September 09, 2023

Hook

Clouds and Mist Riches and Honor Intro Part 2

Plot Synopsis

In the days since our intrepid adventurers have left Chongbai, two new individuals, Reese and Sugon, join the fray having received a powerful message upon looking at the smoke coming from Lo, a draconic human, who we know as Ying, has sought help from travelers wandering nearby. Heeding the call, the group moves to investigate.

Having recently finished shopping, the squad of Raiden, Taka, Yugon, Lee, and Rilo reconvene with Cuernante in the nick of time as the party notice the medical tent has been lit ablaze by an unknown phenomenon. Rushing to the scene, the party convenes with Reese and Sugon as they work to evacuate the sick patients from the burning tent.

Raiden, Yugon, Sugon, Reese, and Rilo all work to assist in the evacuation of sick individuals from the tent while Taka and Lee both help Baihe create Encroaching Water, which she intends to use to put out this magical fire.

Just before the tent collapses, Cuernante manages to break through the magical shield that the strange serpentine flames had put up, charging through the tent and towards the lake where Baihe, Lee, and Taka are all working on finishing the water. Before suffering too much damage, the concoction is finished as the magical fire is put out and the sick villagers are saved.

After a brief period of recuperation and introductions, the party opts to take a short rest at the Mushroom’s Capstone Inn before finally making the trek to the lab. Upon entering the building, they see the logo for ‘Zuanshi Steelworks’ on the back wall of the reception desk and forge further in, seeing a destroyed reception room overtaken by plants so quickly after the lab had been abandoned.

Further investigation reveals the scrawled notes of who is assumed to be a previous employee of the lab, with each note having various dates.

The first, dated 1.5 months before the lab was abandoned, reads as such:
“Resettlement has been going well, we have managed to set up all our machines and finally get to work. Thankfully, the locals don’t seem the most upset with our intrusion and hopefully we should be out of their hair soon.”

The second, dated 1 month before the lab was abandoned, reads as such:
“A lot of people have been getting more sick as of late, probably just a mix of being so close to an active leyline as well as the leyline sickness season coming back to this area. Everyone has been taking their Teresium Pills so we can still work.”

The third, dated 2 weeks before the lab was abandoned reads as such:
“It’s gotten worse. I can feel the tree growing in my stomach. The rest have already turned. The company ordered us to quarantine, and I don’t see that lifting any time soon. The rest of us are just waiting out the sickness.”

The final had no date and was written in blood, reading:
BEGIN THE END

With that, the party began to embark down the staircase into the lower section of the lab, their path illuminated by bioluminescent plants as they journey to see what awaits them in the depths…

Noteworthy Postgame Events