Snotskin insists on following the party wherever they go.
Garrick the Mad (the wizard) and Ottian (the demi-lich skull of the party's mentor) are taking Ilmak (the swordmage) back to the temple of Ioun to do research on him to see if they can find a way to cure the mindflayer in his skull while he's in suspended animation.
Meanwhile, Brock Mez'Gar (the undead gnoll assassin) is giving the Rod of Acererak to Garret (the cleric of Ioun) and retiring to the newly built "Brock Mez'Gar's Fighting Academy" in Mistmeadow, where he intends to train the locals to better defend themselves.
Kevros (the shifter paladin) is working on recruiting a party to lead back into the Tomb of Horrors to see if they can recover Hotspur's soul and defeat Acererak, the demi-lich. Meanwhile, Hotspurs body lies preserved at the temple of Ioun. The rest of the party is heading north towards Kodrus Vale in search of Whosis Kid's remains so they can resurrect him.
Triel the swordmage heads to Ironview to see how the order is fairing under Veszafein's rule.
In Mistmeadow the city guard enforces the Duchy’s decree that all goblins are to be killed on sight if they enter town, though they have not pursued goblins they see passing by as they have learned of the Goblin Lord’s deal with the party. They aren’t happy about having trolls camped out in the ruins nearby. Iggy and Snotskin, the goblins with the party hide from the Mistmeadow guard.
Kodrus Vale:
As they enter the city of Kodrus Vale they see the former Sheriff of Lighthedge Point (who retired after being resurrected in the battle with Baron Redspawn) training ogres and feral elves how to farm. The elves look happy, but the ogres look bored and frustrated.
In the main square near the life-sized statue of Kodrus with the inscription "He wanted to be bigger." they meet Kodrus Jr, pulling an ox cart through the square and reposing for a moment in the sun along the street vendors.
One of the street vendors recognizes the resemblance and a mob forms around him. They grow restless until Iggy the goblin entertains them by teleporting around and shooting off some fireworks.
Ogre Hall:
Ogre Hall - Grawrsh is arguing with the ogres current leader Malxish. Malxish assures the warriors that plans to liberate Summerspring draw near and meanwhile they must tend to the crops to ensure there will be something to eat when the war is done. Grawrsh offers them adventure and wealth if they leave tomorrow with him. The hall seems evenly divided between ogres who want to leave and who want to stay and wait for the big battle. Everyone agrees as they drink their Ogre Mead that farming is for elves and does not concern them, though Malxish does fairly point out that without the crop there will be no ogre mead. The ogres insist on resolving the dispute with a drinking contest which Grawrsh fails. When he loses consciousness (along with Kodrus Jr) he reverts to his true form. It turns out that Grawrsh was Whosis in disguise.
Glimmergaunt Tower:
The party sees a flock of Ravens perched in a tree near the entrance - few of them circle the tower overhead cawing monotonously. The halflings welcome the party with a special reserve of ice wine and lead them to Gurmorel's chambers. She is ill. Juliana, Vicmorn Shieldheart, the young Sir Blackshore (slayer of Arushantis), and the Mayor Hobbins from Lighthedge Point are assembled around the sick bed of Lady Glimmergaunt. With Blackshore incapacitated by the Norselord's seige and the rest of the island duchies fallen to his pirate raiders, the situation for the Duchy are precarious. Those assembled are proposing a new Guardian Council, headed by Glimmergaunt, with each of the four other cities as members on the council, pledged to mutually assist one another. First they wish to liberate Summerspring, them move to end the siege at Blackshore. As they proceed the party notices a large Raven perched on the window watching them (when Iggy tries to shoo the raven it becomes the Raven Queen).
The Raven Queen issues an ultimatum - the party has failed to kill Orcus, and so per their agreement the soul of Lady Glimmergaunt will be hers when her time comes, and that time appears to be sooner than later. Glimmergaunt promised her soul to the Raven Queen so that winter would never come to her lands, and now the Raven Queen intends to collect. For although Aseroth granted Glimmergaunt agelessness to protect her from the ravages of time, she can still die by disease. She mentions that her revenant Brock Mez'gar has been delinquent in his duty to perform her will. Orcus is still alive and the Raven feather she gave to Brock was never delivered to Count of Barovia. While her rival Orcus lives and his pawn the Count sits in his castle, she decrees that no one on this earth shall be resurrected. She will horde all of their souls in the Shadowfell. The Raven Queen says that the only cure for lady Glimmergaunt's illness is the tea made from the cone of the world ash.
Road to SummerSpring:
While travelling the party notices that Garrett is casting two shadows. Nortumal appears. Nortumal states his intention to find the world tree. They attack him, at which point he fights to the death. Whosis and Kodrus Jr wakeup to aid in the fight. Nortumal is defeated and slinks off into the shadows to reincarnate again.
Path to the Enchanted Grove in the Feywoods:
See the Order of Yggdrasil in the wood, assembled around a stone circle honoring the passing of Hotspur.
Next, they will come across the ruined city in the heart of the feywild. This was the kingdom of Graceothantis. The evil fey creatures there surround and welcome them as victors, offering them the crown of their deceased king, though the kingdom bears a curse that you must marry someone of the royal line to rule. None have claimed the throne because the royal bloodline is so terrible. Graceothantis took the Witch Queen Hektiss as his bride. Several foul fey creature of royal blood are offered to Snotskin since he's the only one to claim the prize. He selects a goblin bride.
