The session opened with the Feinting GOATs resuming their investigation in Daggerford during its repeating, "brighter" phase, specifically at the chapel where they met Father Tamil, the priest of Tymora, goddess of luck. From the priest and a nobility ledger, the party uncovered more details about the Vayne family history, including the mysterious death of Lord Vayne’s wife in a hunting accident. After their investigation, the party decided to press Lord Vayne to inspect the cracked Well Gem beneath the cistern. Vayne initially resisted the investigation but eventually conceded to follow them, only to disappear before entering the passage beneath the well. The party then chose to take a long afternoon rest in the graveyard, effectively ignoring the day's events, a choice that resulted in them waking up eight hours later, just as the town reset to early morning.
Capitalizing on their knowledge, Elyn shapeshifted into a perfect replica of Lord Vayne’s late wife after studying his portrait, attempting to convince him that she had returned from the dead. Vayne was unmoved, dismissing the attempt as a mere trick to steal his precious gemstone (which the party understood to be his future phylactery). At this point, Akemi accused Vayne of murdering his wife, a provocation that caused Vayne to launch a psionic attack against her mind, which she easily shrugged off. Before the confrontation could escalate further, the realm shifted back to the dark version of Daggerford. Lord Vayne, still in his living form, remained standing in the castle ruins, though Lenti and the Dodds had vanished. He immediately demanded the return of his phylactery, revealing that the party did not understand the realm's unstable temporal nature, claiming that one hundred years had passed. When Korloth struck him repeatedly, Vayne reverted to his Psionic Lich form and teleported behind Bao Bao, aggressively grabbing her face. He psionically drained her power while transferring his own wounds to her, claiming this painful exchange was how he regained psionic power in this realm.
Simultaneously, a huge Grave Elemental barreled toward Korloth from the graveyard, and a huge Blood Elemental coalesced from the ground near Cut-Cut. Adrian and Elyn immediately raced toward the crypt; Elyn flying on her magic carpet and Adrian using his mechanical wings, while Adrian fired shots at the Lich as he passed. The Umber Hulks rushed to Bao Bao's aid and successfully pulled her free from the Lich, and Cut-Cut's wasp flew her to safety. The Blood Elemental forced itself into Cut-Cut's mouth, initiating a contest for bodily control between the elemental and her mechanical exoskeleton, which the exoskeleton initially won. Meanwhile, the Grave Elemental failed to bury Korloth, managing only to trap his feet. Adrian and Elyn reached the crypt and correctly used what they had learned from the Vistani merchant to solve the combination lock, opening the crypt door. The Lich Vayne's phylactery gem disappeared as it served as the final key to open the door, only to reappear in Elyn's bag, whispering promises of riches and power if she kept it secret. Elyn ignored the temptation, retrieving the phylactery and smashing it, an action that instantly destroyed the Lich and caused both elementals to retreat.
As the party regrouped, heading towards the open crypt, Akemi noticed a headstone that had not been there during the town's lighter phase. They discovered it was the grave of Elara Gruff, the Lady Luck tavern owner, whose epitaph read: "She gave me bread, I gave her ashes, may this help with my debt". The headstone contained a sliding panel that, when manipulated in the sequence of four arrows (Left, Up, Down, Right), revealed a compartment containing the cracked Well Gem. The party proceeded to the crypt, found it empty, but spotted a painted door on one wall. Above the painting, words appeared in the dust: "Imagine my face and the door will open," followed by a drawing of a skull. After various failed attempts, they recalled the Vistani Madam Varka’s card meanings: Bao Bao's card spoke of "The one you seek is the one you can touch, the one whose touch destroyed Daggerford," and Akemi's mentioned: "Headstones mark name and time, but someone must survive to mark both". Adrian realized the answer was the cloaked figure who received free bread from Elara Gruff at the Lady Luck tavern. Imagining the figure’s face caused the door to appear and open, revealing the Vayne family crypt, filled with riches and magic items which the party quickly collected.
