb reveal a swirling mist behind which a strange castle could be seen. When Shad touched the orb, he could feel something press against his mind, but he was able to resist.
• The room also contained a diorama of the town of Tannis. Near the model of the great oak tree at the center of town, they found a holy symbol of the Dusk Lord that had been magically cursed and defiled with blood. The party used their holy marks to summon the Arbiter, who confirmed that was the source of the curse that triggered the Dusk Lord’s ire. She cleansed the holy symbol and vowed to release her barrier from Tannis. After thanking the party, she opened a portal and returned to Tannis to begin her work.
• A Hag knocks on the door the following morning after the party took a long rest in the cabin. She speaks in a familiar manner to the group. When the party is confused, she applies an illusion to herself, transforming into the beautiful singer they met weeks back in the Ravens Perch Tavern in Tannis. She senses they stole her crystal sphere and demands the party returns it. The party denies the request and Slumpet throws the sphere out the window. When they try to leave. Serenity magically slams the doors shut and attacks the party.
• Shad tries to use the gate spell scroll to summon the Arbiter, but the spell fizzles as it seems to be beyond his current capability. Physical attacks are not proving to be very effective against the Hag, while her claws seem formidable. In an act of desperation, Shad casts charm person on Serenity. It succeeds!?! Serenity’s demeanor changes to that of a good friend. The party begins talking to Serenity as she apologizes and begins making the party tea and breakfast.
• During the exchange, the party acquires a journal Serenity dropped during the fight. Piecing things together between the journal and the conversation with the charmed Serenity, the party learns she has been working with a spell caster named the Weaver. The Weaver specializes in fear and illusion magic. Serenity used a curse developed by the Weaver to bring darkness upon the village of Tannis as a way of punishing the Dusk Lord and his followers. Serenity wished to gain favor with the shadow dragon named Nidhogg by making the Dusk Lord suffer. The dragon seemed to have a deep hatred for the Dusk Lord.
• The party also learns that the Weaver was behind the tragedy of Shad’s village, where the Weaver conjured an illusion of a shadow dragon so convincing and fearsome that the villagers literally died of fright… The Weaver also seems aligned with the shadow dragon Serenity has been communing with.
• The party slipped out, hoping to be miles away before the charm spell wears off. Slumpet takes the lead with the dark crystal in tow, trying to keep it away from serenity, and heads towards the safety of Vidrir’s grove. Along the way, Slumpet discovers that the flame skull corpse has revived itself. The party catches up and parlays with the skull named Francis. The skull agrees to form a pact with the party, agreeing to show him adventures and give him excuses to use his laser-eye beams in exchange for his arcane knowledge.

Learning of the Great Shadow, Nidhogg

• The party regrouped at Vidrir’s grove to rest, gather information, and decide the next steps.
• When they try to enter Vidrir’s grove, Francis is blocked from entering by a magical barrier that does not seem to hinder the rest of the party. They later learn that Vidrir erected wards against the undead to help protect his home.
• Vidrir guessed that Serenity’s dark crystal was a “seeing stone” used to communicate across great distances. It might also be used as a strong focus for divination magic and may have aided Serenity in tracking the party. When the party shares the contents of Serenity’s journal with Vidrir, he becomes very concerned about her contact with Nidhogg. According to Vidrir, Nidhogg was a formidable foe that the Order of Seasons could not defeat during the last great war against the undead hundreds of years ago. The Order was able to seal him away in the Shadowfell but could not kill him. If Nidhogg gains allies and attempts to escape the Shadowfell, that would be disastrous. The party catches Vidrir in some odd slips of the tongue, making them believe Vidrir is much older than he is letting on. It seemed he implied he was part of the last great war against the undead, culminating in sealing Nidhogg away.
• Vidrir suggested that the elves of the Winter Court to the north might have further insight into the orb, the shadow dragon Nidhogg, and how the pieces of Summer’s Edge might be reforged. He gives the party his medallion from his time in the Order of Seasons, saying that it should gain their favor, or at least an audience, with the Lady of Winter, who reigns over the Winter Court. Vidrir tells the party that the Winter Court’s embassy can be found to the northwest, near the great silver maple tree that Slumpet spotted earlier in their journey.

