Archmage Halstead: Blasts, Pasts, and Castes

After resting the night in the old mountain mystery of Lilly’s the party teleported back to Ascension Isle and as they faded away saw a blue dragon erupting from the floor of the place where Lilly’s constructs were. They ended up outside one of the pirate’s houses and while stealthing around the house they saw what looked like mechanical constructs and the Duke searching the upper level for them. After some debate over whether to get back to the ship or to eliminate the threat they chose to engage the duke and the automatons. The battle was fought, and the foe was eliminated without anyone escaping to alert the rest of the town. They overheard the duke and his first mate discussing before the battle that Jon Bovi was going to get the horse and circle the island to find the intruder’s ship. An ingenious plan was hatched instead of retreating to the ship that they would teleport inside the steel horse and blow up the powder magazine to incapacitate the ship. Leyash teleported inside the ship and made his way to the powder room although not before the ship had started moving. The plan went off perfectly blowing a large hole in the ship and the steel horse was sinking to the bottom rapidly. Leyash swam though the opening and the rest of the party started a stealthy retreat to the Kraken chaser out the tunnel shown to them by the dual lizard folk agent running the sawmill. As they were working their way to the entrance, they passed a female sea elf flanked by several guards going to the harbor. Leyash found himself outside the mouth of the harbor and worked his way back to shore by swimming through the harbor. He saw several ships trying to get underway including the largest ship they had seen to date trimmed in red. He hurriedly worked his way through town and joined the party at the ship after surprising each other. The ship was boarded by all and escape from the island was achieved.   

The Wizlards debated between sailing to the church of Talos in Seaton, the Isle of the Abbey, or the Oasis of the Seas where there were rumors of a sea elf tribe. They decided to sail to the Oasis and then check on the others afterwards.  After talking with Leyash’s half brother it was confirmed that he had been charged with getting a young Leyash out of Aquarius when it was attacked by the Sekolin. He reminded them that Leyash was his half-brother due to their fathers’ transgressions with a young human named Abdarra who lived in a settlement that was on an island above the sea right above Aquarius that the elves traded with. Leyash learned that his mother had forgiven his father and had tried to take a young Leyash under her wing and train him as a sorcerer which traditionally was the role of the females in Aquarius.  When Oceanus dropped him off in Phandilin with Abdarra he had gone to investigate what had happened and was eventually captured at sea and held a prisoner for years. Leyash did not remember much of this from his youth.  Oceanus navigated them to the area of the Oasis, and they dove on the spot where they found large Kelp fields on the ocean floor. After traveling for a little while they noticed some movement in the field and were assaulted by a large shark coming out of the field. The battle was successfully won but at the end they were surrounded by young sea elves on giant seahorses carrying spears dressed in coral armor. They started to tell the Wizlards that they should leave but were convinced to take the party to their home by the party knowing weapon master Nievans name and the two sea elf members in the party. They navigated a chasm that served as a guarded entrance almost flawlessly triggering only one mine and when they got there Neivan recognized the pair. He told them that Aquarius was defeated by the Sekolin in an attempt to release the young Kraken Seros for Umberlee. That he was among the final elves making a stand protecting the king and he took a blow and lost consciousness. He awoke late in the arms of one of the priestesses of Valastroth who was his current wife on the ocean floor far outside of town not knowing how he got there. Aquarius was lost and they took their small contingent to the Korin archipelago to try and rebuild what they could which is where the small ​ group of younglings came from including his son who led them. He took them to the tribe’s ovault and gave Leyash a trident that was the high priestesses weapon and symbol of power that had been saved by his wife. He explained the only way the Kraken could be sent back to the plane of water was to gather the four pieces of power. The party needed to find the Kraken’s brain, heart, eye, and staff of Talos and return to the trench in Aquarius or the pit in Mount Firewatch to cast the sealing spell.  As he was wrapping up the tale, loud explosions were heard from the channel into the oasis and a large battle erupted between a force of sahaugin and the party. The battles tide swayed back and forth and at one-point Leyash fell from a grievous blow passing to be with his ancestors. The party finished off the invaders and Neivan found a diamond in the vault which was used to successfully bring Leyash back from the beyond.

The group next decided to investigate the Isle of the Abbey and the monks who were dealing weapons there. They got to the island and saw smoke coming from the Abbey. They landed at the beach and worked their way through the dunes and the hidden skeleton undead buried under the sand with each wrong step. They faced off against a skeleton juggernaut at the end of the beach and worked their way up the winding path to the abbey. When they got to the abbey they found it devasted from what looked like an attack. They fought some of the monks and defeated them finally finding a cowardly monk who gave them the information that the isle had been attacked by a ship full of goblinoids and most of their items taken. You found the secret winding ways of the undead and figured out whoever wore the medallion found around the head clerics head was immune to the attention of the undead. You defeated a couple of undead minotaurs in the first room and were harried by a bodak who retreated from the party. You worked ​ your way into a room that had an undead storm giant in it. Lilly wearing the amulaet kep the party on the other side of her and the giant backed off but at the same time the party was assaulted by the bodak again.  After a long tenous hit and run style fight the bodak was defeated and the giant kept its distance. The party worked its way to a crack in the wall uncovering a stash that included money, a ring, and a bag. Lilly unkowingly put the bag inside their bag of holding which caused a cosmic explosion and their items in both bags were sucked through a portal into the astral plane. A portal remained which Lilly seriously debated touching, but she eventaully chose wisely and the dungeons were evacuated with some loot gained. The party left the isle deciding to head back to Saltmarsh when they heard from Cassandra that the town was being held and the population was being abused by the Disciples and the Dukes son Rardor.

