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| In the Game of D&D...you win, or you find someone to resurrect you. |
Greetings! Guest Dungeon Master Will here again with another exciting (if late) recap of the "Agents of the Queen" campaign, this time with proper formatting and line spacing (hopefully, sorry about that)...
At the end of our last session, I asked my players not where, but when they would like their next quest to take place. They had the choice of Past, Present, or Future and aside from one dissenting vote for a game set in Ahneria's future (sorry Patrick), the majority rule deemed that we would be taking a trip to the past. That's right! The Queen's Agency doesn't just stalwartly stamp out the threat of Undeath from anywhere in the world, but also anywhen! So, what historical hijinks would our heroes get into this time?
Let's find out!
This story is part 2 of a series. The campaign is ongoing.
| Part 1 | Part 2 |
Agents of the Queen: A Noble Endeavour
Will: Dungeon Master
Jon: Skalus, the Unyielding Mountain. Human Druid and Protector of the Fractured Mountains, 800 years young, doesn’t/can’t talk much, follows a very...minimalist dress code.
Michelle: Nimble Snow of The Ethereal Wilds Clan. Tabaxi Mystic of the Order of the Nomad, known as “The Snow Angel of Khoomes”, puts her tail in her mouth when bored.
Matt: Vinci Ironshell. Super old and forgetful Tortle Barbarian, endowed with unnaturally long life, has been fighting in legendary battles for centuries, doesn’t know how to use a phone but still tries.
Patrick: Terrinevander “Gidge” Gidge. A Halfling Artificer that blew most of his limbs off in a horrible accident and replaced said limbs with advanced prosthetics, has a Thunder Cannon for an arm, saved a kingdom with giant robots.
Kelly: Hollilynn Goodbody. Evangelical Tiefling Cleric of Pelor, technically seven feet tall (with horns), lifelong enemy of the undead and slayer of Vampire Lords, has bright blue hair.
AND...Introducing!
Bria: Donut Steele. Inquisitive Gnome Rogue and Ahneria-renowned Private Investigator, worked in The Agency's Acquisitions department but has now been promoted to Raven, the only mystery he hasn't solved is his own death, wears sunglasses.
When last we left our heroes, they had ended the evil and pretty-disturbing-when-you-think-about-it reign of Raxxar the Reanimator, officially became Ravens of The Agency, and received their first Sparks of Divinity. As they no longer needed to sleep and time works very differently in The Shadowfell, it was unclear how many "days" had passed since their last assignment. Regardless, they each spent this time settling into their new roles in their own unique way.
Vinci, though he no longer needed to eat to survive, had been banned from the company microwave after cooking fish in it one too many times. Nimble Snow, in typical Tabaxi fashion, took an obsessive interest in Skalus and began studying his mannerisms and limited speech patterns. Skalus did his best to ignore this by rediscovering his enthusiasm for sculpture. Hollilynn spent most of her time communing with Pelor for guidance and wisdom. And Gidge also found his microwave privileges revoked after repeatedly dissembling it for parts and recreational study.
Finally, a voice echoed throughout the halls of the Black Citadel summoning the party to Conference Room A. There they met back up with Vaughn who informed them of their next assignment. But first they would need to fill out some paperwork, specifically a 50-page Time Travel Permit. After gaining a questionable understanding of the specific rules laid out in the the permit, the group signed. Right as Gidge dotted the "i" in his name a construct bearing the symbol of Lendor, the God of Time, appeared out of nowhere and asked about the permit. Vaughn rolled his eyes, grabbed the signed document, and handed it to the construct. It then nodded and instantaneously vanished from sight.
"Ugh...chrono-golems." Vaughn sighed as he proceeded to give an overarching rundown of the assignment. Our heroes were to travel 800 years in the past to the Garlancian Year 42 where they would hunt down a Yuan-Ti Necromancer named Histzoshala and subject her to the Black Feather Brand. Unlike their last assignment however, Vaughn gave them specific instructions to not kill Histzoshala after branding her. Evidently, her vile machinations would end up unleashing a terrible curse upon Yuan-Ti society in the Glarlancian Year 52, weakening and destabilizing it enough to allow the peoples of the North to conquer the South. Thus unifying and further establishing the present-day country of Garlancia.
Before dismissing them for a more detailed briefing with Kalara in Conspiracy Hall, Vaughn made the announcement that one of The Agency's members in the Acquisitions department was recently promoted to a full-time Raven. As he said this, strange music began to play from just on the other side of the conference room door. Evidently this new Raven had a knack for investigation, which would come in handy for this particular assignment. Finally, Vaughn introduced the new member of the team as the "Ahnerian-renowned private investigator, Donut Steele". The door to the conference room flew open, the music reached a crescendo, and a Gnome wearing black crystal glasses strode into the room.
Understandably a little confused, the rest of the group did their best to welcome Donut and began to get to know one another. Just before they left, Vaughn handed them their brand new "C-Level" access passes and mentioned to Gidge that Kalara had commissioned something for him in the Shadow Forge, a mysterious workshop within the Black Citadel.
The Shadow Forge was...not what Gidge was expecting. Instead of a mighty workshop worthy of a goddess, the group was treated to a quiet and dimly lit room with a single sleeping Duergar Dwarf behind a desk. Our heroes sauntered up, rang the service bell, and the Dwarf behind the desk awoke with grumbling reluctance.
The Dwarf, who identified himself as Brungi, grunted at Gidge and asked him to state his business. Gidge did so, and within seconds Brungi shouted at a Fire Elemental to retrieve Kalara's commission. Case in hand, Brungi set the case in front of Gidge. Inside the case was a near flawless recreation of Gidge's prosthetic limbs, complete with Thunder Cannon arm. Brungi then asked if there was anything else he needed and Gidge, who was fighting back tears, said no. Almost immediately, Brungi was back asleep and the group left to find Kalara in Conspiracy Hall.
Once again, the other Ravens were hard at work on their own respective assignments and once again Grimnir stepped up to the group, this time singling out Donut. He was ecstatic to see that Donut had received his promotion and wrapped him up in a mighty hug (that might've crushed his bones had he not passed a saving throw). He wished the group luck on their next assignment and walked back over to his squad, but not before he and Skalus exchanged a manly headbutt with one another.
