Type
Lore
Sub-Type
Campaign

three-titans-campaign

![[Third Titans Art.jpg|900]]

Video Episode List

Episode 1 The Library

Episode 2 1000 Screams

Episode 3 Entering The Kragg

Episode 4 Leirus

Episode 5 Return to Falmore Grove

Episode 6 Muhmor

Episode 7 Rou of Kasan

Episode 8 The Lung Dragon

Episode 9 Pirates and Scoundrels

Episode 10 Lunalata

Episode 11 Ka’Charo

Episode 12 The Fall

Episode 13 Melanesim

Episode 14 Titans Rise

Remaining Edits

Choose a Narrator

1. Vic Shadowspawn:

2. Lorzen:

3. Balian:

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Articles & Characters

Player Characters

Kriv Gimble Drawoc

Non-Player Characters

Zalafrin Melanesim

Articles

The Book Why The Book Ascended The Three Titans Men of Hidden Honor Order of the Night

Episode 1: The Library

The Library

In Falmore Grove, Gimble, Kriv, and Drawoc are pulled together by a local priest they had asked if there was any work. The priest has a friend who needs some help. The friend is Zalafrin and lives in the manor on the hill. The friend belongs to a group of like-minded individuals who thinks these individuals can do great good. Kriv is distrustful and judgmental of this compliment and group of individuals. They are sent to a ruin to clear it out and report back, as a test of their abilities. There, they find the monsters were protecting sheets of undecipherable text, though Drawoc can tell it is formatted (such that the language can be) as some sort of entries, like an encyclopedia. Kriv will recognize this as possibly having come from an ancient text of an encyclopedia of the gods.

The team is called in again by the priest to rescue children of an immigrant from Zatar that are being held for ransom. They rescue the kids from the inept captors who were being attacked by Carrion Crawlers.

Zalafrin introduces himself to the group and asks them to go to an ancient ruined library to look for clues that could help decipher the pages they found. Fighting ghosts, the party finds pages that Drawoc is able to decipher.

[!The Book] The Book Out of nothing, a drop of water condensates, setting off ripples across the empty vastness. Undulating fields brush past one another, throwing a spark, igniting a furious fire, and causing an inflation with roaring winds. Clumps of the raw energy of the forming universe swirl and collapse into dense matter and soil.

Episode 2: 1000 Screams

Zalafrin sends them to Ravensburg to investigate a murder. The victum, Leaves Rustling, is one of the Kenku that immigrated from The Nest in Zatar. There is very mixed opinions about the Kenku in Ravensburg and it is a hot issue. One group of locals boasts about murdering the woman, however upon further investigation, it is found they are lying for clout. In fact, amongst the Kenku there is a plot to use the pages they stole from The Nest to bring back Corvus, led by Feather Rustle. This is why they were exiled from The Nest, for wanting to recall Corvus. They took their extended families with them and left toward Ravensburg. Leaves Rustling disagreed with the plot, so she was silenced. During their investigation, the group unravels this plot.

The day slips into night and the group decides to approach Feather Rustle and his gang on the morrow. As they go to bed, a violent storm gathers and Corvus emerges. Barely, the group is able to defeat Corvus, Feather Rustle and his gang.

The group recovers the pages Feather Rustle was holding.

[!The Book] The Book A shine of life and a shade of death sweep over, imbuing these planes with the endless cycle that permeates across all space and all time. Reality is unfurling in straight order but behind, beneath, and inside all of these events is the high pitched, bright glare, and sweet smell of primordial magic.

Kriv contemplates the texts they are putting together, and considers his oath to protect holy texts.

In the aftermath of the horrible storm, the group stays for a couple days, helping to rebuild and ease tensions between remaining, innocent kenku and the folks of Ravensburg

Episode 3: Entering The Kragg

Salahara

Zalafrin is delighted they have defeated a titan and gather more pages. Next, he sends the party to The Kragg, a desert region of the Zatar Confederacy. Storms have been brewing and there’s rumors of another titan being revealed.

[!DM] DM Drawoc looks down from the glaring sun, plodding along. Hot sand sinks with every step as it burns the soles of his feet through footwear. This is so tiring. Not that he’s unaccustomed to discomfort. The group has traveled so far recently. It’s been an eventful fortnight. In Summergate, Gimble spent too much at a fermented fruit cart, pulling Kriv into the debauchery as well. It was Drawoc that had to convince them to move on. Passing through Farfield, the lead of the guard, Broghen Mayweather, took an interest in Drawoc’s presence. Still unsure if it was a positive or negative interest, he and the rest of the Titan Hunters moved on south. In the broken city of Highridge, Drawoc felt a sense of familiarity. They too had seen wave after wave of misfortune and corrupt leadership, yet persevered. The long trip south somehow still gets dwarfed by the excruciating travel within the sands of The Kragg. One more trial for him to suffer. It’s not for nothing, he thinks. He’ll have his day.

Drawoc mentions he made mistakes in the past he regrets.

Seltharthla, a Yuan-Ti leading this small village, sent the party to eliminate a cave of thri-kreen who have been attacking caravans. A couple of the party stay behind to investigate why the well has dried up suddenly. The thri-kreen are dispatched with the help of lemon scented flasks that were given to them. The others discover a massive tunnel has formed and disturbed the aquifer. Something large must have burrowed through.

Dharsa

The party hitches a ride north, to Dharsa, as caravan gaurds. On the way, they trek through a challenging sandstorm.

[!DM] DM Gimble fought threat after threat for his village. They lifted him up as a hero of the people. They didn’t know that even then, he felt he could be more. Do more. Drawoc turns over in the night, unable to rest. He is still so far from where he wants to be. There is so far to go. Kriv was sworn to defend holy texts. These pages; they are his chance. But they nearly died fighting Corvus. Can they really do this? Is he dragging everyone to their death?

In Dharsa, they help the craftsmen by deciphering and using a stone tablet to summon earth elementals that will aid them in re-opening portions of the mine. Drawoc explains he made a pact with Asmodeus in his youth. He used to be less ridged. After that adventure and some shopping, they travel to Kurusarma.

Episode 4: Leirus

Kurusarma

[!DM] DM Sultans rest in sun baked towers rising above dark alleys clogged with hawkers and beggars. A warm river feeds opulent bath houses to the north which drain into the more fortunate slums. Welcome to Kurusarma.

Sardarno is a tiefling and head of the Security Council of the Sarma, the ruling class. He engages the party after hearing of their work in Salahara and Dharsa. Trade has ground to a halt. Something vile is going on. Caravans haven’t made their usual stops and whole tribes have simply vanished.

Sardarno and Drawoc have a side conversation about how others have a bias against tieflings and it was luck and hard work for Sardarno to be the head of a council in a major city. Many would think Sardarno will open a gate to the nine hells and lead Asmodeus’s army right through the gates. It would be very helpful if he could put his name to clearing the trade routes.

Sardarno assigns a group of Sarma warriors, led by his aid Colt, to assist them in investigating. Colt used to work for Slatebran but was banished by the Salt Mercs to live in this hell hole. Took up good work for good coin with Sardarno.

[!DM] DM Sardarno: “Trade has ground to a halt in the midlands. Something vile is going on. Caravans haven’t made their usual stops and whole tribes have simply vanished. We need to go on the offensive here. Take my men, go and stop this!”

Out in the Change Winds

Investigating the nearest tribe who has lost contact, they find no bodies. There’s obvious signs of a battle, but then everyone left south. Fresher tracks of Thri-Kreen can be found, they just scout around after the exodus.

