/q/ - Quest

The Drifters have made their escape from the town of Braildorn, having been made outlaws by their new nemesis Lysander. Once an adventurer like themselves, Lysander has fallen victim to his own hubris and greed, desperate to be seen as a true dragon. The party's first encounter with him led to him becoming crippled, and the party taking his ship for themselves. To make things more complex, the egg they discovered in the vault deep in the Shifting Sands is a seal preventing an entity known as the Cuckoo from awakening, an event which would result in the decimation of the Echoes as they know it.

Not only has Lysander joined forces with a mysterious being named only the Oneiromancer, but he has also discovered the location of the Cuckoo's egg. He, the Oneiromancer, and several others seem to be part of a collective that seek the egg, though for what purpose is unclear; indeed, Lysander seems blind to the egg's true nature, coveting it as a rare and valuable treasure. Seeking to oppose Lysander are a blind wanderer called Dawn, her partner Carabas, and their missing friend Etrigan.

The long term goal the party have made is clear from this: stop Lysander from getting to the egg, however possible. This is an even more pressing matter due to what the party discovered when they visited the vault: not only is the Cuckoo's egg there, but Discord, the primordial god of chaos, is sealed away there, turned to stone but still able to speak. If Lysander were to reach the vault, he would surely make an alliance with the Draconequus, making him an even greater threat. However, Lysander's whereabouts are unknown, for now; until the party can gain some insight into this, they cannot do much to stop him.

For now, the party's goals are twofold:

They have heard of a place to the north called the Dreaming Spring, where Hermodur got some of his Dreamwater from. Lilies from this spring are one of three components needed to liberate a spirit held captive by the swamp druid Black Pudding. Visiting this spring would not only help them in liberating the spirit, but also in acquiring more of the water, which has the unique quality of showing whoever the user thinks of when drinking it.

They have also caught wind of an upcoming event in the Echoes called the Swap Meet, a gathering for drifters from all over the land to come and buy, sell and trade all manner of goods. This event is unique in that while it is held, it is forbidden (by whom itPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

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>Thessaly 6/4
>Cloud 5/4

Last time on PirateQuest…

Disguised as guards and armed with a pocket-sized Droplet, Thessaly and Cloud Shear waited dutifully by Queen Toko's side during the circus performance so far. The Pattern Juggler pesetered them and the VIPs from all sides with an assortment of tricks and jabs, formed by hijacking various parts of the performance, and using them as weaponized annoyances. This greatly stirred up Queen Toko's ire, exposing pre-existing tensions between her and the Crimson King – possibly something that could be to the party's advantage.

Alder and Cerulean conversed backstage with the crew as they waited for their performance to come on. Cerulean nearly, er, "killed" Boneless, a rubber chicken and performer with a storied and controversial past. Alder, however, saved his life by un-breaking his plastic neck. Nonetheless, they still had plenty of time before their scheduled performances.

Cutlass successfully boarded The Golden Vein and began her invasion, capturing guards to wring out for intel on the ship's guard situation. Although there were relatively few guards left on the ship due to the security detail being spread all across Kaco Island, she learned of the presence of at least ten so-called "giants" onboard, who made up the bulk of the ship's muscle and posed the biggest threat to their attack. Cutlass split her forces; the bulk, led by Schnitzel and Make Believe, would capture the control room on the third level. The rest would break into the prison holding on the second level to free Colobok, which would allow the rest of her assassin entourage to fight without fear for his safety.

As both sides of the attack against the Crimson King and the Bee Queens unfold, neither our heroes nor our foes know what lies in wait for them at the end of the night, nor how it would change the course of their voyages.

Post Sheets.

Compared to your recent adventures, the voyage back home to the Hollow has been uneventful.

As you arrived back into the Hollow you were surrounded by curious breezies wondering not just about the strange and wonderful treasures you carry but also the shrunken zebra Oomar, who so far has been delighted to visit the breezie city. A different case entirely has been the breezie witch who has refused to speak during the travel and her stay in the hollow heavily guarded by the breezemancers.