Kalara was busy making preparations when our heroes arrived but was no less happy to see them again. After confirming Gidge had received her package, she launched into the details of their assignment. She reiterated everything Vaughn had told them only moments before, but then offered up a distressing bit of news. The Agency, for all of its supposed omniscience, was unable to pinpoint Histzoshala's exact location. Luckily, Kalara had a backup plan.
During the Garlancian Year 42 in the newly established city of Garton, there was a Yuan-Ti Infiltrator that went by the name Sumoshil. Sumoshil was a known servant of Histzoshala's and had disguised himself as member of Garton's nobility, no doubt as a way to get close to King Garton III of Kam himself. Unfortunately, The Agency could also not pinpoint who or where Sumoshil was within the city. However, Four days after our heroes were to arrive, the King was going to throw a massive party for city's high-class citizens and visiting nobility from the surrounding areas, and with luck, this included Sumoshil.
In light of this, Kalara told the group that she had received authorization to modify their Amulets of Anonymity so that they could go in disguised as a visiting noble house and secure an invite to the party. In order to do this, they would need secure one of Garton's major noble houses as a "reference" in order to receive an invite. Normally this would be considered too "high profile" for Raven's work, but Garton at this time was a very young city, and as such was home to several dozen lesser noble houses all vying for influence and political pull. Blending in with this rat's nest of backstabbing and infighting would be a piece of cake. However, their disguises would only last for five days (or like...when the clock strikes midnight at the party or something), so they would need to find Sumoshil before then or risk being discovered.
Our heroes needed to get their cover story straight. They would pose as the very fitting "House Ravenwood", a noble house from the city of Oldstone who made their fortune mining and exporting jewels. At its head was Hollilynn, disguised as Lord Justin Ravenwood. Beside him/her was his/her wife/adventuring companion Nimble Snow, playing the part of Lady Susan Ravenwood. Alongside the Lord and Lady would be Justin's father, Lord-Reagent Don Ravenwood, played by Vinci. Of course no noble house is complete without a few heirs so Gidge and Donut would pose as the twins, Chip and Greg Ravenwood, who were no older than six. Last but not least was Skalus, who everyone agreed should pose as House Ravenwood's loyal and practically mute Thane, Man-Servanté.
With their cover story now firmly in place, the mission was clear. Find Sumoshil and make him reveal Histzoshala's location. After giving the group a small stipend of 2,000gp and allowing them to equip themselves, Kalara opened a portal to Garton in the Year 42.
(Heads up: Until otherwise mentioned, I'm going to now refer to each character by their cover names)
Our heroes, now fully disguised, arrived in a small alley just off to the side of the Town Square. Almost immediately, Justin spotted the Grand Temple of Pelor and there wasn't much the rest of the group could do to stop him from going in. Once inside, he met a very pious man named Deacon. The two proceeded to gush over Pelor for a bit and eventually Deacon revealed that he was a member of House Hardshaper, a major noble house of Garton, but had forsaken his birthright to better serve Pelor. Regardless, they had their first lead! Justin thanked Deacon for his time, said a few prayers, and left the temple.
As they were making their way toward the city's High District, they heard a nearby Town Barker mentioning that any visiting nobility could make an appointment at the Royal Palace to meet with the King in order to secure an invitation to his party, or at the very least learn about the major noble houses who were offering them. After hearing this they decided to divert course and head to the Royal Palace instead.
Their hopes for getting an appointment were all but dashed when they set their eyes upon the massive line that had formed in front of the palace gates. With much reluctance, the group sulked over to the back of the line and began to wait. Several minutes passed and impatience began to set in. Chip decided it would be a good idea to tug on the robes of the man in front of them and inquire as to how long he had been waiting. This rotund and jovial man casually informed the young lad that he had not moved in nearly twenty minutes. This man was also wearing incredibly expensive-looking finery, a fact that Susan took notice of and correctly deduced that he must be a noble. Indeed her hunch was correct, and the man introduced himself as Darrow Brackenbaugh, Merchant Prince of Garton.
Darrow had a surprising zest for life and was really just happy to be out and enjoying the nice weather. After conversing for some time, Darrow mentioned that if the group simply wanted a list of the major noble houses they could just walk up to the gate and talk to the Royal Ledgerman. They did so, and although the Ledgerman turned out to be an incredibly rude man named Timms, they secured the list of houses that they needed to hopefully ingratiate themselves with.
The first of course was House Kam, the royal house of which this seemingly endless line of people was trying to meet...so that was out. Then came House Hardshaper, a council house whom the group had already heard about from Deacon. Third was House Gilmeneu, a prestigious foreign house who had firmly established themselves in Garton only a few years ago. House Brackenbaugh was also on the list and upon reading this the group looked back at Darrow, who smiled and waved but had only moved about a foot in the time it took them to reach the palace gates. And finally House Murk, a military house and primary benefactor of the Garton City Watch.
List in hand the group went to talk to Darrow some more, but was stopped when a Yuan-Ti Pureblood stepped out of the shadows to address them. He identified himself as member of Clan Ezhutu, a visiting band of diplomats from the Yuan-Ti territories in the Southern Valley. He had observed that the group was looking to secure an invite to the King's party, and extended an invitation to the Yuan-Ti Embassy later that day. Cautiously, the Ravenwoods agreed, and the Yuan-Ti slithered off.
They met back up with Darrow, and decided to invite him to lunch to further discuss a potential arrangement between their two houses. Darrow was understandably hesitant to give up his place in line, but Don made the suggestion that Man-Servanté could hold his place until they were done with their meal. Darrow thought this to be a fine idea, and proceeded to lead the group to the Harbor Ward where his favorite dining establishment was located. As they left, they noticed that a small chorus of swooning young socialites had begun to form around Man-Servanté.
Darrow lead the group to The Wading Watchmen, a very upscale restaurant on the edge of the Harbor Ward, the ward of which was currently undergoing a considerable amount of expansion. They were seated at Darrow's usual table albeit with a few more seats and a couple of high-chairs. Their meal turned out to be very cordial and Darrow took a liking to their somewhat odd (and fake) family. He then offered to have them meet him and his wife Milanostra for afternoon tea the next day.
