Adventures in Oerth- The Bane of Vecna: Book Two, Chapter Fourteen

Aurora's Bad Day

Dramatis Personae:
Aurora Isilime, the Valley Elf Bard of Valor, Bae'qeshel and Champion of Lolth, and Lore Wizard, the Silver Tongued Siren, Knight of Summer
Charlotte, Aurora's violet Faerie Dragon familiar

Dervish, the Kasathe Brass Dragon Fighter and Dragon Blood Sorcerer, Knight of the Erl King

"Shadewing" Corvis Cairunis Umbrusalarim, the Shadow Elf Hexblade Warlock of the Raven Queen
Cloak, Shadewing's Empty Cloak familiar
Alfred, Shadewing's Raven familiar 
Zorack, the Elftaur Ranger Bounty Hunter and Knight of Winter
Gewnter, the Falcon Monk and Zorack's companion
Alucard, the ancient all powerful wizard; formerly Oryn Talus, the ancient and mysterious halfling who has employed the party; also know as Cinder, the ancient power that is said to destroy every world

Lan El'Mandragoran, the Human Paladin of Pelor

Aerathema, the Wood Elf Druid

Narg, there's really no way to describe Narg, Narg is just Narg
Sil'ilos'anon Braz'Dracon, the "Drow" Warlock Blood Mage of Lolth, and the new DEATH
Ralliakkan, the Drow Rogue, Knight of Fall
Mara Nemestk, the Human Champion who serves as Aurora's Knight

Comrades we have lost:
Elder Vish, Dervish's friend and mentor from his world, Knight of Spring- soul taken by the Knight of Y'Chuk
Ceidil Rein, the Human Champion who serves as Eurydice's Knight- taken by the outside, then killed by party
Eurydice, the Faerie Dragon Feylock, formerly Aurora's familiar- taken by the outside, then killed by party
Pharin Braz'Dracon, the Brass Dragon-Drow Conjurationist Wizard and Priest of Lolth- returned to Faerun
Andolin Braz'Dracon, the Brass Dragon-Drow Fighter/Beast Master- returned to Faerun
Lothar, the Sovani Smith and semi-Cleric of Moradin, High Priest of Lolth, Cleric of Istus, forced Cleric of Asmodeus; Kas Reincarnated - sacrificed to ressurect Alucard
Oryn Talus, the ancient and mysterious halfling who has employed the party- fractured himself into 4 parts to prevent cult from taking his soul
Willow Liadon, the Eladrin Arcane Trickster- sent to Elysium through a trap and was never heard from again

NOTE: Things will be mostly from Aurora's perspective. Anything in italics is from a third person, since the bard can't be everywhere at once.

***** Diamondice 2, CY 711, Castle Ravenloft

       Just before Zorack could jump through the well, he was yanked out of sight by the Olympians, and the portal closed. We found ourselves standing outside of a fortress, the landscape was grey and decayed. Fuck, we were back in Barovia. Two pit fiends appeared, and I tried to plane shift us the fuck out of here. Nothing happened... All magic was shut down, except for the magic we already had going. 

       I summoned my Twin and we flanked one of the fiends, scoring a couple nasty looking hits. Shade tried to put it in an iron flask, but nothing happened, so both he and Dervish joined me on one of the fiends. Narg took the other one. The fiend we fought couldn't touch us at all. The three of us continued pounding on ours, and it looked just as bad as the one Narg was dealing with- apparently together we three are as strong as Narg. Shade got the killing blow, bashing its skull in. Then something strange happened... Ebon, his sentient mace and patron, moved from Shade's hand to the fiend's, and it healed as Ebon spoke through it. 

       The sound of one person slowly clapping came from behind us- Strahd. He demanded to know how we'd gotten here, said he wasn't pleased about what Ebon had done to his fiend, and asked why he shouldn't just kill us all now. Dervish said he should let us live because of the Outsiders. Strahd wasn't concerned about them, his domain was so isolated it would take millennia for them to find and destroy him. At that point, Shadewing called for a parley. A parley in Strahd's realm means there's to be combat by a champion; the champion could be affiliated with anyone the person calling the parley is associated with. Shade could have called on Alucard, Narg, anyone... instead, he chose the Champion of Lolth.