Because of the hard-earned rewards you've been given by Tumbleweed, the wealthy breezie, you've been able to fund the development of the radan style aiship. With help from volunteers from the Guild, Pattern has started the long anticipated project.

As the project nears completion we find our heroes in a tent next to the airship warf.
The breezemancers have found that an expert in exotic and cursed artefacts is currently residing within Breezie Valley.

You're both standing around a table with airship blueprints while Marrow Fargale, as you might recall you saved from the forest just some weeks ago, finishes reading the letter.

She looks up. "It's the best we found. I'm sorry, there's simply not many breezies who seek to delve into these kinds of items. And those who do, usually aren't very willing to divulge their secrets. Like our guest."

It is time for Nature

No more bamboozles! Probably.

The party now returns to Kaco Island, having accomplished many things during their time on the small satellite island:

First, they learned more about aura and developed their potential even further, culminating in the creation of new abilities for some and improvements on current abilities for others. Second, they recovered a large cache of red herbs, called Helltongues, which would enable them to cure people from infection by Queen Toko's white parasites. Third, they resued an alien from outer space whose spaceship had crashed at sea during his research for his dissertation.

Now, Cutlass and Thessaly are heading back to meet with the leaders of the Three mafia Families who rule over Aristar and who have rapidly become the last stable leaders on Kaco Island following the Queens' thorough destruction of Potnia and other towns on the southern half of the island. Meanwhile, the rest of the party has plenty of time to kill before Alder and Cerulean are due for their circus performance in Aristar at 6. Thus they're heading back to check out some of the destroyed towns and pick over what might remain.

Post sheets.

Our heroes have returned from the Shifting Sands, where in a forgotten vault they encountered someone they did not expect: a petrified Discord, god of chaos, now known as Persolus. Seemingly under an enchantment forcing him to always tell the truth, he told the party that he had figured out a way out of the Echoes, but it required freeing him and messing with some sort of egg that was being kept in the vault. Sensibly, the party chose not to trust him, and declined his offer.

From there, they have made their way to Braildorn, one of the few places in the Echoes that most closely resembles modern society. However, while they sought respite within its walls, they soon found their troubles were far from over: Lysander, an ambitious and greedy dragon with significant influence in the Echoes, saw to the kidnapping of their friend Violet, replacing her with a spy to study the party and assess them. The party soon rooted out the spy and followed a trail of clues (including striking a tenuous alliance with the nefarious Tiger Clan) which eventually led them to Lysander's ship, the Lady Luck. From there, they proceeded to fight their way to Lysander himself, rescue Violet and take the Lady Luck for themselves - which was not a ship at all, but rather an enchanted construct called a Sanctuary. They soon found that overtaking a Sanctuary did not come without its failsafes, however; the Fulcrum, a unique magical object that controls a Sanctuary, was bound to Lysander and Lysander alone, and no one else could use it without risking severe mental harm or even death.

Via one of their newfound acquaintances, however, they may have figured out a workaround. Fumblemore, a bumbling but good natured wizard, knows of a way to break the Seal of Dominion, but it is a dangerous ritual that requires the participation of the entire group; their spiritual forms would entre the Fulcrum, according to Fumblemore, and have to physically bypass whatever defences Lysander has placed.

Meanwhile, the party have made themselves quite busy while in Braildorn:

Hermodur has accepted a contract to hunt down a creature plaguing the town's citizens, a particularly large and intelligent balaur known as the Beast of Braildorn.

Norv has expressed his interest in performing a courier task for Carnifex, a servant of Black Pudding. He has also commissioned a new sprayer to be made for him by the master craftsman Hadrian, which has dug deep into his pockets.Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

Two candles flicker on either side of a dusty old tome. The leather-bound cover creaks open and words slowly etch themselves into the paper. This old book begins to spin you a yarn. A tale of a small mountain village. A grand quest gone wrong. Self-sacrifice gone unrewarded. And, perhaps most of all, biting off a little more than you should chew.

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