The Elves of the Winter Court

• The next morning, the party leaves the safety of Vidrir’s grove and makes their way toward the great silver maple tree and, hopefully, the Elven Winter Court beyond.
• On their way, they are attacked by a Redcap, a bloodthirsty fae mercenary wielding a giant sickle and wearing heavy iron boots. The party was able to make quick work of the creature and learned that he was contracted to dispose of the party before they could reach the fae crossing Serenity told the party about the day before.
• On their journey to the silver tree, the party also saw a large cat-like creature with black claws and tree-like spines sprouting from its back, tearing a hole through reality and stepping through. The party hid from the creature, and it stalked off through the forest away from the party.
• A day’s travel later, the party arrived at the great silver maple, easily standing 100 feet tall. Its towering height, gleaming silver trunk, and large crystalline leaves were awe-inspiring. Slumpet scaled the tree to get a better view and spotted an equally impressive green and yellow tree to the northeast. On his way back down, he removed one of the large crystal leaves without harming the tree. Near the tree was another standing stone like the one they saw near the Order of Seasons temple. When looking through the large hole in the standing stone, Slumpet could see the impressive green and yellow to the northeast and a small lake to the southwest. A small group of elven rangers manned a nearby guard tower. After showing the rangers Vidrir’s medallion from the Order of Seasons, the rangers demeanors softened, and they gladly pointed the party toward the Winter Court’s embassy to the northwest.
• After another half day’s travel, the party arrived at the embassy. The embassy resided within a small town with a nice inn and several well-kept shops, including a blacksmith, general store, and an apothecary.
• Before finding a place to rest, the party did a bit of shopping. Slumpt bought a set of studded leather armor, and Skreek purchased two nets.
• The inn called the Restful Buck, was a sight for sore eyes as the party felt like they hadn’t gotten a solid night’s sleep in weeks. The bartender, Jared, was a well-informed and gracious host. Shad earned some free drinks and a bit of coin by putting on a show for the patrons. He later sat in on a game of poker, where he was able to win a nice pot off the blacksmith after catching his tell. While at the inn, the party learned some interesting things. Alora, the current Lady of Winter, leads the court. Alora’s daughter, Olivia, had recently been poisoned. The magical sound system in the inn’s great room, powered by blue crystals, also impressed the party.
• Around noon the next day, the party sought an audience with Alora. Alora was initially guarded but softened when the party showed her Vidrir’s medallion from the Order of Seasons. She was visibly distracted by her daughter’s illness and would focus on little else until her daughter was safe. Skreek used his lay-on hands ability to cleanse the poison from Olivia’s body. Alora was overjoyed and thanked the party, promising to discuss their topics of interest now that her daughter was safe. They learned that the creature had been a Bandersnatch from the feywild. Alora said it should not have been able to cross over as it did.

Hunting the Bandersnatch

• Alora, still concerned about the Bandersnatch that poisoned her daughter, offered the party a reward if they could slay the beast. The party agreed to track the Bandersnatch and try to retrieve some of its venom.
• The party gathered supplies to make traps to lure the creature, including meat scraps, hunting traps, and catnip. They successfully tracked the creature based on where Olivia had been hunting the day she was attacked. Slumpet employed his squirrel network again to help alert him to the creature’s approach. Shad set up traps with the bait they gathered (meat and catnip). The traps worked and attracted the creature. After a pitched battle, the party was able to kill it but struggled to deal with the creature’s poison claws and gas. They chopped off its head for good measure and brought it back to the Winter Embassy.
• When the party returned, Alora was better than her word and presented each party member with a magic item as a reward for their help. Slumpet was awarded a magic short bow named the Relentless Hunter that could cast Hunter’s Mark. Shad was gifted with an enchanted instrument of the bards called the Fochlucan Bandore that promised to enhance Shard’s magical abilities. Toby was granted the Blinkback Belt, which would make any weapons return to the belt after being thrown. Lastly, Skreek was given a magical Frostbrand Scimitar, which could inflict additional cold damage on his enemies.
• The party also learned from Alora that the elves employ a powerful magical barrier that holds the elemental energies at bay from the other planes and allows them to tap into the planes with some level of control. The original Elven Matriarch organized the ritual that created the barrier and lent much of her power to its formation. No one has been born with the Matriarch’s gift for barriers in two generations, and the barrier is beginning to weaken. She suspects this is why creatures from the feywild have been able to break through the barrier and enter our plane. Alora asked the party to investigate the nearby temple whose magic supports the barrier.
• While the party was meeting with Alora, her eldest daughter and paladin of the Winter Court, Trius entered to give a report to her mother. The beautiful and powerful Trius immediately caught the eye of Shadicar. Some of the other party members took notice of her elegant long sword, which they learned was a moonblade. Its power is said to rival even that of Summer’s Edge, which the party is still interested in reforging. The party tried to convince Trius to join them on their quest to investigate the Leyline Temple, but she said she had other pressing matters to attend to, although the offer was tempting.