With lunch over and done with, the Ravenwoods lead Darrow back to his spot in line. As they did, a surprisingly large group of young, and crying, women sprinted past. This seemed strange until the group set their eyes on Man-Servanté, who had a look of both confusion and trepidation in his eyes as well as few lipstick stains around the now-unkempt collar of his gambeson. Darrow then resumed his place in line, which didn't seem to have gotten any shorter, and bid the Ravenwoods a fond farewell for now.
The remainder of the day was mostly spent testing the waters with their other options. First, they took Clan Ezhutu up on their invitation and went to the Yuan-Ti Embassy. There they met Shekhousu, head diplomat and High Priest of Merrshaulk, who wanted the group to place a Sending Stone in the King's Royal Chambers in exchange for an invitation to the party. Sensing that this would be untoward (and for good reason), Justin gave a very noncommittal answer and ushered his family out of the Embassy.
As the day grew long they decided to meet with Frazen Gilmeneu, the oldest son of House Gilmeneu, who was in the middle of his evening dueling practice. Franzen was an impressive duelist, and simply wanted House Ravenwood to pick up a sword he had commissioned from a local smithy named Brandon. A reasonable request, and one that the group decided to think on.
Eventually the sun began to set and House Ravenwood decided to stay at a tavern called The Fair Feathered Inn. The bartender, a Dwarf named Fromnaug, was all too happy to have visiting nobility in his establishment and offered up his finest rooms. Although it was expected that the humans of House Ravenwood would need to sleep, the Ravens of The Agency no longer did. So the group bade their time until morning as Vinci regaled the commonfolk with (probably true) ghost stories, Hollilynn prayed, Donut set up his "web of clues", and Skalus rooted himself in the ground outside to keep watch over the street.
At long last, morning had arrived and House Ravenwood began the day by meeting with House Murk. The heavily armed guards out front stripped the group of any and all weapons, except for Man-Servanté and Greg who decided to wait out front. Lord Braggar Murk trusted the Yuan-Ti about as far as he could throw them (although considering his impressive size, this could be rather far), so his request was simple; make the Yuan-Ti of Clan Ezhutu experience an "unfortunate accident". Susan thought this to be a bit much for a family with two children, and respectfully declined. Outside they collected Man-Servanté and Greg who were playing patty-cake with the two guards.
The last house on their list was Hardshaper. Earl Bromnack Hardshaper was a very old and surly man who barely seemed to tolerate having guests. He then demanded that the group convince his son Deacon to renounce his vows to Pelor and marry Linny Brackenbaugh, Darrow Brackenbaugh's only and beloved daughter. Justin found this idea to be absolutely abhorrent, refused Bromnack's request, and left in a huff.
With every house and avenue visited, the group decided the best course of action would be to honor their appointment with House Brackenbaugh. As they considered this, Chip (Donut) pointed out that every single noble and diplomat that they had met with was wearing the exact same necklace. The rest of the group indeed thought this to be odd.
Afternoon Tea with the Brackenbaughs was a delight, and Darrow tasked the group with delivering a package to a man named "Ross" in the Harbor Ward. The package was of considerable size, and Justin tasked Man-Servanté with carrying it. As they made their way to the Harbor Ward, Man-Servanté (Skalus) decided to use Detect Magic on the package to sense if anything was off about it. Indeed something was off, but not necessarily about the package, rather everywhere around him. Not only was he unable to cast the spell properly, it actually fed back into his mind causing a quite unpleasant overloading of his senses. Greg (Gidge) attempted this as well and experienced similar results.
Finally they arrived back at the Harbor Ward and began to inquire about "Ross". This line of questioning was met with suspicion and mean-glances, but since the package bore the Brackenbaugh house sigil, a few of the dockhands that were present agreed to comply. The group was led into an underground aqueduct of sorts, where several men wearing dark leather armor were waiting. Not wanting to set them off, Justin instructed Man-Servanté to set the package down and slide it over to them. The biggest among them stepped forward and opened the package to examine it. It was filled to the brim with gold and jewels.
Suddenly, the man slammed the package closed and demanded to know where the rest of it was. This caught Justin off guard as obviously he and his family were just the messengers, a fact he used to try and deescalate the quickly escalating situation. The man, who they all assumed to be "Ross" at this point, agreed but decided that they were going to be kept as collateral until he got his supposedly full payment from Lord Brackenbaugh. Which might've worked out for him, if he didn't then threaten Chip and Greg.
Vinci, who not-uncharacteristically could've forgotten that Donut and Gidge weren't actually his grandchildren, responded by flying into a violent rage and attacking "Ross". To "Ross", it appeared that an old and frail human man just broke several of his ribs with a cane, which made it all the more confusing when Chip, a six year-old child, then stabbed him in the thigh with a rapier. The remaining Ravenwoods lept into action against "Ross's" gang.
The sheer confusion of a bunch of seemingly defenseless nobles systematically annihilating their group seemed to get the better of them as one by one each of "Ross's" thugs fell to this unexpected onslaught. Finally, Man-Servanté (Skalus) unleashed a Hold Person spell on "Ross" and Greg (Gidge) took full advantage of this by blowing off "Ross's" head with his arm (Thunder Cannon). The final remaining thug dropped his weapons and sprinted away in terror. It's a good thing he was already in the sewers...
The danger now passed, the group realized that no one was going to believe that a bunch of stuck-up nobles just dispatched a band of hardened thugs, so they all decided to cover Man-Servanté in a more convincing amount of "red paint" and head back to House Brackenbaugh, likely with some questions. Despite the mortified looks they received on the way back, they eventually arrived back at the Brackenbaugh estate. The man servant (not to be confused with Man-Servanté) informed them that Darrow and Milanostra were out at a late lunch and would be back within an hour or so. The group took this time to rest in the Brackenbaugh's study.
An hour went by and eventually the laughter of Darrow and Milanostra could be heard arriving through the front door. This laughter was abruptly cut-off as the two entered the study and took one look at a "painted" Man-Servanté. Milanostra screamed, Darrow relieved himself of his freshly eaten lunch, and the two demanded to know what had happened. Justin recounted the events with "Ross" and politely asked for an explanation. Though Darrow was familiar with "Ross's" unscrupulous demeanor, he suggested that perhaps "Ross" tried to take advantage of the group's supposed defenselessness to leverage Darrow for more money. But luckily, Man-Servanté (and only Man-Servanté...) was there to stop him.
