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Amid a chaotic tactical retreat, the party is scattered and under heavy pressure. Arguile is locked in combat with a draegloth, Shanks is on the brink of death, Yurik is struggling to reconnect with the group, and Galahad, glowing and highly visible, draws relentless enemy fire while attempting evasive maneuvers. Zechs deploys an axe beak from his Tan Bag of Tricks to disrupt the draegloth, while Duo delivers Shanks’ chained alchemist fire to further weaken it, allowing Salix to extract Arguile by eagle. Meanwhile, Galahad is struck by a lightning arrow and badly injured, Turk and Glad remain stuck to him, and Salix, Zechs, and a barely lucid Arguile scramble to locate Shanks with no clear bearings.

Duo is sent ahead to search and coordinate, eventually catching up to Yurik and guiding him through the chaos of Ors Thurmar. Zechs summons additional eagles to aid the search, but they are shot down, costing the group time and momentum. Turk and Glad fend off a chasme while stuck to Galahad, and Salix creates a decoy image to draw sniper fire, giving the party a chance to regroup and escape at low altitude. Yurik contributes by unleashing a firestorm toward the area where the group fell. Through quick thinking and teamwork, Salix, Zechs, and Arguile reach Shanks in time and pull him back from death. Once reunited, Zechs uses alcohol from the Bag of Holding to dissolve the substance binding Galahad, Turk, and Glad, allowing the party to move together again.

The group is then approached by a pale man, urging them to move quickly and quietly, revealed to be Enich, Yurik’s son and Arguile’s half-brother. After brief explanations of his disappearance and how he’s survived, Enich leads them to a hidden safe spot where they can rest and recover. The brothers share a quiet moment bonding over family memories, and Enich confirms hearing rumors of Elrin topside, but nothing of Arioch. Shanks and Arguile exchange coded words in Thieves’ Cant, revealing that Arguile’s stone has grown warmer in the Underdark and that its number has dropped significantly, raising new concerns. With questions unanswered but strength regained, Enich points out a route out of the city, and the party prepares to move on.

There's so much happening, and that's where we pick up…

Find out what happens next in this episode of the Medusa’s Cascade: Collateral Damage!

Theme Music is written and performed by Efflorescence

Mixed by Thomas Lapierre III

Check out the show at themedusascascade.com

Last time on the Mercurial Avengers, the party set off to the Greatsword Village, where the barracks of the city guards and knights were. There, they went to meet Arnable and came across many of the warriors training. The group disguised themselves as Fat Arguile made his crunchy appearance through town. 

After getting up to some antics and familiarizing themselves with one of the guards, they were shown to Arnable’s quarters. While looking through his living space, Weaqha found the gear he had left behind, but also found old books he had studied on the shelves. Cereius felt unnerved when he saw a familiar set of religious clothes hung over a chair, the very same type of garments he once wore while working as a priest under his old mentor, Utholok.

Rig once again had a sense of deja vu. Kyver himself had a strong vision that revealed the faces of Robin, Little Don, and Poncho from a past job in his memories. The potions and books before him as Poncho and the others filled their bags with items, and an older gentleman appeared, and his vision ended. 

Arnable returned and met the group, donned in full armor, carrying an ornate helmet. While most of them were suspicious of him and his studies, and the books in his personal study, they couldn’t sense ill intentions from him. Rig snatched a book with Arnable’s ongoing research notes looking into the Blight Fiend, curious about why he had it, before he asked Weaqha for his help in trying to cure the plague upon Nymora.

After saying goodbye to Arnable, the group headed towards the Artist’s village in the southwest, where they headed down a secret entrance into the Vineyard. As they passed by markings with the Forbiddance spell, they made the choice to venture further in, despite knowing that Rig would not be able to use her teleportation magic in case of an emergency. Passing by gigantic structures of the Cat goddesses, Kyver and Rig saw faint markings left by the Tabaxi in a special residue only visible by those with darkvision serving as a warning to other Tabaxi.

When they headed in, they saw the branching offshoots with signs that pointed in various directions- and headed towards the marketplace, structured like an hourglass with multiple levels and spiraling staircases and a solid crystal that served as the central support.

When they arrived, Rig turned to see a green tabaxi with golden eyes in the distance, as a sense of deja vu came over her again. Kyver looked off to his side and saw Robin waving to them. Cereius looked forward towards the crystalline structure, and froze up, seeing a vision of his beloved wife, Valencia.

Theme music written and composed by ⁠Efflorescence⁠

Edited & Mixed by Thomas Lapierre III

Check out the show on themedusascascade.com