Chapter 1: Rude Awakening

In the morning following our heroes’ latest escapades, some kind of guest came knocking – an assistant of Mr Brooks, seeking to inform the party on a new quest that just came up.

“Give it a rest, errand boy.” Reverwyn scoffed. “The day hardly even started.”

The young human messenger remained persistent, standing at the door to Reverwyn’s room that she had just slammed shut in front of him. Suddenly, he heard a yawn from across the hotel hallway. A half-naked elf with a head full of messy, blonde hair was making her way to the bathroom.

“Mornin’,” the elf said. “Slept well?”

“A-Are you by any chance M-Miss Fievarne?” the errand boy stammered.

“Yup.” Ornella murmured. “Wait a minute, you’re not Enix-”

The druid jumped. She quickly covered herself up, as she was wearing nothing but underwear and slippers.

“Oh gods, so sorry – I don’t usually parade around like that, you know?”

“N-No, it’s fine, I-” the boy said.

“I just thought you were one of my crew, that’s all.” Ornella interjected. “Now, tell me.”

“What are you even doing here at this hour?” she asked. “It’s barely a quarter past six, innit?”

The errand boy, still a bit bewildered and possibly having awakened something inside him, tried to forget about the whole ordeal and focus on his job.

“Mr Brooks, he uhh,” he stammered. “He wanted to let you know t-there’s a new job for you – i-if you’re not terribly busy right now, of course!”

Reverwyn opened the door to her room – it slowly creaked open in a matter almost as menacing as the stare she was judging her druidic friend with.

“Way to go, Ornella – demoralizing the youth first thing in the morning.” she said.

The drow’s gaze turned to the errand boy.

“What does the Old Fart want this time, huh?” Reverwyn asked.

“So we’re just going to call him an Old Fart from now?” Ornella interjected.

“You said it first.” Reverwyn replied. “Remember?”

“Oh yeah, my bad.” Ornella yawned again. “Right, anyway – what’s today’s mission?”

“From what I r-remember, it was a, umm…” the boy murmured. “A traffic ring, of some sort?”

Ornella and Reverwyn stared at him dumbfounded.

“Who the what now?” Ornella asked.

The boy started sweating.

“Oh, great – I forgot the one thing I had to tell them!” he thought to himself. “I’m so screwed…”

“You mean a humanoid trafficking ring?” Reverwyn attempted to correct him.

“Woah now, isn’t that a bit extreme for an entry level adventuring par-” Ornella tried to say.

“YES!” the boy exclaimed, interrupting the elf. “That’s it!”

“Mr Brooks wanted you to investigate this ‘humanoid trafficking ring’, or something like that.” he added. “Mr Brooks also said it might be connected to the government.”

“Must be a powerful ring then.” he joked. “A-Anyway, best of luck to you all – I should probably get going now…”

The boy left the hotel. Ornella had something to say about it:

“You know, Rev?”

“Hmm?” the drow woman murmured.

“I sometimes feel bad for dragging Enix into our adventures – with him being quite young, and all.” Ornella said.

“Something tells me our contractor doesn’t share the same sentiment for his workers, though.” she added.

“Oh please,” Reverwyn scoffed. “He was probably just a mere intern – best not to bother him with the gruesome details.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” Ornella replied.

“Must be a powerful ring then.” she quoted the boy.

The elf chuckled half-heartedly.

“I wish I was still this innocent.”

The uncomfortable silence was broken by Enix’s door creaking open.

“Morning, everyone.” he murmured during stretching.

“I heard some talking – is everything alright?” the tiefling asked.

“Our private investigator had sent us an errand boy with a new job.” Reverwyn replied.

“Oh yeah – big one.” Ornella added. “If we confirm his suspicions, the government might come under fire.”

“Woah now, really?” Enix asked. “Wow…”

“The Colony sure has some nasty politics.” he said. “First prison islands, then shadow wizards, and now what?”

“A humanoid trafficking ring.” Reverwyn stated coldly.

“By the grace of Lindemayen – a WHAT?” Enix exclaimed

The rogue raised her eyebrows.

“Hold on, you worship a deity of servitude?” Reverwyn asked.

The drow woman was overcome with hideous, nasal laughter. The act of actively worshipping a deity – a divine leech whose strength comes from its worshippers –  seemed already pathetic enough in Reverwyn’s eyes. But to worship the deity of loyalty, service, and order? A laugh riot – that’s what she felt it was.

Once Rev had finished snorting, she said:

“It all makes sense now – why did you not tell us sooner, squire boy?”

“We could have had a great laugh back in Ventasca.”

Enix wasn’t thrilled – not even a little amused – he sulked for a bit before going inside Sylphie’s room to wake her up for the new quest.

“Not cool.” Ornella said. “He’s serious about that kind of stuff, you know?”

Reverwyn groaned, then walked away without a hint of regret, seemingly still chuckling at the thought of her colleague’s unironic Lindemayen worship.

Having woken everyone up, Enix suggested that the party should split into two groups so they can focus on two quests at the same time. Ornella initially didn’t know what the young paladin was talking about, but then she remembered that Aureus and Reverwyn had failed or otherwise ignored their sewer mission a day prior.

In order to keep a closer eye on them – as well as to make sure they actually get the job done this time around – Ornella gathered the two and, together with Hulrik, decided their group would investigate the sewers.

Following a brief visit at the Eye of the Beholder agency, Enix learned that his master has supposedly been trying to bust the humanoid trafficking ring from their quest for quite some time now, and that it was precisely his last quest before he had gone missing. Fearing the worst, Enix began getting anxious at the thought of potentially coming face to face with a situation where he would have to rescue his master, unsure if he could do it.

The squire felt as if he wasn’t ready, although that didn’t stop Sylphie from reassuring him that things would turn out okay. The tiefling wasn’t sure if the cleric even believed in her own words, but her radiant positivity was enough to rekindle the spark of motivation that was still left in him.

Together with Sylphie, Nelamon, and Bardette, Enix headed to the supposed location of the trafficking ring, armed with his trusty dexterity-based longsword and a newfound determination to piece together the fate of his master, all the while Ornella’s chaps were descending down into the city sewer system.

Chapter 2: E. Coli-ogical Imbalance

Ornella and her friends have found themselves wandering aimlessly through the sewers, looking for leads on their investigation.

“Ugh. What a fantastic quest we have gotten ourselves into.” Reverwyn grumbled.

“I cannot believe the kid is dealing with real humanoid traffickers while we trudge through shit.” she added.

“What, you’d prefer the violent criminals?” Ornella said. “I’d rather crawl through the shitter than end up captured by slavers, I can tell you that much.”

Aureus looked around, just as disgusted to be in the sewers as Reverwyn was.

“Remind me again what we’re supposed to be doing here?” he said. “I think the putrid stench is messing with my memory.”

Ornella sighed.

“We’re looking for an Otyugh – a large, tentacled, bulette-like monster that feeds on trash and waste.” the druid explained.

“Why?” The dragonborn asked.

“Rumor has it the beast was agitated by something down there, and now it can’t do its job properly.” she added. “Got it?”

“So that’s why trash keeps piling up in the alley behind our hotel…” Aureus murmured. “The city’s whole waste disposal system is reliant on a sewer monster, and without it…”

“You have to admit: at least it’s creative.” Ornella interjected.

The party ventured deeper, navigating through dark tunnels with the help of Nikotynievich’s map of the sewer system. Several corridors later, they reached many skeletons in near pristine condition, none of them displaying signs of decomposition.

“That’s odd.” Aureus noted. “These look like decorative props.”

Ornella took a good look at the skeletons. On their pristinely-preserved bones, she spotted trails of strange mucus with a NATURAL 20 on her Investigation check.

“Carrion crawler mucus.” she murmured. “Fresh.”

“W-What now?” Hulrik shuddered.

“Giant bugs, Hulrik.” Aureus explained. “Flesh-eating bugs, no less.”

“Oh wonderful, I hate bugs…” Hulrik muttered.

“That’s perfectly understandable when it comes to these guys – carrion crawlers are no joke.” Ornella said. “Now then, let’s have a closer look…”

Ornella ran the carrion crawler mucus through her fingers. Having examined its consistency, she came to the conclusion that it was secreted a mere hour ago, and that the victims were still alive during digestion.

“Do they not eat corpses exclusively?” Reverwyn inquired.

“Usually, yes,” Ornella replied. “But they can get quite… adventurous, when they’re hungry.”

“Something must’ve driven them away from their habitat.” Ornella pointed at the sewer map.

“It says here that local carrion crawlers tend to hang out at the dead body disposal pit.” the druid explained.

“And yet here we are – presented with the bones of their victims not far from the entrance.” Reverwyn said.

“Exactly.” Ornella added. “That’s not just worrying – it’s a disaster waiting to happen.”

“That’s why I think we should-” she said.

A loud screech interrupted her from a few tunnels away. Ornella’s instinct told her only a humanoid throat could’ve made that sound.

“What… the fuck?” Reverwyn blurted out.

“Shh,” Hulrik whispered. “Better not let it hear us.”

“What do you mean by ‘it’?” Reverwyn asked.

“Hells if I know – but I don’t want to find out.” the dwarf replied.

