Chapter 1: Eye of the Beholder

It was an unpleasant morning in Bay City. The already-sparse access to sunlight was limited even further by rain clouds that had been hanging over “the Colony” since last night. Nonetheless, our heroes made sure to wake up early this time around. They set out to meet up with private investigator Nikotynievich Brooks, who was supposed to clue them in on their next job.

“Are we there yet?” Enix inquired.

“Sure looks like it.” Aureus pointed towards the building by 13 Smithy Street. “Mr Brooks should be waiting in there.”

“Seems… Inconspicuous.” Reverwyn added. “I suppose that is intentional though.”

Aureus scratched his head.

“Well, I’m pretty sure that’s the address from the handout he gave me,” He said.

“Mhm.”

“Yep, that checks out.” Aureus said. “Let’s go.”

Having entered the agency, the party was greeted by none other than private eye Brooks himself. Just then, an intern brought additional chairs to his office. As our heroes sat down, Nikotynievich fought through a nasty coughing fit until he eventually started talking.

“Good to see you all in one piece.” he said, still short of breath from earlier.

“Can the same be said about you?” Reverwyn interjected. “You sound like a dead man walking.”

Nikotynievich smirked, then lit his cigar with shaky hands, almost dropping his box of matches in the process.

“What an astute observation,” the bugbear said sarcastically. “What gave you that idea?”

“Alright, listen up.” he continued. “My health’s not the issue at hand today.”

“See, I’m losing my marbles over a deep, convoluted case at the moment, and I just lost three potential leads last week.”

“One had a good mouthpiece – lawyered me into a restraining order.”

“The second fled before interrogation. Left no trace.”

“And the third, well,” Nikotynievich continued. “He took a long walk off a short pier before I could get to him.”

Sylphie whispered to Enix:

“Got any idea what that jargon means?”

Enix nodded a “no”, then raised his hand.

“Yes?” Brooks said.

“Sorry to interrupt, but,” the tiefling muttered. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about Master Andreus, would you, Mr Brooks?”

“Like, his whereabouts, any surrounding rumors – that sort of thing.” the boy said nervously.

Nikotynievich puffed on his cigar, trying to recall the familiarity in the name.

“Rings a bell.” he said. “For anything concrete, I’d have to ask the flatfoots for access to the R&I documents.”

“Umm…” Enix murmured, confused.

“The city police.” Nikotynievich sighed. “I have to hit up the missing persons department – I’m guessing you’re not familiar with PI talk.”

“Good for you, by the way.” he added. “If I could go back, I’d never get into what I do for a living now.”

“Not to mention my daughter is worried sick about me.”

“Anyway, what was I saying?”

“Oh, right.” he said, taking another drag on his cigar. “The case.”

“Look, I can’t give you all the details yet – not until I know I can trust you all.” Brooks said.

“But I think there’s a way we could change that.” he continued. “If you do me a couple favors, I’ll let you in on the big scheme, and you’ll get a big reward.”

Reverwyn raised her eyebrows.

“And why should we care?” she grumbled. “You are the one who needs our help, not the other way around – doing you ‘favors’ is beneath us.”

Nikotynievich shot his cuffs, staring down the short drow woman.

“Yet you’re still here.” he muttered.

Ornella decided to intervene.

“Let’s not make any hasty judgments, alright guys?” she said.

“We’re here to do business, Rev.” the elf continued. “Besides, if it wasn’t for Mr Brooks, we wouldn’t have made it to Old Soloastria in the first place.”

The private investigator threw another coughing fit, poured himself a shot of whiskey, puffed on his cigar one more time, then followed all of that by getting up from his seat in visible discomfort.

“That man is not going to live long,” Sylphie thought to herself. “Suryalus have mercy on him.”

“Listen,” Brooks continued. “I could get you all real cushy lives in this city – Believe me, I know a guy for everything.”

“But I can tell you’re not exactly the shut-in types.”

“What do you say I give you a headstart on the mainland instead?”

Ornella’s ears perked up.

“Go on, I’m all ears.” she said.

“Here’s my offer:” the bugbear continued. “If you help me solve my case, I’ll set you up in the Kingdom of Lorach.”

“You’ll get to adventure in the mainland with an established reputation, you’ll have a cozy home to make your headquarters, and I’ll even have a relative give you a tour of the place.”

“Sounds good?” he asked, his expression quickly turning into worry, as Ornella was almost foaming at the mouth at his proposal.

“FUCK YES-” she exclaimed.

“I-I mean, sure – we can agree on that, right guys?” the party leader corrected herself. Hulrik and Sylphie nodded in agreement.

“Good.” Brooks chuckled. “First things first; trust.”

“I need to know if I can trust you, and for that, I’ll have you do me a couple favors.” he said. “Are you ready?”

“Bring it.” Ornella said with full confidence.

“First of all, let’s start with the most immediate concern.” the bugbear said.

“One of my previous clients went missing during her mission, and I still need the info she was supposed to gather.”

“Not to mention our middleman is furious.” he added. “If I don’t find her, he’ll shoot my head off.”

“Middleman?” Enix inquired.

“Nelamon Deadeye, is what they call him.” Brooks explained. “Wandering merchant and savvy ranger – for his age, he’s quite the cutthroat businessman – either that, or he’s a fellow geezer with a good skincare routine.”

“The client in question is Bardette – a doll-like tiefling and his close associate.”

“Doll-like?” Enix inquired, even more puzzled than before. “You mean, like, she’s pretty or something?”

“No, no, she’s quite literally a living doll.” Brooks added. “Or rather, was – or maybe still is?”

“Look kid, it’s hard to explain, but rest assured – when you meet her, she’ll tell you all about it.” he said.

