The Vineyard Vitalis - "That Tracks"

The Vineyard Vitalis - "That Tracks"

The Mercurial Avengers continue on their way after meeting up with their new ally, Arnable. As they head towards the Vineyard, they travel down the secret passage and, for the first time, take notice of faded markings and scriptures of something on the walls. Cereius, using his knowledge from the books that he has read in Utholok’s old study, sees a tale woven by the tabaxi ancestors in the tunnel that seems to predate the vineyard itself.  This tale showed a greater red demon with a skull mask, the Blood Lord, a being that the Nymoran goddesses fought off. The visage of plants that sprouted forth from a river of death from the feet of the throne in the scriptures resembled the blight fiend. This very plant of the Blood Lord was once brought to this plane, and bits of it remain, but the fragments of the goddess's power still remain in effect as well in large crystals scattered throughout the lands, as some of them remain asleep. Weaving together bits of the plot of Utholok and the Vitalis, they were able to determine that Orcus, lord of the undead, was somehow involved and that they were seeking to use his power to create a lich.  As the group continued with Arnable, they entered the vineyard and saw the marketplace in its entirety throughout the various levels. To no surprise, Arnable was shocked and appalled by the selling of people, illegal and stolen items, body parts, and various other things in the black market. As they came to the lower levels where the auction house was, they witnessed the selling of a young white tiger tabaxi that the son of the Vitalis family would later purchase.  Shortly after, they went to the fighting arena where they made it just a few hours before their past selves could get there, and saw in person the Master of Cruelties, the mistress of the Vitalis, and a huge proprietor of the Vineyard itself. Her demonic-like appearance was none in the least surprising, as her striking beauty and charm captured the hearts of the audience and worked them up into a fervor for bloodlust in the arena. Eventually, the group decided to leave, taking Arnable back with them to the topside and planning to reconvene at another time.  Lastly, before they parted with Arnable, he recounted a tale of how Malar, a powerful tabaxi entity, feuded with his sister Aphy, one of the Cat goddesses, as he was driven mad by the blight fiend. The effects of the blight fiend have been deeply rooted in the history of Nymora, as it would seem, even after the battle against Orcus. As Cereius spoke with Arnable, they were able to come to an understanding. Even as Arnable is finding out the horrible truth about his father figure, Utholok, he can’t bring himself to kill him. And maybe there was a chance that Cereius would hear out whatever he had to say, one last time. Theme Music is written and performed by Efflorescence [https://www.tiktok.com/@winterwisteria365] Mixed by Thomas Lapierre III Check out the show at themedusascascade.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Vineyard Vitalis - "Composure"

As we come upon our party waking up in the Lion’s Den Inn, they ready themselves in their new garb. Having visited a few services offered to them by the Lion’s Den and its associates, they were able to exchange some of their equipment for something they would find more useful for the upcoming mission. Cereius, covered in a lighter mithril armor with an amulet of the devout, found himself ready to move more stealthily now that he was no longer at a disadvantage with his old chainmail. Kyver covered himself in new garb that had a face cover and sheets of studded armor interwoven, and carried a new luckstone shaped like a cat’s head. While Rig didn’t fancy herself on a big outfit change, she did find herself a useful ring of mind shielding to keep unwanted voices from getting into her head. She also let her hair down from her usual high ponytail and stuck a raven feather into her hair.  And before they set off to meet up with Arnable for the day, they sat down and had breakfast as they discussed plans, after Kyver had come up with a disguise for Arnable. They weighed the repercussions of their actions against the benefits of possibly rousing Agatha and Alma’s fury once they started taking down the Vineyard.  Along the way to meeting Arnable in front of the “Devil’s in the Details” shop, they stopped by a small temple of the Moonweaver in Nymora. Cereius, going over his teachings kept in some of his spellbooks, began to cast Word of Recall, turning the temple into a sanctuary that they could return to with the spell. After he finished casting the spell, Cereius was met by a striking woman with pale blonde hair, rosy cheeks, and a royal blue dress named Leinas. Her curiosity was stirred seeing his magic, but Rig was cautious, considering that she was a little too curious at the sight of strangers in town.  When they finally met with Arnable, they realized he stuck out a bit, so Kyver helped him into the disguise that he made. As Cereius and Rig kept watch during the makeover, they happened to catch glances of the people’s watch in Nymora passing by, though they had not noticed Arnable changing into his new disguise. Before they set off for the path to the Vineyard, Rig and Kyver had an earnest conversation with Arnable to make sure that he would keep his emotions in check, that he would not act up no matter what he saw, to learn about the enemy rather than act rashly because that was what he needed to do for now. Theme Music is written and performed by Efflorescence [https://www.tiktok.com/@winterwisteria365]  Mixed by Thomas Lapierre III Check out the show at themedusascascade.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Vineyard Vitalis - "The Build Up"