       My skin darkened and my hair lightened as he called on Lolth's Champion; when she'd given me her Moonblade, she'd made me her Champion, and had been keeping that hidden all this time. Rage and bloodlust oozed from my very pores as a spidery energy whirled around me. 

       I was suddenly in an arena, facing a monk who was wrapped up in cloth, almost like a mummy. Things started out okay, once I discovered psychic damage hurt that fucker. But then he scored a nasty hit on me, tearing part of my face. There was a summoning spell in my Tome of the Stilled Tongue, so I used it, attempting to call a yochlol. Instead I got Shadewing and Dervish. They helped me finish it off though. 

       Ralliakkan and Shade then convinced Strahd to let us leave, but we all had to give him our blood so he could keep us out of his realm permanently. 

       We went to the Shadowfell from Barovia, and there I contacted Titania to see if we were needed at the Stone Table- which we were. The Queens had brought Scottie back to life, but we were still down an Autumn Knight. 

       Apparently Vecna was working to make the Gates fall because the ambitious fucker wanted to take all of the Outsiders power. We thought the Silvered Star might be able to remove that knowledge from all existence, thus preventing Vecna from getting his undead claws on it. I am so fucking sick of fucking Vecna. He seriously needs to fucking die. While we talked, Alucard showed up, trying to help us formulate a plan.

       Ralliakkan would go after Vish's soul so we could get out Knight back. We were debating between going after the Star or Vecna- apparently the fucking star was with the massive kraken thing we'd encountered thanks to the dude wishing us to him. At that point I realized that Vecna could spy on us through the book, so I went back to Potidaea to unattune myself from its magical energies, and stash it in one of the safer locations. They continued working on the plan while I was gone. 

       The official plan was Ralliakkan was going after Vish. The party would go for Vecna, then the Star, hoping to seal Vecna away in the process. They would tell Aurora they were going after the Star first, in hopes of catching Vecna off guard if he was still able to spy on Aurora without the book. 

       I checked in with Briisa and discovered we'd been gone for two fucking weeks. Things were about as okay as they could be in Potidaea, so I went back to find out what the assholes had been up to while I dealt with this nonsense.

       Once I told the boys we'd been gone for two fucking weeks, Dervish began spazzing out about his stupid fucking army. I scryed for them to shut him the fuck up, and found they were being over by fucking barbarians. Then I scryed for Alyssandra, and saw only the caravan- empty. Dervish began flipping out, insisting we save his fucking people, even though that was quite clearly meant to be a fucking distraction. He went anyway, so I went to the caravan to look for Alyssandra to just get it over with. If I didn't we'd be stuck all fucking day on this nonsense instead of doing something that actually matters. 

      The caravan was abandoned, and the only thing I could find was a tiny pinprick of energy, like the residual effects of a rod of security. As I looked around, the Knight of Y'Chuk appeared and attempted to banish me. I was so not in the mood to deal with this asshat, so I told him to just fuck off- trying to banish him in return. When that didn't work, I threw a feeblemind spell at him, and it actually worked! The fucking Emissary came out and told me they just wanted that stupid fucking box that Me had been hiding. 

       I sent Alyssandra a message, and she told me to step away from the Emissary, so I continued my angry pacing a little further away from the douche. Alyssandra appeared and shot the Emissary with with veil fire. I bamfed us to my own paradise, and from there she went to fucking Dervish and I went back to the fucking table.

       Shadewing tracked down Lyathfikash, finding him far in the north. He told Shade that he had saved the caravan from the Knight of Y'Chuk, and taken the box they'd been protecting. Inside the box was the soul of an unborn god; opening the box and freeing in could be catastrophic. 