“Girl won’t stop talking. Ever.”

Aureus decided to chime in:

“Alright, let’s say we want to find your client – what clues do we have other than the fact we’re looking for a rather chatty, possibly magical doll?”

Nikotynievich tried to take a drag on his cigar, only to realize he had already smoked through it all.

“Oh, don’t you worry about that.” Brooks said. “I already know the place and the suspect. 99% sure he’s the perpetrator, too.”

“Your job is to investigate the place and just… Rough him up a little.” he continued.

“If you can bring me my missing client AND the perpetrator—both preferably alive, I might add—I’ll reward you very, very handsomely.”

“If you have the details, why not go after him yourself?” Reverwyn scoffed.

“Look lass,” the private investigator sighed. “I’m in no shape for missions like that anymore.”

“And Mr Deadeye, uhh — I’m not sure what he’s doing right now, but he’s certainly too busy at the moment.”

“Just bring me back the girl and try not to kill her captor.” he added. “I need information from both.”

“Okay, okay – What’s the address?” Ornella inquired.

Nikotynievich pulled up an annotated map of Bay City, pointing towards a location not far from his agency.

“20 Dockside Street, Port District.” he said. “A couple blocks behind my friend’s institute – Yorvik Yorbarum, you remember him?”

“What, you think he’s the suspect?!” Sylphie inquired.

“No, dummy.” Brooks scoffed. “Like I said: two blocks behind his place – there once was an abandoned guildhouse in the area, but recently someone snatched it for dirt cheap, completely bypassing the auction for it before it even began.”

“I did some research and, as it turns out, he got his certificate of ownership directly from the city council.” Brooks continued. “No auctions, no black market dealings – he went straight to the government, and they just gave it to him for piss poor pennies in return.”

“This doesn’t happen here, might I add – the council never owes any favors to anyone.”

“That’s why I sent Bardette to investigate the place.” he explained. “The guy is shady as all hells, and he has some ties to the government – if I could get a hold of him, I might just find the leads I was looking for.”

Ornella grabbed the city map and tucked it into her backpack.

“Right, that just about covers it.” she said. “I think we’re good to go. What do you say, lads?”

A collective cheer from Enix, Sylphie, and Hulrik could be heard, as well as groans from both Aureus and Reverwyn.

The dragonborn whispered something into the drow’s ear. She looked at him for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

“You know what,” Aureus spoke. “You guys can handle that as a team of four.”

“In the meantime, me and Rev would like to get on with the second quest, so as to not waste any time.”

Nikotynievich raised an eyebrow before asking:

“Are you sure?”

“You know… The other ‘favor’ I was talking about involves a lot of dirty work.” he added. “And I mean that literally – I need you to investigate the local sewers.”

“N-No work is too dirty, right Rev?” Aureus grinned nervously, trying to mask his disgust with a facade of optimism.

“I thought you hated getting your hands dirty-” Rev said.

“We’ll do whatever it takes!” Aureus interrupted the drow rogue.

“Hmm…” Nikotynievich contemplated the offer for a good minute.

“And what does the party leader have to say about it?” he asked.

“Fine with me.” Ornella replied. “That’s actually not a bad idea – doing two quests at once – I like your thinking, Aureus.”

“But can you two handle it all on your own?” she inquired. “Maybe a 3:3 party split would be better?”

“NO, no, we’ll… We’ll be just fine.” Aureus hastily interjected.

“O… kay?” Ornella said, slightly weirded out by now. “Off you go then.”

Aureus and Reverwyn hurried off, still whispering something to each other every few steps of the way. Nikotynievich couldn’t help but make a note of this and tuck it away in a desk drawer – just in case one day his observations might turn into legitimate grounds for suspicion. “Are those two just overconfident fools, or maybe sleazy conmen?” was his thinking process at the moment.

Meanwhile:

“Sylphie? Enix? Hulrik?” Ornella gathered her remaining teammates.

“Let’s go guard the bard.”

Before the party left the agency, however, Enix walked up to private eye Brooks with the same question once again:

“Mr Brooks, if you find anything-”

“Relax, kid.” the bugbear interjected. “I’ll look at the documents for ya.”

“I take it the man was your mentor, wasn’t he?”

Enix nodded silently, standing with arms behind his back – in them, he was clutching a torn fragment of his master’s scarf, clinging to it the same way he clings to hope he’ll eventually reunite with its owner.

“I’d bet an arm and a leg that I saw him at least once the other week.” Brooks said.

“And if that’s anything to go by, he’s probably fine.” he continued. “Adventurers tend to vanish for weeks on end, it’s normal – most return with fame and riches, too.”

The bugbear private investigator gently patted the stressed tiefling paladin on the head in an attempt to comfort him — a rather successful one at that, as the squire no longer had a defeated look on his face.

“He’ll be alright.” the bugbear said. “Promise you that.”

“Thank you, Mr Brooks.” Enix muttered through a faint smile.

“Now, now – go on, kid.” Brooks said. “Your party needs you.”

Enix ran out of the agency with newfound determination, catching up with his teammates and joining them for the mission.

The private investigator thought to himself:

“Come to think of it, how old is he – certainly no older than 17, no? Adventurers are so young nowadays…”

“He reminds me of Allison, in a way.”

“I wonder how she’s doing…”

Chapter 2: ‘Til Death Do Us Bard

The rain clouds had finally dissipated, and the day was starting to look brighter and brighter – it was the perfect mood for a stroll around the city.

Ornella and her three remaining teammates headed to 20 Dockside Street, looking for a ransacked guildhouse. Instead, however, they were met with just a regular, well-maintained building. No broken windows, no breached doors, neither a hint of destruction nor any signs of actual construction work being done, in spite of the “under construction” sign hanging above the main entrance.

