- In his search to find out more on his origins and hoping to find the whereabouts of an item he's heard of, a "Moon Sickle" he travels to the ruins of an old Exaltium mine. Talking with and elderly caretaker (who seems very grateful for the brief company) he discovers Moon Sickles were given to the soldiers of the temples.
- No sighting of Nassandrial
- No sighting of Septus and Seppia, the constructs and the armies of the cartel has disappeared. All business, outposts and resources have been abandoned or disappeared - no word of their activities or any trace of them along the Ulvari coast or from around Altisha.
- No word of Vi but there have been some disappearances around Altisha of high ranking Advisors and Officials that have coincided with Vi's disappearance.
- No news of Ezra, the Arcane Eye have confirmed he is missing and will pay for his safe return.
- Cade, Kel & Lotty hear from Elric's cousin, Massinissa, and with their help the they manage to get Elric to the Devine Pansophical to remove the influence from the Demonomicon. Elric returns to the Underdark with Massinissa, to try and come to terms with the atrocities he had committed and find his peace.
- Berrik discovers some kind of modify memory curse has been used on Null; but some kind of enhanced version, he speculates that perhaps a purple exaltium catalyst may have been used to cast the spell.
- From the scouting trip to Zanidonia Berrik learns that Calitrax has cemented her leadership.
- No sightings of Nassandrial
- Whilst practising True Sight Berrik mentions to Cade that the glowing ball of blue fire he previous saw in Cade's chest had turned yellow. Not even knowing he had a glowing ball inside him Cade surmises it's probably his exaltium power source but Berrik deduces it burns brighter than that. Lotty manages to find an access port to look at Cade's insides but feels like it wouldn't be wise to open him up! Lotty flippantly suggests that it's Cade's soul and he got a new one when he died which is why it changed colour.
- Null learns from the Pacapa Exchange that she arrived there, new to the area, aged 12. She was taken in to Madame Trolley's orphanage before eventually starting to work for the Exchange. Null realises this is in conflict with her own memories whereby she recalls having lived in Pacapa her whole life.
- The Scouting trip to Zanidonia sees the population there content under Calitrax's rule and happy with the lack of conflict.
- In searching for potential allies Null discovers the Lord of Aramore and Lady of Lerwick may support a transition of power as they are not happy with the new taxes Calitrax has imposed.
- When Lotty, Cade & Null visit Palarino to try to discover new of Geshut they are able to confirm the Geshut was going to meet Vi and hasn't been seen since but no leads or new information. Cade is able to send a message to Geshut to confirm he is still alive but doesn't know where he is.
- Lotty has spend time reading up languages and begins to devise the "Ashen Argot", which is a combination of speech and sign language known only to the Ashen Company.
- Silas has spent his time retraining and taking care of the orphans of Zanidonia and getting them settled in to the Ashen Villa.
- Kel installed a library in to the Ashen Villa when it was purchased and hasn't been seen since.
- Demon incursion (Avatar of Tariah) in the Sands of Illyria defeated
- Large Construct defeated in Crimson Fields - ties to Allerdale (?) a former magister (?)
- Bellevue crime family
- Demon incursion from Avatar of Kovish, Group called the Guardians of the Grove defeated although 2,000,000 lives were lost.
- Hunt & stop Nassandrial, green dragon (no leads)
- Hunt & stop Vi (no leads)
- Find and rescue Geshut (no leads)
- Find Septus/Seppia/Army (no leads)
- Find Ezra (speak to Arcane Eye & solve puzzle)
- Remove Lady Calitrax from power (need to ensure the timing is correct)
- Travel to the Lands of Desolation to find out how Cade is made and search for a Moon Sickle
- Remove Null's Tattoo (level 9 Dispel Magic, Wish spell or removal by person who put it there. Scroll worth 8,000gp)
- Restore Null's Memory (Greater Restoration? With catalyst)
- Reaper's quests for gold if/when needed
Ashen Villa highlights:
2 levels!
Gardens
Paddock for horses
Great hall
Conference room
2-storey library
First floor wing to house the Zanidonian orphans and their caretakers (yes, we now have 5 or 7 wards)
Latharial kind of moved in?
Additional guest rooms
Each member of the party has their own room, some even have en-suite bathrooms
Balconies
Various sitting areas
Scene opens on the party having breakfast in the great hall, along with their wards. Silas sits down to find his chair squeaking yet again, as it has ever since they moved in. He reminisces about the past year, trying to figure out which kid could be the culprit. Where could they have learned this? Silas takes the reins on their education, but he only instructs them in virtuous, mainly athletic endeavours. Null has taught them to pickpocket, but chair sabotage really requires a craftier touch. Lotty did try to point them to more artisanal pursuits, but that never seemed to pan out. Could Cade have managed to impart some carpentry? He remembers one pupil in particular that paid attention to Cade’s carpentry lessons - Nikolai. Locking eyes with the grinning child as his chair irritatingly squeaks, he silently vows to work him extra hard later. Deep down, however, Silas is proud of his favourite pupil.
As breakfast seems to wind down, Cade beckons the kids to come out to plant tomatoes. Not a single one gets up to follow. Null tries to help by faking enthusiasm for gardening, but these kids are a tough audience. Cade laments that Null seemed to have better luck in getting their wards to take to her lessons. In response, Null takes a gold piece and very obviously places it in Cade's pocket then steps away. Soon after, Cade feels a gold piece leave his pocket and turns to catch a small red-haired girl named Lily in the act. He gently scolds her and tries to show her that stealing is harmful to others. Lily doesn’t really absorb the lesson, so Null steps in to offer an alternative approach. Pointing at the gold coin she suggests that it be used to buy seeds, which the kids then plant and care for until the produce is ready to be sold. Then come the larger profits, to be used as they see fit (hopefully for more gardening). She ends the lesson noting that some people just need a little boost to get started sometimes. This approach seems to go over slightly better, but it remains unclear whether the kids understand that they literally cannot grow money on trees.
After some discussion over how to start the day, the party decides to seek out a Reaper contract - they’re feeling a little rusty combat-wise and the extra cash would be welcome. They decide to check in with Remmi at the Last Stand Inn on the way to see if he has any news. Upon arrival to the old throne room Remmi indicates that he is glad to see them but that things have been easy and quiet, as they have been for the past year. The party sees Mira across the room, who seems to be doing well after her resurrection a year ago. Null scans the room for any new faces and sees Nora standing not far from Remmi - this is the would-be assassin that the Ashen Company pacified and turned to their side not long before the Zanidonian trio joined up. She and her employer had been contracted, presumably by the Marionettist, to murder Lotty, Cade and Kel. Seeing a potential opportunity to gain even a little bit more intel about the Marionettist and her unique dilemma, Null asks Lotty to introduce them. Nora is cold towards Lotty, perhaps due to the circumstances under which she was questioned by her previously. Null, trying to be careful not to reveal too much right away, begins by asking Nora a few broader questions. The answers, however, don’t reveal much and Nora doesn’t seem very forthcoming. Eventually, Null tries to be more specific by asking what Nora knew about how her former employer communicated with the Marionettist. Before Nora can answer, however, Null’s eyes flash purple and the party sees arcane tendrils appear around her, just as she swiftly stabs Nora through the heart. Yikes.