       I returned to the Table to find Shade taking a nasty hit from the fucking Knight of Daggon. I just wanted to chill in my Mansion, but of course we had to fight another fucking Knight. I inspired Shade and he used that to score a nasty hit of his own on the Knight. The Knight lunged at us, thankfully missing. I tried to feeblemind him, but the Knight and Emissary were apparently merged, so the Emissary removed it instantly. Shade unleashed a series of nasty attacks on it, and it attempted to rip Ebon out of Shade's hand, but Shade summoned Ebon away from it. 

       At that moment, the kasathe forces arrived. Scottie sent a ball of veil fire at the Knight's head, sending it flying; the price cost Scottie to collapse momentarily, it had aged him about fifty years. But he'd gotten rid of those fuck holes.

       Shade gathered up the corrupted ichor that was on the Table, putting it in an iron flask, which it instantly began corrupting. So I decided to plane shift it away... to Olympus. They pissed me off.

       Now that all of this bullshit was finally done, I set up my Mansion to go veg while we waited for the Queens to return to the Table.  

Adventures in Oerth- The Bane of Vecna: Book Two, Chapter Eleven

Infiltrating Castle Ravenloft

Dramatis Personae:
Aurora Isilime, the Valley Elf Bard of Valor and Bae'qeshel of Lolth, the Silver Tongued Siren, Knight of Summer
Charlotte, Aurora's violet Faerie Dragon familiar
Eurydice, the Faerie Dragon Feylock, formerly Aurora's familiar
Aiden, Eurydice's Sprite familiar

Dervish, the Kasathe Brass Dragon Fighter and Dragon Blood Sorcerer, Knight of the Erl King

"Shadewing" Corvis Cairunis Umbrusalarim, the Shadow Elf Hexblade Warlock and Knight of the Raven Queen
Cloak, Shadewing's Empty Cloak familiar
Alfred, Shadewing's Raven familiar 
Alucard, the ancient all-powerful wizard; formerly Oryn Talus, the ancient and mysterious halfling who has employed the party; also know as Cinder, the ancient power that is said to destroy every world

Lan El'Mandragoran, the Human Paladin of Pelor

Aerathema, the Wood Elf Druid

Narg, there's really no way to describe Narg, Narg is just Narg
Elder Vish, Dervish's friend and mentor from his world, Knight of Spring
Sil'ilos'anon Braz'Dracon, the "Drow" Warlock Blood Mage of Lolth, and the new DEATH
Ralliakkan, the Drow Rogue, Knight of Fall
Ceidil Rein, the Human Champion who serves as Eurydice's Knight
Mara Nemestk, the Human Champion who serves as Ceidil's Knight

Comrades we have lost:
Pharin Braz'Dracon, the Brass Dragon-Drow Conjurationist Wizard and Priest of Lolth- returned to Faerun
Andolin Braz'Dracon, the Brass Dragon-Drow Fighter/Beast Master- returned to Faerun
Lothar, the Sovani Smith and semi-Cleric of Moradin, High Priest of Lolth, Cleric of Istus, forced Cleric of Asmodeus; Kas Reincarnated - sacrificed to resurrect Alucard
Oryn Talus, the ancient and mysterious halfling who has employed the party- fractured himself into 4 parts to prevent cult from taking his soul
Willow Liadon, the Eladrin Arcane Trickster- sent to Elysium through a trap and was never heard from again

NOTE: Things will be mostly from Aurora's perspective. Anything in italics is from a third person since the bard can't be everywhere at once.

***** Lacysnows 27, CY 710, City of Brass

       We got bored with Sigil after a while and decided to head to the City of Brass. It was cold, and we didn't see anyone. As we looked around, something skittered across the road... we didn't stick around to find out what it was. 

       I put Nystul's Magic Aura on my Lolth Blade to mask its energies and shifted us to Dis. Things were much more normal in the Nine Hells. There were a few more guards than normal, but otherwise, it looked pretty much normal. We spent the rest of the day shopping. 

***** Lacysnows 28, Potidaea

       In the morning, Dervish opened an iron flask he'd picked up while we shopped, and out came Rikkle- the dude we met briefly right before I put on the corrupted ring. He decided to help our defenses by making explosives, so I helped them find what they needed in Potidaea. Of course, we had a shitload of gunpowder and cannons in one of the long-abandoned rooms in the College.