It was almost as if the guildhouse was never abandoned at all.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Sylphie inquired.

“There are no other guildhouses around here.” Ornella replied. “The damn wizard must’ve been in a hurry to rebuild it.”

“Wizard?” Enix asked.

“The name’s Seneriphus.” Ornella said. “Our culprit is a shadow wizard, according to Brooks’s briefing.”

“So he’s not just a shady businessman after all.” Sylphie said.

“Businessman? No.” Ornella said. “Shady? Definitely.”

“Whatever he’s doing in that guildhouse; he sure wants to keep it under wraps – hence the innocuous sign at the front door.” she continued.

“So how do we get in?” Enix asked.

“That’s simple – we lockpick our way in.” Ornella answered. “I bought a set of thieves’ tools before we hit up Private Eye Brooks.”

“Figured we could use them today.”

“Good thinking.” Hulrik said. “But how many chances do we get?”

“Well, these things aren’t cheap…” Ornella started. “I paid twenty five gold pieces for one lockpicking attempt, to be precise.”

Sylfira made a Suryalus sign with her fingers, chanting something in Primordial before casting guidance on her elven teammate.

“Go for it, Nella.” she said. “You got this!”

Ornella carefully inserted the lockpick into the front door’s keyhole.

“Here goes nothing…” the elf said.

Thanks to Sylfira’s guidance, Ornella rolled a 16 on her Sleight of Hand check, thus managing to successfully pick the lock.

“We’re in!” Ornella exclaimed.

“Quiet, now.” Hulrik shushed her.

“We should keep a low profile if we’re waltzing through the front door.” he said.

“Let’s, at the very least, try to sneak about.”

“Right, sorry.” Ornella whispered.

And so, our heroes entered the suspicious guildhouse right through the main entrance, hoping to face no resistance given the lack of noise inside.

(Map credit goes to “Darkest Maps”, reshaded by yours truly)

Just as Ornella had expected, the building was as empty as it was quiet.

“We should take a look around.” Hulrik suggested. “Search for anything that resembles a hidden entrance or a passageway.”

“…Or any research notes, too.” Ornella chimed in. “Our culprit’s a wizard – It’d be a shame to let his notes go to waste.”

The party moved to investigate the various search spots around them. Here are the results:

• Scroll on a table – Enix deciphered the symbols on the scroll and read them aloud, revealing a hatch under the floorboards. Inside, he found a buried chest with all sorts of goodies, such as an Ersatz Eye, two Potions of Healing, 170 silver pieces, and a Tiger Eye gemstone.
• Bound tome on a table – Hulrik smashed the lock on the tome, then quickly flipped through its pages, only to realize it was a spellbook that once belonged to a rich yet unsuccessful wizard. In it, he found a Scroll of Grease, and a Scroll of Maximilian’s Earthen Grasp.
• Dusty Bookcase – Ornella was about to start flipping through all the books one by one, but a mysterious package on top of the bookcase stole her attention. At first unable to reach it, the short elf climbed on some nearby boxes to grab the item and tear off its dusty packaging. Inside, she found a neatly folded Robe of Eyes, coupled with a note saying “happy birthday”. Other than the strange package, Ornella also found 284 gold pieces, a Potion of Growth, and a Ring of Warmth.
• Evidence Board – Sylphie’s findings were mostly coins that were stashed behind the evidence board. She had found 2500 cp, 1400 sp, and 100 gp respectively. That was not everything, however, as Sylphie had also managed to snag a pair of Goggles of Night and made an interesting discovery:

“Guys?” she said. “You’re gonna wanna see this.”

As the rest of the party approached the cleric, she pointed to a trail of connected notes on the evidence board, all leading to an illustration that resembled a familiar face.

“Is that supposed to be the Kenku from Fort Hope?” Ornella said.

“I think so.” Sylphie replied.

“Do you think the guild was after him?” Hulrik suggested. “Or maybe it’s our culprit’s doing?”

“Hard to say.” Ornella said. “Someone’s definitely after him, though.”

“Judging by the notes here, it seems like whoever is looking for that necromancer is hoping to contact him rather than arrest him.” she concluded.

Ornella inspected the evidence board more closely before coming to a sudden realization:

“The drawing is recent.” she added. “It must be a fresh lead.”

“So it wasn’t the guild doing the investigation…” Hulrik mumbled. “It had to have been our culprit.”

“Yep, seems like it.” Ornella nodded.

“Alright people, let’s move forward.” the druid said. “We better get to Seneriphus before he can contact that necromancer.”

Having ascended up the stairs, Ornella concluded that, yet again, there was no other way than up.

“Hey, what’s the hold up?” she called out to Enix and Hulrik.

“Sorry – there was some nice stuff over here!” Enix exclaimed. “I’ll take this, and this, and that…”

Meanwhile, Hulrik was busy examining the chess pieces on the other side of the room.

“Such magnificent woodwork!” he thought to himself. “I couldn’t have carved these wonders even in my wargaming years, let alone today.”

Sylphie stomped her foot.

“There’s a bard out there in need of our help!” the cleric said sternly. “Stop slacking, guys.”

“R-Right, sorry.” Hulrik apologized.

“Be there in a minute!” Enix exclaimed, stuffing even more items into his backpack, including:

• A vial of Serpent Venom poison
• 235 gold pieces and 115 electrum pieces
• A scroll of Animate Dead
• One Potion of Necrotic Resistance
• One Potion of Poison Resistance

“Alright, what did I miss?” the tiefling asked.

“Nothing yet, but we’re faced with a dilemma.” Ornella replied. “Our only way is up.”

“How’s that a dilemma?” Enix said, confused. “Where else can we go?”