Darrow apologized profusely and went at once to fetch a chest from his chambers. Inside was one of the same necklaces that all of Garton's nobility were wearing. He informed the group that these acted as the invitations to the King's party, to which they were now officially invited to. Once again, Darrow expressed his deepest concessions and sent the Ravenwoods on their way.
A necklace now secured, that night they called Kalara to give her the good news. They also told her about their inability to cast Detect Magic. The group knew something was up with these necklaces and Kalara asked Gidge to describe the necklace to her. After a bit creative administrative work, Kalara correctly identified it as a Necklace of Nondetection, a powerful magical item that blocked all divination magic within a small radius of its wearer. Suddenly it became clear why The Agency was so blind to Sumoshil's presence in Garton.
With the sheer number of nobles trying to keep their secrets hidden within its walls, Garton had become a blind spot in history. After a moment of silent deliberation, Kalara said she had a plan but it would require further authorization from Vaughn. She then instructed the group to lay low until the party. Our heroes however decided to hedge their bets a little bit and carry out Franzen Gilmeneu's request. It took a fair amount of running back and forth, but eventually they secured Franzen's delivery. Franzen then decided to have a bit of fun with Man-Servanté by dueling him with his new sword.
The sword was of impressive make indeed and after getting only a single hit in on Franzen, Man-Servanté yielded. Franzen laughed, sheathed his new blade, and instructed one of his servants to fetch a chest from his quarters. One again, the chest contained a Necklace of Nondetection. With two invitations now firmly in their grasp, House Ravenwood laid low until the night of the King's party.
The night of the King's party arrived and everyone was dressed for the occasion. The party grounds themselves were as lavish as lavish could be. The invites adorned around their necks, Justin and Susan led House Ravenwood through the front gates and into the grand ballroom. Anyone who was anyone in Garton was there including Darrow and Milanostra Brackenbaugh, who gave the Ravenwoods a hearty greeting. The group decided to split up and see if they could comb the crowd for murmurings about Sumoshil. After mingling for awhile the met back up at the banquet table with the same unfortunate news, no one at this party seemed to know anything.
Suddenly Kalara chimed in and instructed our heroes to find a private location away from prying eyes and ears. House Ravenwood then proceeded loudly announce that they were going to use the restroom together. Everyone nearby was understandably confused by this seemingly unprovoked outburst, except the Brackenbaughs, who thought it was hilarious.
Once they were alone, Kalara told them that she was going to replace the Nondetection spell within the necklace with a very powerful Dispel Magic spell that would render every necklace in the Royal Palace useless for one minute. It would however also deactivate the group's disguises for that amount of time. Everyone hesitantly agreed, and Gidge did his best "child having a bathroom crisis" impression to gradually usher everyone that wasn't a Raven out of the bathroom. Finally they were alone and locked the door. Kalara instructed Donut to put on the necklace so that she could infuse it with the spell back at HQ.
Donut did so, and within minutes he returned with a Necklace of Dispel Magic. With a nod, Donut activated the necklace and their disguises washed away. All was relatively quiet for the first few seconds, but then they started to hear shouting on the other side of the door. Followed by more shouting. Then followed by the breaking of glass and ceramic. And finally it sounded as if there was a full-on melee on the other side of the door. This was confirmed when a young noble with visible wounds on his face broke down the bathroom door to take cover. Although he certainly did not expect to see a Torle, a Tiefling, a Tabaxi, a Gnome, a Halfling, and one incredibly naked man on the other side of it. He couldn't even muster a scream before passing out.
What resulted was nothing short of pure chaos. Their secrets and machinations now on display to a room filled with a good number of magic-users, every noble was either fighting, screaming at, or demanding the arrest of every other noble. Our heroes sprang out of the bathroom, and as they did they morphed back into the members of House Ravenwood, the minute was up. Suddenly Kalara shouted in over their Talismans of Requisition...
"It's Franzen! Franzen is Sumoshil! He's making a break for it!"
With no time to lose the group gave chase, pushing and weaving their way through the unruly crowd. They bounded into a long hallway where Donut identified a set of tracks in the carpeting. Sprinting past the kitchen staff and a few guards who were running toward the ballroom, they found themselves in a dimly lit study where the tracks had abruptly stopped. Everyone fanned out in different directions trying to see where Sumoshil had gone. Suddenly, Vinci caught a glint of steel as Sumoshil attacked from Invisibility.
Though he was an accomplished duelist and armed with the magical sword our heroes delivered to him (the irony!), he was horribly outnumbered and quickly found himself on the ropes. In his desperation, he produced a Sending Stone from his pocket and pleaded Histzoshala for aid. Histzoshala did not answer with words, but instead a sinister form of magic that transformed Sumoshil into a terrifying Yuan-Ti Abomination.
With renewed strength and resolve, Sumoshil's sword cut into Vinci like tissue paper, knocking him down into a weakened state. Hollilynn responded by calling out to Pelor and healing her companion. Donut, Nimble, and Skalus got in a few good hits on Sumoshil but the Yuan-Ti showed little sign of slowing down as he unleashed a Fear spell on the party and sent many of them running. Vinci found his feet once more and proceeded to land a mighty blow against Sumoshil's collar. Gidge, apparently having some trouble with his Thunder Cannon, couldn't seem to land a shot on Sumoshil's writhing and snake-like form.
Finally, Nimble drew back her bow and infused an arrow with psychic energy. She let it loose, and with terrifying speed it effortlessly pierced through Sumoshil's skull. Sumoshil stood stunned for short moment, staring directly at Vinci, before slumping lifelessly to the ground.
The group breathed a sigh of relief, but their victory was short lived as they remembered only-too-late that they needed to interrogate him into revealing Histzoshala's location. Nimble sheepishly grabbed her Talisman of Requisition and informed Kalara of their misstep. Upset at first, Kalara expressed her disappointment with the situation and struggled to come up with alternatives. Until Donut mentioned Sumoshil's Sending Stone. Ecstatic, Kalara deduced that she could track the source of the stone's magic back to its origin. She asked to Donut to once again hold onto it as she briefly brought him back to HQ.
A few seconds later, Donut returned and Kalara chimed back in with an unnerving degree of apprehension in her voice. She had Histzoshala's location, unfortunately it was in the catacombs beneath the Yuan-Ti capital city of Ohshashlahizarosh.
