March 07, 2026

Hook

Beyond the Gray Fog VIII

Plot Synopsis

The party arrives at the seal and confronts Sauron. They learn of the history of Sauron and of his curse he put on his family. They learn of the history of the Bartholomew family and Sauron’s connection with the family. Sauron tells them that in order to open the door they must either defeat Sauron or end the Bartholomew bloodline. Sauron can see beyond the Fog surrounding the party and sees their otherworldly powers. Sauron reveals his name to be Vermonda Bartholomew, he then breaks his shackles and confronts the party. He uses the power of shadows to attack the party, summoning horses, spears, and claws to strike with. The party is overwhelmed by the power of a Sequence 1 Beyonder, and when Vermonda transforms into their mythical creature form the party is almost completely defeated. Everyone expect for Mr. Sims is blinded, but in this darkness a small orb appears and floats over to J.I.M and Zaphani. This being talks to them and offers them a deal, they will be this beings eyes in exchange for saving the party from certain death. Zaphani accepts the deal and torments Vermonda with a multitude of chaos effects. One effect imbues the specter with life energy causing his body to dissipate into dust. The seal covering the door opens and reveals a large ancient city covered in the shadows of a gigantic tree. Zaphani looks upon the tree and takes some pain damage, as he sees threads extending from the tree to every person he can see. They recover some Beyonder characteristics from the corpse. Temperance comes to check on the status of the party, being surprised that the party both survived and defeated Vermonda. The party is annoyed by the vagueness of Temperance, but she tells them that she is doing this to protect them. She then informs them to find the Marionette being smuggled into Trier. They receive a Tarot Card (Sylva), Orb of Light (Kali), Burning Coal (J.I.M.), and Fish Scale (Sylva) from the Beyonder characteristics they found. They briefly talk with Lord Bartholomew, and intimidate a butler into giving them a few supplies They return to the Church of the Fool and take a rest. J.I.M. takes the opportunity to compose a new poem out of new “fun words”, while sitting on the rooftop peacefully observing the city. As the party begins to wake up, Sinclair cooks them a very filling breakfast. Mosing over to District 13 and entering the ballroom, the party is stopped by a pair of guardsmen and make an appointment for a later meeting with Gardner (“we have some premium items that may be of your utmost interest ”- Mr Sims et. al. / ). Trying to kill time, the party heads to the market to buy some fresh meat, and the hospital to repair J.I.M.’s broken spine. The party finds the streets oddly empty and the hospital rather busy, an injured casino employee being rushed into the hospital to no avail. After waiting for a few hours, J.I.M. and Mr. Sims consults with the doctor, and is offered an expensive treatment plan to fix his spine. J.I.M. drinks the first set of the potions. Zaphani looks outside the window and notices that the party is being watched. The party decides to split apart and carefully make their way to the ballroom. They head into the ballroom and are told that only 4 people may go upstairs and speak with Gardener. Atlas, Mr. Sims, Sylva, and Kali head upstairs with the orb of light and the tarot card. Right at this moment they hear a large crash occurring downstairs.

Noteworthy Postgame Events