In a special performance , Dyskko added a new installment to his ongoing saga of the Dungeon Divas.  Known for what he calls “‘special effects,” his story-telling incorporates bardic magic to make you feel you are part of the story.

In true Dyskko style, audience members felt the heat of Moltenwing the Dragon.  They cried along with Buzz, as he wondered what to do after the death of his mentor, Indira.  The audience cheered when the Divas freed the Shackled Ones from the Great Tree.

Dyskko says this was a final ending to the Divas saga. “I’m ready for something new now.”  Even though his tales have always been fantastical, they have still been grounded in reality.  “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to travel amongst the stars.  I’ve also wondered what if there were no magic? Yes, I think I’ll turn my tales toward some of these ideas.”

Character Epilogues

After killing the beholder Orbius who had posed as Oskar Vhalantru for the last 15 years, the Divas were at a crossroads.  Are there enough people left in the Org Chart of Evil to fulfill their plans?  Do we stop here, or do we pursue them further?  Or do we need to get back to helping the evacuees from Cauldron rebuild?

The Divas made a final attempt to visit the Fiery Sanctum.  There, they discovered that Rmongor had killed all the Shackled Ones in the Tree and no more energy was being channeled.  Looking at the Org Chart of Evil, they realized all the people left to kill were people they hadn’t met.  Where would they be? The Divas spent time at the Church of Pelor reviewing their notes, organizing their supplies and inventorying their loot.  After a long day of discussion, the decision was clear: Use the loot to invest in the City of Cauldron, help the people rebuild, and stay wary for the Cagewrights should they start on the next phase of their plan.

Myntilly – Hoping to spark some renewed energy into the local economy, Myntilly purchased an abandoned building in the NW Business District of Cauldron.  She refitted the ground floor with her own Tatoo Parlor, and moved into the second floor apartment.  Inspired by her leadership, many young adventurers come to discuss their dreams and plans and ask Myntilly for her wisdom while she inks.  Even Cora Lanthanmire has been spotted getting a tatoo.

Sadi – Was last seen heading out of town.  Her plans are to travel to Sasserine, then spend some quiet time traveling along the coast.  “I hope to purchase a small boat and spend some quiet time in peaceful reflection.”  The year has been hard on Sadi, dying not once, but twice, and reincarnated twice.  It puts a touch of darkness on you.  Then spending so much time either underground or in a big city has been difficult.  “I come from a long line of gypsies.  I need to spend some time roaming.”

Ian and Brus – Returned to Kingfisher Hollow.  This city grew a bit following the evacuation of Cauldron.  Many people moved there, thinking it would be temporary, but fell in love with the Amedio forest on the border.  “Now that the town is a bit bigger, there’s a lot I can do here.  There’s a lot of new construction that I can help with, and we can start a second druid hall on the other end of the town.”  There is still some strange sounds coming from the forest, and rumors of undead, but Ian feels up to the challenge.

Acgar – Has become a new prominent figure in the Cauldron Town Guard.  Acgar has become Lead Trainer for the Magical Threats Agency.  “Quinlan had a good idea with this organization, but they need better discipline if they’re going to respond to threats.  That, and they need some strong analysis tools to investigate evidence left behind.”  Acgar is developing a new field called “forensics.”  It also helps the new recruits pay attention when she mentions that she keeps a killer frog in a box.

Indira – It’s taken some time for her his fellow clerics to get used to the new dwarf body, but Indira continues to work to spread the good word of Pelor.  Kristoff remains as head cleric of the Church, and continuing to lead the young headstrong Indira will be a continuing challenge.  Thankfully, Indira has the goblins and Buzz to keep her busy.

Buzz – Speaking of Buzz, he is working to bridge new ties between the differing churches of Cauldron.  The new head cleric at the Temple of Wee Jas, is rebuilding temple after the construction accident last solstice.  Buzz is working to negotiate a construction plan that will be a tribute to Wee Jas without blocking the Church of Pelor from the rising sun.  He is also working toward more unity between all the worshipping halls (to St. Cuthbert, Kord, Wee Jas, Fharlaghn, Pelor) in preparation for this winter’s Flood Festival.  “Last winter there was rivalry between the worshippers and Cauldron really suffered.  This winter will be different.”  Ah Buzz, remember when we first met him?