       Vish was bored, so he went drinking in Dis. Shade and I went to the Shadowfell to go shopping. A shopkeep offered us draws from the Deck of Many Things; Shade and I declined, but Eurydice and Ceidil decided to draw. Eurydice got the Sun and the Rogue; Ceidil drew the Knight, and Mara joined us; Mara decided to draw and got the Gem, Jester, Star, Sun, Balance, and Vizier. Overall, it was a lucky and rather dull set of draws.

***** Needfest 4, CY 711, Free City of Greyhawk

       After our week of preparations, we met Alucard in the City of Greyhawk and learned that he was the one who had been turned into Eurydice's enemy by the Deck. Thankfully, she had wishes, so she was able to wish he didn't hate her, saving her neck. 

      We were going to Castle Ravenloft to find the scroll, and we had a wayfinder that would take us to it. Alucard said there was no way we could sneak around and there'd definitely be a small welcoming party waiting for us. He would keep Vecna occupied while we tracked it down.

       Alucard began chanting and our scenery became star-like for a moment, then the sky darkened and howls of rage echoed around us. With an abrupt lurch, we were in an old, decayed, decrepit, landscape, and there were vultures circling overhead. Standing in front of us were some twisted-looking pit fiends and balors. One of Narg's tattoos flashed, he vanished, and all of them were dusted. 

       With them out of the way, Alucard ran forward, right into a pillar, and vanished. We found ourselves looking at a pair of big stone doors. Shade began reading some of the runes on it, and of course, they were fucking exploding runes. Eurydice, Ceidil, and Mara went down instantly, but I revived them quickly. The pillars began to rumble and change. Shade attacked one of the pillars and it attempted to steal his sword. Some undead creatures began to appear around us, and Shade dusted a few of them. But there were more pillars and more undead rising. This didn't look good. 

       Dervish said it was time for one of our bombs, and dimension doored up. I grabbed Mara and stuck her on my broom, and Ceidil and Eurydice grouped together. We dimension doored up too, and Shadewing shadow stepped up. Because Dervish loves being a pain in my ass, he began arguing over who should drop the bomb. Then some of the creatures below us began to fly. Shadewing said "drop it," and Dervish and I both dropped bombs... 

       Had Eurydice not used a wish, I would have dropped mine right on her head. Everything in the courtyard area we were in was demolished instantly. Oops? Ceidil and Mara were hit by falling debris and died again. Those two were fucking useless. 

       Vish said an earthquake was coming, and a couple seconds later we felt it as Alucard and Vecna burst out of the rubble. As they engaged in a fucking insane battle, Dervish figured out the general area of the fucking scroll. He took Vish and Shade to sneak around to find it. Before leaving, Shade tossed a spell at Vecna to prevent him from healing; hopefully, it would do Alucard some good. 

       Alucard grabbed Vecna and began flying; the sky started shifting and twisting violently, growing darker as it moved. Suddenly, the sky seemed to expand, then collapsed in on itself, before exploding in a flash of light. I could just make out two figures falling in opposite directions. 

       Shade and Dervish found the scroll, and I grabbed Ceidil and Mara's bodies. Dervish attempted to use a word of recall, but it didn't work; then Eurydice and I both tried to plane shift to no avail; Dervish finally managed to punch through whatever was blocking our magic. 

***** Needfest 5, Free City of Greyhawk

      The sun was rising as we arrived back where we'd met Alucard in Greyhawk. Three minutes went by before a portal opened up and Alucard fell out. We could see Vecna for a brief second before it closed. Things hadn't gone expected, but we'd gotten the scroll, so I guess mission accomplished. 

       Alucard explained to us part of how the Outsiders were turning the Beacons red. They'd created Mantles for their mortal followers- Knights and Emissaries, just like the fae had. This gave them something of a foothold in our realm and let them fuck with things. 

       By this point, only a single Beacon remained that wasn't red- the one in Blackmoor. We were in no shape to deal with the Beacon today, so we decided to rest for the night before heading to Blackmoor. 