Investigate the Winter Leyline Temple

• With some convincing by Alora, the party got their weapons silvered by the local blacksmith while taking a well earned rest at the Restful Buck. Slumpet’s slumber was interrupted by nightmares, where Serenity stole back her dark crystal orb.

📍 Prologue – Tannis and the Blacksmith’s Plea

• The party meets in the Raven’s Perch Tavern in the quiet village of Tannis and is introduced to key NPCs: Lerissa (retired adventurer), Serenity (mysterious singer), Hurmur (dwarven archaeologist), and Jax (Night Talons thief).
• Blacksmith Sig Rockwell bursts in, begging for help to rescue his kidnapped daughter, Winry. He offers his finest work as payment.

🛡️ Quest: Rescue the Blacksmith’s Daughter

• Tracked the captors north, crossing into the enchanted Elven forest and finding a strange obsidian standing stone with a vision of landmarks to the NW and SE.
• Discovered an ancient tomb of the Order of Seasons, a knightly group sworn to fight darkness.
• Rescued Winry from a dark ritual conducted by goblins and a bugbear of the Cult of the Eclipse, who served a mysterious “Lady of the Eclipse.”
• Retrieved a Cult medallion marked with the phrase: “Darkness will descend once again.”
• Found a hidden chamber of five knights, and recovered magical gear and the broken pieces of a longsword marked with solar and avian symbols — possibly a legendary weapon.
• Returned Winry to her father, receiving custom magical gear and a promise from Sig to call in a future favor.

🌒 The Darkness Falls on Tannis

• Shared findings with Lerissa, who revealed legends of the Knight of Ravens, a hero of the Order of Seasons. She directed the party to seek the sage Vidrir in the Shimmerwood, suggesting they bring a cask of her ale as a goodwill offering.
• Noted strange celestial behavior: half the stars missing from the night sky.
• Woke to panic — the village engulfed in magical darkness impenetrable by light or darkvision.
• Fought off shadowy hands trying to drag villagers into the abyss and discovered a magical barrier trapping the town.
• Found temporary safety at Lerissa’s tavern, then crossed the village to the church of the Dusk Lord, the only sanctuary emitting light.
• Met Father Samael, who recalled showing a black-haired woman (presumably Serenity) his holy symbol — now missing.
• Explored the church catacombs, avoided a deadly shadow entity, and found their way to a secret chamber.
• Discovered and parleyed with the Arbiter, an Angel of Justice. She had created the barrier to contain the spreading corruption and was preparing a purge.
• Convinced her to delay her ritual and earned her favor: she marked them with her symbol, granting safe passage and the ability to commune with her.
• The Arbiter destroyed remaining shadows in the village but maintained the barrier until the source of the corruption could be found.
• Skreek claimed a +1 Shield of the Dusk Lord from the crypt.

🌿 Journey to the Sage, Vidrir

• Used the Arbiter’s holy mark to leave Tannis and travel through the Shimmerwood.
• Met the sage Vidrir, a friendly ally of Lerissa with mysterious insight and purple-winged raven familiars.
• Vidrir confirmed the broken sword is Summer’s Edge, a legendary blade once wielded by the Summer Court’s champion during the great war against the undead. Only elven master smiths could hope to reforge it.
• Revealed the Eclipse medallion was magically trackable, with the signal leading northwest.
• Skreek inquired about his stolen relic; Vidrir mentioned rumors of djinn in the southern desert searching for elemental artifacts.
• When Vidrir held Summer’s Edge, it reacted faintly, hinting at a dormant soul within the blade.

🧚 Aid the Pixies and Uncover a Cult Plot

• Tracked the medallion’s signal northwest, coinciding with Slumpet’s vision of the silver maple seen through the standing stone.
• Slumpet befriended Fannie the pixie, who warned of a colorless region of forest growing eerily still.
• Fannie asked for help rescuing kidnapped pixies from Darklings allied with the Cult of the Eclipse.
• Toby, turned into a dinosaur by Fannie, rampaged through the cultist camp. The party rescued the pixies and recovered:
  • Cult religious texts referencing a “Great Shadow”
  • Two Daggers of Darkness
  • A note from ‘L’ about empowering a cultist via ritual, exploiting growing fear in the region