Elvis Krylscar- For his leadership and commitment to the City of Cauldron, Elvis was awarded a Key to the City. (Standing next to him are at left, Severen Navalant, Mayor, newly returned to the city and at right Quinlan Ghelve, Captain of the Town Guard).  He continues to grow in his leadership role on the City Council.  Sounds like he’ll run for Mayor again.

I wasn’t feeling my best when they got me to the ground. It might have been partially the company. A hairy old dwarf, a snot-nosed kid, a couple of halflings and the “heroes”. Snore.
And I hate tall people.

I felt like I was on a field trip with 4th graders. “Stay with your buddy!” All the way to the freaking elevator.
And then damn, we walk into hell. Cauldron is one serious mess. Fires, tremors, looting, panic, chaos….. My kind of town. I had half a mind to slip away, find the nearest mojito and set about some serious self preservation. But this other part of me wanted to stick it to that blowhard beholder. I mean oh my f-ing god, if I had to listen to one more speech from that guy about how he was going to unleash the unnamed one, I might have killed myself. Bor-ring!

So when snot-nose Terrem said he knew where the beholder “Mr. Orbius” lives, we all piled on that band wagon. The cleric, Buzz, was up front with the kid. He’s cute, for an elf. But not my type. He’d probably be about 5 minutes of fun, right and then the guilt and self recrimination. Or worse, he’d try to change me. Save me. Please.

The kid was driving us nuts. Blah, blah, blah. “Orbius” this and “Orbius” that. I saw the sorcerer Milly slip the kid a spell. I like her a little better now. What ever it was though, it didn’t work. Yap, yap, yap. And then, OMFG, we had to stop and help this couple with their worldly belongings. Being a hero sucks. ‘Oh are you hurt?” “Do you need assistance?” “The streets aren’t safe.” I thought the cleric was going to faint with pleasure at being a do-gooder. So we detour to the freaking Church of St. Cuthbert. And the place is packed with people fleeing the city. I say the party’s just getting started and all these people are leaving. Weird.

Milly and Buzz disappear, literally, for a bit and when they come back, they are real quiet. No one talks as we head down the streets for Orbius’ place. And then as we get into the nice part of town, the kid starts up again. “A mean dog lives here.” “I climbed that tree.” “Mr Orbius let’s me walk along this wall.” I thought I would snap so I sidled up to Terrem and slapped a touch of fatigue spell on him. Heh.

Finally we found the house. I hoped it had a well stocked liquor cabinet. Right inside the door, the kid took off. I guess he knows the place pretty well. Sadi ran to catch him. She must have tripped something because suddenly we have two orcs in our face.

I did what any smart mage does. I took two giant steps back. Frick and Frack, the halflings (I don’t remember their names, OK? Sue me.) were all covered in armor. One of my better ideas, I thought. They’re shopkeepers and they were all “Wa wa. We’re shopkeepers! We don’t know how to fight.” And I bullied them into A. Coming with us and B. Putting on armor. The more people between me and combat, the better.

When the orcs attacked I didn’t have to do much to be behind the line of battle. Heroes. God love ‘em. They went into action. Except cutey Buzz. Where’d he go off to? Dwarf guy and dragon girl squared off and started whaling on those guys. It was impressive.

I found myself standing beside Milly, the sorceress. Did I say how much I hate tall people? She was lobbing magic missiles into the fray. I lost my spellbook somewhere in the whole kidnapped and hung in a cage thing, but I do have some spells tattooed on my arms. Not that I’m using them on two puny orcs. Phttt.

The silence was uncomfortable for me. I mean my silence. There was a lot of noise from the fight. So I said to Milly, “That girl, she’s like a half-dragon, right? How weird is that?”
She looks at me and after a moment she says “That half-dragon saved your life.”
I was like “Judge much?”
And that was the end of that.

I spotted Sadi — I like her. She doesn’t say much. She was over away from the battle, by a door.
I grabbed Frack or Frick. I don’t know. Halflings pretty much look alike to me. And we walked over to Sadi.

“What’s up?”
“I hear voices. Faint but there are several. And maybe the sound of dice. I’m not sure.”
I snorted. “God, if it’s orcs no doubt they are playing Hallways and Humans. They love that stupid game.”
Sadi turned to me. “Hallways and…… what?”
“You don’t know that game? Huh. Get out much? The orcs are playing it every night in taverns. Like they have characters they ‘play’ and adventures that they go on. Pretty cerebral stuff for orcs.”