“It’s not about where we can go, but how we should decide to do so.” Hulrik said.

“Exactly.” Ornella replied. “This dark, ominous hallway seems suspicious as all hells.”

“We can’t just waltz in like we did through the front entrance earlier.” she continued. “It HAS to be some sort of ambush.”

Sylphie ascended the stairs and tried listening in on any sounds coming from the hallway. There were no sounds to be heard.

“I don’t know, Nella.” she said. “Are you sure you’re not overthinking it?”

“Maybe our culprit just isn’t home right now.”

Ornella groaned in disbelief – she started pacing around in a circle, pondering all possible scenarios of how things could go wrong, before finally gathering her thoughts.

“Sylphie…” she muttered.

“I don’t want to live in a reality where our entire team is DEAD because we decided to WALK RIGHT INTO SOME OMINOUS HALLWAY.”

“…So what do you suggest?” Sylphie inquired.

“We sneak through it.” Ornella replied stoically.

“Wait, that’s it?” Enix asked. “All this brainstorming and the best you could come up with was to walk through the hallway on your tiptoes?!”

“Yeah, how’s that any different from my idea?” Sylphie chimed in. “If it’s an ambush, we’re screwed no matter how we enter.”

Ornella’s patience reached its breaking point.

“You know what? Fine.” the elf scoffed. “Let’s settle for a compromise:”

“No walking in, and no sneaking in.” she said. “Instead…”

“WE BARGE IN.”

Having declared her new approach, Ornella quite literally ran headfirst into the hallway and jumped into the darkness covering it. Once again, there was no noise – no sounds of guards readying their weapons, no sound of Ornella’s battlecry – Sylphie, Hulrik, and Enix were met only with dead silence.

“I swear, you’re gonna make me gather your entrails from the floor one day…” Sylphie thought to herself, slowly stepping into the darkness after her friend.

Hulrik and Enix quickly followed.

What they found was rather unexpected:

“Oh my, fellow adventurers!” someone said. “Over here, on top of that golden globe-thingy!”

Enix and Hulrik looked up at the statue, and sure enough, there was a woman strapped to it with magical energy chains.

“Are they friends of yours, my elvish savior~?” she asked.

“Yes.” Ornella replied, unamused. “Like I said, we’re here to rescue you and catch your captor alive-”

“Straight to the point – I like that!” the bard interjected. “Well, you better hurry then!”

“That wizard freak could show up any minute now!”

Shortly thereafter, a warp to the plane of Shadowvale opened up in the room, and out of it came Seneriphus, the Shadow Wizard himself.

“My accursed gift of prophecy strikes again!” the bard said. “Sorry about that!”

“Do you jinx things often, or are we just… exceptionally unlucky?” Ornella asked, letting out a defeated sigh.

“Oh, no – I jinx stuff all the time – don’t worry about it!” the woman exclaimed. “Now off you go – kick that guy’s ass and save me!”

While the party was busy bickering with the bard, Seneriphus summoned eight Shadowlings and released a Shadowling Amalgam out of the portal before finally sealing it off.

“I’m pretty sure we would’ve made it in time, were it not for our hesitation to enter through a hallway with a simple Glyph of Warding in it.” Hulrik grumbled.

“How was I supposed to know?!” Ornella replied. “I didn’t think any idiot would waste their glyph on casting Darkness to use it like a curtain!”

“Ingenious, don’t you think?” the shadow wizard chimed in.

“Now, I believe this is the part where you all die.” he cackled.

Time to roll initiative!

Before the battle could properly begin, Enix had one more question left in him:

“So how are we supposed to free you anyway?” he asked the bard.

“There’s a Scroll of Dispel Magic around here somewhere – go find it, cast it on the globe, then I’ll help you in the fight!” the bard replied.

“Ahem.” Seneriphus grumbled. “Mage Armor!”

“Oh, right, you’re supposed to be fighting right now.” the bard told Enix. “Best of luck to ya!”

Having cast Mage Armor to bump his AC up to 15, the shadow wizard Seneriphus retreated upstairs to hide behind an army of agile Shadowlings. The first three of them immediately hurried to overwhelm our heroes.

The Shadowlings’ inky tendrils hit Enix for 5 points of force damage, but missed both Hulrik and Ornella.

“Don’t worry, I got this.” the elf druid stated.

She then proceeded to cast her signature spell, Ornella’s Flame Blade, conjuring up a sword made of fire to go along with her scimitar.

Out of bonus actions, she swung her main hand weapon at Shadowling no. 3, ending its short life with one slash. Using her movement, she ran towards Seneriphus to try and stop the wizard in his tracks.

“FACE ME, COWARD!” Ornella exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Hulrik sliced Shadowling no. 2 in half using his Handy Handaxe, all while continuing to advance forward.

“Everyone, focus – we’re not here for a cage match – we’re here to find the scroll and knock out the wizard.” he said sternly.

His stalwart approach to the combat encounter was met with an inky tentacle slap from Shadowling no. 5, hitting Hulrik for 7 points of force damage. The Shadowling then moved out of the way for its “big brother”.

A hulking behemoth of clumped shadowlings slowly marched towards Hulrik. With every step, the Shadowling Amalgam left behind ink-like puddles of liquid shadow.

“Dear lord Kabad Monobis,” Hulrik mumbled. “Give me strength for this one.”

The behemoth stopped, seemingly running out of steam after slowly dragging itself 25 feet towards the dwarf fighter.

Just as Hulrik was about to thank his deity, thinking some sort of intervention had taken place, he realized to his horror that the Shadowling Amalgam only stopped to prepare for a jump.

With immense force, the giant-shaped blob of ink and shadow landed right in front of the party’s fighter, preparing to make two slam attacks against him.