🕯️ The Greyscale Cabin and the Truth about Serenity

• Entered the corrupted woods and found a cabin guarded by a Flameskull. After defeating it, Slumpet kept the skull as a trophy.
• Discovered signs of Serenity’s presence in the cabin and were attacked by a Rug of Smothering, later named “Sassy Tassels.”
• Found a defiled altar to a shadow dragon with a magical crystal orb and a diorama of Tannis. Using their holy marks, they summoned the Arbiter, who confirmed this site as the source of the Dusk Lord’s wrath and cleansed it. She departed to lift the barrier over Tannis.
• The next morning, the hag Serenity revealed herself and demanded the return of the orb. The party refused, and combat broke out.
• Shad’s charm person spell unexpectedly succeeded, pacifying Serenity and allowing them to gather intel:
  • Serenity served a caster named the Weaver, a master of fear and illusion.
  • Serenity cursed Tannis to earn favor with Nidhogg, a shadow dragon who hates the Dusk Lord.
  • The Weaver was responsible for the illusion-based massacre of Shad’s village, using a false vision of Nidhogg.
• The party fled while Serenity was still charmed, with Slumpet carrying the orb.
• Along the way, the Flameskull revived itself as Francis and struck a deal with the party: in exchange for adventure and action, he would provide his laser-eye beams and arcane knowledge.

🐉 The Shadow of Nidhogg Revealed

• Returned to Vidrir’s grove to rest and regroup. Francis the Flameskull was repelled by undead wards, revealing Vidrir’s home was protected against such creatures.
• Vidrir examined Serenity’s dark orb, identifying it as a seeing stone—useful for communication, tracking, and divination.
• He grew deeply alarmed when learning Serenity had contacted Nidhogg, the shadow dragon sealed in the Shadowfell by the Order of Seasons during a great war centuries ago.
• Vidrir’s cryptic remarks hinted he may have personally fought in that war, revealing a depth of history and power previously unspoken.
• Advised the party to seek out the Winter Court for further knowledge of Nidhogg, the orb, and the reforging of Summer’s Edge. He gifted them his Order of Seasons medallion to gain an audience with the Lady of Winter.

❄️ First Contact with the Winter Court

• Traveled north toward the silver maple tree. En route, the party:
  • Defeated a Redcap assassin hired to stop them.
  • Spotted a strange feline predator tearing holes in reality and avoided its path.
• Found a Winter Court standing stone and made peaceful contact with elven rangers by showing Vidrir’s medallion.
• Arrived at the Winter Court embassy, a well-kept elven village with shops, an inn (The Restful Buck), and a faint sci-fi aesthetic powered by blue crystal tech.
• Shad performed at the inn, and the party learned:
  • The Lady of Winter was Alora.
  • Her daughter, Olivia, had recently been poisoned—possibly by a creature called a Bandersnatch.
• Gained a private audience with Alora after Skreek healed Olivia with Lay on Hands. Grateful, Alora opened up about the weakening of the interplanar barrier, which was allowing monsters to breach into the material plane.

🦷 Quest: Hunt the Bandersnatch

• Accepted Alora’s offer to hunt the Bandersnatch that poisoned Olivia.
• Used clever tactics and Slumpet’s squirrel network to bait and trap the creature. Despite its poison gas and claws, the party was victorious.
• Returned the beast’s severed head to Alora, who rewarded them each with a powerful magic item:
  • Slumpet: Relentless Hunter (shortbow with Hunter’s Mark)
  • Shad: Fochlucan Bandore (bardic instrument)
  • Toby: Blinkback Belt (auto-retrieving thrown weapons)
  • Skreek: Frostbrand Scimitar (cold damage)
• Learned more about the barrier’s origin, which was forged by Alora’s mother using ancient power. Since no one of her lineage has inherited her gift, the barrier is weakening.
• Alora asked the party to investigate a nearby leyline temple that sustains part of the barrier.
• Trius, Alora’s eldest daughter and a paladin wielding a moonblade, made an impression on the group—especially Shadicar. Though intrigued by their quest, she initially declined to join them.

🛡️ Journey to the Winter Leyline Temple

• After a night of rest and unsettling dreams of Serenity reclaiming the orb, the party prepared to depart. With some persuasion and the promise of excitement, Trius agreed to accompany them to the leyline temple.
• The party traveled east on horseback (with Trius riding a majestic unicorn) toward a temple of ancient origin embedded in the hillside — unlike any elven or dwarven structure they’d seen.
• At the entrance, a magical voice demanded proof of worthiness:
  • Shadicar: a bardic song of Elven legend
  • Skreek: scroll proving his lineage
  • Slumpet: failed with Serenity’s orb, succeeded with Alora’s gifted bow
  • Toby: blood sacrifice
  • Trius: her family’s Moonblade
    These offerings were accepted, and the temple opened like a mechanical iris.