Meanwhile, the druid focused her hearing on the north-western tunnel, to no avail. It was only when she

“Whatever that sound was, it came from the ONLY part of the sewers we haven’t entered yet.” Ornella explained.

“Are you thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” she inquired.

“You don’t suppose we go after it?!” Aureus whimpered.

“That I do, wizard.” Ornella replied. “That I do.”

Reluctantly following the druid, the party headed to investigate the origin of the blood-curdling screech they heard earlier.

What they found were a bunch of carrion crawlers protecting their young from a vaguely-humanoid figure. The figure snatched the very last baby bug before promptly retreating into a narrow hole in a wall.

Enraged and still on edge, the carrion crawlers mistook the party for the strange figure’s acquaintances, deciding to lash out on the adventurers.

“Great…” Hulrik sighed.

Time to roll initiative!

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

Ornella approached one of the carrion crawlers and attempted to console it.

“Try to pacify them, guys!” Ornella exclaimed. “They’re important for this place’s ecosystem – knock them out non-lethally, if you must.”

“Now, as for you…” she slowly approached the giant bug in front of her.

Her measly Animal Handling roll of 8 paled in comparison to the monster’s roll of 21 on his Wisdom saving throw – the creature remained hostile, and Ornella wasted an action.

“Damn it!” Ornella grumbled. “Come on – listen to me, bug!”

While that was happening, Reverwyn successfully snuck up on Carrion Crawler no. 2 and surprised the monster with a swift yet precise strike of her rapier, leaving a gaping wound in the creature’s abdomen.

Seeing two other monsters huddled close together in a narrow corridor, Aureus blocked their way with a Cloud of Daggers. The sudden whirlwind of blades piercing their skin sent the bugs into a fight-or-flight frenzy.

“Hey, asshole!” Ornella exclaimed. “I was going to wrangle those two – now you’ve gone and riled them up!”

“Uh huh, because it sure worked out nicely for you the first time around, didn’t it?” Aureus said mockingly.

Pelted by floating daggers yet again, Carrion Crawler no. 1 attempted to retreat away from the fight and further into its newfound nest in a part of the sewer it doesn’t belong in.

“Y’think their migration is what agitated the otyugh?” Ornella asked her teammates.

“I hope so – it’s a comfortable, easy answer.” Aureus responded. “It’d also mean we won’t have to find out who that baby-stealing freak was.”

“Focus, people!” Hulrik exclaimed. “We can’t let those bugs get away!”

Having whiffed his lunging attack against Carrion Crawler no. 2, Hulrik used his Action Surge to try the same move again, this time landing his strike while also activating his Handy Handaxe’s Crippling Blow ability.

Having failed its Constitution saving throw, the monster was restrained with only 5 hit points remaining.

On its turn, the giant bug failed its Constitution saving throw yet again. In spite of being restrained, however, it managed to land a bite attack on Reverwyn, dealing 13 damage total and poisoning her with its paralyzing tentacles. While poisoned, Reverwyn was paralyzed.

Our heroes’ lucky streak was over, as the third carrion crawler rushed through a Cloud of Daggers to help its brethren, avoiding opportunity attacks from both Ornella and Hulrik.

“Somebody stop that thing!” the dwarf exclaimed.

Aureus knew that the paralysis inflicted on Reverwyn would turn all the attacks directed towards her into critical hits. In a desperate effort to save his friend, the wizard used his reaction to try and taunt the bugs into attacking him.

“HEY!” he exclaimed. “Over here, you filthy freaks of nature!”

His unimpressive Performance roll of 8 was luckily enough to distract the carrion crawlers, as they rolled a 1 and a 2 on their Charisma saving throws respectively.

“COME AND GET ME!” the dragonborn shouted.

Carrion Crawler no. 3 used a Dash action to try and reach the wizard, but didn’t make it all the way.

Ornella thought about Nikotynievich’s briefing:

“Don’t exterminate. Relocate.”

“To hells with it…” Ornella thought to herself. “I’m sorry, Old Fart – there was no other way.”

Seeing as the bug was still crippled and would struggle with making Dexterity saving throws, Ornella burned the monster to a crisp with her Create Bonfire cantrip, torching the monster as it was helplessly crawling in place.

Reverwyn was unable to break free from her paralysis, but Aureus wasn’t going to let her get hurt.

“Magic Missile!” the wizard exclaimed, blasting Carrion Crawler no. 3 with darts of magical energy.

Upon hearing the death throes of its brethren, Carrion Crawler no. 1 returned to the fight, dashing right through the Cloud of Daggers that was still blocking the corridor.

“Finish them, Hulrik!” Aureus exclaimed.

The dwarf readied himself for one final swing.

“Hiii-yah!” he exclaimed.

And the dwarf delivered.

Upon being struck with a pushing attack, the giant bug was sent tumbling backwards into a crack in a wall, leading to some sort of sewage river with an unnaturally strong current. The monster, unable to get out, drowned unceremoniously in humanoid waste.

“I. Hate. Bugs.” Hulrik shuddered.

During round three, the party ganged up on the last remaining carrion crawler, successfully knocking it out via non-lethal means.

Aureus helped Reverwyn recover from her paralysis, and Hulrik decided the team earned themselves a well-deserved break. While others rested, Ornella inspected the pathway to the nest of the crawlers, finding that – while all the adults (except the one they knocked out) were dead – their eggs were still largely left intact.

“Good, good.” the druid thought to herself. “For a second there I was worried I took part in making these guys go extinct – the Old Fart would’ve gone furious.”

The elf sat on a pile of bones leftover from the bugs’ recent feast, breathing a sigh of relief, but not without sudden thoughts of self-doubt:

“Almost put the sewer ecosystem in jeopardy…” she thought. “Maybe mum was right – maybe I’m not cut out to be a druid after all?”

Meanwhile, Aureus found himself helping Reverwyn relax her muscles.

“Still stiff?” he asked.

“A little.” the drow replied. “Should be fine soon.”

Reverwyn blushed uncharacteristically.

“You know,” she said. “It was rather brave of you to taunt these monsters.”

“They would have snapped your wimpy body like a twig in one fell swoop, had they actually managed to reach you.”

“Well, what can I say?” The wizard shrugged. “I got lucky, that’s all.”

Reverwyn turned her eyes to the dragonborn.

“No – you saved my life, that is all.” she deadpanned.

“I think…” she said. “Now that I know I can trust you, I owe you an explanation.”

“Lean in.” she commanded.

Aureus got nervous, losing all his nonchalance in an instant.

“Lean. In.” Reverwyn repeated herself.

The dragonborn folded. He leaned in over the drow woman’s shoulder, awaiting… something romantic, surely?

“Do you know where I got these scales?” she whispered.

Aureus felt some sort of relief, as if he was glad to find the conversation not going into awkward territory.

“Hey, are you even listening?” Reverwyn scolded him.

“Y-Yeah, what? Who? Where?” The dragonborn stammered.

The rogue sighed. She grabbed the wizard by the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer.

“Long ago,” she started. “I was the most powerful I had ever been.”

“A majestic red dragon, gleefully watching over my hoard.”

Aureus widened his eyes.

“No way – tell me you’re bullshitting me!” Aureus exclaimed. “YOU? A dragon?!”

“Quiet!” the drow shushed him. “You must not let the others know, understood?”

“Alright, it’s just…” Aureus murmured. “I find that really hard to believe.”

Reverwyn reached for something from her backpack – a potion of sorts. She forcefully poured the liquid down the dragonborn’s throat, then took a sip as well.

“W-What did you-” Aureus thought.

“Our minds are connected now, for at least a minute.” Reverwyn interjected. “Peer into my memories if you do not believe me.”

“But… why?!” Aureus replied.

“Because frankly, I am OFFENDED by your disbelief!” she scowled. “Now go on, witness it for yourself.”

Aureus tried concentrating on his link with the drow woman, managing to navigate her headspace until he had finally accessed her memories. Sure enough, despite being reborn in a new body, Reverwyn still held the memories of her past life. Aureus got to see the dragon’s fight with some sort of adventuring party, feeling every arrow and every spell attack piercing her scales.

Overwhelmed by pain and fury that Reverwyn felt in the moment, Aureus pulled out of her thoughts, the whole experience leaving him short of breath.

“Do you believe me now?” Reverwyn asked mockingly.

The wizard was too stunned to speak, so he nodded his head in agreement instead.

“Now, like I said: I was powerful beyond belief – until one day, when I let my guard down, when I neglected to check on my defenses…”

“I found an adventuring party stealing from my glorious gemstone collection.”

“I roared to command all of my guards, only to realize these pitiful, little, plundering ants had somehow dispatched my kobold army long before I got there!”

“In a fit of rage, I tried to incinerate these prudent burglars – what I did not realize, however, was that they rigged my own traps against me.”

“They restrained me. Humiliated me.”

Reverwyn visibly grew more and more frustrated as she was recounting her backstory.

“But worst of all… They slayed me, and stole my hoard.”

“My saving grace was the fact that I always carried an amulet of reincarnation on standby.”

“Reborn as a drow – an equally proud and noble race – I vowed to one day reclaim my hoard, as well as my draconic form-”

“Did… Did you have that all… rehearsed?” Aureus interjected, breaking out of his initial shock. “There’s no way you didn’t practice this speech in front of a mirror, is there?”