Both attacks landed, one of them a CRITICAL HIT!

“Just my luck…” Hulrik sighed.

The dwarf is hit for a total of 23 points of force damage, which sends him reeling in pain.

Meanwhile, Shadowlings no. 6, 7, and 8 swarm Ornella, hoping to stop her from reaching their master. Only one of them lands their attack, lashing its tentacle at the elf druid for 7 points of force damage.

Sylphie’s heart sank. Once again, her teammates were being pulverized right in front of her, and she felt like she wasn’t doing anything about it.

“Hang in there, I’m coming!” the cleric exclaimed, running towards Hulrik.

Once the dwarf was in range, Sylfira blessed him with a Healing Word. The spell’s refreshing breeze slightly soothed his pain by restoring 9 of his hit points.

“And you,” the fire genasi said, turning to face the amalgamated monster. “In the name of Suryalus, I will strike you down!”

The cleric brandished her Flaming Mace – upon igniting its head, she was poised to strike.

“PERISH!” she exclaimed.

In one fell swoop, she smacked the Shadowling Amalgam for a total 11 points of damage, some bludgeoning and some fire.

“Enix, go help Ornella!” Sylphie yelled.

“Got it!” Enix nodded.

Upon slicing up Shadowling no. 1, he ran up to Ornella, then used his bonus action to jump next to Seneriphus.

“Surprise!” he announced.

Unfortunately for the young paladin, he was already out of actions, bonus actions, and movement. Even more unfortunately, Seneriphus was about to take his turn. The wizard cackled:

“You’ve gone and set yourselves up for a nasty surprise!”

“SHADOWFLAME… SCORCHER!” he exclaimed.

Harnessing the power of shadowflame, Seneriphus cast a modified version of the Aganazzar’s Scorcher spell.

Ornella managed to take only half damage thanks to a deft dodge. Enix, however, failed his Dexterity saving throw, and consequently took the full 12 points of damage.

“Witness the powers bestowed upon me by Nocturne himself!” Seneriphus exclaimed. “Witness them and WEEP, fools!”

Having said that, he cast Misty Step to teleport out of Enix’s reach, then retreated further up the stairs.

“Gods, I hate this man.” Ornella thought. “Annoying prick.”

While that was happening, the sneaky Shadowling no. 4 had struck Hulrik for 8 points of force damage, cutting his current amount of health in half.

Returning to Ornella and Enix:

“Back off, you… you… Whatever you are.” the elf said. “THUNDERWAVE!”

Shadowlings no. 6, 7, and 8 exploded when faced with Ornella’s thunderous blast, leaving behind nothing but splotches of ink. The druid then proceeded to give chase to the shadow wizard, all while panting and coughing up blood, and with her flame blade still in hand.

Hulrik, watching from the other side of the battlefield, felt inspired by the elf’s determination and courage. He tightly gripped his Handy Handaxe, preparing to strike.

Combining his weapon’s Warrior Heart ability with his Pushing Attack battle master maneuver, Hulrik delivered a powerful blow against the Shadowling Amalgam, hitting it for 7 points of damage, healing himself for the same amount, and pushing the behemoth 15 feet away, allowing the dwarf fighter to back off.

“Great strike!” Sylphie said. “Don’t give up, Hulrik – we’re still in this fight!”

“We have to keep-” she tried to say, but was interrupted by the sneaky Shadowling no. 5, who hit her with its inky tendril for 7 points of force damage.

“Eek!” the cleric exclaimed. “Get off me, little pests!”

Almost as if it heard the cleric’s rude comment towards its brethren, the Shadowling Amalgam angrily shambled towards Sylfira with murder in mind. The monster decided to activate its Reckless ability:

Miraculously, even with advantage, the monster had only managed to get one Amalgam Slam attack through Sylfira’s armor, dealing 10 points of force damage.

Frustrated, the behemoth attempted to grapple Sylfira with its Dark Embrace.

Rolling an 8, the hulking shadow entity felt unsure of its own strength. Fortunately for the monster, Sylfira rolled a NATURAL ONE, ensuring she would be grappled and restrained by the Shadowling Amalgam.

“Get off me!” the fire genasi yelped. On her turn, she tried to break free from the amalgam’s grasp, but failed her Strength saving throw. Using her action, she contested her assailant in Athletics, beating its roll of 9 with her own roll of 22, successfully freeing herself from its grasp.

Using her bonus action, she regained 9 hit points from a Healing Word cast on herself, then attempted to run past the amalgam, who bludgeoned her with a nasty opportunity attack for 9 points of force damage, practically negating her healing and setting her back in square one.

“What a disaster.” Sylfira thought to herself. “Bless me, oh Sun Steward – Bless me, lest I perish right then and there…”

Unaware of what was happening to Sylphie, Enix began looking for the scroll that the bard mentioned way earlier. Instead of the scroll, he found a small sack containing Dust of Sneezing and Choking, as well as two gemstones: an onyx and a citrine.

Next, Seneriphus used his action to summon 2 shadowlings with his Summon Shadowlings ability, then ran further back to get inside cover.

One of the freshly conjured shadowlings immediately gunned for Ornella, successfully hitting her with a tendril attack for 4 points of force damage.

“That’s it – enough playing around.” Ornella murmured. “YOU’RE NOT GETTING AWAY FROM ME, WIZARD!”

She jumped right over the shadowlings, furiously sprinting towards Seneriphus.

“GOT YOU.” she said through her teeth, blood running down her mouth. “I WILL GUT YOU LIKE A FISH, Y’HEAR ME?!”

Unfortunately for the druid, she whiffed BOTH her scimitar and her flame blade attacks, presumably because of just how tired she was. Seneriphus laughed in her face.