⚔️ Temple Trials of the Ancient Order

• First Chamber: Greeted by a holographic knight requesting a duel. Skreek met the challenge and defeated the guardian honorably, unlocking the next door.
• Second Chamber: A perilous 300-foot bridge over a chasm with tiles bearing seasonal glyphs. Missteps triggered laser traps from the walls. With flight, acrobatics, and deduction, the party made it across.
• Final Chamber: A breathtaking nexus of power, centered on a giant purple leyline crystal surrounded by six hovering arcane focus crystals.
  • The glyphs referenced “planes,” “barrier,” and “leyline.”
  • One of the six crystals was cracked and flickering, indicating a possible failure in the arcane network.
• Slumpet recorded the runes by making a rubbing, and Skreek contacted the Arbiter, who explained that leylines channel the raw magic of the world, which can be used for power, communication, or traversal.
• With no further threats or puzzles, the party exited the temple, ready to report their findings to Alora.

🌑 Final Showdown with Serenity

• On the road back from the leyline temple, the forest’s colors drained into grayscale, and the party unexpectedly arrived at Serenity’s cabin once more.
• Serenity, revealing her true night hag form, demanded her crystal orb and launched an ambush.
• Trius joined the battle, sword drawn and projecting a mental battle hymn that inspired the party.
• Serenity animated the party’s shadows as enemies and revealed her “cloak” was a manta-like creature, capable of absorbing damage and creating illusory copies.
• After a brutal, all-hands battle, Serenity and the shadow creatures were slain. Her cloak escaped.
• Shad used a scroll of Speak with Dead, and Serenity grudgingly answered:
  • She was over 300 years old
  • The Weaver destroyed Shad’s village “for amusement”
  • She wasn’t responsible for the Elven barrier’s weakening
• She refused to share the Weaver’s location or her breakfast recipe.
• The party looted her body, finding:
  • An emerald ring that opens a small storage dimension
  • A gold necklace that protects the mind from magical probing
• After looting her cabin, they burned both the body and the building to ensure Serenity would not return.

🧭 Reporting to Alora and Discovering the Larger Plan

• Returned to the Winter Court and reported both:
  • Serenity’s permanent defeat
  • The damaged leyline crystal
• Alora was troubled by the crack but didn’t know how to repair it.
• As a reward, she gifted the party a silver teleportation ring:
  • When attuned to an obsidian standing stone, it allows teleportation between attuned stones.
• The next morning, Arch Magus Levi joined Alora in briefing the party:
  • The barrier is anchored by four leyline temples, one in each seasonal domain.
  • Alora’s mother’s journal referenced an ancient site called The Chained Library, likely the original source of the barrier ritual.
  • The Chained Library may still exist and may seek out forbidden artifacts like the orb.
• During this meeting, Slumpet stole a map of the Dwarven capital from Alora’s desk, raising questions about her connection to the Dwarves.

🍂 Journey to the Autumn Court

• On the road east, the party was ambushed by fey thieves (Quicklings and Aridni), but prevailed and recovered stolen coin.
• Discovered a Torii gate and standing stone at the tranquil entrance to the Autumn Court.

🍁 Darkness at the Fall Festival

• Arrived during a seasonal festival at the Aki Matsuri beer garden, hosted by the earth genasi monk Hencelle, the “Master of Feasts.”
• Befriended Ali, a bounty hunter working for the secretive information guild , the Massa’Ista; his captive Arden may help identify magic items.
• Xolthos, a black dragonborn sorcerer and agent of the Eclipse, disrupted the festival with an ominous speech:
  • Proclaimed the return of Nidhogg
  • Warned of more attacks on leyline temples
• After banishing Shad mid-taunt, Xolthos was defeated in a tough battle. Slumpet’s stardust prevented him from using shadow magic.
• Looted magic items from Xolthos:
  • Tiny dragon figurine
  • Invisibility ring
  • Enchanted robes
  • Magic staff
• Found a letter from the Weaver, confirming:
  • The Winter leyline crystal was already damaged
  • The Summer Court’s leyline is the next target
  • All marked by the Dusk Lord are enemies

🧠 Audience with Farkris & Entry to the Autumn Temple

• Gained an audience with Lord Farkris, leader of the Autumn Court:
  • Regretted failing to make peace with Nidhogg centuries ago
  • Shocked to learn the barrier is weakening — Alora had not warned him
  • Granted permission to explore the Autumn Leyline Temple
• Proved their worth to a guardian treant by saving a baby unicorn from bloodthirsty vines during a dire wolf ambush
• Gained entrance to the temple through a hill peeled open by ancient magic
• Solved a rotating seasonal puzzle depicting the cycle of autumn
• Inside, found the leyline crystal and its six focus crystals intact and stable