Reverwyn was beet-red flustered, redder than Aureus had ever seen her before.

“S-So what!” she scoffed. “When you do something, anything, you have to give it your all – such is my philosophy!”

“Anyway…” she murmured. “That was my story.”

“Care to share yours?”

Before Aureus could open his mouth, Ornella called out to them from the other side of the carrion crawler nest.

“Hey, love birds!” she exclaimed. “We gotta get a move on – I found something horrific you guys will definitely want to see!”

Still stiff in the legs from her prior paralysis, Reverwyn struggled to stand up.

“Need some help?” Aureus asked jokingly.

“I can handle myself just fine.” Reverwyn said before promptly falling over.

“Can you?” Aureus said.

The smug look of pity on the wizard’s face was embarrassing Reverwyn beyond belief.

“Alright, I acquiesce – get over here and help me, four-eyes.” she grumbled.

Once she had finished stashing a clutch of carrion crawler eggs in her backpack, Ornella led her party further into the sewer system’s dank tunnels.

Chapter 3: The Knight-Errant

Having visited four different supposed locations of the humanoid trafficking ring mentioned in Nikotynievich’s briefing, Enix and his friends were starting to lose faith in the maps that the bugbear private investigator gave them.

“See? I told you, there’s nothing here – just a bunch of dumb sandstone rocks.” Nelamon said. “If only you trusted my tracking skills instead of this complete shithousery that Brooks called a map…”

“I mean seriously, had you followed my plan…”

“We would’ve already been-”

“Oh shut it, will you?!” Enix snapped.

Sylphie looked surprised to see the young paladin acting this way – the pressure was clearly getting to him.

“This mission is important to me, okay?” the tiefling said. “My master could be involved in this – I can’t risk following someone’s gut feeling when Master Andreus’s life is on the line!”

“I’m just saying – my gut feeling could’ve made our job a helluva lot easier.” Nelamon stated. “Follow my instinct, neutralize the targets, reap the sweet rewards – job done quickly and profitably, as it always is with me – I’m telling you-”

“I said knock it off already!” Enix snarled.

“If you don’t care about ANYTHING other than the so-called business you’re doing, that’s on you – but me?” Enix interrupted the ranger. “I’d go after these criminals for FREE if I had to.”

“So don’t you dare lecture me on how I should go about saving my loved ones, you self-centered, egotistical, opportunistic-”

“Boys, ENOUGH!” Sylphie exclaimed. “We’re not gonna get anywhere by arguing!”

“We’re supposed to act as a team unit, remember?” she added.

“Excuse you, just because I’m a bit short doesn’t mean I’m in the same age group as that unruly tiefling twerp!” Nelamon scoffed.

The tiefling clenched his fists. Had nobody done anything, a brawl would’ve broken out; luckily, Bardette managed to grab the ranger by his shoulder, pulling him aside for a moment.

“Look Nelly, I know you hate it when people don’t do stuff your way, but you have to hear the boy out!” the bard said.

The cleric stepped up:

“Mr Brooks gave us a handful of maps with possible coordinates, each one not that far from another.” Sylphie added. “Come on, Nelamon – it won’t hurt to go check them all first before going rogue!”

“Yeah, I mean seriously – lives are at stake here!” Bardette continued. “I know you’re a great tracker, Nelly, but we can’t risk going with just your intuition.”

“People could die.” the bard pouted. “Friends of our friends – think about that for a second.”

“Since when do you care about casualties?” Nelamon inquired. “Hasn’t ever been a problem for you before, has it?”

“That’s besides the point!” Bardette interjected. “Point is…”

“You have two options, so what do you say?” she added. “Wanna follow your intuition on your lonesome, possibly getting murked by a pack of dire wolves on your way there?”

“Or maybe you’ll do the sensible thing and be a good boy who’ll tag along with the group?” she said. “Hmm?”

“…” the ranger stood silent for a bit, adjusting his sunglasses so the bard wouldn’t see the embarrassment in his eyes.

“Fine.” he sighed. “Gods, you’re all so inefficient it hurts to watch…”

Bardette grabbed Enix by the arm and huddled him together with the ranger:

“Now, now: we can’t continue if you two are going to stay mad at each other!” the bard said sternly. “Go on Nelly, apologize.”

“What?!” the ranger exclaimed. “Me?!”

“Yes, you, you dingus.” Bardette said mockingly. “It’s you who stressed the poor boy out so hard he snapped at you!”

“No, it’s fine, really…” Enix tried to interject.

“Nuh uh, he needs to apologize to you.” Bardette retorted. “I won’t budge until he does.”

“Then we’ll go without you.” Nelamon replied.

“Oh please – you need me.” Bardette said confidently.

The ranger thought about the bard’s words for a moment, then acquiesced after she gave him a wink:

“Okay, maybe so.”

“Enix…” he sighed.

“I… apologize for, uhh,” the ranger stammered. “For slighting… No, wait…”

“You know what – I’m sorry.” he corrected himself. “There, I said it.”

“I got all bitchy because you guys didn’t listen to me – I like being in control,” Nelamon continued. “And there’s no use sugarcoating it.”

Bardette looked satisfied with his apology, but Nelamon kept going:

“Also, like you said: I’m not used to caring about things that don’t benefit me in some way – that’s why I always aim to get my job done quickly and efficiently – get it done my way, I mean.”

“But, moving forward,” he said. “I’ll, at the very least, try to be more considerate.”

“We clear on that?”

“Crystal.” Bardette smiled. “What do you think, Enix?”

The tiefling nodded agreeably.

“Good!” the bard rejoiced. “Now, let’s see where the other maps lead…”

Before she could unravel another map scroll, however, Bardette heard a loud “click” coming from somewhere behind one of the huge sandstone rocks. The click was followed by the revelation that inside one of the rocks was a revolving door mechanism, which had just sprung open.

On the now-visible side of the revolving door stood a confused bandit, who had presumably just finished using an elevator of sorts.

“This… Isn’t my floor.” he said.

Before the bandit could raise his voice again, he was knocked unconscious by a swift yet delicate blow to the back of the head.

The perpetrator? A tall, raven-haired elf woman, wearing distinctively randwynnian plate armor (for those with great eyes for smithing, like Enix or Sylphie).

“H-Hello?” Sylfira cautiously approached the mysterious knight.

“Stand back, citizens.” she said. “I am in the midst of a perilous quest…”

“No way, so are we!” Bardette chimed in. “Are you after the traffickers too?”

The elf widened her eyes.

“W-What…” she murmured. “How do you know about-”

“Oh, don’t mind me – I was just guessing!” Bardette replied.

Sylphie narrowed her eyes, attempting to recognize the elf, feeling as if she had already seen her face before.

“The posters in Ventasca we saw on the day before sailing…” the cleric thought to herself.

“A hero of sorts, was she?” she continued her train of thought. “No, it can’t be her – she’s been gone for decades – or maybe?”

With a nervous gulp, Sylphie spoke:

“Umm…”

“Are you from Randwynn, by any chance?” she said. “That armor looks vaguely Randwynnian, you know.”

The elf froze for a moment before regaining her composure and finally responding:

“Why do you ask?”

“I think I saw your face plastered all over the capital.” the cleric continued. “Like, a political campaign, or something.”

The elf knight immediately connected the dots together. The Cavalieri, Randwynn’s republican side in politics, must’ve finally advanced from simply endorsing her to making her the symbol of their movement.

“Lindemayen’s grace, those fools…” the elf sighed. “I pleaded to them to not put me on any form of pedestal, and yet here they are…”

“They probably don’t even know I’m still alive…” she thought to herself.

“Can anyone tell me what in the hells is going on right now?” Nelamon said. “I’m at a loss, honestly.”

“Ahem…” the elf continued.

“My name is Sienna Picarello – I am a wandering knight, currently investigating the case of a dangerous, humanoid trafficking ring.”

“Please, step aside and let me do my job.” she commanded. “It is for your own safety…”

Enix, who hadn’t quite caught up with the group until now, as he took a brief break to pray to Lindemayen, immediately jolted at the mention of the elf’s name.

“NO WAY.” he exclaimed, rushing past Sylphie and almost knocking the big genasi woman over.

“A-Are you… Are you really her?” he stammered. “Miss Picarello?”

The tiefling’s light-blue eyes sparkled like diamonds, and his face housed an embarrassingly excited expression – one of a youngster meeting his idol for the first time.

“Oh lord…” Sienna sighed.

“Yes, I suppose I am,” she added. “But please, do not make a fuss out of it.”

“I am… in exile, at the moment – I cannot let people know I’m here, in Old Soloastria.”

“But why?” Enix inquired. “You’re Sienna – the Elven Hero – the living legend of Randwynn!”

“Young adventurers dream of being like you – not just from Randwynn, mind you – from all around Astoria!” he added. “Like me!”

“Why would you go into exile, Miss Picarello?” he asked.

“It is a private matter – let us drop it for now.” the knight replied sternly.

“O-Oh, okay, I’m sorry.” Enix stammered. “I’m just… Oh man – I can’t believe I got to see you in person, Miss Picarello!”

“Huge fan, isn’t he?” Nelamon whispered to Sylfira.