In another camp, a couple of corpses that have been eaten to the bone. They find a carapace that has been molted off. Thri-Kreen scouts were uncovered still poking around further south.

Later, a lone survivor wandering the dessert screams, running from Thri-Kreen trying to capture him. He tells the story of his tribe being invaded at night by a horde of possessed people. He managed to escape but he’ll always remember the screams and the sight of a large beast, stabbing his tribesmen with a scorpion tail, odd fluid pulsing and squirting into their cracked open bodies. The beast went south toward the pyramid. From his words and inspecting the thri-kreen bodies, it’s apparent that they had lost contact with their hive and were simply scouting. They were not the ones destroying the camps.

Throughout the days, ever increasing storms have been whipping up. The party struggles to make it through the dessert but all signs keep pushing them toward the pyramids in the south.

At one point, Gimble is at a distance and looks blurry. Like a mirage or heat distortion

They make it to the pyramids as a battle rages on inside.

Leirus

[!DM] DM Winds whipped wildly across the Kragg’s dunes. Few people could survive the chaos it brought. Only one thrived. Leirus; the sand titan.

He ruled the region and drove out any attempts at settlement. During the war against the titans, he was driven underground; buried deep, deep into the hot sands.

The winds calmed and the tribes sprouted up. Even building the pyramid to the gods that had brought peace to the Kragg. But the winds never quite died nor did Leirus. After clawing his way back up to the sun light, it’s again time to reclaim his lands and destroy the blasphemous pyramid.

Inside the pyramid, tribesmen who have been infected into twisted scorpion hybrids battle thri-kreen. Colt and the Sarma hold back the soldiers of both armies as the party advances further into the pyramid. 4 large statues are set in the middle of a large chamber. The tablets at the foot of each seem out of order. As the party works to deduce the correct order, the statues blast them with powerful magic traps.

Solving the puzzle, a large pillar begins to move, but fighting from a level below rocks the floor, causing it to collapse. Gimble, caught in the center, tumbles down. In the cavernous system below, they see Leirus, the titan of the Kragg, battling Cataglyphus, the queen of the thri-kreen.

The queen and her workers had tunneled below the pyramid, causing it to weaken and the floor to collapse with the shifting weight of the column moving.

Gimble climbs up Cataglyphus’s back, and pummels her between her armor plates. Leirus attacks him, knocking him down. As the titan closes is for the killing blow he is stopped.

Drawoc swoops down and intimidates Leirus powerfully

As Leirus backs up, a massive blast of lightning strikes him. Kriv and Drawoc had shifted one of the statues from the room above aiming it at the monster, then intentionally set off the trap. The party fights the wounded Leirus, ultimately killing him.

With the titan defeated, the storms die out. Leirus has pages from the book.

[!The Book] The Book These fundamental elements and forces thrum with an underlying unconsciousness. Each with their own drives- but unthinking, unrelatable. At the boundaries, a tumultuous mixture becomes the material plane.

They drag the powerful statues back to Sardarno. In his gratitude, Sardarno gifts them a pile of pages that were recently uncovered.

[!The Book] The Book Out of the caves, mountains, forests, and plains sprang the first people. They struggled and fought against the great beasts that grew in the world, unchecked. The beasts rampaged. The first people fought the second people and the third. Lands were conquered and lost to wars and the wild. Heroes and monstrosities thrived and died.

The party charters a ship to sail back toward Falmore Grove in Andes.

Episode 5: Return to Falmore Grove

Sump

To get to Falmore Grove, the party will sail to Sump, Gallyway, then land in Caspin in the Andes Kingdom, traveling by land from there. The first stop, Sump.

[!DM] DM A musky, damp shithole. Martep has squandered whatever wealth the city had, leaving nothing for upkeep even if he could stop getting hammered and terrorizing the citizens. Whoever can scrape a few gold together are escaping the city for Zatar or Gallyway. Those that can’t make the journey have moved out into the marshlands. The Hall of Robes is in shambles, both as an organization and the actual structure.

The party buys magic items from the Hall of Robes, which they gladly sell for the much needed coin. During their brief stay, they run into Martep, who is aggressive, unwelcoming, and a bully. As they leave, a tabaxi named Melanesim joins the voyage, on his way to Caspin himself.

Gallyway

Their next stop is Gallyway.

[!DM] DM As the ship sails around the shore, the coast of the sunken district reveals a large city buzzing with activity. Merchant’s and fully stocked warehouses burst out of their plots and spill into the streets with product. Managers shout orders, men heave and grunt at work, citizens laugh boisterously while day drinking in the posh coastal winehouses. A network of docks fan out, creating almost a small floating city in it’s own right. These docks are crammed with the finest ships you’ve seen. Vessels of every size and function. Gallyway is doing very well under the direction of Silverside. With Ka’charo staying mostly north, Zatar has been able to fill the trading hole that is left.

The party has no business in Gallyway, so the stop is short; just enough to restock the ship for the final leg of the journey.

Drawoc thinks of the prejudices against tieflings. His pact with Asmodeus being the very thing others are suspicious of his kind. He is the problem. Perhaps only the death of Asmodeus could change that.

Ka’Charo Attack

Back on the water, the party is heading to Caspin where they plan to then travel to Falmore Grove on land. Before they arrive, however, their trip is interrupted.

Melanesim had been very curious about the party; asking probing questions and observing them. The stormy night before they are set to arrive, the tabaxi sneaks into their room and attempts to steal the pages from Kriv. Kriv snaps awake and chases Melanesim up to the deck.

Before Kriv can fully confront the thief, Sahuagin begin climbing aboard. The rest of the party awake in the attack, getting to the deck just as Ka’Charo rises out of the water. The ocean titan smashes the boat with ease and the party manages to swim to a small raft bobbing on the shark and Sahuagin infested waters.

[!DM] DM From the boat, you see an angry wet feline rise to the surface of the churning waters. He looks around for a moment then his lifted out of the water by a trident piercing his lower abdomen. A Sahuagin warbles in victory then Melanesim reaches down with his foot. His claws rip through the fish’s face and the duo drop below the water, leaving a pool of blood. Only for a moment until Melanesim is lifted back out, legs first this time with a trident piercing his thigh. He reels around, screaming angrily as he tried to reach the second Sahuagin. Then, a shark jets up and snatches the feline. The commotion brings them all below the surface. In a moment or two later, Melanesim’s legs and pelvis float to the surface. Your attention is turned from this spectacle the teaming Sahuagin in the water beside your raft.

Distracted, they don’t notice a black cloud rising from the water and flying to the northern sky. They fight off the water monsters and distance themselves from Ka’Charo who continues to destroy the ship.

Surviving the long night stranded at sea, another merchant vessle spots them and brings them to Caspin.

Episode 6: Muhmor

Falmore Grove

Finally delivering the pages to Zalafrin, he listens to their encounter with Ka’Charo. Zalafrin tells them he is the leader of a group called the Men of Hidden Honor. This is a network of individuals who work in secerate, below the powers of the land such as kingdoms and empires. They work to do good by the people, not the nations. Titans are arising all over, which threatens to cause another Mortal War. The party seems like good people so he asks them to join, to find the pages of the book that could help stop the Titans.

