TLDR: The Journey So Far…

The group first meets with Quinn finding both Syrena and Kythorn locked in a jail cell. Kythorn is in a shutdown state, but Syrena is able to escape. Andrina is spotted by some guards when she looks through a window and a fight begins, Bennethere steps in as well and helps her in the fight. The group eventually meets up with one another due to this fight and it ends. They are now determined to find out what is going on in this town and Kythorn wants to know what brought her here.

They learn through the Bartender that there is a Cult issue in the town and decide to get to the bottom of things. They learn that the Mayor might know more, even though he is NOT in the cult. As they make their way towards the Mayor’s home, they learn more about one another through fights and just interacting; Quinn has a companion Ben who sometimes seems to appear differently, Kythorn is not a fan of liquids and is very determined to find out who brought her here, Bennethere is someone who will always help the others and is a loyal companion, Syrena is someone you don’t want to mess with, especially when she is singing, and Andrina is a sarcastic “blueberry,” who is ready to cut tendons whenever she has the chance.

They continue on their way through town when they end up in a Tavern, Quinn instigating a fight and Andrina takes out on guy by stabbing his kidney and climbing up another one like a backpack. Everyone plays their part and the fight is ended. Quinn goes on a side mission while the rest of the crew find out more answers from a man named Snigrot that they let live to get information from.

From the Tavern, the crew, minus Quinn, make camp in the nearby woods for the night. Quinn continues his side mission to try and find where everyone went and ends up at a hut a little ways away from the group. Inside, he meets a man and to bond with him, he shares a drink with him. The drink was actually poison which causes the old man to fall asleep. Quinn takes all of his clothing and possessions, eventually ditching the clothing, and also tries to drown the old man’s weasel companion in the drink as well. He finally meets up with everyone and they rest for the night.

In the morning, the crew continues the journey to the Mayor, when they are surprised by the old man who ends up being a very powerful Wizard named Ramne. Kythorn gives back the things that Quinn stole, and when she does, Quinn tries to attack the Wizard to keep the items. Syrena knocks Quinn out to avoid them having to get into a battle they probably wouldn’t all make it out of.

Finally at the Mayor’s home, the group enters the building, Kythorn grappling the Mayor and Bennethere helps de-escalate so they can get some answers about this cult problem. They learn for Kythorn’s questions that the Mayor had no idea about her and thought she was a statue when they brought her in. The leader of the crew that brought her is known as the Coral Fox, the name triggering a memory in Andrina but she tucks that information away from the group. Grover is the name of the contact that made the deal with the Coral Fox for Kythorn.

Any information they can gather from the Mayor they do; there have been strange disappearances at midnight, minds appear to be warped when people do reappear again, The Mayor has hired a PI to look into the cult as well and gives the crew the names Dorian and Liwillian.

The Torture Poets decide to take things back to the Tavern to investigate the tunnels that Quinn had found when he separated after their fight. Down in the tunnels, they come across very large snakes, chests and ghouls. Andrina and Quinn head off in the wrong way to investigate more but come up empty. They return to the group and they’ve discovered a very large statue which they decide to make camp near for the time being.

Due to finding nothing in the tunnels, the group leave the Tavern and continue on in the town. Syrena and Andrina spotting a child in one of the buildings, and eventually a boy who seems unresponsive on a porch. Andrina bonking him in the head which helps wake him up, but when his parents arrive they act strangely.

Eventually the group arrives at the Temple the cult has taken up and see it’s surrounded by giant walls and a big door. To try and help things along and get a better view, Andrina has Bennethere throw her up onto the wall so she can spot anything. Quinn ends up getting the door open which alerts the wolves and commoners within. Andrina takes one of them out, and the other is quickly downed by the group and the wolves are killed. Going through the bodies of the downed people, it’s noted that one of them has a single curved tooth tattoo; a known symbol from a certain pirate crew.

Misha Devi, a woman from the Temple comes out, devastated at the scene before her and they learn that the wolves were actually just their pets.. Misha attacks but the group is able to capture her. They learn that the Temple is for some god named Merikka, one of the “dead” Gods, a cover for the real god. Explicitica Defilus is the reason for the disappearances. Misha takes poison and dies before they’re able to learn any more. The other commoner is killed as well. Bennethere takes the snake amulet that Misha was wearing. Andrina takes a ring that was on the finger of one of the commoners.

Inside the Temple, they discover another Jade statue of Merikka and further in, 3 monks who had been praying. One is allowed to live, the others killed off. He shares that people were brought to the temple to be brainwashed and from there, they are taken elsewhere.

Andrina’s session

After attuning to the ring, a presence takes over Andrina and she blacks out. She finally comes to in another place but passes out again, going in and out of consciousness and unsure where she is. She wakes up again to a woman talking to a man behind her; something about the Snakes of the Silverfang, and the names Orchazelith and Gareth are mentioned. She blacks out once more. When coming to again, she’s greeted by a woman named Abramo who tells her that she’s been betrayed by her party. Still in a state of confusion, Andrina is given a tea and blacks out once more. She awakens to Syrena standing by Abramo yelling at Andrina, but she can’t talk. The rest of the Torture Poets are taking part in a battle from beyond while Syrena tries to talk to Andrina but her ears are ringing and she has no idea what is being said. She goes at Syrena with a knife, her anger boiling over over the betrayal she feels. All she wants is revenge and only believes now that the cult is where she belongs and who she can trust. In the back of her mind through this, she feels a pull eastward.

Back with Group

Andrina remains fighting against her friends, slashing as much as she can until Bennethere and Syrena tie her up. While they deal with her, Kythorn questions the priestess they have captured. Abramo offers Kythorn a deal that if she agrees to work with her, they’ll give Kythorn the answers she’s looking for. Syrena, angry at what was happening and whatever was done to Andrina comes back and kills Abramo as she says “I knew it was you..” at Syrena. Back with Bennethere and Andrina there is harsh words thrown at him from her end of the betrayal she feels and how hurt she is and she throws words of poison at him, anything to hurt him since she is tied up. Quinn also receives harsh words from her and is hurt. Syrena realizes that the change happened after Andrina put the ring on and takes it off her. Andrina can’t help but feel deeply ashamed at what she said, the hurt of her past coming back in those moments.

Within one of the rooms as they continue looking around, they find a girl named Cirilli caged up. They learn that this isn’t the place where they turn people, and there was something about her that kept her normal when the rest of her family were taken away. She isn’t sure where exactly as she was blindfolded, but she knows that she was brought eastward.

Quinn being always the genius, sets the building on fire once it seems that everyone will be leaving, but the others have decided to go down the trap door where they find a maze containing an Ogre that they luckily sneak past. Unfortunately, Andrina sets off a shrieking shroom that alerts the Ogre, and they have to hurry until they’re met and fight with a group of Troglodytes and eventually have to fight the Ogre.

Now that the Ogre is dead and they’ve confirmed there’s no other way out, they head back up to the surface, luckily the fire hasn’t spread and make their way outside back to where the dire wolves are. Kythorn and Bennethere harvest what they can and the crew continues on. Bennethere and Kythorn plant some acorns in memory of the lives that were taken.

They leave the town and make their way east, eventually stopping to rest for the night. In the night though, Syrena gets up and walks off….TO BE CONTINUED