🧭 Transition to the Summer Court

• Camped in the treant’s grove, then scouted east toward Summer’s lands
• Used the standing stone near a massive silver birch tree to attune their teleportation ring, then returned to the Aki Matsuri for one last restful night (and drink roulette).
• Returned to the Summer border — teleportation miraculously cured Shad’s hangover

⚔️ The Battlefield of the Eclipse

• Discovered a site with arcane runes burned into the ground — likely the battlefield where Nidhogg was sealed
• Encountered cultists performing a ritual:
  • Party ambushed the enemy
  • Defeated a mage named Kharvax, along with an ogre and mercenaries
  • Francis delighted in laser-eye-beaming the foes
• Two mercs surrendered and shared cult plans in exchange for their lives
• Shad used Mantle of Whispers to absorb Kharvax’s shadow and learned:
  • The Weaver’s stronghold is in the Feywild
  • They hope to use the old Nidhogg sealing ritual to enhance summoning magic
  • Kharvax had tested this by summoning a basilisk, which killed some cultists
• Looted:
  • +1 Vampiric Scythe
  • Grimoire of the Eclipse, containing:
    • Summon Shadowspawn
    • Shadow Blade
    • Contact Other Plane

☀️ Arrival in the Summer Court

• After leaving the ancient battlefield, the party reached the Summer Court, known for its competitive culture and bold street food.
• Discovered a standing stone near the coliseum and attuned it for teleportation.
• Visited Ember’s Embrace, a lively inn run by Serra Flamekissed, a fire genasi who introduced them to flaming shots.
• The next day, met with Lady Sylvia of the Summer Court, who asked them to check on the Summer Leyline Temple.

🔥 Summer Temple Sabotage and the Duel with Manus

• Found the temple already breached; two guardian constructs were destroyed by fire and ice magic.
• Discovered the leyline crystal chamber had one of its eight rune crystals entirely missing.
• Outside, encountered Manus, a trickster warrior posing as Trius. He:
  • Mocked the Weaver and the cult despite seeming to be allied with the cult
  • Wants to test his skills against strong opponents, but the Weaver would only fight Manus after the cult accomplished its goal.
  • Offered the crystal if they could land one blow on him
• The party struggled to even touch him—until Slumpet’s ball bearings landed a hit. True to his word, Manus handed over the crystal and vanished.
• Back in the temple, attempts to restore the crystal failed. The Arbiter suggested it might be tainted or need a ritual.
• Shad used Contact Other Plane to reach Maria, Alora’s mother:
  • Party cannot fix the crystal
  • Summer Court lacks the means
  • Chained Library holds the answers
  • Winter Court knows nothing
  • The center of Elven territory may help

🔄 The Broken Loop and the Merchant of Secrets

• While returning to the Summer Court, the party entered a temporal loop in the forest:
  • Experienced repeating scenery, time distortions, and deja vu
  • Noticed signs of the escaped basilisk from Kharvax’s failed ritual
• Discovered Blackbird, a raven-like eldritch merchant who trades in secrets and contracts.
• Blackbird offered help in exchange for a magical contract with Toby:
  • For three nights, she must pay for everyone’s drinks
  • Violation will result in psychic damage
  • The contract manifests as an invisible bracelet Toby feels on her wrist.
• Blackbird returned with a charm that played a metal tune (“take control”), which helped Toby navigate the loop and lead the party out safely.

⚔️ Back in the Summer Court: Reforging Summer’s Edge

• After escaping the forest loop, the party returned to the Summer Court, where they:
  • Fulfilled night 1 of Blackbird’s drink contract (98 drinks = 19gp)
  • Shad tried (and failed) to perform badly enough to clear the tavern
• Met with Lady Sylvia, who:
  • Was surprised but not hostile about the party having Summer’s Edge
  • Confirmed the sword chooses its wielder
  • Directed them to Elara Sunforge, the realm’s top smith
• Elara was thrilled to help, but needed two components:
  • Celestial Ore from the Starfall Crater
  • The First Kiss of the Midday Sun from the Feywild

🌠 Starfall Crater and the Celestial Guardian

• Traveled north to a meteor crater, filled with glowing alien stone, swirling mist, and a song-like hum of cosmic energy.
• Battled four Starfall Sentinels and a larger, intelligent Celestial Guardian wielding a blade of starlight.
• After a hard-won victory, the pedestal cracked, revealing enough Celestial Ore to meet Elara’s needs.