About then Frack says to me, “I have to pee.” Like I know how you pee wearing armor?
“Go talk with the dwarf. He’ll hook you up.”
I half heard Sadi say “Let’s see what’s behind this door.”
I grabbed her arm. “Wait!”

…… to be continued.

I wasn’t quite feeling myself, so I’m not sure who suggested that we ask a goblin to help us out, but we talked with the leader of the goblin tribe.

He’s a stout fellow, smarter and taller than the rest. His grasp of Common is fairly good. Certainly beats my abilities at Goblin. His name is Lingaub and when Myntilly explained how she thought the mission would go, he was all in agreement.

He stripped to his underclothes (at least they had been fresh a few days before, so this was not as traumatic as it otherwise might have been!) He stood on the dock, waiting the next actions. It was like something from a dream. I remember seeing Myntilly circling the goblin, her lips moving as she cast spell after spell. And then Ian and Acgar joined in. And I heard my voice in the chant as if from a distance.

When the chanting stopped, Lingaub stood there in a swirl of magic. He was stronger, more dexterous, hardier, smarter and somehow, more likeable. He had better resistance to magic. Eagle’s splendor. Mage armor. Protection from evil. Bull’s strength. Message. Endure elements. Shield of faith. Bear’s endurance. Fearlessness. Cat’s grace. Water breathing. Stoneskin.

We gave him all the help we could. And then, he dove into the water.

It felt like hours passed and finally Myntilly got the message. “I am safe.” A smile broke over her face. “Now we can teleport.”

“The goblins? What on earth for? Foul little buggers, they’ll try to bite and –” Myntilly smiled. “We believe they have information that might be of use.” He blinked suddenly. “Of course. Of course! How could I not see that?! This way.” Myntilly flashed a quick smile at me. Not that she needs it but a quick eagle’s splendor spell can really make people see things your way.

The smell was stronger in the cell block. About 15 goblins were crowded in together. When they saw us most shuffled to the back. Three of them stayed put, looking sullen.
In order to cast her language spell, Myntilly needed to touch one of them. She held out a shiny copper penny. The tallest of the three raced up and grabbed it.

Myntilly spoke to them for a few minutes in Goblin. “They keep saying that Drakthar is dead and then long live Drakthar. Weird. They say that they simply move crates from one end of the tunnels to the other. Metal, ore, materials.” I thought for a moment. “Is Drakthar undead, do you think?” The tallest goblin spoke up. “Friend of Shining One, Drakthar can never die. He is dead.” I raised my eyebrows. “You speak Common? Excellent. I want to meet Drakthar.” The goblin started at this. He retreated to whisper with his brothers. When he came back his brows were furrowed in thought. “Drakthar is dead. No meetings.” I leaned forward. “Take us into the tunnels. We will see for ourselves.”

At that moment the earth shook violently for almost a minute. When the shaking stopped, I heard a faint grinding noise. “Oh god. The building. It might collapse. Krewis! Get these goblins out of the cells. Now!”

We raced to the front door. There it was easy to see that the noise was from across the street.

As we watched, a man crawled from the rubble. I knelt to heal him and he grabbed my tunic. “My family. Wife. Daughters.”

Ian and Brus were beside me by then and Myntilly and Acgar joined us.

Sergeant Krewis and the goblins stood in the street.

Ian quickly took charge. “Let me take a moment to assess.” He walked as far around the rubble as he could. He rubbed his chin. “Yes. Yes that will work.”

“Seargeant! If you please, bring the goblins here.”

He pointed to the far side of the rubble. “They can begin to clear the stones away.”

Acgar summoned Hamouk, her mount. “Where do you want us?”

He pointed to my left. “Try to drag these big pieces away.”

Acgar fashioned a rope harness and in no time Hamouk was hauling large debris from the site.
As the survivors were pulled from the wreckage, Myntilly and I gave first aid.

As the entire family was hugging and thanking us for saving them, Quinlan arrived.
“Damned earthquakes. We can’t catch a break. Glad you were here.” He turned and saw the goblins. “Krewis! What in Garl’s name do you think you’re doing? Those are goblins, man! I’m surprised they didn’t slit your throat and loot your body in all this chaos.”

I raised my hand to get his attention. “What?” He snapped at me. “Quinlan, it was my idea to use the goblins. I thought the jail was collapsing and I ordered Sergeant Krewis to bring the goblins out. Then it just seemed natural to put them to work.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “You ordered one of my men? You ordered one of my men?”
Myntilly hurried over. “Hello Captain Quinlan! I must commend Sergeant Krewis. He showed great valor in this rescue. A lesser man would have lost control of the goblins. It’s obvious that you’ve trained him well.” I wasn’t sure if my splendor spell was still active, but Myntilly was on a roll.

