Designation: Mercurial Avengers – Recap season 1, episodes Prologue – 5

Iteration: 610B98-K27D41

Designation: Mercurial Avengers

I’ve tried this in various different ways, with various combinations of members, but never with five individuals from this particular timeline. While most of what happened in this timeline was within Standard Deviation parameters, the outcome of the Strahd mission was unique and posed both difficult circumstances and interesting possibilities. Particularly involving Attros and We’ahqa. Their strong ties to Kyver and Cereius, as well as their disposition toward Rig during her ill-fated infiltration in Barovia, are advantageous on multiple fronts. Not the least of which is their penchant for autonomous goal setting. While their individual goals may seem erroneous to the goals of Collateral Damage and the Circle of Friends, they may provide the needed ripple effect to keep the timeline stable while I attempt my linchpin gambit. My next entry will detail my proposal to Rig; her background, as well as the four previously mentioned, will be attached to this file. I truly hope this works. 

Attros – It seems that Attros’s gambit propelled him into a sector of the Astral Sea referred to as the Lattice of Echoes. A place that is thought to be the origin of Psionic beings. A fractal network that connects thoughts and memories. Hopefully he hasn’t been there too long.

We’ahqa – While Attros should be in the Lattice, We’, I believe, was thrust into the Shattered Girdle. An odd name for an odd place. A sector of the Sea, and not the only one, made up of the corpses of dead gods and drifting chunks of defunct planes. Apparently known for psychic echoes and extreme time distortion.

Kyver & Cereius – While I didn’t know it at the time, I believe their disappearance from Collateral Damage is due to the successful retrieval of Attros and We’ahqa by Rig and the decisions of the three to help the pair achieve their goals. I’ll hopefully have confirmation by the time I submit my next entry.

I sent word for Rig through several layers of cover. I couldn’t risk revealing who I was and what my plans were, so I sent means of contact through several different mediums. Regardless of how I got her to join me inside the Tavern, I was successful. She was quiet, calculated, and stone-faced until I dropped two tidbits on her. The first was the whereabouts of We’ahqa. At the mention of his name, a softness crept into her demeanor. The second was my certainty that she would cross paths with Shanks sooner rather than later. These two things got the proverbial ball rolling. I handed her the dossiers of the four former members of Collateral Damage, explaining what their goals were, what I think they want to do, and where she could find them. 

However, she was still hesitant to take my offer. It was to be expected; the Constable is a formidable and powerful being that isn’t crossed or double-crossed very easily. So, I laid it out like this:

• Regardless of how covert both of us were, there was no doubt that the Constable already knew of our meeting and expected it to unfold in his favor. He will likely encourage our agreement.
• The gambit I’m running with her is a distraction. This will allow her to tie up any loose ends in her life that she feels are important before things potentially go awry. 
• If my other gambles succeed, she will not have to walk into a scenario of certain death at the behest of the Constable.
• The four people she is picking up already know her from their past and have taken, at least in small part, a kinship toward her. She will be seen as an ally instead of an unknown.
• If she does this, I will do everything in my power to help her find a place and a community that will not abandon her. She will not be alone for the rest of her days. 

After much discussion and concessions on both sides, we agreed: She helps these four finish what they started, and she gets her shot at a family and community. I gave her the coordinates of Attros and We’ahqa, and she went on her way. I’m expecting a report back soon. 

Update: Attros and We’ahqa were right where I thought they were. Attros seems a bit addled but still sharp as a tack and even more driven than before. We’aqha, on the other hand, had a far rougher go out in the Astral Sea than we’d hoped for. Her exact words were: “He was unique before, but now something feels off”. Luckily, they’re both still alive and want to continue with their journeys. My hunch from earlier has also been confirmed. It was indeed Rig who whisked away both Cereius and Kyver after their encounter with Antonius on the Ridge. According to her, they were both happy to see her but weary at the same time. Likely from the fact that they all saw her die in the Tavern. With some explaining and goodwill, they were able to come to an agreement. They would all help each other accomplish their goals, one by one. It starts in the Heartwood. Cereius needs a piece of the root of the Heartwood.

The newly formed party finds its way to the Heartwood on the plane of Sloane. After disguising themselves and a bit of searching, they get an audience with the Arbiter, an Unillum called Amina. She’s expecting them and asks them to help her find a Bard named Aldis, who goes by the moniker “Sleight Hand”, who can help her defend the region from destabilizing forces. The only clues that she has are in a tome given to her by an Artificer who once knew the Bard. If they are successful, she will give Cereius the piece of the Heartwood he needs to save Valencia. The group agrees, and with some time and dumb luck, they open a portal within the tome and step through it.

They emerge from the portal and find themselves in a forest, on a path that leads them to a small and idyllic village. But something is off with its inhabitants, and We’ahqa is the first to notice. They eventually figure out, through several interactions, that all of the villagers seem to be constructs, and they remember that an Artificer was the one to give the Arbiter the tome. They feel this might be their doing. Making their way to the large manor at the back of the village, via information from the tavern keepers, Rig and Kyver sneak their way in as Attros, Cereius, and We’ahqa provide a distraction. The rogues find a ballroom inside that is being prepared for a feast, and it holds both Aldis and a Beholder. After some shenanigans, the distractors break into the manor and are met by two sets of animated armor. As the three engage in combat with the constructs, Kyver tries to stave off the Beholder’s involvement inside the ballroom.

We’ahqa, Cereius, and Attros quickly finish the altercation with two sets of animated armor. While this happened, Kyver revealed himself to Aldis and the Beholder, pleading with them not to attack him or his friends. After the animated armor sets were defeated and stuffed into Attros’s bag of holding, the three combatants entered the ballroom, where they explained themselves and their mission. Aldis and the Beholder seemed uninterested. On a hunch, We’ahqa peered into the Beholder’s thoughts and realized that Aldis was an illusion. The druid executed a preemptive strike against the monster, which resulted in an all-out brawl. Luckily for the party, with quick thinking and clever uses of magic, they came out on top.

With the corpse of the Beholder looted and picked clean for ingredients, the party splits. Rig and Kyver make their way through the mansion while Cereius, Attros, and We’ahqa try to figure out where the bard may be. Using various spells, the three in the ballroom discover that the large painting in the room isn’t a normal painting but a doorway of some kind. The two rogues find an empty manor, which contains the prison of the party in the ballroom. Once Aldis appears, the tome begins to alert Cereius to something in its pages: a crystalline dagger that gives him the distinct impression that this is the cure they need for Aldis. The cleric gives the dagger to Rig, unable to act on this newfound knowledge, only to see it pierce through Aldis mid-sentence.

Having interpreted the clues from the Tome and found the cure for the bard’s affliction, Rig stabs Aldis with the dagger. It does the trick, and with Aldis free and restored, the party brings him back to Amina, who rewards them with gratitude and a piece of the Root of the Heartwood. She imbues the piece into Cereius’s rings and makes a subtle suggestion to venture to the city of Nymora next. While she is powerful, she cannot combat everything at once. Pulling from some of the clues they uncovered in the Tome, they take the suggestions and run with them, literally. Using various modes of transportation, the party makes its way north to a small village not far outside the Tabaxi city of Nymora.