“Puny elf.” he said. “My minions will grab the scroll and tear it to shreds.”

“Then, you won’t be able to save your precious friend anymore!” he cackled.

The bard, still chained to the giant golden globe in the middle of the room, decided to chime in:

“Technically speaking, we’re not friends,” she exclaimed. “Not yet, at least – but I’m pretty sure we’ll get along nicely once we kick your sorry ass back into-”

“NOW’S NOT THE TIME, BARDETTE.” Ornella interjected, absolutely seething.

“Right – oh yeah, speaking of which…” the captive bard suddenly remembered something.

For whatever reason, she whistled.

“Alright Nelly, show’s over,” she exclaimed. “Finish him!”

Suddenly, an invisible person who had been there presumably the whole time, has finally decided to reveal themselves.

The blond human, breaking his invisibility, nonchalantly strung his bow and fired off a CRITICAL sharpshooter arrow at the shadow wizard, dealing a whopping 42 points of piercing damage and incapacitating the wizard in one fell swoop.

As soon as Seneriphus went unconscious, all the shadowlings dissolved into wet goop; including the hulking amalgam.

Ornella, bloodied and exhausted, couldn’t help but just stand there in complete shock. The wizard they’ve been struggling to defeat all this time has been dispatched right in front of her within the span of a few seconds, ending the fight completely unceremoniously.

Just then, Sylphie exclaimed from far away:

“Guys, I found the scroll!”

The blonde stranger chuckled.

“Good work,” he said. “Now, let’s free my associate, shall we?”

As he walked up to Sylfira to retrieve the scroll, Ornella furiously grabbed him by the arm and shouted:

“What in the hells was that all about?!”

“How long have you been here, just watching and doing nothing to help?” she continued to shout. “Are you some kind of voyeuristic freak or what?!”

The man nervously adjusted his sunglasses.

“Don’t get mad, but,” he started. “I had this whole situation under control from the very beginning.”

Chapter 3: Twists and Turns

Ornella’s face housed a puzzled expression.

“Excuse me?” she said.

The blond ranger cleared his throat before speaking:

“See, Nikotynievich told me he’d found a group of adventurers willing to rescue Bardette, so I snuck in the guildhouse myself with an invisibility potion beforehand.” he explained.

“Brooks told me to watch you fight,” he continued. “He said he’ll pay me extra for a report on your… combat prowess.”

“And?” Ornella asked, still quite angry.

“You did well – decently enough, I’d say – but you’re not ready for the big case.” he said.

“I could’ve ended the fight at any moment – Bardette was in on it, too.” the ranger added.

“That’s right!” the bard said, suddenly appearing behind Ornella, now free from the wizard’s magical shackles.

“Wait, hold on,” Ornella inquired. “What’s this whole big case business even about?”

“If Mr Brooks didn’t clue you in yet, it means you still have some work to do,” Bardette explained. “And we can’t spoil you anything, as that would go against the rules – sorry~.”

“Buuuut…” she continued, then handed Ornella a big sack of valuables – roughly 400 gp in ritualistic spell components.

“Those are all the ritual riches I managed to snag before the old man caught me red handed.” she said. “Here, you can have them – for your troubles~.”

“Gee, thanks, I guess.” Ornella mumbled.

The elf druid looked through her rewards, spotting rare gems and expensive pearls that could result in either big magic or big money.

“Actually, thanks a lot.” she smiled. “We’ll need it.”

Hulrik waddled towards the conversation, limping from his injuries.

“Please, for my peace of mind, tell me…” he muttered. “Is Mr Brooks’s case important enough to warrant…”

The dwarf pointed at his torn chain mail and bruised ribs.

“…This?”

“Yeah, we’re new around here – why did Mr Brooks have us do this as our starting mission?” Enix whined. “I’m here to find my master, not die an errand boy.”

The human ranger took off his sunglasses and stared down the dwarf and the tiefling with concern in his eyes.

“Yes,” he said in a serious, menacing voice. “Very important.”

“If he’s right,” he continued. “The Colony is heading towards a war it cannot win, and all of Old Soloastria will pay the price.”

Ornella squinted her eyes.

“I beg your pardon?” the elf said.

“Forgive Nelly’s brooding, but yeah, it’s heavy stuff.” Bardette added. “That’s why Mr Brooks needed to know if you’re ready for this sort of thing.”

“Nelly?” Enix said.

“She keeps calling me that – I keep telling her not to.” Nelamon explained.

Bardette interrupted him:

“Anyway, believe me: once you get to know Mr Brooks better, missions like these will be a cakewalk to you – provided you can do this multiple times every tenday!”

Enix glanced at Ornella, confused yet again. She hurriedly explained that in Old Soloastria they call astrers (weeks) “tendays”.

“There’s one more thing…” the blond human interjected.

He pulled up a political map of Old Soloastria, pointing at a small island belonging to the Free Colony of St Hilmone.

“Fort Hope – a massive zombie outbreak occurred there recently, yet the president didn’t even give a public speech on the matter.” he said. “Bay City politicians say the place has been abandoned, and now families of the prisoners are furious.”

“They’re in the streets protesting, but each day, there’s less and less protesters.” the ranger continued.

“You think someone’s taking them off the streets?” Hulrik inquired.

The ranger nodded silently in agreement.

“You’ve been there, right?” he asked. “At Fort Hope, I mean – on the day of the outbreak.”

“What, did the old fart already tell you?” Ornella asked.

“Yeah, sorry.” the ranger flashed a half-smile. “Look, we need to know everything about new faces, okay?”

“That’s just our ethos at the Eye of the Beholder.” he said. “Anyway, as I was saying…”

“On the day of the outbreak,” he continued. “Did you spot how and when the zombies appeared?”

