Session 29 Recap: Retribution Against Relos, and a Win for a Windamier

After perusing the comment box and listening to Ramza ramble on for a while, we decided to address some of the issues and curiosities popping up around the castle. Gremio, McDohl’s friend and attendant, had us over for dinner and taught us the recipe for his “Special Stew”. Daisy tried to talk to Lilly about her spoiled, self-centered attitude and history of abusing her servants Samus and Reed and got absolutely nowhere. The berserker also discussed demons with Jeane, as her half-demon grandparents were much on her mind, but Jeane would only tell her that the transformed Saint-Anicets were nothing like “true” demons. We all got together to ask Harold and Anna what they intended to do with their brother the next time we faced him, and they coolly explained that it was all the same to them if Henry ended up dead or locked up in a labor camp for the rest of his life. He was no longer their brother (killing someone’s parents can do that). Finally, Daisy chatted with the Star Dragon Sword on her belt to find out where he’d been since her father had given him up.

We took a break from playing counselor and headed to the kitchen for lunch, but instead we found Hai Yo in a panic over the arrival of Grand Master Mifune, the apparently-not-deceased elder of the Black Dragon Isle! Mifune had faked his own death in order to encourage Hai Yo to fight to become the next leader and participate in the tournament (i.e. the constant flow of challengers to the castle). As his assistant, Mifune summoned the Ghost Chef of Hell, Otani, and the final challenge was on!

The former Ruler of Harmonia, Hikusaak is said to be a lover of Chinese!

Sasari is said to love food from the earth, from veggies to noodles!

Give it up for our army strategist, Caesar! He loves his namesake salads!

The seer who sees all! Can she see who wins? It’s Leknaat!

Appetizer: Caesar Salad (Salad+no spice): Sciath, Kuarjav: 8,8,10,8

Main Course: Tempura-don (tempura+hot sauce): Harold, Daisy: 9,9,8,10

Dessert: Bacon Hot Fudge Sundae (bacon+chocolate sauce): Royce, Hai Yo: 10,10,10,10

Total: 108

Steve’s Soup 10,10,10,10; Full Course Meal 7777, Milkshakes 10,10,10,10

Total: 100

It was our closest fight yet, but Hai Yo’s team won with the auspicious score of 108. Our rewards were Recipe #43 “Milkshake” and Recipe #50 “Full Course”. On top of that, Mifune named Hai Yo the new leader of the Black Dragon Isle and promptly left to go fill out paperwork (which should be finished by the time this war is over).

As we celebrated our cooking victory, one of the castle’s defensive ninjas ran in shouting that a group of powerful warriors were at the gate demanding to see some people named Pilika and Jilia. We arrived to find the four warriors bowling through our gate guards, but when we demanded an explanation, the first man (Jowy) only rushed Daisy and challenged her to a duel, which she won. Kuarjav dueled one of the girls, Nanami, in a cinematic cutscene on a tightrope suspended between two castle towers in the middle of a thunderstorm, and won their sudden-death combat. Back on the ground, Harold dueled and defeated Riou the silent hero (of Suikoden II) with a fancy flourish, and the fourth invader, Eilie, simply watched. With everyone slightly calmed, Daisy tried to question the four about Jilia and Pilika (who only she knew to be the real identities of Juliet and Patricia), but at that moment the two ladies in question came running out of the castle and hugged Jowy. Daisy tried talking to them and learned that Jowy was Jilia’s husband and none other than the deposed king of Highland (now the Higheast province of Dunan)! But Jilia still wanted to maintain her cover as Juliet as best she could, and would say no more.

When asked for comment about the addition of the Dunan heroes Riou and Jowy to our forces, the army spokesman responded only with: “It's a disagreeable thing to be whipped.” – William Tecumseh Sherman. What does our mysterious spokesman know about the pasts of these two young men?

Without warning, Yuber appeared at the castle gate and thanked Jowy’s group for taking care of the first wave of guards for him. He produced a black orb that released a magical mist called Demon’s Breath, which paralyzed everyone but demons who inhaled it. We all fell to the ground, helpless, but before he could finish us off, we were rescued by Pesmerga, who was tellingly immune to the mist. Another cinematic duel unfolded across the castle grounds; the two were soon joined by Jeane and Faye, who supported Pesmerga with powerful blasts of rune magic. Yuber fled, but not before informing us that he was only the distraction this time.