“So it seems – I didn’t even know, honestly!” the cleric whispered back.

Meanwhile, Sienna sighed:

“Now, now – off you go, boy.”

“I don’t want to see you or your friends getting hurt.”

Enix frowned.

“We’re… We’re not leaving, Miss Picarello.” he said, standing his ground.

“I-I mean, we’re grateful for the concern – really – but,” he continued. “My master is in danger – he was sent to investigate the ring, but hasn’t come back since!”

“As his squire, it is my duty to find him!”

Hearing the tiefling’s words made Sienna’s stomach churn. As a fellow worshipper of Lindemayen, the deity of loyalty and the patron of knights and squires, she felt compelled to allow the boy to do his thing – yet at the same time, putting him and his friends in danger would be something she could never forgive herself, if gone wrong.

“Are you sure you lot can handle yourselves?” Sienna asked. “I do not wish to have your blood on my hands…”

“Yeah, piece of cake!” Bardette exclaimed. “Since we’re all here for the same reason, we might as well work together, right?”

“Are you absolutely, positively sure?” Sienna inquired once more.

“Yes, yes, let’s just get on with it already.” Nelamon groaned. “Ornella and the others are probably already done with their quest by now…”

“Right then.” the knight said. “Follow me, down into the elevator…”

“They carved an elevator… in a rock?” Nelamon inquired. “And with a revolving door, no less… Crafty little criminals, these guys.”

“These traffickers are not mere brutish bandits.” the elf explained. “I have been tracking them for weeks now – they are a rather sophisticated lot, I believe.”

“Hidden entrances, advanced mechanisms, bases littered with traps…”

“Make sure you watch your step…”

Upon descending down the elevator, the party was surprised to find that Sienna had already cleared most of the trafficking ring’s guards and scouts.

Walking past a dozen unconscious and restrained bandits, our heroes were stopped by the elven hero just as they were about to enter a lit-up tunnel.

“Shh…” Sienna whispered. “This is the way to the prisoners…”

“Then why don’t we go in?” Bardette asked.

“We need to be tactical about this!” Nelamon retorted. “You don’t expect just waltzing in will work, do you?”

“It worked last time – remember the fight with Seneriphus?” the bard replied, calling on the encounter with the shadow wizard.

“Point taken,” Nelamon admitted. “But still, we have to be-”

Before the ranger could finish his sentence, Enix was already attempting to sneak through the tunnel, determined to rescue Master Andreus from the hands of the traffickers.

“We’re not gonna make it, are we?” Nelamon thought, before quickly following the tiefling.

On the other side of the tunnel was a dingy cave full of crates, barrels, and cages. The crates were full of stolen belongings, the barrels were filled with cheap food to feed the prisoners, and the cages housed the prisoners themselves.

Enix’s eyes darted around the grotesque prison chamber, looking for his master – when they finally did, they sparkled with excitement.

Master Andreus, upon breaking his restraints, lunged at a bandit who was trying to put his hands on a young, ginger half-elf.

Eager to help his master heroically break out of the trafficking ring, Enix forgot about stealth entirely and rushed in to assist the half-orc knight.

“Master Andreus, it’s me!” the tiefling exclaimed.

The half-orc turned around for a moment, bewildered by the sight of his squire whom he had long thought dead, and vice versa for Enix.

However, this momentary distraction gave the bandit who Andreus was fighting enough time to grab the half-orc from behind and put a dagger to his throat, stopping Enix in his tracks by paralyzing him with fear.

“O-One wrong move, and this guy GETS IT!” the bandit shouted, frantically waddling away with Andreus.

Sienna rushed in, attempting to diffuse the situation.

“Let us be civil about this.” she said. “Let the man go, and we will let you off the hook…”

The bandit stopped for a moment, still holding a dagger to Master Andreus’s throat. He pondered his options, before hearing distant footsteps coming from deeper down the cave. His reinforcements had arrived.

Shifting his stance to a more confident one, the bandit faced the heroes once again, this time brandishing a smug expression:

“Oh, right, just like how you let my friends go earlier?”

“I saw you sneaking in here earlier. We were expecting you.”

“But you were not expecting backup, were you?” Sienna said, pointing towards her new teammates.

“No, but you haven’t either!” the bandit laughed, and as he did, several other thugs started pouring out from the many tunnels connected to the prison cavern, whose orange, fire-lit walls were about to be covered in blood.

As the bandit was cackling like a maniac, his dagger inching closer and closer to the half-orc’s throat, Andreus knew exactly what was going to happen. Before anything, he told his squire:

“Enix… You were the best.”

“The fact you’ve tracked me all the way to this hellhole – you’re admirable, my good son.”

“See you on the other side, boy.” the half-orc added. “I’m about to die a Lindemayen death…”

With all his might, Andreus broke out of the bandit’s chokehold, and slammed him right into an empty cage before blocking its gate with a wooden plank.

Enix, Sienna, and the others took their fighting stances, readying their strikes against incoming waves of bandits.

Picking up a rusty pickaxe, the half-orc knight began running past every cage in the cavern, smashing their locks with the mining tool, all while bandit reinforcements were pelting him with volleys of shortbow arrows.

“Go, Enix!” he exclaimed. “Save the prisoners while I hold these bastards off!”

Enix and Sylphie shielded the captured civilians, while Sienna and Nelamon were holding the backline.

For every captive freed, Andreus took a pair of arrows to his body. Once all were freed, Enix’s master looked more like a pin cushion than a half-orc.

The paladin relentlessly fought off waves upon waves of encroaching bandits, in spite of his grievous wounds.

“COME AND GET ME, YOU SCUM!” he shouted. “YOU CAN NEVER TRULY KILL ME!”

A devastating blow from a morningstar right to his ribcage sent Andreus tumbling backwards, practically impaling his lungs on his own broken ribs.

Enix dropped what he was doing and rushed towards his master, only to realize he had no spell slots left for healing, nor any uses of Lay on Hands left.

“No, M-Master Andreus…” Enix cried out. “Stay with me!”

“Enix, my boy…” Andreus caressed the tiefling’s cheek, wiping the tears off his face, before gazing off into the distance to see Bardette and Sylfira escorting the prisoners out of the hideouts – the very same prisoners that Enix was just diligently protecting.

“I’m proud of you, son – more than ever.”

“Keep fighting the good fight…” he murmured, losing his strength.

“No, no, NO!” the tiefling panicked. “Please, get up, Master!”

“PLEASE!” he pleaded. “…wait…”

“H-Here, drink this!” Enix added.

The squire poured a healing potion down his master’s throat, seeing a visible improvement to his wounds, but no indication of regaining his strength.

“You’ll be fine, I promise, j-just…” Enix said. “Get up, Master – I’ll get you out of here!”

Enix tried lifting the half-orc, but the man was just too heavy. Beaten but not defeated, the squire dragged his master’s weakened body across the floor as fast as he could.

Nelamon ran out of arrows, and Sienna was busy clashing swords with three thugs simultaneously. Enix had to rescue his master all on his own.

“Please, leave me here, boy…” Andreus murmured. “I can’t go on anymore…”

“DON’T SAY THAT!” the tiefling exclaimed. “DON’T YOU DARE DIE ON ME RIGHT NOW – We’re getting out of here, TOGETHER OR NOT AT ALL!”

With newfound resolve, Enix had managed to drag his master almost all the way to the elevator, waiting for it to come back down after Sylphie and Bardette took it to free the prisoners. Nelamon and Sienna moved towards the elevator as well, retreating from overwhelming forces.

“We’re toast.” Nelamon muttered. “I’ve no arrows left – just this stupid rapier!”

“Hold the line…” Sienna said. “We have to take the elevator before-”

The sound of a burning arrow flying through the air interrupted the elven hero mid-sentence.

To her immediate delight, the arrow missed.

To her subsequent horror, she realized that the arrow wasn’t heading for her in the first place.

Enix couldn’t believe his eyes. He fell to his knees in despair.

The arrow hit Master Andreus in-between the eyes, killing him instantly.

Worst of all, it wasn’t just a flaming arrow. The arrow had a fire bomb strapped to it, and the fuse was about to go off.

Upon noticing it, Nelamon jumped away – Enix, however, was too shocked to move.

Sienna had no choice but to lunge at Enix and push him away from the blast’s radius.

Now laying on the floor, the squire was left traumatized and breathless, forced to watch the fire bomb go off and send the elf knight flying into a distant cavern wall at full force.

Initially blinded by the explosion, Enix had regained his senses, and could see blown-up chunks of flesh falling from the cavern’s ceiling.

To his horror, the tattered remains of his Master’s head fell right into his lap.

Enix wanted to scream, but he couldn’t.

He wished to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come.

Instead, he was paralyzed – whether with fear or with guilt was uncertain.

What was certain, however, was that he would never forget this scene, no matter how much he’d try to keep it out of his mind later down the line.

With Andreus dead, the young paladin shell shocked, and Nelamon out of resources, there was no-one to enter the elevator as it was finishing to descend. At this rate, Sylphie and Bardette would likely never see their friends again.

That was until something had moved in the distance. The sounds of metal clanking were all that could be heard by the confused, smoke-blinded bandits.

“We killed them all, didn’t we?” one of them said, panicking. “Who’s left?!”