A few moments later, the clock struck midnight (see I told you) and the group's noble disguises faded. With the sound of approaching guards echoing down the hall, Skalus Thunderwaved a nearby window and the party absconded to safety...but not before Vinci took Sumoshil's sword as a trophy.
As they escaped, Gidge recalled an event he read about in a history book called The Night of Terrible Truth. Where the once proud nobles of Garton descended into madness as all of their secrets were suddenly revealed. The night was then blamed on the Yuan-Ti of Clan Ezhutu and it was their subsequent imprisonment and execution that sparked the War of Skin and Scale. The war that would establish the country of Garlanica.
And it was there we wrapped! This game was an absolute blast to run. Like one of my players (my wife Michelle) said, it could have gone in a hundred different directions and although it ended up pretty much where I expected, it was interesting to watch how we got there. I think the players also really enjoyed establishing their cover stories and posing as an eccentric family of nobles. And now I'm off to figure out how this band of heroes can infiltrate a Yuan-Ti city without immediately getting murdered.
Thanks for reading!
Vinci, though he no longer needed to eat to survive, had been banned from the company microwave after cooking fish in it one too many times. Nimble Snow, in typical Tabaxi fashion, took an obsessive interest in Skalus and began studying his mannerisms and limited speech patterns. Skalus did his best to ignore this by rediscovering his enthusiasm for sculpture. Hollilynn spent most of her time communing with Pelor for guidance and wisdom. And Gidge also found his microwave privileges revoked after repeatedly dissembling it for parts and recreational study.
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| And thus, a few more rules were added to the "Don't" section |
Finally, a voice echoed throughout the halls of the Black Citadel summoning the party to Conference Room A. There they met back up with Vaughn who informed them of their next assignment. But first they would need to fill out some paperwork, specifically a 50-page Time Travel Permit. After gaining a questionable understanding of the specific rules laid out in the the permit, the group signed. Right as Gidge dotted the "i" in his name a construct bearing the symbol of Lendor, the God of Time, appeared out of nowhere and asked about the permit. Vaughn rolled his eyes, grabbed the signed document, and handed it to the construct. It then nodded and instantaneously vanished from sight.
"Ugh...chrono-golems." Vaughn sighed as he proceeded to give an overarching rundown of the assignment. Our heroes were to travel 800 years in the past to the Garlancian Year 42 where they would hunt down a Yuan-Ti Necromancer named Histzoshala and subject her to the Black Feather Brand. Unlike their last assignment however, Vaughn gave them specific instructions to not kill Histzoshala after branding her. Evidently, her vile machinations would end up unleashing a terrible curse upon Yuan-Ti society in the Glarlancian Year 52, weakening and destabilizing it enough to allow the peoples of the North to conquer the South. Thus unifying and further establishing the present-day country of Garlancia.
Before dismissing them for a more detailed briefing with Kalara in Conspiracy Hall, Vaughn made the announcement that one of The Agency's members in the Acquisitions department was recently promoted to a full-time Raven. As he said this, strange music began to play from just on the other side of the conference room door. Evidently this new Raven had a knack for investigation, which would come in handy for this particular assignment. Finally, Vaughn introduced the new member of the team as the "Ahnerian-renowned private investigator, Donut Steele". The door to the conference room flew open, the music reached a crescendo, and a Gnome wearing black crystal glasses strode into the room.
Understandably a little confused, the rest of the group did their best to welcome Donut and began to get to know one another. Just before they left, Vaughn handed them their brand new "C-Level" access passes and mentioned to Gidge that Kalara had commissioned something for him in the Shadow Forge, a mysterious workshop within the Black Citadel.
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| Pictured: 100% accurate representation |
The Shadow Forge was...not what Gidge was expecting. Instead of a mighty workshop worthy of a goddess, the group was treated to a quiet and dimly lit room with a single sleeping Duergar Dwarf behind a desk. Our heroes sauntered up, rang the service bell, and the Dwarf behind the desk awoke with grumbling reluctance.
The Dwarf, who identified himself as Brungi, grunted at Gidge and asked him to state his business. Gidge did so, and within seconds Brungi shouted at a Fire Elemental to retrieve Kalara's commission. Case in hand, Brungi set the case in front of Gidge. Inside the case was a near flawless recreation of Gidge's prosthetic limbs, complete with Thunder Cannon arm. Brungi then asked if there was anything else he needed and Gidge, who was fighting back tears, said no. Almost immediately, Brungi was back asleep and the group left to find Kalara in Conspiracy Hall.
Once again, the other Ravens were hard at work on their own respective assignments and once again Grimnir stepped up to the group, this time singling out Donut. He was ecstatic to see that Donut had received his promotion and wrapped him up in a mighty hug (that might've crushed his bones had he not passed a saving throw). He wished the group luck on their next assignment and walked back over to his squad, but not before he and Skalus exchanged a manly headbutt with one another.
Kalara was busy making preparations when our heroes arrived but was no less happy to see them again. After confirming Gidge had received her package, she launched into the details of their assignment. She reiterated everything Vaughn had told them only moments before, but then offered up a distressing bit of news. The Agency, for all of its supposed omniscience, was unable to pinpoint Histzoshala's exact location. Luckily, Kalara had a backup plan.
During the Garlancian Year 42 in the newly established city of Garton, there was a Yuan-Ti Infiltrator that went by the name Sumoshil. Sumoshil was a known servant of Histzoshala's and had disguised himself as member of Garton's nobility, no doubt as a way to get close to King Garton III of Kam himself. Unfortunately, The Agency could also not pinpoint who or where Sumoshil was within the city. However, Four days after our heroes were to arrive, the King was going to throw a massive party for city's high-class citizens and visiting nobility from the surrounding areas, and with luck, this included Sumoshil.
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| Like trying to find a needle disguised as piece of hay in a haystack |
In light of this, Kalara told the group that she had received authorization to modify their Amulets of Anonymity so that they could go in disguised as a visiting noble house and secure an invite to the party. In order to do this, they would need secure one of Garton's major noble houses as a "reference" in order to receive an invite. Normally this would be considered too "high profile" for Raven's work, but Garton at this time was a very young city, and as such was home to several dozen lesser noble houses all vying for influence and political pull. Blending in with this rat's nest of backstabbing and infighting would be a piece of cake. However, their disguises would only last for five days (or like...when the clock strikes midnight at the party or something), so they would need to find Sumoshil before then or risk being discovered.