Ornella thought long and heard, before Sylphie reminded her of her findings on the evidence board.

“Oh, right – the necromancer!” Ornella exclaimed. “One of the death row prisoners was a necromancer.”

“He broke out, then flooded the island with zombies just as we were about to escape.” she added.

“Was he by any chance a kenku?” the ranger asked. “You know; ravenfolk, crowfolk – that sort of thing.”

“Yes!” Sylphie chimed in. “Here’s a drawing someone made of him.”

Sylphie handed the ranger the recently drawn portrait of Milvus Badfeather.

“Fresh ink – it was probably the wizard you just knocked out.” she quickly added. “I found it pinned to an evidence board by the entrance.

“Huh.” the ranger said. “I can’t believe I missed it on my way in.”

“Regardless, that’s good news.” he continued. “Brooks was on the hunt for him for a while – seems like our feathered friend has some friends in high places.”

“Like that wizard?” Sylphie pointed to the unconscious body of Seneriphus, drooling on the floor in a silly position with an arrow sticking out of his buttocks.

“Yeah, him.” Bardette interjected. “You know how it goes – an evil necromancer knows an evil shadow wizard, the evil shadow wizard has ties to the government, meaning the evil necromancer probably has ties to them as well.”

“We can’t be sure yet.” Hulrik interjected. “Maybe it’s the government that’s looking for him, and they’re hiring disposable villains to do their dirty work.”

Nelamon raised his glasses.

“Smart theory – I didn’t think of that.” he said.

Ornella stashed Bardette’s sack of rewards inside her backpack and proceeded to gather her team.

“Once again, thanks for the help, but I think it’s about time we get going – we still have one more errand to run for Mr Brooks.” the druid said.

“Weren’t Rev and Aureus going to handle it?” Sylphie asked.

“I don’t know, Sylphie – did they return?” Ornella replied. “Did they call us via a sending stone?”

Sylphie stayed quiet.

“Exactly.” Ornella said. “No contact usually means trouble – we have to check up on them.”

“Actually…” Bardette added.

“Me and Nelly were thinking-”

“I swear to Sir Kirkenloft, don’t call me that in public!” the blond ranger interjected, slightly flustered.

“Me and Nelamon were thinking…” the bard continued. “Maybe you guys could use our help?”

“We can help you out with your errands so Mr Brooks will finally clue you in on the big secret!”

Ornella took a good look at her friends – all of them wounded and exhausted, in one way or another.

“I’m not sure I can trust them after that invisibility thing.” she thought to herself. “But we’re in no fighting shape right now, not with just four people – maybe I should risk it, for my teammates’ sake?”

Bardette tried to jump into her associate’s arms – he didn’t quite pick up on it, and she fell.

“Hey – watch it, you bum!” he exclaimed. “You’ve got your own legs – use them!”

The bard sulked for a bit.

“Look, I’m reeeeeeally tired from being chained to that globe-thingy earlier, okay?” she complained.

“If we’re going to help these guys out with their next mission, I need to rest a little, so be a dear and carry me for a moment, will you, Nelly~?” she said.

Nelamon sighed in disbelief before begrudgingly picking his friend up from the ground.

“So, elf girl…” Bardette said, turning to Ornella.

“I’m going to ask you again:”

Chapter 4: Lore Galore

The party and their newfound allies found themselves walking back to the commerce district.

“So,” Enix turned to the bard. “What even are you, anyway?”

“Excuse me?!” Bardette feigned great offense.

“I-I meant no disrespect, I-” Enix said.

“Relax kid, I’m just messing with you~” the bard interjected.

“But the explanation is a little complicated – think you can follow along?” she said.

Enix nodded.

“Okay, here goes!” Bardette exclaimed.

The young paladin zoned out while listening. Upon realizing Bardette finished talking, he tried to piece what he heard together:

“So you were a doll that got hit with Animate Objects by some creation bard…”

“The spell didn’t wear off, so you tried getting a body…”

“And now you’re a tiefling?” he finished.

“Bravo!” Bardette applauded. “Pretty much spot on – though you forgot to mention how I finessed Mephisto into getting my tiefling form.”

“Wait, you tricked MEPHISTO?” Enix inquired. “THE Mephisto?”

“Like, the very head honcho of the hells?!”

“Yup, the very same– told him he can have my soul,” the bard explained. “But I never had one to begin with!”

“Granted, he had probably never seen someone like me before, so it must’ve been quite the shock!” she laughed.

“Anyway,” Bardette said. “Nowadays I’m trying my best to be just like that bard – making stories and sharing them with anyone willing to listen – It’s my biggest dream!”

“I’ve been to several places so far, but never ventured beyond New Soloastria.” the bard said.

“Mainland Old Soloastria – that’s the juicy stuff.” she said. “I’ve been wanting to go there for years now, but it’s nigh-impossible without a proper adventuring party.”

“Funnily enough, I already have a good motivation to get there!” she added.

Bardette pulled something out of her backpack: a map. Ornella’s curiosity was piqued.

“What’s that supposed to be?” the elf asked.

“It’s a treasure map of some sort – at least that’s what I’ve heard.” Bardette replied. “I stole it from some crypt after fighting its undead guardian.”

“If it wasn’t for Nelamon I would’ve been toast!” she added. “Anyway…”

“Says here something about Librus and his ‘regalia’ – any idea who that is?”

Ornella’s ears perked up.

“Give me that,” she said. “Let me have a look.”

The druid’s yellow eyes gleamed like citrine gems – it was as if she had hit a jackpot.

“That’s a map to one of the Librus Regalia – part of a powerful set of artifacts that, when assembled, could supposedly dispel the region’s darkness.” Ornella explained.