“Wait…” another one added. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” the previous bandit replied.

Then, he heard the sound his friend was referring to. A low growl, coming from behind them – the kind of sound a predator makes before lunging at their prey.

A pair of red eyes shone through clouds of smoke and cave dust, before snatching one of the bandits into the shadows of the dark cavern.

“JACK?!” the first bandit exclaimed. “JACK, WHAT THE FUCK – WHAT WAS… – WHERE ARE YOU?!”

When the dust had settled, the thug saw some sort of monster gorging on Jack’s corpse – although still not seeing very well, the bandit could clearly hear the sounds of bones crunching and flesh being ripped apart.

“J-Jack…?” he muttered in a terrified, high-pitched voice.

The other bandits held their weapons tightly, bracing themselves for the dramatic reveal of what happened to their friend – or rather, what was left of him.

Suddenly, the monster got up from the ground, and turned to face the leftover bandits.

A knight with blood-stained plate armor, covered from head to toe in human entrails. Her claws were as sharp as the gaze in her piercing red eyes.

The elven hero-turned-monster, brandishing her glaive, stared her enemies down in total silence, letting out no sound other than that of the drops of blood dripping from her armor.

Sienna wasn’t in control anymore.

Strigosis took over.

With a blood-curdling screech, the strigoi knight lunged at the bandits, brandishing both her claws and her glaive, tearing the first row of enemies limb from limb.

Overtaken by panic, none of the archers could shoot straight, let alone string their bows properly. Sienna – or rather, the strigoi side of her – made quick work of them as well, leaving behind only gore and guts in the wake of her rampage.

The more she slaughtered, the stronger and faster she got.

The bandits fell one by one, until there were none in sight.

And then there was one. The one bandit the strigoi knight had overlooked.

One traumatized bandit, kneeling on the ground, surrounded with remains of his brethren.

Bearing her claws, the vampiric monstrosity was about to tear into the last remaining bandit, but not before she was blinded by a bolt of holy light.

The strigoi knight blacked out, and the cleric who shot her unconscious escorted the bandit to the elevator.

“Are you alright?!” she said. “Enix, are you alright?!”

It was no bandit. It was Enix.

Had it not been for Sylfira’s intervention, his idol would’ve turned him into mincemeat

As Enix was gazing at the unconscious body of the elven hero, Bardette had managed to drag Nelamon into the elevator.

“We’re going up, folks.” she said. “That’s enough gore for one day…”

Still very traumatized, the squire somehow managed to mutter out a single word:

“Don’t…”

“Excuse me?” Bardette inquired.

Enix held the elevator’s doors as they were closing.

“Don’t leave her here…” he murmured in a deadpan voice.

“Didn’t she turn on you just now?!” Sylphie exclaimed. “Are you crazy?!”

Enix walked out of the elevator with a blank facial expression, shambling his way towards Sienna’s body.

“She… She killed them all.” he muttered. “The bandits who… murdered my Master.”

The squire, through much difficulty, had managed to lift the knight and carry her on his back.

“She… saved me.” he added. “I won’t leave her here…”

“I won’t… disappoint… twice.” the tiefling said, out of breath.

Having successfully managed to drag Sienna’s body into the elevator, Enix fainted from exhaustion once his adrenaline had worn off.

“The boy has a point.” Nelamon added after fighting through his concussion.

“Were it not for… whatever happened with Sienna, the bandits would’ve killed us all.”

“Though I admit…” he continued. “I don’t think I ever want to see her like this again.”

The party quietly rode the elevator to the surface, where they reorganized, cleaned themselves up, and gave the freed prisoners food, supplies, and instructions on how to get back to their homes.

All prisoners went their way except one – the ginger half-elf that Andreus was trying to protect earlier. She claimed she had nowhere to go, and Sylphie offered her to follow the party all the way to Bay City to make sure she’s safe.

Once all was done, Nelamon pulled Bardette aside and whispered:

“You know, I think I’m done.”

“Huh?” Bardette muttered.

“I’m done with this adventuring party, Bardette.” the ranger added. “As soon as we’re finished with the Old Fart’s big gig, I’m out of here.”

“One last mission then?” Bardette asked.

“Yeah, exactly.” Nelamon replied.

“I wish I had some kind of snarky retort right now, but…” the bard started.

“I really don’t blame you, Nelly.” she continued. “I just hope you’ll change your mind.”

Bardette glanced over at Sylphie and Enix trying to wake Sienna up in the distance.

“After all…” she said. “I’ve grown to like these guys, y’know?”

“And leaving them now, while they’re in an especially rough spot…”

“I dunno – that’s just not cool, man.”

“If you do decide to leave, just know that I’m not coming with you.” she said. “We clear on that?”

“…Crystal.” Nelamon replied, feeling some sort of stomach-churning deja vu.

Chapter 4: Into the Sewerscape

Down in the sewers of Bay City, Ornella and her teammates had reached a dead end, finding no otyugh along the way.

“Surely we must’ve missed it, no?” Aureus asked.

“No shot, that thing’s HUGE.” Ornella replied. “There’s no way we would’ve missed it.”

“So we got lost, is what you are saying?” Reverwyn inquired.

“I…” Ornella said hesitantly. “Yeah, I guess so.”

The drow rogue sighed.

“Perfect.” she murmured. “Can you at least lead us out of here?”

“I’ll try, that’s for sure.” Ornella replied. “But not before trying something first…”

With her Passive Investigation, Ornella noticed several cracks in the wall of their supposed dead-end. Upon examining it more closely, the druid concluded that the wall was much, MUCH newer than the ones that were previously surrounding them.

This freshly-built albeit heavily damaged wall was, according to Ornella at least, “highly breakable”.

“You must be mad…” Reverwyn objected. “How are we going to break through that thing?”

“Just you wait and see.” Ornella said before taking a few steps back.

“Wild Shape: Warhorse!” she exclaimed.

Following her incantation, Ornella transformed into a powerful beast of impressive physical strength. Utilizing the creature’s charging ability, she rammed repeatedly into the wall until finally, it crumbled, revealing a secret, unmapped passageway on the other side.

“The otyugh cannot be there, can it?” Reverwyn inquired. “The passage is too small.”

Ornella returned to her humanoid form before addressing her friend’s concern:

“Yes, I suppose it can’t, but the thing can wait.” she said. “We’re not in that much of a hurry, are we?”

“A little detour won’t hurt – come on, guys!” the druid added before beginning to explore the passageway.

“Didn’t she just say we are lost?” Aureus asked Reverwyn.

“Yes.” the drow replied. “Yes she did.”

With a defeated sigh, the two followed Ornella. Hulrik was cautiously staying behind, making sure no more carrion crawlers were following the party.

On the other side of the passageway Ornella found some strange dungeon cell that was seemingly repurposed into a laboratory of sorts. In this laboratory, Ornella found research notes about a strange condition called “strigosis”.

“Huh, that’s neat.” she said.

“Why, what did you find in there?’ Hulrik said from afar.

“Oh, just some notes about a disease I’ve been researching.” Ornella replied, waving the papers. “Well, at least now I know it’s a disease, thanks to these findings here.”

“I was 99% certain that strigosis was a curse!” she added. “But maybe there’s even more to it…”

“Was it worth wasting our precious time?” Reverwyn sneered.

“Of course it was, can’t you see how excited I am about this?!” Ornella replied. “This will speed up my research by YEARS – not to mention, maybe I’ll find a cure!”

Aureus stepped into the secret laboratory to examine the notes for himself.

“So the curse that Nocturne had placed on the elves of Ylvindal…” Aureus started. “Developed into a viral disease, spreading not just from elf to elf…”

“…but also to other humanoids.” Ornella added.

The druid and the wizard stood in complete silence for a brief moment.

“Did you hear that?” Ornella asked.

“Hear what?” Andreus replied.

Suddenly, both heard multiple growls, followed by a loud roar in the distance.

“The otyugh!” Ornella exclaimed. “And something… something else.”

With her eyes frantically darting around the laboratory, the elf druid spotted a hidden subsection of the secret dungeon cell – a lower section – a small basement littered with empty cages, human remains, and rusty pieces of guard equipment.

“Fuck…” Ornella muttered. “It’s being hunted…”

“Hunted?!” Reverwyn exclaimed. “Something that huge? By what, exactly?”

“I, uhh… have a theory.” Ornella murmured. “But it’s not pleasant…”

The growls grew louder and louder, before eventually turning into screeches. Hulrik, who stood further behind, had a good understanding of where the noises were exactly coming from.

“It’s this tunnel right here!” the dwarf exclaimed. “Come on, let’s move!”

“Sure… run straight after a huge monster and several smaller ones chasing it,” Reverwyn said mockingly. “What a wonderful idea…”

In spite of her comment, Reverwyn begrudgingly followed Hulrik and Ornella, with Aureus joining them shortly afterwards. After many twists and turns, the four adventurers eventually came face to face with the stampeding sewer beast. According to Ornella’s observations, the otyugh was visibly terrified and its bulky legs were covered in claw marks.

Running after the beast was a pack of feral, zombie-like creatures. Pale and lanky, these predatory humanoids immediately confirmed Ornella’s fears:

The carrion crawlers from earlier must have migrated because something chased them out of their sewer nest.