Our heroes needed to get their cover story straight. They would pose as the very fitting "House Ravenwood", a noble house from the city of Oldstone who made their fortune mining and exporting jewels. At its head was Hollilynn, disguised as Lord Justin Ravenwood. Beside him/her was his/her wife/adventuring companion Nimble Snow, playing the part of Lady Susan Ravenwood. Alongside the Lord and Lady would be Justin's father, Lord-Reagent Don Ravenwood, played by Vinci. Of course no noble house is complete without a few heirs so Gidge and Donut would pose as the twins, Chip and Greg Ravenwood, who were no older than six. Last but not least was Skalus, who everyone agreed should pose as House Ravenwood's loyal and practically mute Thane, Man-Servanté.
With their cover story now firmly in place, the mission was clear. Find Sumoshil and make him reveal Histzoshala's location. After giving the group a small stipend of 2,000gp and allowing them to equip themselves, Kalara opened a portal to Garton in the Year 42.
(Heads up: Until otherwise mentioned, I'm going to now refer to each character by their cover names)
Our heroes, now fully disguised, arrived in a small alley just off to the side of the Town Square. Almost immediately, Justin spotted the Grand Temple of Pelor and there wasn't much the rest of the group could do to stop him from going in. Once inside, he met a very pious man named Deacon. The two proceeded to gush over Pelor for a bit and eventually Deacon revealed that he was a member of House Hardshaper, a major noble house of Garton, but had forsaken his birthright to better serve Pelor. Regardless, they had their first lead! Justin thanked Deacon for his time, said a few prayers, and left the temple.
As they were making their way toward the city's High District, they heard a nearby Town Barker mentioning that any visiting nobility could make an appointment at the Royal Palace to meet with the King in order to secure an invitation to his party, or at the very least learn about the major noble houses who were offering them. After hearing this they decided to divert course and head to the Royal Palace instead.
Their hopes for getting an appointment were all but dashed when they set their eyes upon the massive line that had formed in front of the palace gates. With much reluctance, the group sulked over to the back of the line and began to wait. Several minutes passed and impatience began to set in. Chip decided it would be a good idea to tug on the robes of the man in front of them and inquire as to how long he had been waiting. This rotund and jovial man casually informed the young lad that he had not moved in nearly twenty minutes. This man was also wearing incredibly expensive-looking finery, a fact that Susan took notice of and correctly deduced that he must be a noble. Indeed her hunch was correct, and the man introduced himself as Darrow Brackenbaugh, Merchant Prince of Garton.
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| This guy is LOADED |
Darrow had a surprising zest for life and was really just happy to be out and enjoying the nice weather. After conversing for some time, Darrow mentioned that if the group simply wanted a list of the major noble houses they could just walk up to the gate and talk to the Royal Ledgerman. They did so, and although the Ledgerman turned out to be an incredibly rude man named Timms, they secured the list of houses that they needed to hopefully ingratiate themselves with.
The first of course was House Kam, the royal house of which this seemingly endless line of people was trying to meet...so that was out. Then came House Hardshaper, a council house whom the group had already heard about from Deacon. Third was House Gilmeneu, a prestigious foreign house who had firmly established themselves in Garton only a few years ago. House Brackenbaugh was also on the list and upon reading this the group looked back at Darrow, who smiled and waved but had only moved about a foot in the time it took them to reach the palace gates. And finally House Murk, a military house and primary benefactor of the Garton City Watch.
List in hand the group went to talk to Darrow some more, but was stopped when a Yuan-Ti Pureblood stepped out of the shadows to address them. He identified himself as member of Clan Ezhutu, a visiting band of diplomats from the Yuan-Ti territories in the Southern Valley. He had observed that the group was looking to secure an invite to the King's party, and extended an invitation to the Yuan-Ti Embassy later that day. Cautiously, the Ravenwoods agreed, and the Yuan-Ti slithered off.
They met back up with Darrow, and decided to invite him to lunch to further discuss a potential arrangement between their two houses. Darrow was understandably hesitant to give up his place in line, but Don made the suggestion that Man-Servanté could hold his place until they were done with their meal. Darrow thought this to be a fine idea, and proceeded to lead the group to the Harbor Ward where his favorite dining establishment was located. As they left, they noticed that a small chorus of swooning young socialites had begun to form around Man-Servanté.
Darrow lead the group to The Wading Watchmen, a very upscale restaurant on the edge of the Harbor Ward, the ward of which was currently undergoing a considerable amount of expansion. They were seated at Darrow's usual table albeit with a few more seats and a couple of high-chairs. Their meal turned out to be very cordial and Darrow took a liking to their somewhat odd (and fake) family. He then offered to have them meet him and his wife Milanostra for afternoon tea the next day.
With lunch over and done with, the Ravenwoods lead Darrow back to his spot in line. As they did, a surprisingly large group of young, and crying, women sprinted past. This seemed strange until the group set their eyes on Man-Servanté, who had a look of both confusion and trepidation in his eyes as well as few lipstick stains around the now-unkempt collar of his gambeson. Darrow then resumed his place in line, which didn't seem to have gotten any shorter, and bid the Ravenwoods a fond farewell for now.
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| Man-Servanté: Thane. Bodyguard. Lady-Killer. |
The remainder of the day was mostly spent testing the waters with their other options. First, they took Clan Ezhutu up on their invitation and went to the Yuan-Ti Embassy. There they met Shekhousu, head diplomat and High Priest of Merrshaulk, who wanted the group to place a Sending Stone in the King's Royal Chambers in exchange for an invitation to the party. Sensing that this would be untoward (and for good reason), Justin gave a very noncommittal answer and ushered his family out of the Embassy.
As the day grew long they decided to meet with Frazen Gilmeneu, the oldest son of House Gilmeneu, who was in the middle of his evening dueling practice. Franzen was an impressive duelist, and simply wanted House Ravenwood to pick up a sword he had commissioned from a local smithy named Brandon. A reasonable request, and one that the group decided to think on.
Eventually the sun began to set and House Ravenwood decided to stay at a tavern called The Fair Feathered Inn. The bartender, a Dwarf named Fromnaug, was all too happy to have visiting nobility in his establishment and offered up his finest rooms. Although it was expected that the humans of House Ravenwood would need to sleep, the Ravens of The Agency no longer did. So the group bade their time until morning as Vinci regaled the commonfolk with (probably true) ghost stories, Hollilynn prayed, Donut set up his "web of clues", and Skalus rooted himself in the ground outside to keep watch over the street.