***** Needfest 6, Eru Tovar

        We were going back to where it all began. The place we needed to go for the Beacon was the same place where the gala Oryn held that brought us all together had been. Of course, the spell to get us there didn't fucking work. We ended up 240 miles away, in the smoldering ruins of Eru Tovar. Shade found a shadow road, but it went about 100 miles in the wrong direction, so that was fucking helpful.

       I did a legend lore to see if I could find the exact location of the Beacon, and to see if maybe it was a key to stop the cults; the results were fucking weird. "The Gate lies beyond the mountains, where you're unable to see. The door is locked and has been for an eternity. The key is gone far from its homeland."

       We decided to use the Ethereal Plane to get to the Beacon, and discovered that the Beacon's light ran all the way to the very core of the world. Suddenly, Eurydice hissed and a cloaked figure appeared. He babbled as he spoke, not completely making sense: he didn't expect us to come here... we just got our Mantles we don't even know the power we have... why would we come here... we're barely a feast... it'll give us to its god. Then he began floating toward us. I told Shade to get us the fuck out of here.

       I told Shade to get us the fuck out of here. Dervish began launching arrows at him and only hit him once. Black ichor oozed from the wound instead of blood. As the ichor ran down his arm, he began looking more twisted, and we were suddenly shunted out of the Ethereal Plane. 

       "If I kill you here, I can eat your souls," he said, cackling madly. 

       Eurydice sent Ceidil and Mara to Potidaea so they wouldn't die again. Shade, Dervish, and Vish all managed to hit him- and thankfully he missed them in his attempt to return fire. I attempted to feeblemind him, but it didn't fucking work. A bright purple flame began to surround him, and suddenly there were four of him- fucking mirror image. Time slowed as the other three of him appeared; he hit Shadewing once and Shade looked bewildered; he grabbed at Vish; then he hit me hard. 

       Aurora went insane from the blow and keeled over, a gibbering mess. Shadewing exchanged blows with him briefly, before Shade was hit with madness, and keeled over, in just as bad of shape as Aurora. As Shade crumpled, the man vanished. 

All maps by Anna B. Meyer

Adventures in Oerth- The Bane of Vecna: Book One, Chapter Two, Blackmoor

The Bane of Vecna:
Aurora, the Valley Elf Bard

Pharin, the Drow Wizard

Skye, the Air Genasi Druid

Dervish, the Kasathe Fighter

Nanu, the NightmOrc Fighter who is late

Lan El'Mandragoran, the Human Paladin

Oryn Talus, the mysterious and ancient "Halfling" who has employed the group

Jayce and Jarrid, the Human Barbarian brothers

Nanu, Jayce, and Jarrid arrived at the museum with only a few minutes to spare before the opening. The trio had had some difficulty getting through the crowds surrounding the museum to get to the doors. Everyone else was in place by the time they arrived, so they quickly took their places. Nanu stood just inside the doors as a guard, Dervish, Pharin's spider familiar, and one of Skye's zombies stood guard at the heart itself, Pharin stood on a balcony overlooking the gallery as a whole, Aurora, Jayce, and another zombie were posted on the right side of the gallery, Skye, Jarrid, and yet another zombie on the left, and Lan patrolled in a circuit through the entire gallery. 

The group was given amulets to allow them to bypass the security wards Oryn had placed on the museum, so that they could cast spells and attack if necessary. They discovered these amulets also allowed them to communicate, and teleport around the museum's grounds. 

Everything went well until around one am, when suddenly members of the group realized it had grown colder inside, their breath had become visible. The temperature continued to drop slowly, subtly over the next few hours. Eventually they realized that their breath was creating ice crystals, and the temperature was still dropping; the leather band Aurora had on the strap to her drum snapped from the cold. There was a minor scuffle with a noble who refused to listen when Dervish told him to stop leaning on a post; after being thrown outside Nanu "mule kicked" him, which resulted in his death. No one else misbehaved after that.