That very thing was now chasing the Otyugh, eager to hunt the beast down with pack tactics.

“Strigoi!” Ornella exclaimed. “I called it!”

“Assuming the sewer monster will not trample us first,” Reverwyn said. “How low are our chances of survival against those wretched things?”

“Trust me,” Ornella smiled confidently. “You’ll do much better if I don’t tell you!”

Having said that, the elf druid jumped right into action, blasting the first few strigoi with her Burning Hands spell, then attempting to console the panicked otyugh.

The sewer beast didn’t budge. Instead, it continued to thrash around violently, flailing its tail hard enough to send Ornella flying.

“Watch out!” Hulrik warned the druid, too little too late.

Suddenly finding himself up close and personal with one of the feral strigoi, Aureus used a Shield spell to block his claws, fearing they might spread strigosis.

“Whatever you do, don’t get hit!” the wizard warned his teammates.

“G-Got it…” Ornella murmured, getting back on her feet before conjuring up a Flame Blade in her offhand.

Assuming a more confident, battle-ready stance, Ornella whipped out her scimitar and brandished it in her main hand. Using her two swords, she unleashed a flurry of blows against the vampiric undead, only to find they were resistant to her attacks.

“What?!” she exclaimed. “I’ve hardly left a dent in them!”

One of the strigoi retaliated against Ornella with a powerful claw attack that miraculously didn’t break through her skin. What the druid didn’t notice, however, was that two other strigoi were just about to grab her from behind and drag her to the ground – with the intention of eating her alive, of course.

Before they could attempt their grapples, however, Hulrik swooped in with his trusty handaxe to try and stop the sewer-dwelling flesheaters from feasting on Ornella.

Though successful in pushing them away from his teammate, Hulrik realized his handaxe wasn’t dealing much damage.

“Shit – thanks, Hulrik.” Ornella said. “I thought I was done for.”

“That being said…” she continued. “We can’t fight them directly – we have to come up with something else.”

“Like what?!” Reverwyn asked hurriedly as she was dodging enemy attacks.

“I think I’ve got an idea.” the elf druid said.

“Cover me, guys!” she added. “I’ll try my luck with the otyugh again!”

Aureus continued blasting the strigoi with cantrips, while Reverwyn focused on dodging their claw attacks and leading them away from Ornella.

As the elf druid was running to catch up with the panicking sewer beast, one of the feral strigoi lunged at her out of the shadows, only to be stopped in the nick of time with a loud thud.

The thud came from Hulrik swinging his shield with all his might at the vampiric undead while it was airborne, knocking it out of the air and quite possibly breaking its skull.

The creature laid defeated on the ground, though twitching and spasming instead of actually dying.

The dwarf fighter watched in horror as the strigoi he just pummelled began rapidly regenerating, contorting its flesh to seal its wounds and snapping its broken bones back into place.

With a terrifying screech, the flesheater rose from the ground once more, ready to strike.

“Go, Ornella – NOW!” Hulrik exclaimed. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep them at bay!”

After turning a few corners, Ornella was finally face to face with the terrified sewer beast. Sensing the otyugh’s fear, she approached the monster very slowly, making sure to show she’s not a threat.

“Easy now, easy…” she whispered. “Let me help you…”

Following a successful Animal Handling check, the druid managed to console the beast, who even allowed her to pat its head.

“There we go, good boy!” Ornella chuckled. “Now, let’s go save my friends, shall we?”

Hulrik, Aureus, and Reverwyn were swiftly running out of resources, practically wrestling the strigoi in sewage water at this point, desperately keeping their enemies’ claws and fangs as far away from their skin as possible.

Suddenly, before one of the strigoi could sink its teeth into Reverwyn’s neck, it hesitated upon hearing loud stomps coming from a nearby sewer tunnel.

This allowed the drow rogue to escape, though the vampiric undead followed suit.

…only to be met with a stampeding otyugh, now mounted by Ornella.

“Out of the way, Rev!” the druid yelled. “HEAVY WEAPONS COMING THROUGH!”

With a triumphant roar, the sewer beast trampled the strigoi with ease, turning the monster into red paste before rapidly approaching its pack members.

One by one, the strigoi were being lifted into the air by the otyugh’s many tentacles, then slammed against the sewer walls with loud thuds, shaking the entire tunnel.

Once all strigoi were eliminated and could no longer regenerate, Ornella pacified the sewer beast before dismounting it.

The elf took a good look at her teammates, all covered in mud and sewage, but at the very least safe and sound. Then, she took a look at the sewer beast, contently wagging its many tentacles and no longer afraid of any invasive creatures. The party’s sewer mission was officially complete.

“Job well done!” Ornella said. “That was fun, wasn’t it?”

“Fun…” Reverwyn murmured. “Yeah, right.”

“Let’s hit up Mr Brooks before it gets too dark!” Ornella said.

“Gods, at least let us shower first!” Aureus interjected.

“He’s right.” Hulrik added. “It would be best to clean up before seeing our contractor.”

“Right, sorry.” Ornella replied. “Anyway, you guys can go first – I’ll take a closer look at those lab research notes while I’m waiting for my turn.”

Aureus tried wringing the sewage water that soaked into his tie, but to no avail. With a displeased look, he said:

“Then you’ll be waiting a while, Ornella – I don’t think I’ve ever been this dirty in my entire life…”

Chapter 5: The Real Sienna

Ornella, done with her sewer mission and after having taken a closer look at the research notes found in the lab within, was awaiting for the arrival of Sylphie and the others from their own quest. Growing increasingly worried and impatient, she remembered she was supposed to take a quick shower, and did so immediately.

Overtaken by a state of complete and utter overthinking, pondering the research notes from earlier, Ornella’s “quick shower” took quite some time. Even then, there were still no signs of Sylphie, Enix, Bardette, or Nelamon once Ornella had finished washing herself up. Instead, someone completely unexpected knocked on the door of her hotel room.

It was a tall elf knight with raven-colored hair and desaturated blue eyes – a Randwynnian hero of urban legend, whose heroics inspired stories that reverberated all across New Soloastria and beyond.

“Oh shit!” Ornella gasped. “Hang on, let me get dressed.”

The elf druid slammed the door shut in front of the legendary figure, hurriedly taking off her nightgown and dressing up in her everyday clothes.

Having opened the door once more, she said:

“Wait a minute, I think Hulrik left the stove on – I’ll get back to you in a minute, I swear!”

“Please, listen-” the elf knight spoke, but was shut down by the door yet again.

Finally, upon opening the door for a third time, Ornella greeted the hero properly:

“Come in, Elven Hero – follow me to my room.”

The knight hesitated to enter, thinking the druid was messing with her.

“What’s the hold up?” Ornella asked mockingly. “Come on in!”

The knight followed Ornella into her room, only to be greeted with a tripwire trap that sent her tumbling down the hotel stairs. Once the knight was prone, Ornella incapacitated her with a swift hit from a frying pan to the head.

Upon regaining her consciousness, the knight woke up bound to a chair with ropes.

“Be honest – did you really think I would fall for that?” Ornella said.

The knight, still shocked from blunt force trauma to the head, didn’t know what to say. She decided to stay quiet for the time being, as she felt like her head was still unable to form coherent sentences.

“You’re either the worst or the best scammer I’ve ever seen.” Ornella laughed. “I mean, seriously – going around disguised as Sienna, of all people?”

“Then having the balls to just knock on the door nonchalantly? As if the Elven Hero would just… go knocking around random hotels?” the druid continued.

“Honestly, if you’ve ever successfully scammed someone this way, then it was probably natural selection doing its thing…”

“Now tell me: who sent you here, doppelganger?” Ornela inquired. “Is the Fioran Krew on our tail again?”

“Or are you really just some terribly unfortunate scammer?”

The knight remained stoic in the face of her imprisonment, though she was still concussed from the frying pan strike earlier. Once she had regained the ability to speak coherently, she commanded:

“Dispel me.”

“Come again?” Ornella asked, perplexed.

“If you think I’m disguised, dispel me.”

“Fine, have it your way.” Ornella said, reaching for a scroll of Dispel Magic.

After ensuring she was directly targeting the Sienna pretender, Ornella cast the spell, only to see it do nothing.

“That… That doesn’t prove anything.” Ornella retorted. “You could always be, uhh, you know…”

“A doppelganger, of sorts.” she added. “Yeah, actually, why did I waste that scroll?”

“I’m so stupid…” the druid thought.

“A doppelganger?” the knight thought. She grew slightly annoyed at the suggestion.

“Then how can I prove to you that I am… myself?” she asked.

“You know, I had a childhood friend interview the real Sienna once on his trip to the city of Quesant.” Ornella said. “I heard the real Sienna has a great memory, so how about we jog it a little?”

“See, my friend had the whole interview written down, and even gave me a copy – give me a minute, and I’ll have it here.” she added.

Five minutes later, Ornella returned to her prisoner with the very same set of questions her friend once asked the real Sienna. To the druid’s surprise, the false Sienna didn’t attempt to free herself while she was gone.

“Thanks for staying put – you’re awfully cooperative for a shapeshifting assassin, you know?” Ornella chuckled.

The knight remained stoic.