At long last, morning had arrived and House Ravenwood began the day by meeting with House Murk. The heavily armed guards out front stripped the group of any and all weapons, except for Man-Servanté and Greg who decided to wait out front. Lord Braggar Murk trusted the Yuan-Ti about as far as he could throw them (although considering his impressive size, this could be rather far), so his request was simple; make the Yuan-Ti of Clan Ezhutu experience an "unfortunate accident". Susan thought this to be a bit much for a family with two children, and respectfully declined. Outside they collected Man-Servanté and Greg who were playing patty-cake with the two guards.
The last house on their list was Hardshaper. Earl Bromnack Hardshaper was a very old and surly man who barely seemed to tolerate having guests. He then demanded that the group convince his son Deacon to renounce his vows to Pelor and marry Linny Brackenbaugh, Darrow Brackenbaugh's only and beloved daughter. Justin found this idea to be absolutely abhorrent, refused Bromnack's request, and left in a huff.
With every house and avenue visited, the group decided the best course of action would be to honor their appointment with House Brackenbaugh. As they considered this, Chip (Donut) pointed out that every single noble and diplomat that they had met with was wearing the exact same necklace. The rest of the group indeed thought this to be odd.
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| WHAT COULD IT MEAN!? |
Afternoon Tea with the Brackenbaughs was a delight, and Darrow tasked the group with delivering a package to a man named "Ross" in the Harbor Ward. The package was of considerable size, and Justin tasked Man-Servanté with carrying it. As they made their way to the Harbor Ward, Man-Servanté (Skalus) decided to use Detect Magic on the package to sense if anything was off about it. Indeed something was off, but not necessarily about the package, rather everywhere around him. Not only was he unable to cast the spell properly, it actually fed back into his mind causing a quite unpleasant overloading of his senses. Greg (Gidge) attempted this as well and experienced similar results.
Finally they arrived back at the Harbor Ward and began to inquire about "Ross". This line of questioning was met with suspicion and mean-glances, but since the package bore the Brackenbaugh house sigil, a few of the dockhands that were present agreed to comply. The group was led into an underground aqueduct of sorts, where several men wearing dark leather armor were waiting. Not wanting to set them off, Justin instructed Man-Servanté to set the package down and slide it over to them. The biggest among them stepped forward and opened the package to examine it. It was filled to the brim with gold and jewels.
Suddenly, the man slammed the package closed and demanded to know where the rest of it was. This caught Justin off guard as obviously he and his family were just the messengers, a fact he used to try and deescalate the quickly escalating situation. The man, who they all assumed to be "Ross" at this point, agreed but decided that they were going to be kept as collateral until he got his supposedly full payment from Lord Brackenbaugh. Which might've worked out for him, if he didn't then threaten Chip and Greg.
Vinci, who not-uncharacteristically could've forgotten that Donut and Gidge weren't actually his grandchildren, responded by flying into a violent rage and attacking "Ross". To "Ross", it appeared that an old and frail human man just broke several of his ribs with a cane, which made it all the more confusing when Chip, a six year-old child, then stabbed him in the thigh with a rapier. The remaining Ravenwoods lept into action against "Ross's" gang.
The sheer confusion of a bunch of seemingly defenseless nobles systematically annihilating their group seemed to get the better of them as one by one each of "Ross's" thugs fell to this unexpected onslaught. Finally, Man-Servanté (Skalus) unleashed a Hold Person spell on "Ross" and Greg (Gidge) took full advantage of this by blowing off "Ross's" head with his arm (Thunder Cannon). The final remaining thug dropped his weapons and sprinted away in terror. It's a good thing he was already in the sewers...
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| RIP "Ross", we hardly knew you...no really, what was his real name? |
The danger now passed, the group realized that no one was going to believe that a bunch of stuck-up nobles just dispatched a band of hardened thugs, so they all decided to cover Man-Servanté in a more convincing amount of "red paint" and head back to House Brackenbaugh, likely with some questions. Despite the mortified looks they received on the way back, they eventually arrived back at the Brackenbaugh estate. The man servant (not to be confused with Man-Servanté) informed them that Darrow and Milanostra were out at a late lunch and would be back within an hour or so. The group took this time to rest in the Brackenbaugh's study.
An hour went by and eventually the laughter of Darrow and Milanostra could be heard arriving through the front door. This laughter was abruptly cut-off as the two entered the study and took one look at a "painted" Man-Servanté. Milanostra screamed, Darrow relieved himself of his freshly eaten lunch, and the two demanded to know what had happened. Justin recounted the events with "Ross" and politely asked for an explanation. Though Darrow was familiar with "Ross's" unscrupulous demeanor, he suggested that perhaps "Ross" tried to take advantage of the group's supposed defenselessness to leverage Darrow for more money. But luckily, Man-Servanté (and only Man-Servanté...) was there to stop him.
Darrow apologized profusely and went at once to fetch a chest from his chambers. Inside was one of the same necklaces that all of Garton's nobility were wearing. He informed the group that these acted as the invitations to the King's party, to which they were now officially invited to. Once again, Darrow expressed his deepest concessions and sent the Ravenwoods on their way.
A necklace now secured, that night they called Kalara to give her the good news. They also told her about their inability to cast Detect Magic. The group knew something was up with these necklaces and Kalara asked Gidge to describe the necklace to her. After a bit creative administrative work, Kalara correctly identified it as a Necklace of Nondetection, a powerful magical item that blocked all divination magic within a small radius of its wearer. Suddenly it became clear why The Agency was so blind to Sumoshil's presence in Garton.
With the sheer number of nobles trying to keep their secrets hidden within its walls, Garton had become a blind spot in history. After a moment of silent deliberation, Kalara said she had a plan but it would require further authorization from Vaughn. She then instructed the group to lay low until the party. Our heroes however decided to hedge their bets a little bit and carry out Franzen Gilmeneu's request. It took a fair amount of running back and forth, but eventually they secured Franzen's delivery. Franzen then decided to have a bit of fun with Man-Servanté by dueling him with his new sword.