The chaser pulled into Saltmarsh late at night and docked in the commercial area. The town was almost eerily quiet with not much movement to be seen. When the Wizlards got off the ship the first thing they noticed was Eda hanging from a rafter of her house. They looked around Anders’ house and did not find anyone and Winston’s seemed empty still. They met with Cassandra who was holding up in the haunted house and found out that that Rardor had imprisoned the council and was taking up residence in the town council building. They worked their way quietly to the jailhouse and found the rest of the council there minus Manistrad who had died defending them. They were only guarded by two louts, and they were disposed of quickly. Gellen although admitting that he had traded in slaves with the Isle of the Abbey and would face consequences later, stayed with Anders and Eliander while you took care of the disciples. The party approached the town council building and after a protracted fight finished off Rardor and his men and Saltmarsh was free again.  You decided to rest and were rewarded as the town could afford to do so. The council was reformed with Anders, Eliander, Cassandra, Hannah, and Copperlocks while they imprisoned Gellen till his situation could be sorted out. The Wizlards after resting were summoned back to the council chambers and told that the invasion of the Lizard folk Island was ready to proceed. It was worked out they would enter one of the secret entrances to the lower levels and work their way through the fortress assessing the strength of the sahaugin forces, eliminating any leadership they could, and opening the front gate for the combined army of the coast as well as find the first of the four pieces of power.  

You entered the underwater fortress through a tunnel located underwater guided by your lizardfold companions. You found a prisoner and his seal who you freed and they agreed to help you. You stealthed through the top level seeing an arena which held hundreds of sahuagin that was being presided over by a large sahuagin wearing a sword. Discretion was decided to be the better part of valor and you worked your way to the second level of the fortress finding some gold​ and dispatching a few isolated pockets of sahaugin on the way. On the second level you worked your way to the throne room where you found some sahaugin and the four armed very large baron and his shell shark. The fight was long and intense and you lost one of your lizard guides but victory was accomplished. You searched the area finding mirrors that seemed to connect to someone and eventually a lobster that was sentient and agreed if you freed him to reward you with his worldly treasures. You snuck further south in the fortress eventually finding a room where a sahuagin worked on several of the tough as nails sharks and their armor. The party snuck through and around the corridors to a room where three shark priestesses were swirling around and object casting a spell and the baroness was watching. The priestesses summoned the maw of sekolah and the two headed shark fought the party along with the baroness for another extended fight. The priestesses were determined to be the key and eventually eliminated so they would not continually heal the baroness although one almost made it to the sharks. At the end of the battle the eye was recovered and this gem secured to seal the kraken to its fate hopefully. The party then decided to make a hasty exit through the rest of the fortress trying to avoid anymore confilict as their resources were drawing very thin. After defeating the force in the gate room, the forces of the marsh were let in and the battle was eventaully won by the good guys.  The party was thanked by all and the lobster rewarded them with a ring from its nest. The wizlards decided to go after item of power number two and sail to Seaton to get the staff.

After an uneventful sea voyage, they arrived and bluffed their way inside to the worship area amid the iconography of Talos everywhere. The leader guided them back to a room in the far back of the complex where they found a young women chained to the wall who looked vaguely like Ellie. The charade was dropped, and a fight ensued to free her which was successful although in the middle of the fight an Air elemental was unleashed from the dome in the ceiling. ​ They learned she was imprisoned thinking she was someone named Ellie and that they were interested in her blood as Ellie is supposed the last of the line of the Progenitrisses. The rest of the compound was searched, and a tunnel was found that led to a room that had a teleportation circle in it. There seemed to be portals to Saltmarsh which was defunct, Firewatch mountain, Ascension Isle, and Lizard Isle.  At this point they were discovered by a guard and a running battle was fought with the goal of escaping the church. The battle was highlighted by Leyash seizing the lightning cannon at the top of the central dome and frying a baddie with it. The party successfully beat off the guards, rescued the girl, and retreated over the walls as they heard forces of Seaton coming to the church and the skulked off into the shadows. Not many questions seem to remain as their goals seem clear. There are two items of power left to entrap the Kraken so the Draken cannot consummated and is Jon Bovi still afloat in his skiff shaking his fist at the sky or playing a power ballad with Gibson Sambora lamenting their fate and the loss of his ship.