He tells them of an ancient ship on the island nation of Iwagata. The ship was built by the Viaran; a race from long ago that built the vessle to protect their land from sea titans. They will need it to defeat Ka’Charo, while hopefully the location to more pages can be discovered. One of members of the Men of Hidden Honor is in Iwagata and will be of aid in navigating the strange land. He is in Quoto.

Muhmor’s Island

They travel to Haddor to board a ship of other Men of Hidden Honor. The team on the ship are: Captain - Hadway (Human, Salt and Pepper hair, leather skin, reserved when not demanding) First Man - Black Eye (Dwarf, eye grew black after a battle with a kraken) Arcanist - Severn (Female Halfling, tempers storms, blows the wind) Notable Deck Hands: Boggs (orc), Jakey (dim human), Rhegor (dwarf, doesn’t just drink like a normal dwarf, he’s an actual alcoholic) Hadway makes a gesture at them they are not familiar with. When they look blankly at him, he just shrugs it off and goes about his duties without further word.

The trip to Iwagata will be long so Boggs and Rhegor draw Gimble into a game of Blood Dice for fun. Blood Dice is played by two opponents. Each take turns rolling the dice. Depending on who rolls higher and by how much, the magic of the dice will transfer an amount of the loser’s life essence and grant it to the winner. A dangerous game they do not take lightly.

Gimble and Boggs play, the result of a few games is nearly a draw. The players decide it is time to put the dice away.

Along the way, they dock at an island for some minor repairs. It’s a long voyage, so Hadway is being cautious.

On the island, manatees roam freely and the party is asked to deter them from interrupting the work on the ship. While tracking their way to the manatee nest, a cyclops stumbles upon them. The party engages the giant creature in combat but they quickly realizes the cyclops is wildly missing when he throws stones at them. Suspecting the creature is just scared, they put down their weapons and begin speaking to it.

The cyclops tells them his name is Muhmor and he is blind. He’s lived on this island peacefully his whole life. Indeed, he’s greeted several ships, learned common, and has built up a library of books he’s accumulated from ships. He loves to read about anything as it gives him a view on the world outside his island. Lands he’d love to explore, but he is a cyclops and could never walk amongst the people.

The manatees, always just a nuisance, had grown bold. They’ve been attacking the ships, stealing anything of interest, scaring the ships away from the island, and Muhmor. In an attack, they pierced Muhmor’s eye, blinding him. He can no longer read and is scared.

The party continues tracking the manatees to their lair. Kriv blasts a powerful fire breath, frying several manatees at once. After defeating the swarm, they spot valuables in the nest that must have come from the ships Muhmor was mentioning.

One item is an ioun stone which Kriv gives to Muhmor. The stone lets the owner see through it as if it was an eye. A useful tool for an adventurer who explores dangerous locations, but also good for blind cyclops that wants to read.

The party invites Muhmor to come aboard, find a new place, see a new world. Muhmor accepts, but Captain Hadway must be convinced by feeding the cyclops out of the party’s rations.

Episode 7: Rou of Kasan

[!DM] DM The fair ship, Freemantle, creaks and sways with the winds, or maybe that’s Mumohr pacing around again. The large fellow is anxious to get to land and spread out. You are all feeling it, the longing for hard land, a dry shirt, an end to the long monotonous days. The last few have been filled with an endless light rain. Finally, you wake to the sound of the land horn blowing, A bright, clear day with a cool breeze helps you take in all the new sights. Your eyes are drawn to the trees. They are twisted and weird. The leaves are overly broad and so green they appear to be wax. As you get closer, you can make out the shoremen. Five rat-men (Tanezumi) mosey around with rope and boards, until a pig-man (Kurobuta) snorts some orders at them. As the gangplank is lowered and the Boggs and the crew start unloading the ship, of Mumohr’s things. Captain Hadway comes to you to talk, a rare occurrence. “Here we are, Kasan. Not risking docking at Quoto with this cyclops so go make peace with the locals before we bring him above deck. Then, find a way to cut the beast loose or put him down. I couldn’t bother less. Tomorrow we’ll sail for Quoto.” The village of Kasan is odd. While not very large, the huts and small buildings are very close together.

Stepping off the ship, Gimble is greeted by a Tanezumi, who punches him. A fight nearly breaks out but is stopped by a Vanara, monkey person. This person explains to the dock hands that these travelers do not know the customs, and hitting is not a greeting to them. The Vanara introduces himself to the party as Fang, and they hire him to guide them around and teach them the culture.

Interested in helping Kasan to build good will for Mumohr, Fang finds a good deed for them to do. The town’s Guardian has gone missing in the caves just out of town. While they await a replacement, the town is worried. Whatever is in that cave might not wait until the new Guardian arrives. Fang says he’ll have the party do it, but finds another opportunity.

Qui is a Tanezumi (rat-folk) farmer with a weakling son, Rou. Qui thinks perhaps his son could find some confidence if he helped clear out the cave. The party agrees with Fang to complete both deeds in one and lead Rou out of town toward the caves.

On the way, Fang tells them about the Guardians. Across the mainland and Iwagata, these gold armored people are spread out, protecting the people. A small village like Kasan is lucky to have a Guardian. It is a great honor when a man commits themselves to the Guardians. The helms are donned in a ceremony that only the Guardians attend. They are taken over by the spirit of the First Guardian, gaining great strength and skill but stripping them of their identities. Often, it is a fitting end to old warriors. That’s the idea, at least. In reality, Fang explains, it’s a way to escape difficult lives or punishment for crimes. But they are protecting the realm, so it is still honorable.

Rou then adds his family history, with Fang looking on, smiling. Long ago, another Tanezumi was born weak, also named Rou. His father was a great protector of the realm as a general in the emperor’s army. When ancestor Rou picked up his father’s iconic golden helm, Rou absorbed his father’s skills becoming the first Guardian. It was he that went on to form the Guardians, quickly growing into the empire’s greatest protectors.

The party bring Rou out to the cave, fight through several monsters, giving Rou a chance to feel powerful, and do find the Guardian’s armor. However, it’s animated by the First Guardian’s spirit, who says only someone powerful enough to defeat him is worthy to wear his helm. This Guardian’s particular helmet exactly matches the description Rou’s family had passed down over the generations. As it was the first helm, there were peculiar characteristics that a trained eye could spot.

Kriv, Gimble, and Drawoc fight the First Guardian, again letting Rou “help”. They give the helmet to Rou, as it is his ancestor. He doesn’t put the helmet on, instead keeping it to show his father how brave and strong he had been.

Upon returning to Kasan, they find that Qui has left; abandoning his weak son. Sending Rou out with the party was just a distraction to give him time to leave. To help alleviate his grief, they bring Rou to talk to Muhmor who tells the small creature of his own difficult life alone. The town, feeling bad for Rou but impressed by the party’s good work, agree to let Muhmor stay.

The party heads out to Quoto, waving their fairwells to Muhmor who stands on the shore with Rou. Landing in Quoto, they quickly meet more Tanezumi named Rou. Fang laughs and tells them, it’s just a name a lot of them give their children, telling them they are the decedent of the First Guardian- who was indeed Tanezumi. Anyone who knows these rat-folk, know it’s just a cultural thing. The Rou they met just held onto that belief particularly strongly because he and his father were isolated and Rou was weak.

Back in Kasan, Rou decides to take on his father’s farm and Muhmor agrees to help with the field work. Rou and Muhmor, with their similarities in being utterly alone, make great friends and they begin a sort of new life in Kasan. Muhmor plows the fields easily during the day and Rou reads to him at night. Rou was always a prolific reader, not being able to perform much of the physical work of the farm.

