Chapter 9 of Greetings Adventurers wraps up the Jett Razor arc, and ties up a lot of loose ends. We get to spend some time in Nareev, we are introduced to Cheryl Meloncamp in the town of Tidtowne, and meet the Tidtowne Terrors. We also get more introduction to the newest party member, Steve the Gnollem. The Chapter is also notable due to, after 219 episodes, the party is finally given a name, the Ätlän-tã Fælcons!!
The currently un-named party has just found out who has been killing people: the changeling they thought was their friend, Jett Razor! He escaped, and then they met their old friend, Steve Meloncamp, but he's a little different than he was. Steve know is inhabiting the body of a nightmarish terror creature made of all the many different body parts that Thom the Dragonborn collected over the years. This is mostly described by Old Man Weck, who is there for some reason. Steve tells them that he has acquired knowlege from the heads of people that he has the heads of, including Lord Milnor, who was an artificer. He now knows artificy, and has used his newfound knowledge to create Jerry, a mount with the head of a bugbear, and mechanical spider legs.
Steve tells his old friends that he has been investigating the Nareevians, and found that there is a massive amount of magical energy emminating from the White Spire that they are in, keeping Nareev suspended in the air above Glaine, the Jewel of the East. Toby's roommate Boris enters and tells Toby that the Archemage Cornelius Talionis has turned to goo before his very eyes, revealing himself to be a Nareevian! This explains his strange behaviour last Chapter. They go to confront him, for answers, and he reveals that the real Cornelius Talionis is being held up in Nareev, and he is only impersonating him Talionis. He tells them that the Nareevians see the "birds" of Drunkeros as cattle to be subjugated. He says that there is a plan to drop Nareev onto Glaine, destroying it and killing millions. He escapes, and the party goes to Toby's family's house, to rest and think.
They consider their options, and decide to head back to the White Spire, where they can warn the other White Spires of the Nareevian plot, and teleport to wherever. They go there, but the sending network is down, so they can't send messages to the other Spires, but they can teleport. They go first to Pelor's Hope, the home of their late ally King Titus Harper, where they find that the Queen Ashayara Dayne blames them for the death of her husband. She imprisons the party, where they find some more of their friends: Ros, Bucky, Erynn Colleen, and Marlamin Windlore, everyone who was sent to Pelor's Hope to tell Ashayara Dayne of Harper's fate. The party is then put on trial, where the truth about Cornelius Talionis is revealed, and also that the High-Elf city Galanthis is shrinking, its magic being pulled to the White Spire in Glaine. They are cleared of all charges, to the end of saving Glaine, Galanthis, and the world.
A trip to the library tells Toby that Soloni is a minor god whose only domain is the city of Nareev, which is supposedly peaceful. They also encounter the Sage's Cup, a powerful and ancient artifact that will answer two questions. Toby drinks from it, after putting in some Hellwasp Honey, and learnst two things: 1. the plane Nareev lived in ceased to exist, and it can't be sent back, and 2. they must go to the Temple of Soloni within Nareev where they will find the means to move the city. They are then attacked by more animal masked assasins, who escape after failing to kill them.
Meanwhile, in the small villiage of Tidtowne, which was formed by Cheryl Meloncamp as a safehaven for monsters shortly after the Demon Apocalypse began, four monsters, Baz, Tug, Kass, and Beetle are tasked by the Raven Queen to save their leader, Cheryl, after she is frozen by an ice demon. They journey far north, to The Crypt of Sinu the Red, where they face unimaginable horrors. After some tense low-level fighting, the Tidtowne Terrors are able to find the Raven Queens, and escape the cluthces of the lich, Sinu the Red. They are then able to unfreeze Cherly, saving the day!
Back in Glaine, things aren't looking so good. The city has entered a state of emergency and locked itself down. Queen Ashayara Dayne has commited Pelor's Hope and Galanthis to one cause, that of marching their collective armies on Glaine, to destroy the White Spire. Fortunatly, Aludra's family, House Wyrmsbane back in Deephome have declared to help the party in their endeavors to stop Nareev. Old Man Weck arrives is there, and tells them of Tidtowne, and perhaps they can find some help in the monsters that live there. They teleport there, and meet up with Baz, who takes our heroes to her "Great Leader," Cheryl. This would be the first time Steve has seen Cheryl since before he died, but he doesn't reveal himself to her. He tells the others that he doesn't want Cheryl to see him like this, but Jaela convinces him that honesty is key. Emotionally, he approaches Cheryl and tells her who he is, and the two reconnect. Cheryl is, at first, angry to learn that he has been alive for so long without her knowing, and then relieved that has returned. Also, she is pregnant! She offers Tidtowne's support in the fight against Nareev.
The party takes a small army of Tidtownians with them, including the Tidtowne Terrors, and heads back to Glaine, where they are able to pretty easily sneak back in. There, they learn of a transport that will take people up to Nareev, as well as the fact that the Nareevians are looking for a rogue Nareevian named Eleanor Morningfall. They sleep at Toby's parents' place again, and in the morning, take the Tidtowne Terrors with them to sneak into the White Spire. Inside, they sneak past more guards and get to the teleportation room, where they teleport... to Nareev!
