Academy Anthology: Tales of Home

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====== Secrets in the Sands ======

**Session Date**: 08/9/2025 \\
**Game Master**: Declan/Riley

===== Player Characters =====

  * **Baila**, Eladrin College of Dance Bard (Tara)
  * [[caiel|Caiel]], Teifling Warlock (Nat)
  * [[klast|Klast Ronison]], Rock-Man Peace Cleric (Jim W)
  * [[lith_oakenheart|Lith Oakenheart]], Shadar-Kai Circle of the Moon Druid (Bridget)
  * **Loro**, Elf Fighter (Andrew)
  * [[rotheon|Rotheon "Roe" Gearbit]], Aasimar Clockwork Sorcerer (Ace)
  * **Slate**, Warforged Giant Barbarian (Andy H)
===== Named People and Places =====

  * [[:nemedobur|The Province of Nemedobur]] - Declan's adventuring province; a group of dangerously unstable and widely unexplored shards
  * [[Dearaigsach]] - A medium-sized shard in [[:nemedobur|The Province of Nemedobur]]. This desert shard is covered in redrock structures, sandy dunes, and the fossilized remains of massive creatures. It regularly reaches temperatures that could boil a creature alive should they stay out in the sun too long.
  * Caelus - A peculiar tiefling scientist & a Founding [[the_voyagers|Voyager]]
  * [[guinevere|Guinevere]] - A no-nonsense, overworked triton fighter & Founding [[the_voyagers|Voyager]]; also the head of the Crannathragh [[the_voyagers|Voyager]] Outpost
    * Soairse - Guinevere's pyroraptor companion
  * Micah - Expert monster hunter & [[the_voyagers|Voyager]]
  * Savai - Resident artificer for [[the_voyagers|The Voyagers]]

===== Major Plot Points =====

  * The party were called to Dearaigsach to assist an excavation mission with a problem they've been having
  * They arrive and chat for a while, then do some initial exploring of the Shard, led by Roe and Lith 
  * After finding the digsite, Lith correctly identifies the skeleton as belonging to a Glabrezu, a type of massive demon that is usually found in the Abyss
  * Caelus greets them and explains every night, a group of Gnolls has been attacking the site, wrecking the site, stealing supplies, and running away before the excavation group can kill them
    * They have chosen not to chase them because they feared leaving the digsite unattended would have big consequences
  * Baila and Caiel catch up with their friend Savai, who fills in a few more blanks about the situation and laments that she can't hang out with them until she's done with the dig
  * The party prepare for nightfall, Klast hiding in a pile of rocks with Slate and Loro, while the rest of the party wait more towards the front of camp
  * The gnolls and fiery pangolins descend onto the camp, attacking the party and the NPCs until they're beaten down enough to start fleeing
  * The party give chase, Klast having the foresight to get ahead of the gnolls and point the way to their hideout upon discovering it
  * Wasting no time, the party enter the cave, finding it covered in Abyssal scrawl written in blood or carved directly into the walls
  * They sneak inside, looking down at a large runic ritual circle drawn in blood, with five gnolls gathered around it, and the party all launch a surprise attack to kill the gnolls
  * At the same time, Caiel casts Comprehend Languages, and sees a manifesto written in blood on the walls mentioning how a Betrayer slayed the King of Lies, and now the gnolls live to serve this Betrayer to take back what they feel is rightfully theirs
  * The gnolls all die at once thanks to Baila casting Shatter and Roe using a Dagger of Detonation to cast Shatter again, and their blood seeps into the ritual circle which glows an eerie purple
  * Klast casts Sending to contact Caelus warning that the demon skeleton might awaken soon, and Caelus responds "Too bloody late for that!"
  * They rush back to fight a now fully formed Glabrezu, destroying it swiftly
  * However, they realize because it wasn't killed in the Abyss, it starts to reform
  * Caelus casts a spell, chanting in Abyssal, and the Glabrezu is seemingly banished back to the Abyss, but Caiel's Comprehend Languages allows him to hear that it isn't Caelus's voice speaking through their body at that moment
  * With the Glabrezu gone and the skeleton gone with it, the digsite lays empty, and both the party and The Voyagers are left with more questions than answers