It was a bright time, but Rou still held a rather dark thought. His father left him, disowning him as a son. But it was he, Rou, that the helm truly belongs to. He had been the one to retrieve the First Guardian’s helm. One night, after Muhmor had gone to bed, Rou stayed up.

After brooding about his father and the helm, for the first time, he reached over and slipped it onto his undersized head. The Guardians’ helmets are what make a man a Guardian. The helms are passed down to new recruits as Guardian’s do occasionally die. Each helm contains the skills and powers of First Guardian Rou. However, weak little Rou actually is the decedent of the First Guardian. For him, the fairy tale of many other little Tanezumi, is true. Donning his own great ancestor’s helm, the helm of the First Guardian, Rou was flooded with lifetimes of memories.

Not just of the First Guardian, but every Guardian that has worn that helmet. Dozens of warriors had worn that helm, their lifetime of experince poured into Rou. But so too, the dozens more that donned the helm to escape their lifetime of misery or crime.

Muhmor awoke the next morning to an empty house. Rou had left. Across Iwagta and the whole of the mainland, all of the Guardians had left.

Episode 8: The Lung Dragon

The Captive

Kriv feels like he’s grew an inch. His claws are harder. His breath is warmer. Drawoc’s chest hair is courser. His horns are longer. And a feels a new form of magic growing within him. Gimble feels lighter and when he moves quickly, his body leaves a very faint trail of blue copies.

In Quoto, they seek out the member of the Men of Hidden Honor, but they hear he has been captured. The Gaur left a ransom note saying several days prior, while out on a long walk, they captured the man. Fang explains it’s unusual the Gaur would organize something like this. There must be more going on.

The party takes off to the mountains. Along the way Fang gets excited. He tells them they are nearing the spa, the day grows late, they may as well stay there for the night and relax. The party agrees and while they are relaxing in the natural springs, Gaur attack. Unarmored, the party struggles to take down the barbarians.

After the spa, they decide to head deeper into Gaur territory. They find a small Guar raiding camp. On the body of the leader, they find a note.

[!DM] DM Onelo, Take and keep the spa and do not allow any travelers pass the south east border. We are keeping a valuable prisoner to the east and need time to collect our bounty away from any prying eyes. Also, tell the men to train well. A large battle may lay ahead of us with the beast in the ruins.

  • Twokar

Deeper into the territory still, they find a larger camp. The Gaur leader here is armored in shimmering scales. On his body, another note.

[!DM] DM “Threetus, I am to bring my men to the ruins and make the final plans with the beast. Hold the prisoner in the cave until I return. You have full command of the men. Make use of the scales provided to us, they are strong. -Fiveduh”

The party finds the nearby cave, along with more scale-armored Guar. Opening the makeshift prison cell in the cave, out steps Melanesim. He thanks them for rescuing him. He has been weaker lately and is ashamed of his capture. They’ve been tormenting him, making him even weaker so escape was not possible.

When asked who he is, Melanesim says he has lived in Iwagata for over a century and likes to stay involved for he loves his home. He knows many of the regions secretes. The party believe him, but ask about the other black lepord person that tried to steal from Kriv. Melanesim’s people are spread throughout the world but they are rare. He knows there are none other in Iwagata. After explaining their mission to get the ancient boat to kill Ka’charo, Melanesim tells them it is in the ruins. The same ruins this “beast” from the notes seems to be in.

The Lung Dragon

At the ruins, fey creatures roam about. They carefully take down each encampment of these exotic, and hostile people and creatures. They also encounter Fourmo, another Guar officer, drinking with the satyrs. Finally, in the courtyard of the ruined palace, a great, shimmering lung dragon attacks. He will take over Iwagata with the help of the Guar, then lead an army to the mainland to reclaim his home.

The party begins battling him. In the midst of combat, Fivedah, the Guar chieftain attacks as well. The fight is fierce with the dragon swooping in and out of the air to use its breath attack then smash them with its tail. Kriv feels an instinctual, deep hatred for this particular creature. He is unsure of where this feeling is coming from. Gimble runs to where ever the dragon lands momentarily but is unable to keep up. Drawoc blasts the dragon with his most powerful spells, only to see them nearly ineffective. The dragon swats Drawoc to the ground and goes to kill him. While on the ground a bit longer than usual to make the kill, Gimble runs up, staking the dragon’s tail to the earth while Drawoc lies motionless on the ground, moments from death. With the dragon unable to escape to the air, it turns its head to Gimble and swoops down to swallow him whole. Kriv leaps onto the dragon’s head, plunging his sword into the nape of the long reptile’s neck. The lung dragon is defeated. Kriv heals Drawoc.

In a room of the ruined keep, used by the dragon, they find more pages.

[!The Book] The Book From these primal lives, some experienced things on a finer level. They tapped into the natural energies that created their world. In time, they developed their craft and became so much more than their fellow creatures. Eventually, they came to claim the source of this power as their own. They sought obedience, tribute, worship.

Descending a stairwell, they enter a cavern open to the sea. A harbor was built into the cave, and docked is the ancient boat.

[!DM] DM I’vlad squinted his wide eyes against the sunny coast line as his ship drifted slowly to port. Returning from yet another harrowing battle, he was eager to see his wife and kids once more. In a few short years, his son would be joining the crew, learning the ways of the Viaran people to slay sea titans in the name of their divine patron. The bond with their patron was consecrated with the construction of this ship. I’vlad swelled with pride when chosen to captain the vessel and strike out against the hostile sea. But after every battle, he yearned to see his home once more. But, staring at the familiar coast, the shapes of the buildings were slumped, toppled. As the ship docked, no people were there to greet them. I’vlad and his crew made their way through their destroyed city. In the center, a long, shimmer reptile flew above the city and was surveying the piles of corpses. The lung dragon had destroyed his home.

Episode 9: Pirates and Scoundrels

Estivan

Zalafrin sends a ship along with supplies to help get the old vessle to Edous.

[!DM] DM The rain pattered on the roof, running down ceramic tiles, pouring down the back of a building, and soaking into the layers of tattered blankets, finally reaching the kid sleeping in the alley. With a low, miserable groan, Ar’mark rolled awake and began wondering the dreary morning of Highridge. Older than all the other children, his role amongst the street gang had grown to protector and teacher. McDowall, their leader, was his own mentor and friend since Ar’mark was a young child. But this day, McDowall pulled Ar’mark aside. “You’ve grown into an exceptional young man, Ar’mark. I’ve taught you almost all the tricks I know but your natural abilities go beyond this life in the streets. I’ve seen the genuine care you have for the children. But everyone was once a child, Ar’mark, and there are forces that scheme to exploit, enslave, or destroy. There is a group that I know, men like you who work in the shadows but are men with a sense of honor and work against these darker forces…” It’d been years since he’d join the men of hidden honor. He was back out in the rain again, bobbing on a dingey little boat on his way across the southern coast to Iwagata for a mission. The rain, again, soaked into him, but this time he smiled. That is, he smiled until he saw the large ship approaching, hoisting a black flag.

Another ship pulls into the harbor in the ruins. Captain Estivan says they were ordered by the Men of Hidden Honor to come to the ruins to sail a vessle to Edous. When they saw the lung dragon, they considered turning back, but then they saw the battle and came in after.

The party and this crew begin sailing the boats back toward Edous. From the ancient boat, the party notices the smaller ship breaking off, sailing another way. Captain Estivan, happily piloting the magnificent ancient boat, dismisses this as them just going to pick up some cargo.