Adrian's snake, Ember, having gained the power of speech from the Infinite Swamp, slithered in and warned the party that the surrounding fog and mist were worsening. Unwilling to face the dangerous conditions outside, the party retreated further into the crypt, where Korloth bashed open another sealed door leading to a huge, misty cliff. Standing on the cliff was the hooded stranger from the tavern, who explained that he was responsible for Daggerford’s downfall, having cracked the well gem while trying to steal it for a magic shop owner. He then revealed he was simply playing this part, as if in a play, and revealed his true form to be Ezekiel Dowelloft, Adrian’s great-great-grandfather, who was also known as Death or the Grim Rapier. He bore the Sigil of Death and informed them that his sword was the artifact they sought: the Weapon of Death, which was inscribed with the angelic sigil of Patience. He agreed to relinquish the sword in a pistol duel to first blood. Adrian recalled his own card, which stated, "The one you seek is the one you must face. For the old ways hold no sway in the age to come," and realized his modern gunslinger skills offered an advantage over Ezekiel’s high-level, though now antiquated, weapon mastery. Ezekiel fired first, but Adrian dodged, and his bullet struck true. True to his word, Ezekiel handed the sword to Cut-Cut, saying, "I believe this is in your cards," referring to her card which stated, "To have serenity, you must also have patience. It is meant for you". Ezekiel then revealed several vital pieces of information:
The party interpreted this literally and decided to leap off the cliff, but only after taking three long rests which allowed Cut-Cut to attune to her new artifact, a process that involved her taking several hits from Korloth as a test of patience. Jumping into the mist, the party emerged in a small room with a Spirit Board. Reading the inscription, "To Summon the Master, Is to spell disaster," they spelled out "DISASTER," which caused a ghostly presence to spell out "Knock Thrice and say Leviathan". Following this, a portal opened into a large chamber containing a spherical gibbet holding an angry Bone Devil. The Bone Devil was unhelpful until Elyn picked its lock, allowing it to escape in gaseous form and revealing a passage. After widening the passage for Korloth, the party followed and found a group of five sentient races that were creations of the Dark Hierophant. These races; Scarecrows, Kukers, Phials, Tallows, and Gargoyles, had been pitted against each other to determine which race was strongest to mass-produce as soldiers for a planned war.
The races consisted of: Scarecrows, who are composed of the bones of sentient humanoids and have a peculiar taste for "Hand Meat"; Kukers, who look like they are wearing primitive furry-demon costumes, but the costume is actually part of them, traditionally created from volunteers who sacrificed their lives to become village protectors; Phials, which appear as humanoid potion bottles specializing in helpful alchemy, though their creation requires the consumption of a sentient soul; Tallows, who look like humanoid candles and are made from the fat of several sentient beings; and finally, Gargoyles, who are carved from stone, do not require the death of a sentient being for their creation.
Recognizing the injustice, the races formed the Ebon Accord, vowing to protect each other instead of fighting. The party deliberated and decided to hold four races in the Staff from the Infinite Forest to appear as if they were destroyed, leaving only the numerically superior Scarecrows as the "victors". With Akemi’s diplomacy, they convinced the races of the plan. The ruse worked: the seal turned into an elevator, descending into a large, glowing red chamber with fountains of glowing blood pouring down the walls. They found the Dark Hierophant, who, realizing the deception, immediately summoned a huge, faceless, winged horror before fleeing through a swirling portal. The summoned fiend covered his escape. Phillip the opossum was sent into the Infinite Forest for reinforcements. The Umber Hulks followed the Dark Hierophant through the portal moments later. The battle was costly, with Korloth falling and being resurrected by a pomegranate administered by Akemi, which turned him bright red. All five races—the Scarecrows, Kukers, Phials, Tallows, and Gargoyles—joined the fight, and their combined effort helped the party kill the beast.