The city is strange to them, made out of marble and clouds. After some more sneaking and investigating, the gang discovers that Eleanor Morningfall is a member of the Re-Birthers, an organization founded around the idea that one day Soloni will return to save them all. It seems that he had sacrificed himself to save Nareev. They also learn that there is a dragon somewhere in the city that will be killed by Jett Razor and eaten by everyone during the Festival of Soloni. Thw whole party then goes to Jett's airship, Jett's Toi to look around, where they find a statue of Jett's father (that turns out to be his actual father, since Nareevians solidify when they get older), a pet water elemental, and Eleanor Morningfall. She is attempting to kill Jett Razor, because he is controlling Nareev and keeping Soloni from returning. It is during this conversation that the group finally comes up with a name for themselves, the Ätlän-tã Fælcons! Frome henceforth they shall be known! Eleanor tells them that all of this has been prophecized in the Tome of Knowledge, which is in the Temple of Soloni. Jaela convinces her not to execute her plan, instead, they will try to move Nareev, while freeing the dragon to cause a distraction. The newly named Ätlän-tã Fælcons with Eleanor head off to see the dragon.
As they are heading off the ship, Baz once again recieves a vision from her god Semuanya, telling her Cheryl is once again in danger, and that she and the other Tidtowne Terrors must leave Nareev and go down to Glaine below to save her, so they steal an airship and glide to the ground. There, they find that Tidtowne and Glaine are at war with the Nareevians, and everything is chaos. Cheryl has been kidnapped by someone named the Duchess, who has taken over Glaine. With the help of a Kurt Russel-type called the Gecko, they are able to find the Duchess, and Cheryl, and defeat her monster, the dreaded manticore! They escape and are saved by the rest of the Tidtownians, who kill the Duchess.
Back up in Nareev, oblivious to all this going on around them, the Ätlän-tã Fælcons meet the dragon, Yazdir Dosh, who is really cool, and agrees to cause trouble if she is freed. The leave and come back at nighttime, to fight the monsters guarding her, the deadly Trox! But first, as they sleep at a safehouse of the Re-birthers, they all have a weird dream about their old... friend? Ally? Temporary nuisance Bananas Foster! Well, not dream so much as, Aludra was sent to Hell and Jaela has Toby take them there to rescue her. There they meet Bananas, who escorts them to the gates of Hell, and, unfortunately, has to stay behind to keep the gates open, while the others escape...
Anyway, they beat the Trox guarding Yazdir, free her, and she gives Jaela a whistle that will call her whenever she is in need. This comes up pretty immediately, as the Fælcons get to the Temple of Soloni and encounter many Troxi that merge together to form one giant Voltrox! Just when it seems they are done for, Yazdir flies in and tackles the monster, crashing through the ground and sending both tumbling to the ground below. Once inside the Temple of Soloni, they are able to find the Globe of Navigation, which can be used to move Nareev. Toby does this, but as soon as he does, the city's magical connection with Glaine below is severed, causing Nareev to begin plummeting toward the ground...
They have 1 hour before Nareev reaches Drunkeros, and the Globe of Navigation has locked up. Eleanor tells the the Tome of Knowledge in the library will be able to tell them how to fix this, so off they go. After a fight with some slimey goo piles, Toby gets the book and reads it, learning that there is a way to bring Soloni back. They then go to the armory to fetch Soloni's Helmet, and then a room that has a giant map of Nareev on the floor. The five-pointed star that is the symbol of Soloni is represented by five shrines that are evenly spaced around Soloni and, as per the Tome, the Ätlän-tã Fælcons stand on each of the shrines. After singing a particular frequency, they are granted access to Soloni's realm, where they meet the 10-ft tall god himself. He tells them that he has spent the last 5 years building this new plane for Nareev to be brought back to, but he can't do it yet, because there is something wrong with the five shrines in the city. The Fælcons agree to split up and go to them, and unblock the shrines.
Tug (who for some reason didn't go with the rest of the Tidtownians) and Eleanor go to one temple, where they find that Jett Razor has already cleared it. He catches them as he leaves, and forces Eleanor to jump to her death off Nareev. Tug offers to join Jett if he is spared, which Jett agrees to. Toby clears the shrine he was sent to, as does Aludra, and Jaela, and Steve. They are all granted temporary magical weapons, most notably, Jaela is given an axe that will instantly kill whomever it strikes. Afterwards, they all meet back up at the Temple to discuss and as they do, they are met by Jett Razor!
The fight is epic. The city falling all around them, the Ätlän-tã Fælcons square off against the man who pretended to be their friend and ally. During this, the Festival of Soloni has begun, and the Nareevians have gathered to worship their god, who has arrived and begun his ritual to bring Nareev to its new plane. Toby sends an image of himself into Jett's airship and commandeers it, steering it toward the Temple. Jaela fights valiantly, but is taken over by Jett's magical item, a lute that controls people's minds. She is made to attack her friends. Steve is also mind controlled, and Aludra turns into a mighty T-Rex. Jaela fights off her mind control and, axe in hand, takes a mighty swing at Jett. Success! Jett is killed!
Soloni thanks them for the help, and takes Nareev back to his new plane. This includes everything Nareevian (except Jett's airship), like the Fælcons' new magical toys, but it does not include the Ätlän-tã Fælcons, who are now falling toward the ground. Fortunatly, after a couple tense minutes, they are able to make their way to Jett's Toi, which just reaches them. Yazdir Dosh arrives to save Jerry, who was not able to make it to the ship. They all float gently to the ground, having saved the day once again. On the ground in Glaine, everyone celebrates and meets up with each other again. Ashayara Dayne's forces have made it to the city, but with the threat being over, she doesn't feel the need to attack the city, and the situation is resolved. Also, they decide to keep Jett's airship, renaming it to Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, or D4C.
Everyone considers what they each will do next. Steve wants to return to his wife, and Aludra realizes that she is finally ready to settle down in Deephome and finally rule as Queen. Unfortunately, Jaela cannot stay with her, as she has to go find and destroy the lich Sinu the Red. Aludra says goodbye to her friends, as the Chapter comes to an end...
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| Chapter 8 - A Dark Past, A Bright Future | Chapter 10 - To Slay a Lich |