Through Strange Eons

Enigma campaign through most of 2021.

Initial Events

• Ahzekiel Cai'Valur joins the party after the departure of Sargas of Tor-Elan and Crow.
• The party visits Zhapai Karmap and then Creche Skeud, where they learn the truth about the events there and learn more about the fall of the Cysgoroesi and about Rune's father.
• The party returns to Fort Hope, where they're instrumental in breaking up a Twisted-influenced slave ring involving animal/humanoid chimera children. The rescued children (about 20) are taken to Heroes' Rest, where Tson Azur is rebuilding.
• They confront Ahzekiel's family, leading to improved relations...
• Unofficially acting for the Adventurer's Guild and in search of personal knowledge, they head east to Shaadval
• To open up trade after the idiotic actions of the Dragonbotherers, they head into Shaera.
• En route to Erathi Village, they encounter challenges such as
  • They are ambushed by a mercenary force sent by Jahat Khema. This force is humiliated and the assassin's head is sent back as a friendly warning.
  • Their help is requested by a djinn of the Plane of Wind to track down a behir before his rival, a slave-trading dao, can. They find the dao outside the behir's cave and proceed to humiliate him (including having him polymorphed and placed in a fishbowl for dolphins in the Plane of Ocean to play with), making an enemy. They proceed to slaughter the behir, learning the truth of their increased power. And the benefits of climbing on big things (starting the pattern of the Orbital Halfling Drop).
  • Later on, they encounter a group of Erathi villagers trapped by a nest of acid-spewing giant ants. They solve it in their usual violent fashion, with much exploding bug guts.
• They befriend the dragon Erai, mainly by plying her with copious quantities of very strong liquor. Don't worry, she's a consenting adult.
• Seizing the opportunity to assist Ki-larn and gain her trust, they head west into the Ladyfrost Mountains, where her son, Miloci has gone missing.

Ladyfrost Mountains

• Here they encounter "shrouds", areas that have been pushed halfway into Shadow by rogue cysgoroesi serving former abbot Arnyek.
• They rescue Miloci from pursuers.
• They sneak into Arnyek's stronghold in one shroud and parlay with him, regaining some of Rune's memories
• They then meet the Immortal Bard and the sleeping Marcia (Dragon).
• With their assistance, they (temporarily) defeat the lich Xel'na and gain significant power, as well as ending Ahzekiel Cai'Valur's contract with Oro-laen.
• They then slay Arnyek.
• The shrouds collapse.

Interlude

• The party has to deal with threats to Cherry Blossom Temple and manages to defuse a war, seemingly being promulgated by the Holy Hands.

Mt Fearg

• They take their (interrupted) journey from Shaadval toward Mt. Fearg via Dugai territory.
• They break the siege of Dugai Oasis and encounter Azhtar Cai'Valur.
• They (again) defeat Xel'na while she guides an army under the command of Jahat Khema toward Mt. Fearg. Jahat is utterly destroyed.
• Entering Mt. Fearg from the catacombs, they defeat an eldritch abomination of an undead eye tyrant with the assistance of Ios al'Tor and Porala al'Tor.
• They are forced to endure historical visions of Bloodstorm, a fragment of the Red Fang's pre-ascension soul now housed in an axe.
• They defeat phantasms of the First Heroes and destroy Bloodstorm.
• Entering Shadow, Dil sings for devils, one of whom records the performance and sells it to the devils of Beleth.
• Wandering through the non-Euclidean space of Lyo Duo, they recover a piece of the Ebony Rod as well as tokens of the original seven cysgoroesi septs.
• They cleanse the Heart of Iska kel Pana.
• Mt. Fearg and Lyo Duo collapse entirely, leading to earthquakes that last for a while.

Interlude

• Dil performs in Crisial of the Four Towers, drawing significant attention and revenue.
• The party goes shopping in the All-Things Bazaar, where they learn that Dil's songs have been ripped off by house Beleth.
• Dil and Tsun confront Bela'ka'Beleth and win contractual rights and residuals.
• Azhekiel learns a bit more about his grandmother and the meaning of the green eyes.

Dealing with Family/Southern Excursion

• With draconic assistance, they head off Nyx Astra and Tsen Azur, along with their compatriots, at the entrance to the Gardens of the Fallen. Nyx and Tsen are slain. Iruk informs them of Gozh's secret southern lair.
• Rune meets Selai, an elderly cysgor who seems to have a lot of knowledge about his past.
• They arrive in the secret lair, where they are honey-trapped by Gozh and parlay with him.
• They meet the Qu-ti zandolit, where they learn of a group of green-eyed ophidians who worship the Coiled Ones.
• They try to parlay with the Speaker for the Cold Mother, but hostilities break out when the party is asked to partake in a ritual feast featuring the flesh of enslaved zandolit and other sophonts.
• After defeating the Speaker, they venture into the ancient temple dedicated to the Coiled Ones, where they gain the blessing of the spirits of the original builders (who were not worshipers of the Coiled Ones) and defeat the avatars of the Coiled Ones.
• They parley with a summoned devil, who tells them that it has been conducting research into optimizing the output of worship. Gozh, it seems, has been participating in this research.
• Returning to the Qu-ti, they engage in a verbal joust with Gozh himself, attempting to convince the leader of the tribe to abandon Gozh.

Interlude 2: Astral Boogaloo

• Dil and Tsun spend the next few weeks crafting scrolls.
• Zeke travels south to visit the Lower-city Clinic in Kel'al'ar, where he learns that the clinic was raided by a green-eyed follower of the Coiled Ones, confirming that the beings are watching through his eyes. He also receives an invitation to visit with a "friend" of the Rainbow Serpent in the Astral, which he does. There he receives a talisman that will temporarily keep the Coiled Ones out of his head, while he considers the offer of devoting himself to the Rainbow Serpent for permanent relief.
• Rune gets gifts for the party and has a lyre crafted.
• He also scries on a cysgor woman he knew, and is surprised to see her alive and conducting an operation in (as it turns out) Toryuu City.
• Tsun and Zeke meet Betsy Farthingale, Tson's fiancée and the grand-daughter of the former yarl of Bradford. They deed most of Hero's Rest to Tson as an early wedding gift, making him a major land-owner.

The Dragon Congress

• The party arrives on Toryuu Island and is immediately overcharged for everything and condescended to.
• Dil puts on a rocking concert, during which Rune sees (and chases down in the stree) one of the cysgor women that Leah was talking to. They seem to be watching Selai, who has wrangled a place in a dragon delegation. And Erai gets really really drunk. Not that that's too unusual.
• The party, with help from dragons, finds out that there's a "venting ritual" planned for the exact wrong time, and head out to find a way into the lava tunnels under the volcanic lair by investigating a sinkhole seemingly caused by separatist/rebel dwarves in the slums of Toryuu City.