Through rain and wind, FCG fled across the Vezdaweald canopy. The weary troop made a beeline towards the coast and landed on the sandy beach. The party got there just as the logging company they’d arrived with was finishing loading up the rest of their petrified workers on to their keelboat. FCG hitched a ride back to Port Damali, divvying up the loot, assessing losses, and enjoying a much needed rest along the way. The logging company’s proprietor and ship captain, saw to it that FCG was paid handsomely for recovering his men.
When the party arrived at Port Damali, they were greeted by Triple J’s mother, Heidi Honeylocks, who escorted them back to the Cloistered Fiddle. Back at the Grinners’ hideout, Heidi disclosed the nature of the Grinners’ adversarial relationship with the Claret Order and particularly Bekkel the Breaker, the lycan leader at the old fort. However, with the Chalice of Stories returned, Heidi told Triple J it was his time for his gift. The bard washed up and changed into the set of plain ceremonial robes provided to him before reconvening with his friends in the bar below.
Heidi appeared once more, dressed strangely in her own right, and escorted the group down to the hideout’s guarded cellar. At the end of a long tunnel, the party arrived at a ceremonial chamber, marked with runes on the floor and enshrouded in magical darkness. The rest of the party was instructed to wait on the edge of the room while Triple J was brought to the center. In this moment, Heidi revealed to Triple J that the Grinners were actually sect of vampires dedicated to aiding the downtrodden across the ages. She unveiled to Triple J a fanged grin of her own and asked her son if he was ready to become one of them, for he had proven himself worthy. Trusting his mother, Triple J agreed to take part in the ritual.
Heidi smiled and stepped back towards the edge of the room. Shakaste and three other hooded figures then stepped through the magical darkness. Heidi presented Shakaste with the chalice. The individuals on the edge of their room sliced their hands in unison and drained their blood into the chalice. Shakaste approached Triple J and offered him the chalice. After a moment of hesitation, the bard accepted the blood filled cup. Shakaste stepped back and dripped some of his own blood into the floor, setting the runework below alight with a crimson glow. Triple J then drank heavily from the chalice and underwent a Vampiric transformation both outward and inward. As Triple J finally relaxed from the transition, his gaze was met by the fanged grins of all of the individuals present for the ceremony.
The rest of FCG stared in awe at the ritual. As the process concluded and Triple J was reunited with party, they peppered him with questions about the experience and ramifications of his now undead form. The party spent the wee hours of the morning conversing with Heidi, and resting, before bidding farewell and returning to Rosohna. Still a few hours too early for their date with war, FCG headed out into the Firmaments and to the Dawnlight Respite, a luxury inn and restaurant, to enjoy some of the finest cuisine Rosohna had to offer. There, Endrin checked in with both Malcolm and Triple J, making sure both mind and heart were in the right place for the upcoming battle.
Before long, FCG returned to the Lucid Bastion where they were met by Nyx and Xavier Kryn. Xavier led the troop to a teleportation circle where they were all teleported back to the Ashguard Garrison. The garrison was buzzing with wartime activity as the legions of the Dynasty prepared to depart. FCG was escorted to a tent where they rendezvoused with Lendis Daev’yana, Cylan Hythenos, Brett Miller, and El. Their strike force now assembled, Xavier laid out the Kryn battle plan for Nogvurat as well as the specifics of the party’s mission, the objective being to capture, or kill if necessary, Crown Marshal Hayden Damurag. With the plan laid, Xavier saw to it that the party was equipped with whatever supplies they might need as well as a handful of healing potions before escorting FCG down to the worm den. From there, the party boarded a dark iron sled affixed to the back of a gargantuan purple worm and set off into the underdark, headed for war.