The next day, everyone aboard notices several ships hauling toward them. As they get closer, the party notices the black flags. Just then, Estivan tells them he and his crew of pirates are taking this incredible ship.

The party is overwhelmed by the number of crewmen and Estivan’s masterful swashbuckling. As the other pirate ships near, Kriv breaks away from the fight waiting for the right moment to cast his spell.

[!DM] DM Kriv stands at Defiant’s aft, cautiously lowering his arms only halfway after the somatic incantation of the spell. A breeze of sea air ripples the masts. Shouting from the oncoming ships bounce back and forth. “At ready, weapons drawn! Loose the lines and swing around the port side!” Dozens of men are clutching their swords, unfurling rope, grumbling themselves into a readied frenzy for combat. Only a few at first hear the faint whirling. The air in front of the ships stirs and flat shapes begin materializing there, like pockets of grey mist. Soon, all shouting stops as a swarm of hundreds of floating swords cut the air louder and louder, to a dangerous hum. Pointing, the crew’s jaws’ drop. The bow of the leading ship lunges full speed into the blade barrier with a meaty crunch. Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk, the swords begin chewing into the hull. “Brace for-” a single man belts out before a blade materializes right before him, sliding through his midsection and cutting his words short. The blade continues swirling right through him, flinging blood back onto the crew some of who begin to panic. As the ship grinds through the barrier, it slows in half. Ropes and sails are randomly slashed becoming partially disabled. A few men attempt to run through the gauntlet, most fail, their bodies falling to the deck only to get hacked further by mindless swords. Crew members huddle toward the back of the ship, hoping the spell dissipates in time. It does not and their mass of bodies gets dragged through the shredder. The smaller boats stop completely within the barrier. Some jump overboard to escape, those that don’t make it off are completely eviscerated. In the end, momentum and tattered rigging sends the larger two ships out the other end, slowed but still going. Their splintered decks soaked in blood and littered with bodies and grievously wounded men struggling to stand back up.

With Kriv having decimated their pursuers, Gimble, Drawoc, and Melanesim overcome the pirates aboard their ship. As they finally pin Estivan into a corner, his total loss apparent, the pirate captain leaps off the edge of the ship, into the water. Drawoc flings spells at Estivan, but the man has magical mariner’s armor and he quickly swims off into the distance.

With no crew remaining, the group barely makes it to Sump, not a stop originally in the plan.

Sump

The party lands in Sump with the ancient ship they’ve named “The Defiant” Martep meets with them and threatens them They go to a tavern to ask around about a hiring a crew One man agrees to find some men but it will take a while because it has to be under Martep’s nose. Martep has ordered no one else to leave the city, as many flee from the hell hole he’s turned it into

Biding their time the party goes to The Hall of Robes and the few remaining wizards are selling their magic items One wizard pleads they take him and his family with them when they leave They agree and tell him they are shipping out as soon as possible

Returning to the tavern, they find a crew of men bound and laid out in the street. Martep says he knows they were trying help people leave, even poaching the few last good men for working the fields. Kriv uses his breath weapon? They slay Martep and his men, ending their reign of terror.

With Sump free again, they gather the townsfolk. By the right of power, they turn control of the city to the Hall of Robes. The wizard decides to stay and help rebuild the Hall to it’s former glory. The crew that had been captured pledge their loyalty to Kriv, Gimble, and Drawoc. They will uphold their word to sail their ship toward Gallyway. Kriv is impressed by the honor in these men, despite Sump‘s decrepit churches and lack of reverence for the gods. But they’ll have to make a stop at The Nest as there is too little supplies to make it all the way.

Episode 10: Lunalata

[!DM] DM Purple lilacs blossomed in the sun as the girl picked her berries. A simple, lovely afternoon. Deep in time, deep in the earth, a sect of twisted beings worshipped their Elder Brain. It connected them mentally to one another and directed their evil schemes. When the girl was 10, her brother died of a pox. His bedsheets soaked in sweat and waste. Boney fingers reached out, placing a fat tadpole on her cheek. She screamed and thrashed while it slithered into her eye socket. The thatching of the girl’s hut let in a steady stream from the rains, soaking a corner. When the weather turns, her father would repair it. Lunulata floated across the chamber, her brethren flayers doubled over, weezing and leaking black tar. Sickness had swept through the caverns. Elder Brain had become infected, it’s brine bath putrefying. A young man, takes the girls hand. She passes him a small bouquet of purple lilacs. Lunulata rest her bulbous head on stone paddles at the top of a slab. Only her body had resisted the sickness. It was their only hope. The last of the flayers circled for the desperate ritual. A crystal was raised in the air above Lunulata’s head. It pulsated with the energy of the elder brain which was now transferred to this crystal substrate. After being plunged into her skull, a very intricate interplay between her as a vessel and the crystal was devised. The girl lays in the tall grass, watching clouds drift pass. The crystal juts out a bleeding hole in Lunulata’s skull as the elder brain journeyed up through the caverns toward the surface. Breaking into the back of a tomb, it realized this would readily lead to the rest of the world. The girl had slipped in a stream with a painful crack of her leg. As the elder brain drew closer to an outside world bathed in sunlight the forces of nature changed ever so slightly, sending the delicate balance in Lunulata’s head collapsing, her body with it. There, in that tomb, the elder brain lay dormant for many years. The stirring of the titans caused a breeze across these forces throughout reality, tweaking the elder brain and Lunulata oh-so-gently. Only half awake, only a quarter of it’s former power, only a fraction of it’s sanity remaining, Lunulata rose to her feet within the tomb.

Landing in Nest, the crew begins preparing for the next leg of the journey. The party is approached by Ship Creek, a kenku that runs the docks and loves Nest. Undead have been spotted just up the only road in and out. The party agree to stop the undead in exchange for supplies for the ship.

They find and enter a crypt. Skeletons of kenku and underdark creatures swarm the halls. As they fight through the crypt, they are assaulted mentally, over and over. Gimble and Drawoc switch bodies.

Deeper in, the crypt breaks away into the entrance to a deep cave leading to the underdark. There, Lunalata, an undead mindflayer with a crystal jutting out of its skull is floating.

During the battle, Kriv and Gimble switch bodies. They all begin having short visions.

[!DM] DM A mind flayer colony The colony is sick In a desperate attempt to survive, the Elder Brain devises a plan; transfer into a crystal inserted into a flayer body The one selected was a healthy, newly transformed flayer, formally Lunalata. They stuff pages into her robes prior to the ceremony They jam the crystal into her skull and the Elder Brain transfers it’s mind into the crystal Awaking from the trauma, Lunalata began walking toward the surface, stepping over dead flayers, looking for flowers

They manage to defeat the undead flayer, its last message a final vision.

[!DM] DM Her mind is a twisted, stormy battle between Lunalata and the Elder Brain, leave a confused flayer wandering the underdark She stumbled close to the surface Before breaching the earth, the Wardens show up in a flash of light, destroying the cave walls. Rubble strikes Lunalata, killing her and The Wardens disappear in a flash of light Many years later, the universe begins to shift and titans rise, the flayer awakens undead

The party pull the massive crystal out of its skull and put it in their sack with all their other gems. Within the robes, they find more pages.

[!The Book] The Book As these beings rose to power and their followings grew, war broke out amongst them. For centuries, people died in the turmoil as power was fought over. In the space between the deities battling over their domains, a new generation of powerful titans grew. Their budding powers were a threat to the ascended themselves.