The sword was of impressive make indeed and after getting only a single hit in on Franzen, Man-Servanté yielded. Franzen laughed, sheathed his new blade, and instructed one of his servants to fetch a chest from his quarters. One again, the chest contained a Necklace of Nondetection. With two invitations now firmly in their grasp, House Ravenwood laid low until the night of the King's party.
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| En Garde! (Yes I gave him a French accent...) |
The night of the King's party arrived and everyone was dressed for the occasion. The party grounds themselves were as lavish as lavish could be. The invites adorned around their necks, Justin and Susan led House Ravenwood through the front gates and into the grand ballroom. Anyone who was anyone in Garton was there including Darrow and Milanostra Brackenbaugh, who gave the Ravenwoods a hearty greeting. The group decided to split up and see if they could comb the crowd for murmurings about Sumoshil. After mingling for awhile the met back up at the banquet table with the same unfortunate news, no one at this party seemed to know anything.
Suddenly Kalara chimed in and instructed our heroes to find a private location away from prying eyes and ears. House Ravenwood then proceeded loudly announce that they were going to use the restroom together. Everyone nearby was understandably confused by this seemingly unprovoked outburst, except the Brackenbaughs, who thought it was hilarious.
Once they were alone, Kalara told them that she was going to replace the Nondetection spell within the necklace with a very powerful Dispel Magic spell that would render every necklace in the Royal Palace useless for one minute. It would however also deactivate the group's disguises for that amount of time. Everyone hesitantly agreed, and Gidge did his best "child having a bathroom crisis" impression to gradually usher everyone that wasn't a Raven out of the bathroom. Finally they were alone and locked the door. Kalara instructed Donut to put on the necklace so that she could infuse it with the spell back at HQ.
Donut did so, and within minutes he returned with a Necklace of Dispel Magic. With a nod, Donut activated the necklace and their disguises washed away. All was relatively quiet for the first few seconds, but then they started to hear shouting on the other side of the door. Followed by more shouting. Then followed by the breaking of glass and ceramic. And finally it sounded as if there was a full-on melee on the other side of the door. This was confirmed when a young noble with visible wounds on his face broke down the bathroom door to take cover. Although he certainly did not expect to see a Torle, a Tiefling, a Tabaxi, a Gnome, a Halfling, and one incredibly naked man on the other side of it. He couldn't even muster a scream before passing out.
What resulted was nothing short of pure chaos. Their secrets and machinations now on display to a room filled with a good number of magic-users, every noble was either fighting, screaming at, or demanding the arrest of every other noble. Our heroes sprang out of the bathroom, and as they did they morphed back into the members of House Ravenwood, the minute was up. Suddenly Kalara shouted in over their Talismans of Requisition...
"It's Franzen! Franzen is Sumoshil! He's making a break for it!"
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| Kind of like this, but with a lot more gold and silk |
With no time to lose the group gave chase, pushing and weaving their way through the unruly crowd. They bounded into a long hallway where Donut identified a set of tracks in the carpeting. Sprinting past the kitchen staff and a few guards who were running toward the ballroom, they found themselves in a dimly lit study where the tracks had abruptly stopped. Everyone fanned out in different directions trying to see where Sumoshil had gone. Suddenly, Vinci caught a glint of steel as Sumoshil attacked from Invisibility.
Though he was an accomplished duelist and armed with the magical sword our heroes delivered to him (the irony!), he was horribly outnumbered and quickly found himself on the ropes. In his desperation, he produced a Sending Stone from his pocket and pleaded Histzoshala for aid. Histzoshala did not answer with words, but instead a sinister form of magic that transformed Sumoshil into a terrifying Yuan-Ti Abomination.
With renewed strength and resolve, Sumoshil's sword cut into Vinci like tissue paper, knocking him down into a weakened state. Hollilynn responded by calling out to Pelor and healing her companion. Donut, Nimble, and Skalus got in a few good hits on Sumoshil but the Yuan-Ti showed little sign of slowing down as he unleashed a Fear spell on the party and sent many of them running. Vinci found his feet once more and proceeded to land a mighty blow against Sumoshil's collar. Gidge, apparently having some trouble with his Thunder Cannon, couldn't seem to land a shot on Sumoshil's writhing and snake-like form.
Finally, Nimble drew back her bow and infused an arrow with psychic energy. She let it loose, and with terrifying speed it effortlessly pierced through Sumoshil's skull. Sumoshil stood stunned for short moment, staring directly at Vinci, before slumping lifelessly to the ground.
The group breathed a sigh of relief, but their victory was short lived as they remembered only-too-late that they needed to interrogate him into revealing Histzoshala's location. Nimble sheepishly grabbed her Talisman of Requisition and informed Kalara of their misstep. Upset at first, Kalara expressed her disappointment with the situation and struggled to come up with alternatives. Until Donut mentioned Sumoshil's Sending Stone. Ecstatic, Kalara deduced that she could track the source of the stone's magic back to its origin. She asked to Donut to once again hold onto it as she briefly brought him back to HQ.
A few seconds later, Donut returned and Kalara chimed back in with an unnerving degree of apprehension in her voice. She had Histzoshala's location, unfortunately it was in the catacombs beneath the Yuan-Ti capital city of Ohshashlahizarosh.
A few moments later, the clock struck midnight (see I told you) and the group's noble disguises faded. With the sound of approaching guards echoing down the hall, Skalus Thunderwaved a nearby window and the party absconded to safety...but not before Vinci took Sumoshil's sword as a trophy.
As they escaped, Gidge recalled an event he read about in a history book called The Night of Terrible Truth. Where the once proud nobles of Garton descended into madness as all of their secrets were suddenly revealed. The night was then blamed on the Yuan-Ti of Clan Ezhutu and it was their subsequent imprisonment and execution that sparked the War of Skin and Scale. The war that would establish the country of Garlanica.
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| Oshashlahizarosh...fun place, if you like ritual sacrifice |
And it was there we wrapped! This game was an absolute blast to run. Like one of my players (my wife Michelle) said, it could have gone in a hundred different directions and although it ended up pretty much where I expected, it was interesting to watch how we got there. I think the players also really enjoyed establishing their cover stories and posing as an eccentric family of nobles. And now I'm off to figure out how this band of heroes can infiltrate a Yuan-Ti city without immediately getting murdered.
Thanks for reading!
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