Rodin Relos stepped out of the castle holding the tattered remains of the Chronos Rune dress and unleashed the rune’s power on us, again a dozen of our soldiers to death in an instant. We attacked while Jeane and Faye tried to contain his power, and when Kuarjav got out the final Repent!, the True Rune went out of control and sucked Relos’ last years out. But even as Relos was aged to death, the Chronos Rune had the opposite effect on nearby Kuarjav and gave him back about thirty years of his life. While we marveled at Kuarjav’s newfound youth, Grey, the woman who helped us tap into the power of the Unity Rune to save Vasuki months ago, appeared once again to help Jeane and Faye chant a spell on contain the Chronos Rune. It disappeared to go its own way, and Grey agreed to join our forces to help contain Yuber’s evil as well.

No sooner had Grey pledged to help us than Chris Lightfellow of Zexen (and Suikoden III fame) showed up at the gates with important news. Camaro had begun an attack against Zexen with demons and Yuber’s abominable ability to transform innocent people, and Zexen wanted our help to coordinate an attack against our common enemy. The plan was for Zexen to attack Qwieg fortress while the Union Army went after Fort Dorton, and in exchange for our assistance, Zexen was willing to pardon Harold Windamier for all outstanding warrants against him. With that, Chris officially joined our team as well to represent the knights of Zexen.

There was no more time for hesitation; we had to begin the plunge towards the heart of Camaro in order to end the queen’s threat once and for all. “[Our] aim, then, was to whip [Camaro], to humble their pride, to follow them to their inmost recesses, and make them fear and dread us. Fear is the beginning of wisdom.”— William Tecumseh Sherman. The brothers Silverberg took charge of the Dorton offensive and separated us into two parties. While Caesar led the bulk of the forces outside the gates, Albert, Janell, and the Unity Heroes snuck inside disguised as Camaro soldiers in order to take out the leaders of the fort. The soldiers who recognized Janell welcomed her back to their side, but in the end we had to fight through a few waves of them to reach Henry, the commander of the fort. Henry and Harold exchanged words for the last time; we learned that Henry respected Yuber for having the power to turn meaningless peasants into something worthwhile at last. Harold responded that his former brother had forgotten the true heart of nobility, and so was now beneath him.

Henry was beaten easily, but he wasn’t willing to run this time – he knew that “Lady Windy” would not welcome him back if he failed her again. In desperation, he begged Yuber to lend him his power, and the latter granted it to him in such an offhand way that he clearly didn’t care what happened to Henry either. Harold’s brother was instantly transformed into a huge demon, which might have been intimidating if Harold hadn’t said that there was no need to fear any form that still had Henry’s cowardly soul inside it. Harold got the final blow, and his face was calm as his brother resumed his human form to die. Daisy gave him a thump on the back, and that was that.

As Henry fell, Albert was also dropped by Yuber in a different fight, where Albert had been trying to protect a small child. We rushed to aid Albert, but Yuber had already seen the fort’s defeat and fled once more, leaving us to take Albert back to our medical ward. Caesar and Albert had a touching reconciliation and Albert said protecting the weak like that child was something he’d learned from his brother. In spite of all that, though, Albert will be all right, so no worries. And for next time, our reports say that with our recent captures we will now have access to Qwieg, Pirate’s Point, Shogomon to explore!

It is inevitable that we will soon confront Grant again, probably for the last time. Thanks to all of us sharing a piece of the True Unity Rune, we have shared a connection with Grant that, for better or worse, has given us power. The Unity Rune gained its first level of magic when we betrayed Miles, and the second was earned by Grant’s desertion to Camaro. The True Rune has since grown to level four through a combination of moments of Friendship and Betrayal. Grant’s betrayal still leaves us with a few questions, namely, has Grant really betrayed us for good? Why would he join forces with the same army as Relos, who murdered his wife and sent him to Orbel mines in the first place? And what will it take to convince Grant to join up with the Union Army again?