The party found themselves back at the Lion’s Den after meeting Arnable and making the exchange for the false Amulet against Proof and Detection with Weaqha’s belongings. There, they ran into Big Fish, the proprietor of the Lion’s Den Inn.  Minnow introduced them as people seeking a joint business venture, and so they headed to Big Fish’s office to discuss matters at greater length. Having taken interest in Rig’s idea, he told her to eventually come back and that he would entertain the idea of having other similar Lion’s Den Inns across multiple planes. While Kyver also tried to pitch the idea of certain crops and exports being picked up from the Sabertooth farms, it was a tough sell, especially with the blight affecting so many nearby farms in Nymora.  After their meeting, Rig remembered Attros and, thinking about the fact that he was probably traveling to meet them in Nymora, she blindly teleported to try to get to him, resulting in a few mishaps along the way. Eventually, she did get him back to the rest of the group, where they headed up to their room in the Lion’s Den, where they caught him up to speed about the upcoming events of the next week, the flashbacks of the past, and the visions of the distant future where things had gone awry.  Handing off a small portion of money to Attros, Rig asked him to look into creating enough explosives using the resources from the Lion’s Den’s connections for their future venture into the underground pathways of the Vitalis Manor. As the group prepared for the next task at hand with meeting Arnable to lead him to the Vineyard, they rested for the evening. With that, the dawn of the fated day approached, their return to the Vineyard with Arnable Theme music written and composed by Efflorescence [https://www.tiktok.com/@winterwisteria365] Edited & Mixed by Thomas Lapierre III Check out the show on themedusascascade.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Vineyard Vitalis - "Plan the Work, Work the Plan"

Having found themselves at Horsing ‘Round, the group now found themselves in the presence of one Joe Bronco, an interesting and quite literal Headless Horseman. Turns out this man was the very owner of said establishment, and that he was keyed in on the many operations and odd jobs all around Nymora. When asked about getting information pertaining to the Vitalis, Joe pulled them into his office for further discussion.  Upon finding out that they would be able to get a map, they asked to be interviewed for temporary cleaner positions sent to the underground of the manor. Upon getting their paperwork done and having copies of the underground map made by Little Becky, Joe Bronco’s chicken Aarokocra secretary, they picked out some well-used overalls from the back room and returned to Melonoa’s Devil’s in the Details shop. They were able to get the required replica of the amulet of proof against detection and location and went on their way.  As they arrived at the Greatsword Village, where the Knights Ward was, they met Wolfgang, a young aspiring knight, the second in command of the Drakewood Knights. As Arnable was still out attending meetings, they were led to a meeting room to wait. Kyver snuck off using Rig’s invisibility, and snuck into Arnable’s room to make the switch with the amulets before returning to hear Arnable speaking with Rig and Cereius.  Cereius spoke frankly to Arnable in trying to convince him of Utholok’s wrongdoings and even went as far as to tell him the truth about his journey to revive his wife, Valencia. Kyver joined in, even telling him about the connection to the Vitalis and their misdeeds in the Vineyard. Arnable was shocked, but in order to see the truth for himself, he chose to meet the party again in 2 days to be led to the Vineyard.  As the party returned to the Lion’s Den Inn, they met the proprietor, Big Fish, and his bodyguard, Shark Finn, in the lobby, where they were introduced by Minnow. Big Fish had heard from Minnow that Rig had wanted to discuss business opportunities, and that’s just what he was there to do. Theme Music is written and performed by Efflorescence [https://www.tiktok.com/@winterwisteria365] Mixed by Thomas Lapierre III Check out the show at themedusascascade.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Vineyard Vitalis - "The Truth Can Be Dangerous"

Last time, the group found an inn called the Lion’s Den and rested for the night after making their way into Nymora again in another past time jump. Kyver, Rig, and Cereius each had their own visions, delving into their fate and other powers in their lives. Kyver met with the goddess Aphy, who took many forms in a blighted swamp. There, he was asked to deal with the blight to protect the lands of Nymora, where his ancestors originated. Taking this ordeal upon himself, he was granted a blessing while in the lands of Nymora.  Rig was met by Malady, who exchanged words with her about the futility of her efforts and questioned why she was doing what she was doing. It sparked some soul-searching on her part, as she wasn’t quite sure whether what Malady said about her efforts across the various timelines he’s traveled was true.  Cereius found himself back at the Vineyard, encountering Mistress Jura, who gave him some clarity on the future he saw and the weight of his decisions. As his conversation came to an end, he was able to see the familiar visage of the Moonweaver from the shadow of the oracle Mistress Jura and thanked her for the guidance.  When the party awoke, they headed down to meet with Minnow, where they saw guides, high-level associates of the Lion’s Den speaking with him. As they headed out, Rig asked Minnow for information about further contacts that would help them get their hands on a dupe of their amulet against proof and detection. Thus, they headed out to meet Melanoa, aka Melons, a green tiefling crafter, owner of the Devil’s in the Details. They also happened to run into a strange character, a red hobgoblin sleaze ball by the name of Bingo Starr, looking to hire various “talents.” After Rig drove him away, they headed on their way to Joe Bronco’s Odd Job agency, Horsing Around, where they came in to see a headless person by the front desk, and a talking horse head on the counter. Theme music written and composed by Efflorescence [https://www.tiktok.com/@winterwisteria365] Edited & Mixed by Thomas Lapierre III Check out the show on themedusascascade.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.