Episode 11: Ka’Charo

Gallyway

[!DM] DM Councilmen Terrence de’Shey walked briskly down the corridor for his audience with the king. “What could I have done?” He grilled himself. “They’re all dead.” He presided over Caspin, the city being the largest in the area. With the creature off the coast, he had done all he could to protect against it. As the renowned Councilor of the Mage Order, he had put all available resources within the city limits. Most troops were already mobilized to March south against Zatar, but a good contingent remained in the port. Enchanted arrows, armor, nearly the entire class of apprentices at the ready. On the night it came, all of the safeguards were for nothing. Terrence noticed it first, his magically lit lamp going dark. Something had changed. When the creatures appeared on the shoreline, a throng of mages shouted their incantations followed by confused silence as nothing happened. The creatures pounced across the sand while the mages hurriedly repeated their chants. Soldiers rushed in but were struck with terror as their equipment failed to have the effects de’Shey had promised. The creatures mowed through the ranks. Mages broke unison, their voices faltering in fear. As claws and teeth teared through their bodies, the city broke into chaos. de’Shey watched as the sea monsters consumed the city, the beast in the bay crushing ships with its massive tentacles. None of his own spells were effective and so he backed away. Not out of cowardice. He knew it was hopeless. Staying would just be suicide. The city was lost and he had to let the King know. In the dark, he mounted his horse and charged toward the capital. The shouts of battle behind him devolving into screams of terror.

With Lunalata stopped, the party returns to Nest. Ship Creak mentions it’s been a few weeks since they left to investigate the undead. He assumed they had died, but the undead had stopped.

Vic is also at Nest, looking for them. Upon seeing them, he gives the same hand gesture as Hadway. Vic is a highly regarded member of the Men of Hidden Honor He says Menlanism took the ship to Gallyway, overseeing it’s preparations Ka’Charo has attacked and destroyed a large part of Caspin Andes is gearing up to invade Zatar for their navy to destroy the water titan He suggests they meet Lorzen by stopping by his Sunken District. He’ll want to see them first thing and can house them, if needed.

Vic offers to take the pages from them to give to Zalafrin, in case they die in the sea.

Ship Creak affords them a small boat to make it to Gallyway. About a week later, they arrive in Gallyway. Being the evening, they decide to go to the Sunken District to meet Lorzen and take up an offer to be housed there for a night. Lorzen also uses the hand gesture Vic and Hadway did.

[!DM] DM Lorzen smokes his pipe and rambles on and on, late into the night. His mind drifts from poems of long forgotten lands, weaving conspiracies, and reminiscing of old friends: A misfit that grew to lead her people, she was banished from her tribe and returned to lead it with the head of a dragon to prove her metal. One from the deep that saved the realm, he showed the gulf between the denizens of the cities and the forest folk could be crossed. And a thief with a heart of gold. His uplifting naïveté though since lost and he has become a shadow of his former self.

The next morning, they go to Gallyway. At the docks, they meet Menlanism who is loyally, nearly done with the preparations. Captain Hadway and his men have agreed to man the ships for the battle. Upon seeing the group again, Hadway uses a unique hand gesture that seems to signify something they do not know.

The party spends the day in the city, purchasing personal gear they need for the battle with Ka’Charo. They have never intentionally fought a titan before, and it has always been a near-death experience. They arrive back to the ship in the late afternoon.

[!DM] DM Black Eye meets you on the deck. “An elf came ‘round. Looks like Silverside wants ta meet cha.” He hands you each a roll of parchment, it’s a formal invitation to get past the guards if there’s any trouble and a rudimentary map to his manor from the dock. “Ah, Welcome, Titan Hunters! Calmers of the eastern change winds, renowned for glorious deeds from Ravensburg to Sump, from Iwagata to… well, sump. You are heroes of the entire region, not any one nation. Your presence in these lands are appreciated but your alignment unknown. This makes some very curious; who or what is it you fight for?”

[!Dialogue] Kriv: My god. Drawoc: My people. Gimble: The people. “You and your ship have stirred up a lot of excitement among the people. I agree with them, this is indeed a unique time we find ourselves in. The beast rages offshore, Andes troops march south out of confusion, and those that would know tell me it is so; many mages across the lands are anxious, their powers ebbing and flowing in unsettling ways. Many things afoot, but Gallyway is pleased to have you. Zatar and Andes have seen unprecedented peace for many years. It is only out of desperation and fear of the unknown Andes marches toward our lands, presumably to find some way to stop the Titan of the coast they fear we control, being benefactors of the trade they cannot host. You three, with deeds across both nations and others, could uniquely help convince the Kingdom, Zatar has no such control and its presence in the north vs the south is merely the luck of a coin flip. Should you succeed in destroying the Titan of the coast and swear to declare Zatar as a tremendous ally in the battle, I can offer a contingent of vessels to aid in the battle. Of course, you will further find yourself in the Confederacy’s best graces; a very comfortable place to be in indeed.”

They accept the help of the extra ships and agree that they will say Silverside gave them extra ships for the battle. While not full-throat supporting Silverside, the deal is done and 3 extra ships join their fleet. The ships are tiny, undermanned, and not well equipped. It seems Silverside is not betting too highly on them being successful.

[!DM] DM The waters are calm, the sky is open and blue. Crewmembers walk about the deck, seemingly at peace despite the inevitable doom. They simply don’t know what they are up against. As the last of the preparations are complete and Rhegor finally stumbles up to the main deck, braving yet another hangover, Hadway walks up to you. “A deep sweep of the coast is plotted. Defiant and her supplementary vessels are ready. We await your command.”

The ships depart toward the open ocean.

Ka’Charo

A day at sea and the waters get choppy, the wind picks up. Storms are brewing at sea.

The next morning, skies grow overcast, wind is constant. Ka’Charo is getting closer.

Midday, a great storm comes in swiftly. Ka’Charo arrives.

Ka’charo knocks the side of the Defiant, causing it to buck, tossing crew everywhere. Sahuagin begin crawling on board from the water, attacking the disoriented crew. The party sees one of the Gallyway ships get wrapped in large tentacles and crushed in half. More Sahuagin pour onto the Defiant and moments later, tentacles begin wrapping the ship. The party destroys the tentacles and Ka’Charo emerges, foisting his body onto the bow. Gimble, Kriv, and Drawoc fight Ka’Charo. Kriv grows wings and flies into Ka’Charo’s open mouth. From inside, Kriv spews a molten lava that burns through his throat, killing him.

Hadway’s crew realize the three are Titans themselves, having seen their abilities in action. There is a knowing glance, then The Fall.

Episode 12: The Fall

The Fall

All ongoing magic spells end.

[!DM] DM The air goes still while the waters calm to a mirror finish. The heavens open with shimmering light of all colors, reflecting beautifully off the ocean surface, obscuring the horizon totally. Your breath comes easily, drawing a fresh, sweet smell. Confused shouts across the ship are muffled into nonsense. Severn stumbles, her hair turning white. As she falls to her knees, her skin sags with old age. She crumples to the floor, dead. The heavenly lights fade, leaving behind only the stars, taking with it the magic of most magic items. Like being covered in a heavy blanket, the weight of the air returns in force. Black clouds roar across the sky impossibly fast from opposite directions. As the two fronts meet, a deafening thunder rocks across the landscape, shaking the world to its foundations. Weak ropes snap, thin fabrics tear. Waves surge across the water from the collision and you are instantly engulfed in violent rain and shearing wind.