🛍️ Shopping and the Shimmering Glade

• Returned to Elara with the ore; she confirmed it was suitable.
• She found a nearby Fey crossing: the Shimmering Glade
• Shopped at the Glittering Cavern, where Toby purchased oddly specific items (moonstones, salt, bells, milk, etc.) in anticipation of Fey dealings.
• Fulfilled night 2 of Blackbird’s contract—more expensive this time, but manageable.
• The next morning, ventured to the Shimmering Glade, a radiant clearing filled with latent magic and a ring of ancient standing stones.

🐾 Squid Cats and the Crossing to the Feywild

• Found a six-legged “squid cat” mother (Displacer Beast) and her cubs in the center of the glade.
• Attempted diplomacy instead of battle:
  • Toby lured the cubs away with milk
  • Slumpet spotted a misaligned crystal
  • Shad adjusted the crystal with a boost from Skreek
  • Skreek stunned the squid cat with leftover catnip
• With the cubs safe and the threat avoided, the crystals activated and projected a portal to the Feywild
• Toby dove in first, emerging in a vivid realm of riotous colors and surreal vegetation
• As the rest of the party joined her, she turned and smirked:
  • “Welcome to the Feywild, kids…”

🌈 Welcome to the Feywild

• The party crossed into the Feywild via the Shimmering Glade, finding themselves in a lush, colorful world of exaggerated flora and strange energy.
• Skreek scouted from above and spotted a mountain to the northwest—a prime location to capture the First Kiss of the Midday Sun.
• Journeyed to Medusa’s Wake, a lagoon-ruin believed to be the site of a battle between a medusa and a storm giant.
• Discovered a festival of satyrs led by Revel Pipesong. Shad disguised himself and gave a musical performance with Skreek’s invisible help.
• Party learned the trail up the mountain began at the satyr camp.
• Engaged in a magical drinking game:
  • Skreek now speaks only in rhyme for 7 days
  • Toby bursts into inappropriate laughter
  • Shad’s hair becomes flowering vines when lying or breaking promises
• Declined Revel’s offer of “a single night of unbridled joy in exchange for a future favor”

☀️ The First Kiss of the Midday Sun

• Toby wakes up and realizes that Blackbird’s contract bracelet is gone, which signals:
  • Time passes differently in the Feywild
  • The contract has been fulfilled
• Began the ascent of the mountain the next morning with Elara’s capturing device in hand.
• Encountered a moss-covered fey troll guarding a pass:
  • Each strike spawned animated flesh clones
  • After a difficult battle, the party continued upward
• At the mountain peak, Skreek beheld a vision while holding the shards of Summer’s Edge:
  • A memory of the sword being gifted to a champion by the Queen of the Summer Court
  • A battlefield vision disrupted by darkness and shattering fragments
• In the distance, the party saw a twisted black castle—gothic, shifting, and watching—which hadn’t been there a moment ago… or perhaps always had.
• At a ceremonial altar, Slumpet placed Elara’s device to capture the sun’s essence.
• As the sun’s light bathed the altar, Summer’s Edge began to stir, resonating with the light and Skreek’s presence.

🃏 A Duel with Manus, Again

• Manus appeared, taunting the party:
  • “Drawing broken swords now, bird? I do hope you brought sharper company.”
• Created magical darkness around Elara’s device and summoned two clones on the cliffs above.
• Only Skreek could perceive within the darkness, thanks to his blindsight.
• Shad dispelled the darkness, drawing mocking praise from Manus.
• After several rounds of fighting, Manus called off the battle, vanishing with a final taunt and leaving the party winded but intact.
• Elara’s device completed its capture—a soft, warm pulse confirmed that the First Kiss of the Midday Sun had been secured.

🏰 The Forgotten Castle

• With both Celestial Ore and the Midday Sun’s essence, the party is now ready to reforge Summer’s Edge.
• Unsure how to return from the Feywild, they decide to retrace their steps to the Shimmering Glade.
• But before that, they’ve chosen to investigate the eerie gothic castle seen from the peak…
  • Though its presence is unsettling, it calls to them with irresistible gravity.
• The party explored a mysterious Feywild castle, seemingly conjured into view. Its illusions shimmered between reality and unreality, and signs of enchantment were everywhere.
• At the gates, they faced a riddle-speaking patchwork knight, passing its test to gain entry:
  • Love, the tongue, and humanity — each answer a key to the path ahead.
• Inside, mirrors showed distorted visions of self:
  • Shad rejected a hollow legacy of applause and escaped harm thanks to Serenity’s necklace.
  • Skreek accepted a vision of lonely heroism and gained a boon of luck.
  • Slumpet rejected visions of betrayal and was psychically wounded.
  • Toby embraced her monstrous reflection and earned a boon of luck.
  • A final glance from Toby hinted at a *loom unraveling the fabric of the world

