April 12, 2026

Hook

Beyond the Gray Fog XI

Plot Synopsis

The party receives a newspaper, and returns to the Beyonder Gathering to pick up their magic items. They receive a hat that can provide them a glimpse into the future and a topaz necklace that protects from shadowy curses and grants sun powers at the cost of feeling intense heat. The party convenes with Temperance who explains the situation with The Bliss Society and hands them their Sequence 7 Potions. Atlas makes a grand speech describing his experience with the whims of fate and his resolve to change it. Sylva and Mr. Sims are possessed by crabs for some reason (Crab Rave). As the party heads to Red Swan Castle, a foreboding omen overwhelms them. Energy coming from somewhere underground. No one comes to welcome them, the residents seemingly completely oblivious to their presence. As the party investigates the castle (With Kali finding a top-quality bottle of wine), and traverses the maze they feel the sense getting stronger. At the entrance they see a grand blue sky and a gigantic tree. Overwhelmed by the sheer scope of it, members of the party try to comprehend it but fail. They slowly traverse the city through a cool variety of paths in a roguelike manner reminiscent of hit indie game Slay the Spire 2. Atlas follows the path chosen by fate, entering a strange moist/rocky area, squeezing into a cramped tunnel leading to an overgrown building overrun with large wooden roots ascending towards the surface. Slashes against the tree bark puss with vicious black sap leaking out. They follow the roots into a ruined demolished house, within one of the rooms sits a human-shaped pile of flesh. Atlas tries to communicate with the strange flesh puppet, receiving only a vague “HM”. Atlas has a hat and JIM has the necklace. Atlas uses the hat to gain a sense of what happened, using the LNecklace to recede the curse but leaves a shriveled corpse as the tree absorbs the life energy from the person. The party then gets dragged into a fractured world made up of their own memories. In this world they meet the puppeteer of the Bliss Society, Shanks. Who then controls some threads, as they stab into the back of J.I.M. transforming him into a puppet. Shanks then begins to act out a scene with J.I.M., a scene of a hero fighting the evil villain. The party continues to try and fight Shanks, but he seems to be toying with them. He continues to provoke the party and tries to get them to see him as a villain. They follow a path further into the light, as the tree roots seem to be purposefully bent open, giving a brief opportunity to sprint outside. They emerge underneath the canopy of the Tree of Shadows continually oozing out the same black tar. They eventually encounter a strange “priestly” woman dressed in oddly revealing clothing. As Atlas talks with her, they encounter some verbal difficulties as their knowledge is mismatched. The lady asks them to join her in prayer, as seems confused and suspicious. The party tries to lie, but fails, and the priest forces them to join her in prayer. They leave off with the Mother Tree of Desire noticing them.

Noteworthy Postgame Events