The party and all 5 races then followed through the portal, emerging back in Alluria in the rain, specifically in a remote region of Mupalan, the former site of the destroyed city of Jing Xu. Asante and the two Umber Hulks found them quickly, revealing that the Dark Hierophant’s realm had a time dilation, and the party had been gone for six months and three days. Asante confirmed that Yorrok returned to the Citadel (which had since teleported away), and the Umber Hulks appeared hours later. Asante, having discovered the Umber Hulks' return, camped nearby and now offered the party a safe place to rest.
Note: The following writings are from the character's perspective and are often private to the character. They are not considered "in-game" knowledge to the other characters, and any in-character reference to this information would be considered meta-gaming.
Letter#1 to Master Kagemitsu at Tengai-no-mori Monastery by Caylen Redden
Dear Master,
I have just learned that the Feinting GOATs have been away from this plane for a full six months. I apologize for my lack of contact and any concern that may have caused. I will send a letter with full details soon.
Yours,
Cut-Cut
Letter#2 to Master Kagemitsu at Tengai-no-mori Monastery by Caylen Redden
We spent the remainder of the “day” seeking additional information, trying to think of anything we may have missed. A ledger on the Vayne family revealed a pattern of premature and mysterious deaths, casting further suspicion on the current lord, Aleric Vayne. The town of Daggerford had been founded by his great-grandfather, Lord Commander Gareth Vayne. The Lord Commander’s son was barely mentioned; he perished before his father, so Gareth was succeeded by his grandson, Elias Vayne. Elias’ wife Seraphina passed away young, as did Aleric’s two siblings, Valerius and Cassian. The most recent death in the family was Aleric’s own wife, Lyra, killed in an alleged hunting accident. We next visited the chapel where we had battled at “night,” and learned that the warrior in the stained-glass window was a depiction of Gareth Vayne. Using that as a starting point for inquiry, we persuaded the resident priest to share his knowledge of the family, and he confirmed that Lyra’s death was indeed unusual, particularly since she was not known to participate in hunting excursions.
We decided to confront Lord Vayne with our suspicions and returned to the castle. At first, we were denied entry by Vayne’s guards, but, since we realized they were incapable of causing us physical harm and our actions would not affect the outcome of the strange, endlessly looping day, we abandoned all pretenses and simply walked past them. At first they pursued and protested, but eventually they just forgot about us and returned to their previous tasks, whatever they had been busy doing on their last day. When we found Lord Vayne, Elyn attempted to provoke him by shapeshifting into a likeness of his deceased wife. He initially played the part of one of his blissfully unaware shades, rejecting any information that didn’t match the predetermined script, but when we pressed the accusation, he abandoned the façade, and reality finally shifted back to the dark, present version of Daggerford.
Unfortunately, we did not have a complete understanding of the realm’s temporal mechanics. We believed we would have a full day before the lich would return with his full power, but time did not move as expected and could not be measured or estimated accurately based on observation. Lord Vayne claimed that an entire century had passed, unperceived, in what seemed to us only a matter of hours. Whether that was truth or exaggeration, he had indeed recovered, and he attacked viciously. He targeted Bao Bao immediately, draining her psionic power, and summoned two dreadful golems, one made of graveyard dirt and stones and corpses, which attempted to drag Korloth down into the earth, and one an animated mass of coagulated blood which forced itself into my mouth and attempted to take over my body. The tantalum exoskeleton helped me maintain control, but the creature was difficult to expel and the experience was incredibly unpleasant. Certain that gaining entrance to the Vayne family crypt was the key to defeating the lich once and for all, Adrian and Elyn rushed to the graveyard while the rest of us kept the creatures distracted. Setting the large emerald in the designated place and solving the combination lock did open the door, but ultimately what destroyed the lich was Elyn’s decision to smash the gem afterward.