Quinlan turned his back to me. “Why,” he asked Myntilly quietly, “did you release the goblins?”
“We want to go down into the tunnels. Into Drakthar’s way.” She paused. “It’s a good plan. And the goblins, well, they seem to look up to me. There’ll be no trouble.”
Quinlan was silent for a long moment. “OK. But they better show up for their court date.”

It was mostly an uneventful journey from Kingfisher Hollow to Cauldron. Except that at one point, when we were almost to Cauldron, the earth gave a sudden heave and several of us were knocked off our feet.

We quickly looked around. What spell was this? We kept still and silent in anticipation of attack. Acgar tried to detect magic, but there was none she could discern. After a few more minutes of caution, we continued on the journey.

As we got closer to the city, we could see the gates and the symbol of Cauldron, the eye wreathed in flame. After all we’ve learned, that symbol gives me chills. Ian cocked his head at the guards on the gate. “Are they always there? I don’t remember…” Sadi answered, “This is something new. The one with the spear, he’s kind of beefy. But that other one — caster maybe. He’s pretty puny and I don’t see any ranged weapon.”
“Makes sense,” Myntilly weighed in. “You want a caster. Not a sorcerer, though — he’s wearing armor. Or at least it looks like armor from here. Now that would be an interesting gambit. Maybe we can try something like that one of these days. See if Skye has any sort of armor that looks like plate but is really cloth.”

I thought we looked a bit motley. Me and Myntilly in front, Ian, brus and Sadi with her camel, Obi. Then Acgar with frog and mount.

We were road weary and bone weary from our time in Kingfisher Hollow. I had a big bruise on my thigh from falling on my mace when the ground tossed us up in the air. I wanted a soak at Orak’s, a hot meal and quiet contemplation in the solar at temple. What I got was all together different.

We realized that Skylar Krewis was standing to one side with a robed man. When they saw us, Skylar hurried over. “Please come to the barracks right away! Captain Quinlan would like to see you.”  Myntilly gave him a bright smile. “It’s good to see you again Seargent Krewis. I’m sure this can wait until tomorrow. We are road weary.” She started to go past him. The robed man moved to block her way. Sadi snorted. “You are with the MTA, I see.” The man nodded but did not speak. “We pulled your nuts out of the fire, literally when the umber hulk attacked your warehouse district.”
I stepped up. “I see that you are a man of Kord. Blessed be the Brawler and all who follow his path.” I bowed low. Sadi followed my lead and as she bent, she whispered to me “I could’ve taken him.”
Acgar moved forward. “I for one, would like to report our findings to Quinlan. Let’s go.”

Quinlan was in the conference room when we arrived. “We have a situation,” he said. “Ike Iverson was found dead outside Garthun Imports two nights ago.” This news was met with silence. After a moment, I cleared my throat. “Quinlan, we’ve just come from Kingfisher Hollow. Two nights ago we –” He waved his hand at me. “I know where you’ve been. Please. Do you think I’ve kept this position by not knowing important things? Ponus! Ponus!”
Before anyone could ask what he meant, a tall thin man walked in with a sheaf of papers. Quinlan gestured towards us. “Ponus, Divas. Divas, Ponus.” Acgar stood up and bowed. “I have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Ponus.” The man started a bit at Acgar’s words. “Yes,” he said quietly, as if to himself. “The dragon. I remember.”

“I did the usual speak with dead spell on Mr. Iverson. He was struck from behind, unfortunately. When I asked him why he was killed, he did have an intriguing answer. He said ‘Failed to do my job.’” He spread out some photographs. “Here are some closeups of the head wound.” Acgar looked at them eagarly. “This looks just like the wound on Todd Vanderbourne’s head. He was killed by finger of death.” Dr. Ponus rubbed his pointed chin. “Finger of death, hmmm? It is consistent with the burn marks….”

“Speaking of the Vanderbournes,” Quinlan broke in. “They really want to see you before you head to Sasserene.” I cocked my head. “How did you know we were going to Sasserene?”
“Pfff. It’s my job to know things, right? So stop by and see them. They want to thank you for returning Todd’s body.” He stood up. “I’m glad you stopped by to talk with me. Now off you go.” He made pushing motions with his hands.