Nelamon took off his glasses in shock.

“What? No way,” he said. “That’s… That’s no ordinary treasure – that’s serious business to be made!”

“I can’t believe you just had this in your backpack the whole time!” Ornella exclaimed. “What other ludicrously important stuff you’ve got stashed in there, huh?!”

“Hey now, I’m not well-versed in Old Soloastrian lore, okay?” Bardette replied. “I’m a Marinellian gal through and through.”

Sure enough, Bardette’s backpack had a peculiar flag patch on it – one made by tailors from Marinell, who have a tendency to “sign” their creations with their flag like it’s some sort of national brand label.

Duchy of Marinell, part of the Hessandrel Empire

“A fellow Marinellian, huh?” Ornella said. “Girl, let me tell you – you give us a bad name.”

“True Marinellians know better than to stay there – the food sucks and the weather is awful.” Ornella scoffed. “That’s what makes us the best sailors on Astoria, after all.”

“That being said, thanks for telling us about that map of yours.” she said. “Takes some balls to share that sort of thing.”

“If I were you, I’d keep it well-hidden.” Hulrik added. “Plenty of people would kill for that knowledge.”

“I think we should be thanking you instead.” Nelamon interjected. “Without that bit of lore, we probably would’ve tossed the thing away without a care in the world.”

“How come you’ve never heard of Librus?” Ornella scoffed. “Why are you even here in the first place?!”

“That’s exactly why we’re in the Colony, and not in the mainland.” Nelamon replied. “I’m here for business, not exploration – Although my associate would beg to differ.”

“I’m willing to bet that, were it not for your curiosity, Bardette would’ve written gibberish all over the map and turned it into a first level spell scroll, or better yet, tissue paper.” the ranger said.

Ornella clenched her fist with the rage befitting a true anthropologist:

“Does… Does she do that often?” she said through her teeth.

Bardette shuddered.

“NO!” the bard objected. “He’s lying, no, never, I don’t – promise… haha!”

“Now, how about we get back to Mr Brooks?” Bardette blurted out, changing the subject. “I’m sure he’s got a hefty reward for all of you.”

“Fair point.” Hulrik said. “Let’s go.

At the Eye of the Beholder agency, the party claimed a humble reward of 200 gp from private investigator Brooks. Bardette was rather disappointed to learn that her life was worth less than the sack of ritual components she gave to Ornella a bit earlier, but that disappointment quickly faded after being told she would receive some gold as well, being a new party member and all.

Once all business had been taken care of, Aureus and Reverwyn returned to the agency covered in mud and blood, declaring they weren’t able to go very far into the sewer system before something chased them away.

Bardette immediately grew suspicious – having lived in Bay City long enough to know how its sewers operate, she knew they were mud-free and well-maintained. The only way Aureus and Reverwyn could’ve gotten this dirty is if they intentionally removed the grates from the sewage canals and jumped right in – even then, they’d be wet, but not quite as muddy.

She considered suggesting that the two party members didn’t even attempt their quest at all. Ultimately, Bardette figured she was probably overthinking the situation, and followed her new party to their place so she could drop off her luggage and get to meet the other party members.

At home however, while Ornella was buried deep in research and Hulrik was cooking dinner, the bard noticed something strange after returning to her room – someone had to have been in there, as her backpack wasn’t where she had originally left it. Notably, it was also half-opened.

“Nothing seems to be missing.” she thought. “Weird.”

“Maybe I did leave it on my bed after all?”

Chapter 5: Epilogue

It was midnight in Bay City. All the party members were sleeping, including Bardette and Nelamon.

But not Reverwyn.

Something was gnawing at her. It was her curiosity.

Previously, she had agreed to ditch the sewer mission and instead help Aureus gather leads on a scroll he was after. The two had to track down a witch apprentice all the way to her cabin in a nearby bog, hence all the mud.

Initially, Rev didn’t think much of it. A wizard looking for a scroll isn’t something out of the ordinary, after all.

But for whatever reason, the drow rogue couldn’t help but wonder why Aureus urged her to be so secretive about it.

Just then, something startled her – Reverwyn heard a heated argument coming from somewhere outside the house. Armed with a dagger and a lantern, she sneaked out to listen in, only to find Aureus speaking to some sort of horned apparition. Upon closer inspection, the wizard was chatting with the spectral visage of some type of fiend.

“You’ve got quite the lead, haven’t you now?” the fiend said. “A treasure map to the next artifact – you’re making this look easy!”

“Don’t get too excited.” Aureus said sternly. “I still need to get my hands on the damn thing.”

“I know, I know – but,” the fiend said. “Need I remind you that our contract has a time constraint?”

Reverwyn widened her eyes.

“The wizard cavorts with devils?” she thought to herself. “I was led to believe he was a bumbling idiot, but this… This is very much unlike his everyday self.”

“What other secrets does he hold?”

The rogue stepped closer to hear the wizard’s conversation better.

“You should be glad that your work is coming along quickly,” the fiend said. “Otherwise I’d have to… motivate you, if you know what I mean.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Aureus grumbled. “I have everything under control.”

“Good!” the devil’s apparition exclaimed. “I will be seeing you next astrer then.”

“Or should I say, next tenday?” he chuckled. “You know, since we’re in Old Soloastria and all.”

“Yeah, yeah – just go away already.” Aureus groaned. “I can’t find your MacGuffins for you if I don’t get some sleep first.”

With that, the spectral visage of the fiend faded away, and Aureus quietly returned to the party’s lodgings, unaware that Reverwyn was snooping on him the whole time.

“What are you not telling me, wizard?” she thought to herself. “You trust me enough to ignore the other party members, their missions, their concerns – but this?”

“Just you wait – I will have you tell me everything.”