When the party regrouped, Akemi noticed something new – a headstone that had not been present in the past version of the town. The fortune teller had foreseen this, telling Akemi “Headstones mark name and time, but someone must survive to mark both.” Somehow, someone had survived the destruction of the town and chosen to place the new headstone, a tribute to Elara Gruff from the Lady Luck Tavern. The stone was inscribed “She gave me bread, I gave her ashes. May this help with my debt” and opening a secret panel revealed the broken Well Gem, safely encapsulated inside a magic jar. We claimed the unusual treasure and continued into the Vayne family crypt, where we found another series of puzzles. The first was a drawing of a skull and an inscription which read, “Imagine my face and the door will open.” That was terribly vague, but Bao Bao remembered her fortune, “The one you seek is the one you can touch, the one whose touch destroyed Daggerford.” Putting all of the pieces together, we realized the person we sought must be someone who existed beyond the normal parameters of Daggerford, who had not perished along with the town, and who remembered Elara Gruff fondly enough to pay tribute to her with the epitaph we had seen. Adrian recalled that among the first people we encountered in town was a cloaked man who avoided interaction with us but gratefully received bread from the kind innkeeper. Adrian’s memory of the man’s face revealed the door to a room full of stone sarcophagi and the bones of the Vaynes. There was also a hoard of gold and magic items, and while typically grave robbing is taboo, most of the GOATs reasoned that it would be irresponsible to leave such powerful items where they might be reclaimed by the lich (if he was somehow able to return) or other evil creatures, and that we might need every possible advantage to escape the Demiplane of Dread. Also, I’m not sure Elyn or Akemi could be prevented from claiming the gold without significant intervention, and we neither time nor energy to spare.
Moving on from there, we found another door, which Korloth simply broke through, revealing a solitary figure standing in a huge liminal space at the edge of a cliff. This was the man from the tavern, who we had already realized must be the Grim Rapier himself, Adrian’s ancestor, Ezekiel Dowelloft. Adrian’s fortune was “The one you seek is the one you must face, for the old ways hold no sway in the age to come,” which he realized referred to an important advantage: his skills with firearms, weapons with which his ancestor would not be familiar. The advantage proved just enough for Adrian to narrowly defeat the Grim Rapier in a duel to first blood. The Grim Rapier surrendered his sword to me, divulging foreknowledge and understanding of my fortune, which was “To have serenity, you must also have patience. It is meant for you.” It is a marvelous weapon, but the weight of all of this fate and prophecy grows heavy.
The Grim Rapier also imparted a great deal of useful information about Yorrok and the Dark Hierophant, the history of the Voidfury Incursion, and much of particular interest to both Adrian and Elyn, but most importantly, information about Lenti. Unfortunately, we did not escape the Demiplane of Dread unscathed. Although her fortune had warned against it, she attempted to contact the mycelial network there and was somehow pulled into it. I do understand, to an extent. I suspect the Thri-kreen tokchak is at least somewhat similar, and I know that interruption or separation from that type of connection can be distressing. However, we were also repeatedly reminded of the need for caution in the unfamiliar, hostile landscape, and I thought the GOATs had learned their lesson about wandering off after Elyn’s close call. The Grim Rapier did, at least, offer hope that Lenti may be recoverable, but we are powerless to do anything but wait and hope. We were loath to leave a party member behind, but we could not wait; the rift between planes would not remain available to us indefinitely.
We were able to take some time for desperately needed rest and recovery, during which I was also able to attune to the Grim Rapier’s Weapon of Death, and then we followed his final instruction “To reach Yorrok’s realm, you must all take a leap of faith.” We leapt from the cliff and abruptly found ourselves in a small room facing another series of puzzles. Solving these brought us to a larger chamber where we found a bone devil swinging in a gibbet. Against everyone’s advice, Elyn freed the creature, and it promptly vanished. The only assistance it provided was revealing a previously overlooked passage, which was rendered traversable with some assistance from Korloth’s hammer. Some winding corridors finally brought us face to face with a group of five odd creatures. There was a Gargoyle, which was familiar, and four others we had not previously encountered: a Scarecrow, a Tallow, a Kuker, and a Phial. These individuals explained that they had been fabricated by the Dark Hierophant and that all but the Gargoyles required the sacrifice of a sentient being for their creation. The Dark Hierophant’s intention had been to pit groups of the creatures against one another in order to determine the strongest and build an army from them, but they had refused to participate. Unfortunately, their resistance had trapped them there, because there was no exit but for a portal which would only be opened when there was a victor.