Kriv feels the righteous energy of his deity evaporate. Drawoc’s link to his patron is severed and can no longer be provided powers.

All the ships are destroyed but The Defiant. Unsure of what exactly happened, if they caused it by killing Ka’Charo or not, the party decides to head back to Gallyway. They drag Ka’Charo’s corpse with them.

Gallyway

[!DM] DM An aging man lays in a dark room; bloodied, starved, and morose. He shifts, taking pressure off a fresh wound on his back. The shackles rub on his chaffed wrists. The pain, while sharp, is normal to him now. Laying to conserve energy, he does the only thing he can; day dream. He was on his way from Zatar to Falmore Grove. He could use some peace and quiet after the hectic energy of the capital. Wanting to get some nature sightseeing in, he took the mountainous path. It had been over a week of travel before he made a foolish mistake and found himself clutching the side of a drop off. He knew shouting to the mountains for rescue would bring only echoes or worse, orcs; but he had no choice. What a surprise that the scaly claws of a dragonborn wrapped around his wrist and pulled him up. His wrist ached from the shackles as his day dream continued to replay his deepest friendship. Kriv proved to be very eager to learn not only about the surface world, but about his faith and the sacred nature of certain written words. For years they traveled together, each teaching the other. But there came a day when he sent Kriv off alone, to learn how to navigate his own path. To thank him, Kriv had gifted him a token of their shared faith that he wore around his neck. That token was gone, now. Taken by his captors. And with it, his foci for his magic, weakening his abilities. Perhaps, he dreamed, he will see Kriv again. But perhaps not. He turned to lay facing the wall and fresh waves of aching pain rolled over him like a blanket.

Shadowspawn, finally arriving in Falmore Grove does not give the pages the party gave him to Zalafrin. Instead, he delivers forgeries. Zalafrin furiously tries to understand why the texts don’t make sense.

The party gets to Gallyway. The Sunken District has risen, but a bubble shields it. They see that The Fall was not local to their ship but may have changed the world in untold ways.

Melanesim reveals that he has been having visions of the others of his kind. One of them knows the last pages are in The Deep. A wandering cleric devoted to the texts, was kidnapped and he has the last of the pages. From the description, Kriv knows it is his mentor, Balian.

Secretly, that is a lie. Melanesim has always known where Balian was because all 9 black panther beings are the same titan. He has 9 bodies and spreads them around to learn all he can of the world. He needs them to get Kriv’s mentor to open the locked canister with the last pages inside. The canister only opens if the mentor wills it and he’s been resisting the torture so far.

The party spread word that Zatar helped destroy Ka’Charo The news isn’t worth much coming from Gallyway, and no one cares after The Fall as society is ripped apart from local calamities occuring everywhere. No carts between Rockfall and Gallyway have come in during the days after The Fall, only strange monsters.

Kriv, Gimble, and Drawoc talk amongst themselves when they have a moment alone. Kriv feels perhaps his god has died. He feels lost. Drawoc considers perhaps his patron and Kriv’s god aren’t dead, but something else is blocking their usual powers. But even then, Drawoc doubts they can continue without the power their benefactors provide. Gimble gives a rousing speech about having the grit to fight on with their own strength, as he has done his whole life. He tells the story of his sister’s death because he ran away. How he later killed the creature himself after training for years. Gimble realizes here that he isn’t trying to make up for the death of his sister, he is honoring her. Drawoc and Kriv are inspired, and the three decide to march forward in their quest.

They pay to have Ka’Charo’s bones affixed to the body of The Defiant. This gives the ship even greater protection, damaging any ship that would try to ram it. It also makes the ship look particularly intimidating. They unintentionally sell Lunalata’s crystal when bartering with their gems.

To get to The Deep, where Melanesim says Balian and the last pages are, they will sail around the northern horn to Haddor. Then, they will get dropped off closer toward the temple Balian is being held in.

Episode 13: Melanesim

Haddor

When they arrive in Haddor, a disease has taken over. A pregnant lady is sick, and begs for them to help. No known magic is capable of curing it. Kriv hesitates to help. He doesn’t feel his god, so worries he cannot help a situation he would be strained to overcome even with his god’s help. Kriv performs a ritual, using all of his magic, and the woman appears better. Unknown to him, Kriv had called upon reality’s fundamental forces using his greater understanding and feel for reality his training under his god never gave him. However, this was new to him and the disease was only cured for the mother, not the fetus. The party cannot save everyone, and can only hope for the best and continue with their quest for the last of the pages. They set sail from Haddor toward the north shore of The Deep.

Melanesim

[!DM] DM Pain never left Balian in all the lonely days chained in this dark chamber, between the feedings and the beatings. Still, he never broke. Balian never released the spell on the canister to give the panther-men what they wanted. His faith in Torm was absolute in these long weeks, strengthening his resolve. When the room filled with ethereal geometries and the world outside sounded to have erupted, it brought a glimmer of hope. Though, when the event was over, he no longer felt his diety. Now, he was truly alone in this horrible place. New pain racked his body, coughing as his veins blackened.

PC’s get to the jungle hideout and Melanesim vanishes quietly from their party. They struggle through the traps and encounters to get to the main lair. There, they find the captured mentor who is mortally wounded. Balian opens the canister and gives Kriv the final pages, then begins to die. Kriv says that perhaps they aren’t “holy” texts, and he’s not on a “divine” mission. But these pages are important to the world and it’s people. And between Gods, Titans, and Mortals, perhaps people, despite their flaws, are enough. The gods are merely ideals mortals have.

[!DM] DM The cats had come in, hastefully preparing for something before disappearing behind a corner; something was coming. To see Kriv round the corner brought both joy at the sight and sorrow at the dark possibility. The strange tiefling, with the best of intentions, tried to root out the illness. The powers these beings were unique. Not clerical, not bestowed upon them but coming from some fundamental level of understanding in the world. Balian’s body finally gave out as the magical energy burrowed into his body. The inevitable fight broke out with the panthers while the energy soaked into his core and slowly took root in his corpse.

In casting the disease cure spell, Drawoc uses primal magic, though thinks it failed as Balian hadn’t immediately gotten up.

Melanesim and 6 of his other forms appear. The battle is intense with Kriv raging at the imprisonment and death of his mentor. Kriv and Drawoc are able to use a form of their previous abilities from their greater understanding and feel of reality, not powered by greater beings but manifesting from themselves. With all the forms of Melanesim destroyed, a black cloud rises from the bodies and flies to the northern sky.

The primal magic of Drawoc’s spell had sunk into Balian, curing the disease just in time to save his life. Seeing Balian move, Kriv pours a potion down his mentor’s mouth, giving him strength to awaken.

Drawoc reads the final pages before they go back into Balian’s canister.

[!The Book] The Book An alliance formed, hidden from the people that served. The domains were drawn and the ascended waged a destructive war on the titans, killing many and banishing the rest. With their domains drawn and the heretical titans put to rest, the ascended flourished into the Deities by realizing how to unlock the ultimate powers. Harnessing power from the natural elements and forces requires rituals and personalities that reflect the unconscious forces’ underlying  proclivities; aligning every part of their personalities with their ideals. As they ascended, they lose their own conscience to obtain their ultimate potential. If the forces of nature and magic are the nearly motionless mountains, valleys, and plains, the deities are the amazing fauna and flora that blanket the regions, each taking on unique traits specialized to their niche. But even mountains shift across the surface of the earth over grand enough timescales and everyone must adapt or parish.