When the last group was admitted entrance, the hundreds of people still waiting outside began to riot. Lan immediately went down to attempt to sway the mob to calm down and leave. The Bane decided they needed to get people out of their quickly, but kicking them out would mean Oryn would have to give refunds. They decided to subtly get them to leave. Pharin made fog appear to be coming from the Heart, and summoned dancing lights to harass the patrons; they thought this was all part of the show, and stayed. Pharin decided to step it up, by sending acid splashes at the crowd, making it look like they were originating from the Heart, and many still thought it was part of the show. Dervish tried telling the people that the Heart was awakening, that their lives were in danger if they stayed, which only got a few more people to leave but most still thought this was part of the show; he isn't as convincing as the bard can be. 

Meanwhile the situation at the gate was growing worse, with people pressing against the mithrilmantine walls that surrounded the museum. The group within the museum finally began to realize that they needed to leave, and began frantically rushing through to make sure they saw everything; they weren't going to let potential doom stop them from this once in a lifetime opportunity. As the people began leaving Oryn, Dervish, and Skye went outside to help with the crowd. Pharin imagined an identical balcony on the opposite side of the gallery, with a window, then stepped over to it to gain a better view of the mob outside. Jayce and Jarrid stayed with the Heart, and Aurora moved to the door to inspire Lan so he would be better able to sway the mob. 

The temperature dropped so low that all of the glass in the museum shattered, and all of the wards went down. Suddenly no one was able to teleport and could not get back to the Heart quickly. A group of cultists came through the broken windows of the museum, intent on getting the heart. Pharin had his familiar encase the Heart in webs to better protect it and make it harder for the invaders to remove it. The fighters were fairly easy to kill, and the Bane was able to keep them away from the Heart. Some how during the fight, Pharin managed to drop a flaming sphere on himself, which the others would have found amusing under normal circumstances.
 Then a drider lich appeared, and that is when the troubles really began.

The drider lich appeared in front of Pharin, and would likely have killed him if not for Skye. Skye unleashed a moon beam on the drider lich which hurt it enough to turn its attention from Pharin to her; unfortunately for Aurora, she was between Skye and the lich, and took a brutal hit from it. Skye was able to finish it off with a brutal moonbeam that was even stronger than the first. 

Two clerics oozed through the windows at about the time that the lich appeared, and stunned Jayce and Lan. The Bane tried to hit the clerics to get them to release their holds on the two, and eventually killed one, the other vanished. While everyone was picking themselves up, a female drow walked in and sealed all of the doors and windows.

She was a priestess of the cult, and had come to claim the Heart. The Bane attempted to keep her from it, but to no avail. Pharin attempted to send his familiar and the Heart to his brother, but the priestess stopped the spell. She banished Pharin, who is from Toril, he lived in the keep that the Ironfang Eight now reside in; had she been able to keep him there for a minute, he would have been unable to return, and the Eight would have ended him quickly. Pharin spent his time going through his belongings and managed to grab a few items before returning to the museum. 

The priestess began methodically paralyzing the group as they attempted to attack her. Lan managed to land one hit on the priestess and injure her. Every other attack was futile, she either overcame them or they were stopped by a sanctuary spell. Nanu managed to get between the priestess and the Heart, and when the priestess magically ordered Nanu to move, she grabbed the Heart, still encased in webs with Pharin's spider inside as guard, and leapt; the priestess paralyzed her in mid-air and she crashed to the floor, still holding the Heart. Lan put up a radiant force field around Nanu to try to keep the priestess away, and Aurora ran to guard Nanu. The priestess banished Aurora, who had a spiritual moment, as the Ethereal Plane she was sent to is where the Valley Elves originated from before coming to this world. Before the priestess could reach Nanu, Oryn appeared with the moon card from the deck of many things. Oryn had been absent from the battle until now, doing a divination ritual to allow him to draw that card. He used his first wish to get rid of the priestess.

