The Eberron Mini Series...Or is it?

GREETINGS, EVERYONE!

Welcome to the first installment of the Lore Master’s recap blog for The Tales of Umbra Victus! Here at RFA, we understand that sometimes you don’t have the time, spoons, mental space, or patience to sit and watch an hours-long video, let alone multiple (25 at the time I’m writing this!!) in order to get the dopamine hit of being able to participate in the most recent adventure! With that in mind, we will do ADHD/Neurodiverse-friendly recaps of groups of episodes so that you never have to miss out on any of the story! So without further ado, let’s jump in from the beginning!

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FETCH & CARRY

When we first join up with our adventurers in Fairhaven, in the nation of Aundair, they had each been hired separately by a dwarf with silvering red hair that calls himself Malrig for a “fetch & carry” mission of a very unique Khyber dragonshard: one that was green with yellow veins & a pulsating yellow light emanating from within. He gave them a written note and a coin of the Aurrahm which when presented to the Archive guard allowed them to move through the Archives and meet with Malrig’s contact, Valan, who had procured the shard already. Sir Valerian, ever prudent, thought this was too easy, and he was right - Valan asked after payment, which Malrig had conveniently not mentioned requiring. Valan sprinted off, leaving the party to quickly dispatch a group of cultists that showed up also looking for the shard.

Eventually, they caught up to Valan, Orianna attempting to head him off with a well-placed Firebolt. Quickly realizing he was outnumbered, he ended the fight by casting Fireball on himself. This allerted the town guard, understandably, and - before they could roll up to the scene, Talia, being the short little Gnome that she is, quickly looted the pile of ashes to see if the dragon shard had survived the blast. She was able to recover it and quickly tuck it in a pocket before anyone noticed. Through some smoothing over from Sir Valerian, they were allowed to stay the night, but the captain of the Fairhaven Guard was clearly done with their shenanigans, blaming them for the carnage caused by Valan’s self-imposed Fireball, and basically told them that they were not welcome back in his city, and to clear out as soon as they woke up the next morning.

TROUBLE IN THE TAVERN

Fast forward to that next morning, Sir Valerian went down for a morning tankard of ale and was joined by none other than the party’s benefactor, Malrig, who had found them at this inn - somehow - and was looking to settle up and obtain what the party had been hired to retrieve. The ladies came down slightly after, Kor checking in via Mind Link with Valerian. Using Detect Thoughts, Malrig was able to pick up on that telepathic communication between Kor & Sir Valerian, him telling the rest of the party to “Not tell Malrig anything” about the shard, and when Valerian told Malrig it was nowhere on his person, Malrig revealed his true form - an orange Rakshasa- and initiated combat. Valerian made quick work of the Fiend, turning him into a black ichor on the tavern floor, which sent a tavern patron running for the Fairhaven Town Guard.

ON THE LIGHTNING RAIL

Once the captain and 10 of his best men showed up, our adventurers were essentially run out of town on a rail and effectively told “off is the direction in which you may fuck” and not to return. They then proceeded to dance their way, to the lute stylings of Kor, toward the Lightning Rail and head toward Marketplace. Getting settled into their travel car, our adventurers set out for the next stage in their travels. Kor freezes up and her quori, Tari, started freaking out; Orianna attempted to rouse Kor with a flick on the nose, and successfully got her to share that she had seen Inspired agents following the party onto the train & down the corridor. As was becoming their custom, the group engaged said agents, and quickly dispatched them. Having seen how much damage the Inspired's signature weapons could do, each of the ladies obtained one for later use.

SHARDS AND SPECTERS

After disposing of the bodies off the back of the train car, the rest of the ride to Marketplace was uneventful, and our adventurers were able to obtain a room at the Golden Dragon, settling in for an evening’s rest. Talia woke from a dream where the dragonshard she had pulled from the ashes burned hot against her leg where she carried it in her pocket. Upon waking, she found this had actually happened & thought it odd it. Asking Orianna to attempt to Dispel any magic on the shard itself, it seemed to consume the spell rather than be affected by it. Seeing this, she decided to attempt to Identify it, using her jeweler’s eyepiece casting focus. After her ritual was complete, she was blown back almost 10 feet, receiving both a black eye from her Focus, and the knowledge that this shard was affected by necromantic magic & had something seriously wrong with it. She also heard a voice ring in her head -in Primordial- the following words:

“She sleeps beneath Aundair, waiting for an undead flair”

Appropriately shaken, Talia insisted that someone else pick up & keeps that shard until they knew what to do with it, so it was placed in Kor’s backpack until further notice. Kor and Talia then headed downstairs for breakfast and Orianna went to knock on Sir Valerian’s door, finding it swinging open, and no one inside. She noticed him out the window, standing in an ally engaged in conversation with….someone. Sneaking up on him, she heard the name Issac, seeing Valerian go paler than usual in disbelief. But no one was there that Orianna could see.

EVEN ADVENTURERS GOTTA EAT...

After this exchange, Orianna herded Valerian back to the Inn for breakfast and the party decides, as they are a bit light of coin and could all use the distraction, to take some jobs in town, locating the Silly Snake Tavern job board. The first job they took was for the local halfling potion purveyor, Boro, to do a ‘wellness check’ on his supplier, Joseph, in the Alchemy District. The group went to gear-up at Boro's shop, and he was concerned because his normal shipment was late, to make sure all was well. On the way to the Alchemist District, they visit Kallen of Kallen’s Magical Mysteries, obtaining a Scroll of Fireball, and a few other trinkets for their coming travels, then head off in search of Joseph. They do find him doing well, if not a little harried; however he isn’t alone - Malrig is with him, and during a tense but brief exchange, Malrig explained that the shard that he had sent the group to procure wasn’t any natural shard, but a manufactured dragon shard that contained the essence of an Overlord named Sul Katesh.

Thankfully, they were able to extricate themselves from that sticky situation without further incident, and bring Joseph’s delivery to Boro, obtaining a potion of Psychic Resistance as a thank you. Then, heading over to the Silly Snake Tavern, Talia is introduced to Fire Whiskey by Zela, the Tavern owner, and they all decide to take care of a Bandit Situation for the town guard, hoping to ingratiate themselves here and form a positive relationship with the town as a whole. Making quick work of the eleven bandit crew, and leaving the leader for the Guard to deal with, our adventurers were dismayed to discover that at least the Captain of the town guard has a good relationship with Malrig. Shaken, but undeterred, they continued on their goal to make a home-base of sorts in Marketplace.

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Here is where we leave our adventurers for the moment; look for the next installment of the Lore Master blogs so you can catch-up with Umbra Victus and come along on this adventure that we are weaving together.

Be respectful to each other, we love you, and see you next time. Byeeeeee <3