Our army spokesman, who we recently learned is an old friend of Grant’s and sometimes likes to adopt Harold’s turn of phrase, had this to say: “Grant's whole character was a mystery even to himself--a combination of strength and weakness not paralleled by any of whom I have read in Ancient or Modern History....” – William Tecumseh Sherman

Recruited: Grey, Chris

(Unofficial recruits: Jowy, Riou, Nanami, Eilie)

Investigations: Grey, Chris, Percy, Byron, Leah

Session 18 Recap: End of an Era

With hastily-laid plans to distract the demon army and try to lure them into the elven forest with our main forces, the Unity Rune team teleported straight into the Crystal Valley to try and secure any True Runes we could find. We’d assigned other soldiers to evacuate as many people as we could, so we made a beeline for the One Temple library, where Harold had been before. Royce had intended to set fires to damage the demon army as we retreated afterwards, but the city was already engulfed in flames when we arrived. The Camaro demons had a head start on us; smoke and screams filled the air on all sides. The innumerable gargoyle-like monsters seemed to be out of control. Lucky for us, though, we found when we were forced to fight that Kuarjav’s Repent! spell did double damage to the unholy creatures.

Harold led us straight to the One Temple, the biggest center of learning in the Suikoden world, and claimed that he’d once been held and tortured there while searching for information on the True Runes some time ago. On the steps of the temple, we spotted Henry, Harold’s brother, somehow commanding a legion of the Camaro demons trying to break into the temple. Priest General Wanda, an elderly Harmonian witch, was holding them off as best she could, but her forces were being ripped apart. Harold and Daisy set about taunting Henry mercilessly while the others snuck around behind him, and a whirlwind battle ensued in which Sciath chain-spelled him into submission. Wanda informed us that the Order of God had gone inside to try and activate some sort of “secret weapon”, and it was her job to hold off the demons and keep up the barrier around the One Temple. Either convinced that we were Harmonian operatives or too desperate to care who we really were, she lowered the barrier just enough for us to run inside and find some way to help, or perhaps find an escape tunnel for everyone.

We found the One Temple still mercifully demon-free, but scores of civilians were huddled down every hallway and behind every stack, desperately hoping for rescue. They were so encouraged to see us that they gave us random supplies as we searched the place, like kraken plans #2, a Medicine Rune, a Noble hat, and a Strategist Diploma. Harold tried to direct us through the maze of rooms, but it seemed to have been a long time since his last visit. But finally, we found a secret passage guarded by a fellow without a head (seemingly beheaded by magic). He was stripped of a Goblin Tunic and we proceeded down the long, narrow passage, which went many floors down and was lined with far too many books for such a space. The rooms we passed along the way were packed tightly as well, full of books and notes about conspiracies, true histories, and the sort of Harmonian secrets that Lyn the Reporter would probably trade an arm for. In one of these rooms, we stumbled across a man named Brian who couldn’t decide which books to save. He stated in no uncertain terms that as the head librarian of the One Temple, he could not leave without his books. Daisy offered to help him carry as many of the most important books as we could, and that was enough to convince him to flee with us for his life. Luckily, Brian also had the keys to every room in the One Temple, which made our progress downwards much easier after that.

As we opened one door, who should come bursting out but Head Bishop Rodin Relos himself, trying to escape. When Daisy and the others grabbed him, he yelled something about the Order of God going crazy and trying to use the True Runes, and that he had to get out of there. We tried to question him further, but he wouldn’t even admit to having made the alliance with Camaro we’d seen on that fateful night, and seemed frantic to flee. He pulled out an escape talisman when we wouldn’t release him, and Daisy promptly broke his arm to make him drop it. He was still a powerful magic-user on his own, though, and used his fire magic to blast us away from him and escape, cursing us all the while.

There was no time to chase him, so we ran into the room he’d just vacated and found ourselves in the Rune Lab, which consisted of a long catwalk over 27 vats designed to hold each of the True Runes. Only one vat was occupied, that of the True Chronos Rune. Lying dead before it were the four charred bodies of the Order of God (Kuarjav recognized the robes). We wondered if Relos had murdered them, but since there seemed no way for us to remove the rune at present, we continued our search of the place. Daisy took note that the vat for the Night Rune was empty, and a note on the front said that their efforts to control the Star Dragon Sword thus far had failed, though there was no clue as to where the rune sword might be now. Harold, for his part, was overjoyed to find his old Rose Brooch at last, lying unnoticed in the very place where he had dropped it on his previous visit.

