M4: The Holloway House
Date: 4518.537
Location: Pinesville - To teach responsibility and independence, the cadets are now sent to the planet of Iuvo and are told to help in any way they can. Alongside Aurora as a now permanent fixture of the party, their first stop is the small town of Pinesville. They’re met with a job board and see one requesting to help with a nearby towns “Dragon Problem” for a 500g reward. However it's snatched away by Angelina and her posse, revealing a paper underneath ‘Ghost problem, please help. If you're interested please go to The Paper Trail for more information.’ It’s there that they meet Aku and Faye, the owners of The Paper Trail and of an old house deep in the woods, previously owned by the Holloways. They found it abandoned while exploring and wanted to renovate it but they’re convinced something is haunting the old estate. Faye leads them to the house and lets them fix the issue. They find a lot of interesting things. Most importantly a dark grey chipped horn, ‘Timothy Holloway’s Diary’, an invite list for a party that was hosted here, love letters, and a hidden basement.
The group eventually meets the ghosts of Myra and Beatrice Holloway. The ghosts are drowning in guilt, anger, and depression over their circumstances but the group is able to reassure them that Tim and Whim are alive and okay. They learn Mayson was jealous and sent a hit out on the entire family. Beatrice was the previous owner of Mending Flames, a tailor shop in Pinesville that has since been boarded up. The group learns of the celebratory party, the killings, and how the ghosts have been living since. They help both spirits pass on before making their way back to the town to inform Aku and Faye the mission is complete. Faye and Neo exchange contacts in case anything comes back up. Before turning in for the night, the party checks out the various shops in town. Including one called ‘Misty’s Murmurs’, an information shop that trades info for info.
B2: Holorar Festival
Date: 4518.538
Location: Holorar - The group woke up to the ground shaking before it settled a minute later. It was coming from the nearby town known as ‘Holorar’, that is located in the underdark behind massive stone doors. The town was currently hosting its second annual festival and while the carnival games and stores were fun, the looming quakes put a damper on things, but that didn’t stop the festival from continuing as usual. There was another Murmurs shop here as well, ‘Madison’s Murmurs’. Neo learned that the chipped horn “might not be from a tiefling at all, just masquerading as one.” He said they were a bit of a dick and last he heard, they’d been missing for awhile. They went by the name ‘Saturn’. Lastly at the tavern, there is a giant map of Iuvo on the wall with all kinds of information tacked to different areas. The most interesting one is ruins in the desert just a small ocean away. The historical artifacts supposedly housed there are intriguing and no ones been able to get through the whole dungeon before. The festival ends when a much bigger quake disrupts the town and the citizens can’t keep pretending everything is okay.
M5: Basilisk Breakdown
Date: 4518.539
Location: Holorar - The group learns that the quakes are coming from 2 basilisks in a nearby cave system. They’ve settled there and have been threatening to relocate to the town for a week. They tried sending people in there to take care of them but they never returned. So the cadets take it into their own hands and head into the cave system, eventually finding the basiliks’ nest. They’re lazy and don’t move much but make up for it in sheer constitution and their massive size. The party fights a grueling battle but eventually the basilisks are defeated, including the one baby they had with them, but not without consequences. Neo’s prosthetic legs are turned to stone and leaving him unable to walk. [Bellatrix tries making him smaller but the spell didn’t last as long as she hoped] Aurora carries him on her back and they make their way back to the town, getting help from the locals to heal and get Neo a new set of legs. They get an Inn and finally get to sleep.
M6: Ruins of the Past
Date: 4518.540
Location: Surguia Desert - The group investigates the lead they found in Holorar and flies their ship a short distance to Surguia, a continent mostly covered in miles and miles of sand. They arrive at the ruins and amongst the rubble, sits an intact set of stairs leading down. They head down… and down… and down… and they keep going down and it never ends. Above them, reads: "In times of trial, the path we see can blind us to the path we must take". They go through many theories and tests before they extinguish the torches, close their eyes, and keep walking until eventually they make it safely to the bottom. The next room, they have to align colored torches to their respective gem on the other side of the wall. Next, a large open room with 4 [or 5] pressure plates in the middle, in a diamond or circle-like layout. In the center sits a pile of rubble. The clay floor has carved grooves that flow from the plates to the pile. Across from them, a set of double doors and something etched above it: “It's all a matter of perspective." When someone steps on a plate, the rubble floats upward and spells out a word, however from different perspectives, the words appear to be different. The answer to the riddle was “ourselves, how we’re perceived, or anything similar”
Up next, they come across a crypt, filled with 6 tombs total; 4 on the right and 2 on the left. The 4 coffins on the right have words engraved on either side of them but can only be read with the black light magnifying glass. The 2 on the left are trapped but contain items. #1: “May You Rest Well, Old Friend” - contains an Urn of Holding and a ‘blacklight’ magnifying glass. #2: “Omne, Please Accept Our Gift of Gratitude" - contains a book mimic [bellatrix got whimsy privilege] The next room is lined with hieroglyphics along both walls and more scriptures
It is also here that they find a hidden button on the wall, also helped by Neo’s compass buzzing incessantly and pointing toward the wall. Opening it, the wall slides back and reveals simple living quarters; a thin mattress covered in rust colored dust with just a pillow and blanket sitting on top. A poorly made table and chair, and a chest tucked against the far wall. The only thing of note is a simple necklace with a sun pendant, the closer you bring the compass to it, the more intense the thrum under your skin gets. The pendant and compass seem to be connected in some way with magic. Coming to the final room, they’re given a choice; 2 tunnels, the right one unlabeled and the left path labeled with a sign above it reading “Danger”. Group 1 and 2 chose different tunnels. The only difference between them was how the journey ahead would treat them. [slay the princess inspo yay]. Choosing the tunnel labeled danger, a dark cramped corridor that seemed to get smaller over time awaited them while the unlabeled tunnel was light and open, pristine marble guiding them to the final room. The Unending says it was a habitual liar and used it for its gain throughout it’s life. However the powers that be didn’t quite like how much influence it got from this habit and sentenced it to a life of truth, no matter what. Stuck here for eternities as an unwilling prophet. Despite The Unending treating the players slightly different depending on the tunnel, their “prophecies” remained the same
Eventually, when all is said and done, the creature claws the air and the group watches as reality begins to bend and tear at its will. They see the desert ruins they started at and walk through, finally making it back to the surface. With this, comes a call from Reef. It’s glitchy and your communicators are immediately covered in pop up ads but you manage to understand a few words: “Need– Help– Laxion– Airia– Corrupted–”