“Or maybe a filthy conman?” the druid added.

“Either way, here’s how we’re going to do it:” she said.

“I’ll ask you a question, and you’ll have to answer the way you did back then in that interview – you have three attempts for each question, and if you fail at least one, I’m handing you over to the guards.” she explained.

“Understood?”

“Just hand me to them already – I am starting to think they would believe me before you do.” the elven hero said, defeated.

Ignoring that statement, Ornella began her “interview”:

“First question – were you actually born in Randwynn, or somewhere else entirely?”

The knight thought long and hard about the answer, before remembering her words from decades past:

“I was born to an arcimaghi father and mother in Ventasca – a war veteran and a politician, respectively”. she replied.

Ornella was mortified – the knight’s answer matched identically to what was written in her friend’s interview paper from over 50 years ago – word for word.

“No fucking way…” Ornella thought to herself. “Okay, stay calm Ornella – maybe this is some fluke – maybe she can see what’s on my paper, somehow?”

“I know!” she thought. “I’ll throw her a question that wasn’t in the interview – if she’s real, she should point it out!”

“Ahem.” Ornella cleared her throat. “Second question:”

“What motivates you to do good?”

The knight froze for a bit. She tried reaching into her memories, but couldn’t recall being asked that kind of question back then. Hesitantly, she replied:

“I think you’ve got it wrong.”

“If your interviewer friend is the one I remember, from that one school trip to Quesant, then the second question was…”

“Why did you take up adventuring?”

“I think I remember your little friend now.” the knight said, smiling. “It was 55 years ago – I saved his life, and in return, he gave me a locket with your picture in it…”

Ornella’s heart sank.

“Would you mind opening it for me?” the knight added. “It is in my backpack.”

The elf druid nervously reached for the woman’s backpack, pulling a locket out of it, then opening it. To her shock, it was in fact her college friend’s locket – the one with his and Ornella’s hand-drawn portraits in it, labeled “Friends Forever” in red marker.

“SHIT!” the druid exclaimed. “Gods, I’m so sorry!”

Embarrassed, Ornella quickly untied Sienna and used healing magic to get rid of the lump on the knight’s head – a lump that she graciously gifted to the elven hero via the strike of a frying pan to the back of the head.

“I had no idea, honestly-” Ornella said.

“It is fine.” Sienna interjected.

“No, seriously – Sienna Picarello, the Elven Hero, right here in Bay City – knocking on the door of my hotel room?!”

“Please…” Sienna muttered, just as embarrassed.

“How was I supposed to know?!” Ornella exclaimed.

“Moreover, what are you doing here?” she asked. “A Randwynnian hero out here in Old Soloastria?”

“On the Colony, no less?” the druid added.

“It is a personal matter…” Sienna replied, unamused.

“Alright, alright, let’s just…” Ornella muttered. “Let’s start from scratch, shall we?”

“The proper way, I mean.” the druid added, smiling mischievously.

“What do you-” Sienna said, perplexed

“Ahem,” Ornella cleared her throat, interrupting the knight. “No way, am I dreaming?”

“Are you really the fabled Sienna Picarello?”

Sienna immediately realized what was going on: Ornella was reciting an infamously terrible piece of fan fiction about her – “Sienna and I” –  written over 25 years ago by a particularly adoring fan who, unbeknownst to him at the time, created a work of art so bad it would go down in history as one of the most unintentionally humorous books in New Soloastria, much in the same vein as “Life in the Order of the Falcon” – an autobiography of one Sir Arthur Mergent-Boyle, an ex-knight whose traumatic and humiliating experiences during his service in Falkenfield’s highest holy order have become popular “memes” amongst Hessandrelians.

“No, my eyes must be deceiving me…” Ornella continued, hardly being able to contain her laugh.

“Stop…” Sienna murmured.

“The Elven Hero, in the flesh?” the druid continued reciting, feigning amazement. “My, my – to what do I owe the pleasure?”

The elf knight’s face turned beet red, and Ornella chuckled.

“Relax, I’m just messing with ya.” Ornella said lightheartedly.

“But still, it’s crazy to see you in person, if I’m being honest.” she added.

“People tend to say that…” Sienna replied.

“Can you blame them?” Ornella said. “You’re a living legend – I’ve heard of your solo adventures all the way from Marinell!”

“One of my older cousins visited Randwynn once during your heyday – he still remembers the lyrics to the Song of Sienna to this day!”

“Man, time sure flies, huh?” Ornella laughed. “Yet you’re still kickin’, good as new.”

Sienna tilted her head, giving Ornella a perplexed look.

“Marinell?” she inquired. “I thought you were Randwynnian…”

Ornella feigned great offense.

“What, because of my blonde mane, or my pinkish skin?” Ornella remarked. “I thought you of all people would know not to judge a book by its cover – being a brunette in Randwynn, you know?”

“Do not take it the wrong way…” Sienna said. “That is not what I-”

Ornella gave the knight a hard, friendly pat on the back. Sienna winced.

“Relaaaax.” Ornella said with a smug expression. “I’m just messing with you, remember?”

“Sheesh, you’re so serious all the time – how does someone like you even become a bard in the first place?” the druid chuckled.

“Forgive me for acting so restrained, but need I remind you that you have struck me with a kitchen utensil in the back of the head-”

“Anyway,” Ornella interjected. “Why are you even here in the first place?”

“I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of me before, did ya?”

“…no, I did not.” Sienna admitted.

“I have met your friends during my most recent solo mission.” she replied calmly. “We happened to be tasked with the same thing, so we worked together.”

“Really now?” Ornella said. “Did you, by any chance, see a fire genasi, an orange tiefling, a human, and-”

“Yes, they are all fine.” Sienna interrupted the druid. “We fought the humanoid traffickers together – afterwards, your genasi friend told me to seek you out in this hotel.”

“Sheesh, well – thanks a ton.” Ornella interjected. “I was beginning to worry that Enix and Sylphie wouldn’t make it – it wasn’t a mission for the faint of heart.”

Sienna lowered her head in a gloomy manner.

“The boy did not take it so well.” she muttered. “It was rather tragic…”

“What do you mean?” Ornella inquired. “Who, Enix?”

“Yes, the orange tiefling of yours.” Sienna said. “His master was a prisoner of the traffickers – the poor boy saw him die in front of his very own eyes.”

“I was there to see it too.” Sienna remarked. “The man died valiantly, protecting a young half-elf from some bandit’s advances, freeing the prisoners, then going out in a blaze of glory.”

“Gods… Must’ve been awful.” Ornella murmured. “And how are they now?”

“Are Enix and that girl okay?” the druid asked.

“Yes, they are alright.” Sienna explained. “They should be here soon – the fire genasi was tending to their wounds before she told me to go speak with you…”

“And what about you?” Ornella said. “You’re telling me about all those atrocities, and yet you’re as soft spoken as ever.”

“Did adventuring for so long make you go numb?” Ornella continued. “I’m not judging – just a genuine question, as a fellow adventurer.”

“It is not like that…” Sienna sighed. “I am usually composed, yes, but I did lose control at some point while I was in there…”

Ornella’s interest was piqued. What could “losing control” possibly mean to a knight-errant of Sienna’s caliber?

“Care to elaborate?” Ornella inquired.

“It happened after the traffickers refused to surrender willingly.” Sienna muttered. “They slaughtered your tiefling’s master and a few other rebellious prisoners before initiating the fight.”

“I do not remember much.” the knight admitted. “I felt great hunger, and started seeing red…”

“I told Enix and the others to stay put while I handle the frontline.” she said. “Then, I…”

“Then?” Ornella asked impatiently.

“I… Lost myself.” Sienna murmured. “When I came back to my senses, the fight was over.”

“Oh, that’s neat.” Ornella said. “I wish I could go on autopilot every now and again.”

“All the traffickers were torn to shreds…” Sienna said somberly. 

“…come again?” Ornella asked, taken aback by the knight’s words. “Torn to shreds – did I hear that right?”

“As for me…” Sienna interrupted the druid.

“I had their entrails all over me.”

“In my hair.”

“Inside my armor.”

“All over my hands.”

“…and in my mouth…”

Ornella shuddered.

“What the fuck?” she thought to herself. “That’s… so unlike anything I’ve heard about her.”

“I suffer from an… affliction, of sorts.” Sienna admitted. “I am partially immune, but still prone to losing control.”

“This is why I adventure alone.” she said. “Or should I say mostly, given today’s mission had me working with your people…”

“Hold on a minute, what kind of affliction are we talking about-” Ornella said, but something interrupted her.

“Hey everyone!”

It was Bardette, cheering from a distance.

“We’re back!”

Having somewhat consoled Enix, Sylphie managed to get him back on his feet again, though the look on the young paladin’s face indicated he wasn’t in a healthy headspace.

Behind Bardette walked a shy half-elf, clutching some sort of spellbook in her arms.

“Well, well, well…” Bardette said. “Look what the cat dragged in!”

An awkward silence took hold for a brief moment.

“Me being the cat, of course!” she quickly added, sensing Ornella didn’t catch her joke. “Haha.”

“That’s now how that saying works-” Nelamon spoke.

“Now, I see you’ve already met Sienna?” the bard interjected. “Wonderful ally, isn’t she~?”