At the end of the long room, two men emerged from the door to the innermost chamber: Priest General Bryce, the possessor of the True Domination Rune, and a drowsy Hikusaak being carried in his arms. Bryce explained that Emperor Hikusaak had to be taken to safety, and Bryce’s rune could transfer the Chronos Rune to one of our weapons in order to provide enough distraction for the two of them to escape; he even said we could keep the True Chronos Rune as payment for saving the emperor’s life. We had a hurried discussion and agreed to affix the True Chronos Rune to Daisy’s sword, granting it powers as yet unknown. Bryce would not tell us where he and Hikusaak were going, so Harold and Xander snuck off to follow them while the rest of us went back out the front to cause a ruckus. (As a note, we also found Old Books Volume 10 and 2, a Wind God Robe, and an Earth God Robe, and got Volume 2 autographed by Hikuusak in his half-asleep state.)

As Bryce and Hikusaak escaped through a secret passage, followed by Harold and Xander in disguise and the civilians from the library, the rest of us marched upstairs to find the barrier dispelled and Wanda dead at Yuber’s sword. He spat insults at us like “True Rune bastards,” and Daisy said, “You don’t know how right you are!” as she lifted her powerful new weapon. He teleported away from her attack and claimed he didn’t have to fight us himself; his powers drew a terrified woman from the crowd onto his sword as a sacrifice and summoned a horrible Bone Dragon. Our attacks eventually bested it, ending with Daisy’s finishing cinematic blow, but Yuber only commented on Daisy’s interesting new weapon and selected a new sacrifice from the fleeing crowd. To the screaming of a young woman, he tried to pull her noble-looking companion onto his sword (“Her royal blood would make for a mighty sacrifice – a beast of such power even you can't defeat it!”), but before Daisy could save her a powerful lightning bolt struck Yuber’s back and sent him flying. The vampire Sierra showed up, telling Nash she’d arrived as soon as she could and rallied the townspeople against the demons. Daisy tried once again to strike Yuber, but he was gone in an instant again, apparently thinking better of taking on so many True Runes at once. With Sierra’s help, the team helped evacuate as many civilians as we could, including the “royal” woman and her companion, and fled on dragonback to Liberty Castle.

To our dismay, the demons followed and marched on Liberty Castle next, forcing us to begin evacuating our own civilians to the northern naval base. The forces that stayed behind prepared for an army battle where our chances of victory seemed dim. Our opponents were Yuber, Relos, Grant, Henry, Queen Diana, and Prime Minister Gail of Camaro, with Gregory and the other Camaro generals we’d seen before conspicuously absent. Gail declared that they fought for “the glory of Camaro;” oddly enough, the queen herself said nothing. As soon as the battle began, Gail used her Back Gate Rune to teleport Yuber right up to Kuarjav, but our noble leader and Flik’s forces managed to force Yuber into retreat. Our power seemed to surprise the Camaro forces, for we managed to win several notable encounters on the battlefield before we were forced to retreat back to the castle.

As we debated our next course of action and Ramza mentioned how Yuber’e demonic forces had been summoned and driven back in Toran once before, a blind seeress named Leknaat showed up and offered to help. According to her explanation, the Camaro Prime Minister, Gail, is actually her sister Windy, who has summoned Yuber before and holds the other half of Leknaat’s True Gate Rune (Leknaat has the Front, and Windy the Back). We all focused our minds and the power of the Unity Rune, and with the help of our power Leknaat was able to banish a large portion of the demon army, leaving us with an enemy that we might be able to challenge. Leknaat officially lent us her power and gave us the Tablet of Destiny, taking her place as a Star for the very first time.

To our surprise, when he learned what had happened to Hikusaak, Priest General Sasari said that “Harmonia is officially over” and “my duty is over”, then offered to join our forces. We agreed, of course, but there is still much to learn about many of our strange new allies and what it really means for Emperor Hikusaak to be awake for the first time in decades.

In the GM’s words:

Scene 1: Leknaat arrives

((The team had been talking of Windy/Gail, and how she had used her powers in the Toran war. Someone asked: how was she defeated?
Leknaat: "Perhaps that is my cue to speak."
Royce: Huh?
((Leknaat appears behind the team, teleporting in))
Leknaat: Forgive my intrusion, but I have come to help. I am Leknaant, a seer of Toran. Heroes of Destiny, children of the rune, you have been chosen to fight this fight, as have I. I should have warned your early of your destiny, done more to prepare you for the coming task.... but I was afraid. The enemy you face known as Gail is really my sister Windy. Her rune is responsible for much death, and the summoning of many demons here. I knew of her awakening, but I was too afraid to stop it. I hid. Even a seer who can foresee Destiny like I can be blind at times. I cannot run from my destiny anymore. It is my turn to fight.... and I will do so to stop my sister. If you will have me, I will join your army, and help you to defeat my sister and her summoned army."