🧵 The Loom Chamber

• A massive broken loom pulsed with dark illusion magic, clearly crafted by a master.
• Shad disrupted the loom with thunderwave; Francis incinerated it at Shad’s request.
• The room triggered hallucinations and memory loss — suggesting the loom once held influence over perception or identity.
• Shad’s decision to destroy the loom marked a turning point: he accepted responsibility for unmaking something integral to the castle’s design.

👁 The Echo of the Weaver

• In the throne room, the party met the Echo, a spectral remnant of the Weaver’s soul, bound to the castle.
• The Echo recognized Shad as the one who destroyed the loom and demanded payment — a soul to rebuild it.
• When the party refused, he summoned two wolves of shadow and attempted to extract Shad’s soul by force.
  • Shad survived the Echo’s powerful assaults thanks to uncanny luck and Serenity’s amulet.
  • Slumpet struck the decisive blow from the shadows, unraveling the Echo and banishing his summoned wolves.

📜 Revelations in the Weaver’s Study

• Behind a hidden tapestry, the party found the Weaver’s study and journal.
• The journal revealed:
  • The power of fear and illusion shaped the Weaver’s philosophy.
  • Illusions could be tied to triggers, emotions, and even bound to places and events.
  • The Weaver discovered and mastered Mirage Arcane, allowing him to reshape reality entirely.
  • His final entries describe a plan to weaken the leyline network and release Nidhogg by unraveling the threads anchoring the planes.
  • A spell that can tether his soul to paper, known as Silmirien, can call him home if a page is burned.
• Slumpet also found a map of leyline energy and leyline temple locations, marked with several “Hollow Thresholds”—unexplained but likely significant to the cult’s portal activities. He kept this map secret, considering its potential value to his mysterious dwarven contacts.

Central Tension

A tense stalemate exists between Elves, masters of magic and the planes, and Dwarves, experts of crafting and technology.  The nature vs technology worldviews of the Elves and Dwarves are at the heart of the lasting distrust and conflict.  Over the years, each side has tried pushing into each other’s territory to gain natural resources or reclaim ancestral lands of cultural significance.

Elves

Key Features

• Nature: magic, elemental planes
• Matriarchy
• Artists: lore masters, painters, sculptors
• Allied with: Tieflings, Aasimar, Gensai, Dragonborn (metallic)

Details

• Elven control over magic is due to their proximity to a large rift between the mundane world and the elemental planes (Feywild and Shadowfell are closest)
• A powerful magical barrier holds the elemental energies at bay (Forbiddence) and allows the elves to tap into the planes with some level of control.
• The original Matriarch organized the ritual that created the barrier and lent much of her power to its formation.
• Elves were forced to seek out magic power and items in the planes (city of brass, etc)

Secrets

1. Few still live that can remember the details of the ritual well enough to sustain the barrier
2. No one has been born with the Matriarch’s gift for barriers in two generations, and the barrier is beginning to weaken.
3. May need celestial assistance? (Arcadia v1)
4. A powerful entity from the Shadowfell seeks to take advantage of the weakening barrier to enter our world.

Dwarves

Key Features

• Industry: technology, constructs, tools
• Patriarchy
• Craftsmen: buildings, machines, vehicles
• Allied with: Gnomes, Half-Orcs, Tritons, Dragonborn (chromatic)

Details

• Dwarves control a magical forge at the largest volcano in the realm
• The Dwarves use some of the technology to hide some of their greatest technology and research centers. (think Wakanda)
• One of the Dwarven “temples” might give off clouds of nanomachines that, when ingested, allow a person to control certain artifacts. They periodically have to go back to the temple to recharge the machines or ingest new ones.
• Dwarves use cyphers (one-time use magic items) to aid them in the field

Secrets

1. Dwarven technology is not their own but was discovered generations ago deep under the mountain by the Dwarven kingdom currently in power.
2. This is a technology of an ancient civilization long since extinct. (think Numenera).
3. The other Dwarves kingdoms learn of the lost technology and are searching for a new cache of tech from an even older civilization.
4. One of the Dwarven chief scientists is a disguised mind flayer trying to find technology to help it get back to its home plane/world.