“A little scary, at times – I admit.” she continued. “But a good ally nonetheless!”

The bard grabbed the half-elf from behind her and presented her to the party leader. Flustered, the young woman was making unintelligible, panicked noises.

“Now, now – don’t be intimidated!” the bard tried to console her.

“This is Macy!” Bardette exclaimed proudly. “We rescued her from the trafficking ring, though I’m not sure she’s aware of that yet.”

The bard waved her hands in Macy’s face.

“Hello?” she said. “Is there anything inside your pretty little head – behind those pretty little eyes of yours?”

“I-I uhh, umm…” the half-elf stammered. “T-T-Thanks for getting me out of there.”

“There you go~!” Bardette exclaimed. “Wasn’t that hard, now, was it?”

“Alright Bardette, I think she’s had enough.” Ornella moved her eccentric friend aside.

The elf druid approached the stressed half-elf.

“My name is Ornella.” she said. “Ornella Fievarne.”

“I’m an anthropologist, a wildfire druid, and a leader of this adventuring party.”

Macy’s eyes sparkled for a moment. It seemed as if the word “anthropologist” had piqued her interest.

“And you?” the druid asked.

“I-I umm…” the half-elf muttered. “I’m M-Macy, and I’m into a-a-archaeology.”

Ornella smiled.

“Nice – we should get along just fine.” she replied. “Also, I see you desperately holding onto that book of yours – you’re a wizard, I presume?”

“Y-Yeah…” Macy replied.

“Tell you what…” Ornella said. “Macy, was it?”

The half-elf nodded.

“Alright then, Macy.” Ornella continued. “How about this:”

“As both a wizard and an archaeologist, you could be of great use to me.”

“So then…”

“Would you like to join my adventuring party?”

Macy’s heart was about to explode. Never before in her life was she invited to anything of this sort. For a moment, she felt like maybe she had found her true calling. In spite of this, she replied:

“I-I don’t know, I’d probably just… be w-weighing you down.”

“I always get in the w-w-way, after all…” she added.

Ornella pitied the young half-elf. Her life couldn’t have been easy, judging by her amazed reaction to the suggestion followed immediately by a conflicting, doubtful statement about herself. A quick look at Sylphie’s expression enlightened Ornella on what to do. Her friend’s fiery eyes were almost screaming “take the girl in”.

The party leader moved closer to the half-elf, then lowered herself to be at Macy’s eye level. Following this, she approached her even closer, until she was practically breathing on the young woman’s neck.

“It’s alright.” Ornella whispered into Macy’s ear. “Just be honest with me:”

“Do you want to join my party?”

Macy almost immediately began listing her flaws again, only for Ornella to gently shush her and ask again:

“No buts or ifs, no caveats, no pressure – just tell me if it’s something you’d like.”

“Okay?” Ornella smiled.

“Is she always this considerate?” Sienna asked Sylfira. “She left a different impression on me when we talked earlier…”

“Hardly.” Sylphie chuckled. “This is rather unusual for her, but hey – people can grow and change, right?”

“Must be because she is interested in the girl’s research…” Sienna remarked.

“Oh come on, she’s not that pragmatic!” Sylphie replied.

While the knight and the cleric were talking, Macy had finally made up her mind:

“I… I would love to join your p-p-party – i-if it’s not a problem, of course!”

“I don’t have a-a-anywhere e-else to go.” she added.

Ornella stood up proudly, stretching her hand out to the half-elf and stating:

“Well then – welcome aboard, Macy!”

“We’re glad to have you!”

Ornella turned towards Sienna again.

“As for you, fabled Miss Picarello,” she said. “I hope you finally enlighten me about that… affliction of yours.”

“It is a private concern, but…” Sienna said. “I am running out of options, and in dire need of a cure – preferably as soon as possible…”

”We should take it someplace else…” she added.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Ornella said. “Macy!”

The half-elf shuddered.

“Y-Yes, Miss Fievarne?” she replied.

“First of all, don’t call me that – just Ornella is fine.” the druid stated. “Second of all, you’re coming with me.”

“We’ll take a closer look into what could possibly be bugging the legendary elven hero.” she said, before winking at Sienna.

“What have I gotten myself into…” the elven hero thought to herself.

Both Macy and Sienna were invited to stay over for the night. The following morning, the party would pay a visit to Nikotynievich Jr. Brooks once more, reporting on the status of their missions, hoping the bugbear private investigator would finally clue them in on the “big, top secret investigation”.

But not before Ornella and Macy would conduct some experiments to see what’s really wrong with Sienna.

Chapter 6: Epilogue

The very next day:

“Strigosis?” Ornella said. “No way, that’s impossible!”

“You’re not-”

“Feral?” Sienna interjected.

“Yeah, how come?” Ornella inquired. “How long ago were you infected?”

“Over a century now, almost two.” the elven hero replied calmly.

“WHAT.” Ornella and Macy both shouted in unison.

“N-No way, s-s-strigosis progresses so, SO much f-faster!” Macy stammered.

“Like I said earlier, I have partial immunity…” Sienna explained.

“Oh, that explains it.” Macy admitted. “B-But still, you’re a real w-w-warrior to have gotten this far without going insane.”

Ornella grabbed the research notes she stole from the sewer laboratory the day prior.

“Partial immunity… Oh yeah, I forgot.” she said. “I’m still new to this disease, by the way – haven’t studied it that much yet.”

“That’s one of the reasons why I’m here in Old Soloastria – I want to write a thesis on strigosis, you see.” the druid added.

“I h-have some research done on it.” Macy muttered. “Feel free to flip through my no-o-otes if you want, Ornella.”

Sienna raised her head from the examination table and looked upon Macy with pity.

“Have you always had that… speech impediment, of sorts?” she asked genuinely.

“I d-didn’t, for the most part,” Macy replied. “Until rece-e-ently – oh gods damn it…”

“…until recently, I got this stupid st-t-tammer, and I don’t know what to do with it.”

“B-But enough about that.” Macy said. “I have… a different question.”

“Why did you leave, Sienna?” she asked. “R-Randwynn, I mean.”

Sienna looked pained to hear the young wizard’s words.

“What do you mean…?” the knight inquired.

“Your people, t-they sing songs that wish your ret-t-turn.” Macy continued. “I’ve heard about them from East Coast migrants in M-Marinell.”

“Yeah, actually… How long has it been, Sienna?” Ornella added. “Since you’ve been to Randwynn?”

“Forty, thirty years…” Sienna murmured. “I’m well over 200 years old now…”

“G-Guiding light, Glorious Knight…” Macy started singing softly.

Sienna was immediately moved. That familiar tune – the Song of Sienna – reminded the knight of her peoples’ longing and gratitude. Her eyes started swelling with tears.

“Lindemayen’s ch-champion.” the half-elf continued.

“Bring us peace, bring us salvation”

“Elve-e-n Hero, our Sienna-”

“Enough, please…” the knight pleaded. “Is…”

“Is this how they sing it, in Common?” she asked.

“Yeah, but I suppose you’ve only ever heard the Mentaventian Elvish version.” Ornella added. “People really miss you back home, Sienna.”

“S-So then…” Macy said. “Why are you here?”

The elven hero wiped tears of regret from her face.

“My… affliction has been… Getting the better of me, for the last four or so decades…” she muttered.

“I am looking to rid myself of it…”

“I know Randwynn is in disarray, but…” she said, each word accompanied by a sharp pain in her throat.

“I am not to be its savior anymore…”

“Not in a sorry state like this…”

Macy held the knight’s hand, nervously caressing it in hopes of bringing some semblance of comfort to the distressed hero. Ornella joined in, grabbing Sienna’s other hand.

“We’ll help you, no matter what it takes.” the party leader promised.

“We can keep it under wraps, since hardly any locals know you on this continent.” she continued. “I’ll keep in touch with you via sending stones – you’ll visit every now and then, and when we’re finally done curing you…”

“You’ll come home. To your people. As their beloved hero, as if you’ve never had strigosis in the first place.” Ornella said.

“Does that sound good?” she asked.

Sienna’s heart was in her throat – she couldn’t muster the strength for a reply, so instead, she embraced the West Coast elf and the young half-elf in a tight, warm hug.

“Thank you…” the elven hero finally spoke. “This means a lot to me…”

“I do not want my people to think of me as a monster…”

“Their belief in me gives them hope…” she said, on the verge of tears again. “Hope for reform in our rotten nation…”

“But I could not possibly lead them in a state like this – they deserve better…”

“We’ll take good care of you, I promise.” Ornella said.

The druid stood up, signalling Macy and Sienna to do the same.

“Now, we don’t know much about any miracles cures yet, but I’m willing to bet our research will get better funding once we finish running our errands for the Old Fart.”

“T-The who?” Macy inquired.

“Private Investigator Brooks, remember?” Ornella said. “I told you about him already – he’s our current contractor.

“Oh, y-yeah.” the half-elf muttered.

“As I was saying,” Ornella continued. “With his help, I think we can make some progress.”

“So what do you say, Sienna?” she asked. “Wanna help us with one last job for our boss?”

Sienna stood proudly, finally resembling the legendary image that many others have of her.

“Let us move…” she declared.

To be continued in Session 5…