(Leknaant joins!)

Leknaant: Let us dispel this army. Gather your power, your minds will, and your souls as once. Let us push back this evil with the purity of our hearts."

(Party agreed, and after the spell is cast, much of the demon army is sent back to the other world)

Scene 2: Sasari speaks

Sasari: How were things?
(Party explains all, including Hikusak being awake)
Sasari: So Hikusaak is awake... then Harmonia is truly finished.
Daisy: What do you mean?
Sasari: This land was made to bring order to the continent, using the power of Hikusaak's true rune, the Circle Rune. The plan worked well for years, and peace reigned on this continent for decades, maybe centuries. But the rune entered it's stagnation phase far too soon, and both the power of Hikusaak and the empire he created began to atrophy, to stagnate. Hikusaak lost strength, and rebellions and wars broke out across the empire. We have lost much of the last few years, but all the while we tried to save this empire by breaking the hold of the Circle Rune over Hikusaak. We hoped another true rune might have the power to break the Circle's rune's spells, so Harmonia tried everything to get true runes for that goal. But none ever worked. We could never free Hikusaak, and now it's too late. With the fall of the Crystal Valley, there is no Harmonia. There is nothing left to stagnate, and the spell on Hikusaak is broken. I don't know what will happen now, but one thing is clear to me. Harmonia is no more. Hikusaak is free from the spell of the Circle rune, as it's stagnation phase is now complete; it's taken all there is from this once mighty empire. A new order will need to be established here, and for better or for worse, it seems your Union Army must bear that burden. If you will have me, I will join your cause to build a better Harmonia. No, a better country. The empire may be gone, but the people are still here, and for them, I will fight."

(Sasari joins)

Hopefully that clears it up, but f not, i'll say it like this: The circle rune in it's 'order' phase made an empire of order, and in it's 'stagnation' phase, brought that empire to ruin. Harmonmia tried to stop this using true runes, but it's too late. Harmonia is no more, and so the circle rune's stagnation phase is now over. What hikusaak does now, is anyone's guess.

Sasari also explained the the order of god was using the Chronus Rune collectively to slow their aging, but none of them could master it to truly become ageless as true rune holders naturally are. This should explain why they were so old, and no one remembered when they took office.

Recruits: Leknaat, Sasari, Nash, Sierra, Brian

Investigations: Leknaat, Sasari, Nash, Sierra, Brian

The Head Bishops

The Five Head Bishops of Harmonia have ruled ever since Hikusaak has, for all intents and purposes, "withdrawn" from service. Though Hikusaak is technically the leader, he has not been seen in over two hundred years, despite public knowledge that he has a True Rune. The Five Head Bishops have been around for so long that no one in the country can remember a time when they have not ruled. So who are they and what is known about them? Let's review:

• Head Bishop Angelo: An old man with a double chin. Nothing is known about how he became a Head Bishop,what family he is a part of, or when he was born, and no public records are known to exist.
  

• Head Bishop Rudolf: An old man with long ears. Nothing is known about how he became a Head Bishop,what family he is a part of, or when he was born, and no public records are known to exist.

• Head Bishop Ivan: An old man with a long nose. Nothing is known about how he became a Head Bishop,what family he is a part of, or when he was born, and no public records are known to exist.

• Head Bishop Dominic: An old man with a large bald spot. Nothing is known about how he became a Head Bishop,what family he is a part of, or when he was born, and no public records are known to exist.

Interestingly, all four look otherwise very familiar, old wrinkled men who look as though they could die any moment. Alas, that is all we know. How quaintly mysterious. So who's the newest recruit, the last of the Head Bishops? He's a man we know a little more about.

• Head Bishop Rodin Relos: He became a Head Bishop only recently and is middle aged and in shape. Rodin Relos is from the famed Relos family, incredibly gifted sorcerers and strategists. Rodin's younger brother, Romulus, is the current head of the Soledt Academy (where Caesar was recruited). Rodin has been in the church for many years and he was a Priest General for some time, working with the military to conquer and subdue other nations. We know that he has a way of making enemies disappear, and is rivals with Kuarjav. Unlike the others, there are public records known, and information can be found out on him if the proper people are asked. We also know that he has been involved with the taking of the True Night Rune, an heirloom of Daisy. Harold will note that Relos is surely a man to be wary of.
  