They head back to Haddor to make their way back to Zalafrin in Falmore Grove . In Haddor, the disease continues raging on. The pregnant lady Kriv had tried to cure, holds her sickly baby in her own sickly arms. She cries to Kriv for help. Balian steps in before Kriv answers. He tells Kriv to complete his journey. Balian is proud of what Kriv has become. He tells Kriv he understands its’ hard to leave people in need. They want to save everyone. Usually, that’s just not possible. But sometimes, it is. Balian, changed by this contact with primal magic, can now cure the disease himself. He heals the baby and woman then tells Kriv he will stay in Haddor, stopping this disease while tending to his own wounds.

Episode 14: Titans Rise

Falmore Grove

Before setting off on foot, the party asks the locals what has happened since The Fall. Only a few travellers have come in. They report Ravensburg itself remains intact but is surrounded by a bubble. From there, they have only just heard from Falmore Grove, a couple had managed to escape before the place was consumed by devils.

The party arrives to the outskirts of Falmore Grove. Portals to the nine hells are opened across the village and devils roam the streets. Whatever buildings are not burned down seem to be empty.

As they enter town on their way to Zalafrin’s manor, the fight several groups of devils. During one fight, Vic appears from a building and helps defeat the large foes. He says the portals opened slowly after The Fall, eventually some lesser devils came across them and entered. Then more. The portals have stopped growing, but are beginning to shrink while more of the lesser devils are being attracted to it on their side.

He was with Zalafrin when The Fall occurred and raced into town to save as many villagers as he could. They found a hiding spot and have been stuck there, watching the devils and portals, unable to escape.

Vic says he will wait there while they go speak with Zalafrin. As a parting gesture, he makes the same hand motion as before. The part returns it, finally, still not sure what it means. They make their way up to the manor on the hill.

[!Dialogue] “You made it! You haven’t been back since leaving for Iwagata. My reports state you left for the deep after Ka’Charo. What did you find? These pages, they make no sense! I need the last of them to unlock their meaning! It could end this madness!” When Zalafrin gets all the pages, he and the book float up. His clothes shred off his body in a burst of purple energy, revealing a scaly torso. His legs bulge, he expands rapidly as the scales envelope his twisting limbs with sickening crunches. It’s apparent he is losing control of some sort of shape changing spell and is turning back into an ancient dragon. Something is clearly wrong though. Zalafrin’s screams break into raging roars. Large chunks of  his body is missing and the rest of his body folds in to meld together. Nearing the size of the room, he bursts through the nearest wall and continues to grow. Through the gaping hole in the manor, he tumbles in the yard, ever expanding and growing to gargantuan proportions. His elongating head pukes up a glowing bile. Purple plasma shoots out of cracks between his scales, rippling wildly across his body. Before you stands a malformed dragon of dark iridescence. His crooked wings flap, raising him to hindquarters, which serve better as bipedal legs. “WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME?! FOR SO LONG I’VE HIDDEN MY TRUE FORM, BUT NOW IT IS LOST TO ME! DAMN THIS FALL! DAMN THIS FALSE BOOK! DAMN YOU!”

[!DM] DM Drawoc, from afar you scan the landscape, strings of tactical possibilities flashing in your mind as you meticulously plan your next eldritch blast. These trials have sharpened your mind; you’ve gained untold knowledge, both ancient and timely; you’re path far extends beyond this moment, but in this moment, you realize how far you’ve already come. Gimble, though the deformed dragon towers above you, you’ve never felt so capable before. You are filled not with a sense of pride, but of duty to protect your world and your people. Kriv, as the battle rages on with Zalafrin along the hillside of Falmore Grove, your grip on your weapon tightens with the remembrance that this is not just a battle over some pages, this is the first stand to be made against the darkness that has enveloped the world. Zalafrin reels back his tremendous head, screeching and roaring so intensely, with such profound rage it knocks the moisture from the air in a spray mixed with putrid saliva. He has spent too long biding his time just to collect a book that, in its final chapter, has unraveled in meaning. He will not fall to three measly pawns whose entire worth has been because of him. The universe has cheated him as well with this Fall, but he will overcome that too. Under these dark clouds, he will reign.

It’s an intense battle that requires all of the Three Titans’ powers. Kirv’s breath, Gimble’s teleportation, and Drawoc’s fire. Drawoc stays in the air, blasting safely from a distance. Gimble calls on him to get into the fight repeatedly.

Epilogue

Drawoc With Za’lafine dead, the portal through which the demons were coming can be heard drawing to a close. it’s unclear to you if you’ll get another chance to go to your infernal homelands which are undergoing unknown chaos wrecked by The Fall. Drawoc seriously questions his ability to accomplish his goal. He will never feel ready. When the time comes and the portals are closing down his one chance, he finally does something reckless and throws himself in - forcing him to begin his true mission in the nine hells. Drawoc dove into a portal to hell, not to be seen again for 30 years.

Shadowspawn meets up with Kriv and Gimble now that the village is safe from the closed portals.

[!Dialogue] “I’ve suspected Zalafrine, leader of the Men of Hidden Honor, had his own hidden agenda for some time. As I rose through the ranks, I saw more and more. When he wrangled you into some sort of off-the-books wet works team to gather the book, it was more clear. I have known about this book for some time, even held a legendary forgery of it, and came to understand the power and secrets the real book could hold. A few of my most trusted fellow members and I have shared our unease about Zalafrin and have formed a bit of a secrete group within the secrete society. We even came up with a dumb hand signal incase anyone without our network needed to confirm loyalties. The pages you gave me at Nest, I’ve gotta admit: I never gave them to Zalafrine. I swapped them with pages I got from the false book years back. Apparently, his inaccurate reading corrupted the power it gave him. I’m not sure what part of what you seen was due to that and what was from The Fall.” In the coming days, as reports trickle in from further and further lands, it is clear The Fall happened everywhere. The lands are taken over by creatures that haven’t been seen in centuries. Kingdoms, Confederacies, societies are falling apart. Vic corresponds with a tribe of elves, a band of orcs from the mountains, a reclusive old man, and approaches you with an offer. “The Fall… despair has spread across the lands. Strange creatures have overrun the wilderness, many of the gods have gone quite, the magic that gave us a sense of power and security has been muddled. People are lost, turning on one another. The world as we know it is coming apart. You; the things you’ve seen, the things you’ve done… what you’ve become. The world needs people- no, titans, like you. Cities are but faint candles of life shuddering against the deepening darkness between them. There are those that will stand up in these moments, to relight the flames, to shed some light. I know these people, you’ve met a few (he waves his hand across then seals it into a fist). You belong with these people. With your abilities, there is so much we could do. Will you join us?”

Kriv and Gimble join Vic and his network.

After Credits Scene

[!Dialogue] The sun’s silhouette behind the clouds slips below the horizon. Birds and children scatter to the safety of their homes. A chill breeze carries a singular howl from the woods. Nefarious inhabitants of the city creep into shadows with silent anticipation. Snarling creatures claw at the gates of their tombs, eager to begin their hunt. Down the cobbled city streets, footsteps echo toward an unassuming hovel with candlelit windows. A group convenes inside for their gathering. These are the individuals that will guard the innocent from the evil, cast light where there is darkness, and from within the chaos bring The Order of the Night.