After she left the group unwrapped the webbing that encased the Heart, to find it was gone. Somehow the priestess had managed to use her blood to bind the Heart to her, so it left when she did. Pharin gathered up a vial of the bloody webbing in hopes of using it to find her through a spell. Upon discovering it missing Oryn angrily stormed out and was not seen again for a few hours. The group spent the next two and a half hours cleaning the museum, with Aurora singing an uplifting song about the ancient Pandarans who once occupied the Barrier Peaks, the mountains that surround the Valley of the Mage. 

After cleanup was finished the group was brought breakfast, and Oryn finally reappeared. Oryn decided it was now the time for complete honesty, and explained to the group exactly why he had hired them. He explained that the cult they were fighting had now gathered all ten pieces of Vecna, and were planning on using it to bring him back mind, body, and soul- not the lich demigod, but the man himself; they even managed to find the Book of Vile Darkness, which contains the spell needed to succeed. Oryn hired the Bane because there was a chance that with them present the Heart could have potentially been saved. While the Heart was lost, the group did manage to rescue the Sword and Fang of Kas, both of which are needed to complete the ritual. The cult had a way of detecting the sword when it is activated, so Oryn quickly activated it to make them think he had it, and insisted the group take it with them. 

Oryn asked the group to help him stop the cult, starting with going after some of the spell components they need. The components needed were rare, and absurdly difficult to find, so that would be a good place to begin to block the group. The Bane agreed to join Oryn in his quest to stop the cult, and were given nineteen hours to find equipment and prepare for travel.

Adventures in Oerth- The Bane of Vecna: Book One, Chapter One, Blackmoor

Our story begins with our heroes traveling in four identical carriages, with identical drivers, approaching the gates of Blackmoor. Aurora, the Valley Elf bard, Pharin, the Drow wizard, Skye, the Air Genasi druid, and "Dervish," the Kasathe fighter have been chosen for their unique abilities to provide security for a gallery opening.
Upon arrival our heroes are met by a human paladin named Lan, who has also been hired for security; the group is also told that there is another person who will be joining them, but she's late. Lan takes the group on a tour of the museum full of ancient, powerful artifacts. There is a complete skeleton of a prismatic dragon, a complete, unopened deck of many things, and relics from every race and region imaginable. The owner, a strange halfling with yellow eyes, Oryn Talus seems a bit mad, and it is clear when the group speaks to him that he is far older than any halfling should be.
Oryn has hired the group to protect the Heart of Vecna. He believes that even with his already extensive security system, that the Heart will require more security. He stores the Heart in a box covered in runes in every language imaginable that all translate to "no." Oryn explains that this box keeps the Heart masked, so its energy cannot be sensed; even those of our group who could detect magical auras could not see anything until the box was opened.
The group was shown to their rooms to freshen up, and were later taken to a restaurant owned by Oryn. It had every drink imaginable, even those that were thought lost, and the food was incredible. Skye decided to try Vale Mead, the special beverage from the Valley of the Mage, where Aurora hails from. While Skye did not die or collapse, as many do when they try an elven beverage, she was heavily intoxicated for the evening. Before the group departed Lan activated a rune on the table that instantly sobered the entire group.
On the way back to the museum our heroes encountered a group of Cultists of Vecna, who demanded the Heart, claiming it belongs to them. Lan attempted to persuade them to leave, but they were unwilling to do so. When things appeared to become heated between Lan and the cultist, Pharin decided to outline some of the cultists with Faerie Fire, which began combat.
It was a difficult battle, Aurora almost died immediately after attempting to insult one of the cultists, but Lan revived her. The group prevailed against the cultists, only to discover that they seemed to be both alive and dead. The bodies of the cultists were decayed, as if they had been dead for a long time, but yet they seemed perfectly alive while the group was fighting them. Their worship of Vecna must have given them some ability to preserve their bodies, and keep them from completely dying. The group understood that this is why they were hired, the cult is more powerful than it seems.
The next morning everyone went off to shop in the town, looking for items to help them guard the Heart better; the gala was scheduled for that evening. The late party member still had not arrived, something had to be delaying her. After spending a day on the town, the group met at the museum to prepare for the opening, still awaiting the late person.