Session 6 Recap: Roughin' up Relos

Picking up right where the last session left off, the party marched off to the Academy to find Caesar’s precious book. We got into the library without incident used Caesar’s key on the locked door at the back to find a secret staircase leading downwards. It led us to a network of underground passages full of monsters and possessed floating books and, weirdly enough, a small zoo of sorts. There were many cages of varying size with exotic labels like “zebra,” but the only animals we found were a bunch of rabbits and a lone giraffe. The rest of the cages were deserted with no sign of where the animals had been taken. We debated releasing the caged animals, either as a distraction or just on principle, but ultimately decided to leave them where they were for now since they looked healthy enough.

Our explorations deeper and deeper underground led us to a secret second library, where we found Caesar’s Old Book Vol. 6 (Intro to Warfare by Leon Silverberg, autographed). Mildly concerned that our future chief strategist was seeking a book called “intro to warfare,” albeit one written by a Silverberg, we nevertheless secured the book and took a secret shortcut that Royce found back up to the main library.

In a stroke of luck, we noticed before barging blindly into the upper library that it was now occupied by two old men speaking in conspiratorial tones. One of them was none other than Rodin Relos, a member of the Harmonian Order of God and the man who had thrown Kuarjav in prison thirty years before. Relos addressed the other man as his brother. We eavesdropped on them for a while and heard some things that we (or at least Daisy) couldn’t fully understand about recruiting people and getting rid of others who didn’t conform, possibly referring to students at the Academy. What piqued Daisy’s interest, however, was mention of the Star Dragon Sword. Relos said that a man had been captured in Harmonia carrying the sword, which contains the Night Rune, one of the 27 True Runes. This sword previously belonged to Victor, Daisy’s father, and one of Daisy’s many goals in life is to reclaim that powerful sword for herself. Unfortunately, Relos did not give any clue as to where the man or his precious sword were being held.

Once the team decided that we had eavesdropped long enough, it was time to make our exit. While most of us snuck quietly towards the door out of the library, Harold threw a potch against a far wall and booked it out through the stacks. Relos had locked the library door behind him, but Caesar’s key still worked and we all made it out of the Academy before Relos caught up to us. We ordered the NPCs to run to the inn to find Caesar while the PCs stood and fought the powerful mage. Harold tried to stall Relos with nonsensical talk, but that didn’t last long. Relos’ first spell was almost enough to wipe us out by itself, but through a combination of healing medicines, Harold’s wonderful spell to raise DB, and Kuarjav cancelling all magic immediately after Harold’s magic was cast, we managed to best the Harmonian villain. Relos retreated into the Academy for reinforcements while the rest of us fled. The party met up with Caesar and the others outside of town, and we beat a hasty dragonback retreat.

Once more at the Liberation Army headquarters in Belhurst, we consulted our brand new strategist as to how we should proceed. Caesar stated in no uncertain terms that it was high time we had a solid, permanent, defensible base to call our own, and presented us with three options, a Suikoden first. One possible base used to be a dwarven castle up in the mountains and now stands abandoned. It’s difficult to reach for Harmonia, surrounded by dwarves who hate Harmonia and treacherous mountain paths, and our dragonback travel would allow us to come and go unhindered. Option two is an old Sindar ruin that sits on an island in the middle of one of the largest and busiest rivers in Harmonia. The river connects the Crystal Valley itself to at least four other major Harmonian cities, so while Harmonian ships could reach the base easily enough, so could we sail into the country’s very heart if we had a navy of our own. Plus, Sindar ruins are always cool. Finally, option three is an abandoned Harmonian naval base in the far north, built into the very rock. With defensible cliffs and an abandoned port just waiting to be filled with a revel fleet, this base would make as fine a headquarters as all the rest.

Unable to reach consensus, we decided that the best course of action would be to explore each of the three possible bases in turn to see for ourselves how suitable they would be. We flew to the Sindar ruins first and started hacking our way in past the monsters who had necessarily taken up residence there. The team got all the way to level 3 of the ruins, but just as we were about to meet a new recurring character, we decided to call it a night. Our adventures in the Sindar ruins will continue after the New Year. Happy Holidays, everyone!