As much as we could not afford to remain trapped with them, we also could not support needless violence or an outcome which would progress the Dark Hierophant’s schemes. Adrian came up with the brilliant plan of transporting four groups of constructs to the Infinite Forest – to this point used only as a holding area for his menagerie of pets – leaving behind only the Scarecrows, which held a slight majority. With just one type of construct remaining and the victory condition met, the portal opened and the Dark Hierophant came to collect.
The Feinting GOATs were ready, but the old dwarf was not caught unaware. The moment he realized his plan had been sabotaged, he summoned a huge demonic entity and quickly retreated. The Umber Hulks were able to make it through the portal behind him, but the rest of us were delayed by the creature. Korloth immediately closed the distance to challenge it but fell to a lethal barrage of savage blows. I leapt to his side and revived him with a magical pomegranate, and we were quickly joined by an army of scarecrows. Thus surrounded, the creature was not able to concentrate his attacks to such devastating effect, and Bao Bao was able to keep up with healing to keep us on our feet. Reinforcements of other constructs began to arrive from the Infinite Forest, summoned by Phillip, and the tide turned. Once the creature was defeated, everyone was able to escape through the portal.
We arrived in an empty clearing in a remote part of Mupalan, where we were warmly greeted by a pair of very relieved Umber Hulks and Marahaba Asante. Asante explained that the Citadel had previously occupied the area, and that the Umber Hulks had found him there. The Citadel had since moved on to a new location, but they set up camp and waited for us. Although the Umber Hulks stepped into the portal just moments after the Dark Hierophant, they emerged hours later due to time dilation. As for the rest of us, Asante informed us that we had been away for six months and three days. Now we are left to find out what we missed, pick up the pieces, and hopefully devise a plan to move forward. For the moment, we have a safe place to recover, and I am comforted by the proximity to home. I hope all is well at Tengai-no-mori and that I will be able to arrange another visit before we are off on our next adventure.
Until then,
Cut-Cut
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter to Tom by Syd McVay
Tom,
I’ve been told it’s been six months and three days since we last saw each other, though to me, the time in that chaotic realm felt like only a few days. I hope this letter reaches you quickly. What we’ve endured has been some of the most challenging battles and mind games I’ve ever faced.
The last time I wrote, I mentioned our research into crystal cutting and our investigation into the Vayne family crypt. What I forgot to include was that each of us had received strange, personal messages from the wise Vistani woman, Madam Varka. Her insight felt unnatural, but her clues guided us toward unraveling the disaster that had overtaken Daggerford, not Ravenloft. It took hours to piece together the exact steps, and timing was critical since the dark phase fell without warning.
The team decided to press Lord Vayne, but he evaded us, vanishing just as we were about to enter the passage beneath the cracked Well Gem. We chose a long rest in the graveyard, a choice that caused the entire day to reset. Capitalizing on this, I transformed into Lyra, Lord Vayne’s late wife, who had “mysteriously” died in a hunting accident, a death we now suspect was related to his desire for a phylactery. I approached Lord Vayne, but he saw through my disguise almost immediately, complimenting my form before growing agitated and accusing us of trying to steal his precious stone. The confrontation escalated into a fight just as the realm shifted back to its dark, ruined version, and Vayne reverted to his Lich form.
Adrian and I disengaged and rushed to the crypt. It took several tense minutes to align our research with the lock’s protections, using the Vistani clues to solve the combination. When the lock finally released, the Lich Vayne's phylactery gem vanished—only to immediately reappear in my pocket. Its weight pressed against me like a curse, and a whisper filled my mind, promising riches if I kept it secret. I imagined the power I could wield, but a stern voice reminded me that temptation must not outweigh my duty to save my team and this land. Breathing heavily, I fought the pull. My hand shook as I gripped the crystal, then I shattered it against the ground. The release was overwhelming. The Lich and his summoned elementals instantly vanished.
Adrian was confused, even angry, not understanding why the crystal had reappeared and why I had destroyed it. I explained everything, pacing to shake off the lingering regret. The rest of the team arrived, reporting a new gravestone tied to one of our tarot readings. Akemi had found a sliding panel in the headstone containing the broken Well Gem, which she entrusted to me.
Piecing together more Vistani clues, we realized that imagining the cloaked man’s face—the figure who received free bread from the Lady Luck tavern—opened another section of the family crypt, revealing a trove of magical items. In this strange environment, Adrian’s snake, Ember, who had gained the power of speech from the Infinite Swamp, warned us that the cursed mist was worsening. We pressed deeper, breaking through a sealed door that led to a huge, misty cliff where the hooded stranger awaited.
He confessed to causing the downfall of this place, having cracked the gem while trying to steal it. Then he revealed his true identity: Ezekiel Dowelloft, Adrian’s great-great-grandfather, known as Death or the Grim Rapier. He bore the Sigil of Death, and his sword—the Weapon of Death—was inscribed with the angelic sigil of Patience. Ezekiel challenged Adrian to a duel to first blood. Ezekiel struck first, but Adrian dodged and landed his shot. True to his word, Ezekiel surrendered the sword, which Adrian immediately gave to Cut-Cut, fulfilling her card’s prophecy.
We asked about Lenti. Ezekiel said her fate was grim—she had ignored her card’s warning and been consumed by the mycelium network. He promised to try to recover her but admitted he would need Bello’s help.
He also revealed the truth about Yorrok: during the Voidfury War, Yorrok used a Far Realm tome to create the Shining Tetrahedron and summoned a faceless demon that turned the tide. To cover his actions, the party spread rumors of his heroic death. Later, when they inscribed an angelic sigil on the Tetrahedron, it fractured Yorrok into two beings: the benevolent Hierophant and the malevolent Dark Hierophant, who now rules the Clockwork Citadel.
Ezekiel lamented his family’s company, DTC, and gave Adrian a Library Card, urging him to seek out Lance Dowelloft (Adrian's other great-great-grandfather) in a pocket dimension where the original Library of Xing Ju was preserved. He then asked Adrian to soften his heart toward me, reminding him that I had passed the morality test given by the plane and that redemption is possible. I felt seen in that moment.
He gifted me a potion for Echo, one that could preserve his humanity—but only if Echo chose to take it willingly. Ezekiel’s final words instructed us to “leap into the unknown.” We took him literally and jumped from the cliff.
We landed in a chamber with a Bone Devil trapped in a spherical gibbet. Feeling pity, I freed it, and it revealed a passage. We entered a room filled with strange races—creations of the Dark Hierophant. Instead of fighting, they had formed the Ebon Accord, vowing peace. Adrian devised a plan: we would hold four races in the Staff of the Infinite Forest, leaving only the Scarecrows as apparent victors to deceive the Dark Hierophant. The ruse worked, turning the seal into an elevator that descended into a large, glowing red chamber.
The Dark Hierophant appeared, immediately realizing the deception. He summoned a huge, faceless, winged horror and fled through a portal. Phillip was sent for reinforcements. The battle was brutal—Korloth fell but was revived by Akemi with a pomegranate, his skin now glowing bright red. Together with the five races, we defeated the beast.
We followed through the portal and emerged in Alluria, at the ruins of Jing Xu. Asante was waiting, and we learned that six months and three days had passed in our absence.
The party was drained—mentally, emotionally, physically. We knew we had to send word to those who hadn't heard from us in half a year. That’s why I’m writing to you now. I survived. I have the jar (the cracked Well Gem) you sought, and I have many questions. I hope to hear from you soon.