Also, at a great wedding feast, they hear the legend of the stag told by a captive pixie bard, a creature which none in the ruined city have seen because they are too evil to witness it. The party frees the bard Friskus the next morning and he directs the party to the sacred glen where the Stag can it can be found drinking from time to time.
They follow the white stage from the silvery glen through the forest to the world tree. The stag leads them around a flock of hundreds of harpies nesting in the trees above.
World Tree & Graconithantis:
The huge green dragon slumbers at the base of the tree, surrounded by a vast field of treasure and skeletal remains of past heroes. World tree cones have been collected and lay in a pile under the beasts claw. Whosis sneaks up and retrieves two cones.
the large raven crows and becomes the raven queen. Then graz'zt leaps down from the world tree and kills the dragon with a mighty blow as it awakens. the raven queen then reveals itself as the lord of illusions and mocks them. Graz'z congratulates the party, then reveals his plan. Two large Tanar’ri appear with great axes and begin chopping at the tree. The Lord of Illusions tries to stop them as this is not what he agreed to, but Graz’zt breaks the ground open and throws him into the pit. Graz'zt takes control over Whosis who aids him in attacking the party. When the tree finally falls a great shockwave tears through the forest petrifying everything in a mile radius. A moment later a great and powerful explosion blasts the land, killing all living things nearby.
Resurrection:
The Lord of Illusions and Drandis stand over the party. They are lying on a battered broken land. Petrified tree stumps litter the landscape in all directions. He explains that it took him a long time to find them. The Lord of Illusions tells them he now goes by his true name Sadrak. He’s changed his ways and is committed to undoing the damage that he caused all those years ago when he helped Graz’zt find the world tree.
Gladomain has been shattered into a cluster of rocks orbiting the moon, where Graz’zt has created a new world he calls Nightgleam. When the old world of Gladomain was destroyed, Nidhogg was freed. Graz'zt then planted a new world tree on the moon and became a god himself.
Graz’zt’s three generals rule their kingdoms with fear and tyranny. The dark six raised a large army and then used the world tree to create a giant battering ram to smash a portal from the moon through to Baator and their armies invaded the hells, freeing their imprisoned sister Tiamat.
The abyssal forces have fought 100 long years to claim all but the last layer of hell. Asmodeus has been captured and Baalzebub rally’s the last remaining forces hell can muster for one last defense. It appears inevitable that the bloodwar will soon be over.
After the death of the world tree, Sadrak had two world tree cones. With one he created a new distant world in his own image, a fanciful place of dancing stars and illusions full of joy, wonder, and mirth, but in time he grew weary of it and godhood, as the guilt over his participation in Graz’zt’s plan plagued him. He found Drandis and tried to create a refuge for some of the good people of Gladomain with the second cone, but their sanctuary was eventually found by the dark six and destroyed.
Drandis and Sadrak have though long and hard of how to right things. They believe the best strategy was to find the party, resurrect them, and send them back in time to the day after their deaths so they can save Gurmorel Glimmergaunt and have her replant a new world tree. If they succeed, Nidhogg will still be freed but Graz’zt’s plan to destroy Gladomain will fail. The only way they know of to do that is with a wish from the tomb of Proferio atop the tower in Graz’zt’s domed palace.
The garden of proferio as the party knows was once a beautiful jewel on the sybarite isle, but Graz’zt has corrupted it and made it his den of evil. Drandis reminds them that when they get to the tomb they must wish very specifically to have their present soul restored into their resurrected bodies on the sunrise after the world tree was destroyed. Too early and the lands will be swarming with Tanar’ri. Too late and they will not have time to save Glimmergaunt to replant the world tree.
Moon Landing:
The arrive on the surface of the moon outside the city. They intend to meet up with a caravan of lunar nomads who will disguise them and lead them into the city. The nomads turn out to be werewolf raiders.
Sadrak explains that Graz’zt ordered most of the populace of the shattered lands sent to the moon where he and Baphoment began infecting them with lycanthropy. On the surface of the moon, they live in a state of endless frenzied rage, prowling the countryside and attacking anything outside the city. He calls on the horde to fight in his wars from time to time. During the battle with the lunar werewolf nomads, Garrett is bitten and infected with Lycanthropy before they defeat the creatures.
As Sadrak and Dradis fight back the horde coming out of the crate nearby, some lizardfolk motion to the party to enter into a concealed crater entrance. They find the undercity and are lead to the lizard king who explains that he knows a secret way into the domed fortress. He sends the lizard men along with the party.
Dark Garden:
The crystal cave is dark and sinister looking. The waters churn violently and a mist drifts over the waters. Time does not appear to be changed anymore in this place. They find that the creatures of the garden are being hunted to extinction when they arrive.
Pale Night stalks the garden with her minions. They fire poisoned deadly arrows at the party. The lizardfolk heroically sacrifice themselves to lead her hunting party away while the party moves on toward the palace, killing some of Pale Night's Yuguloth guards.
As they run toward the palace they see that the waters in the lake are black and giant tentacled things grab large rodent-like beasts drinking at the shore. One side of the dome is cracked open and guarded by Tanar’ri but the palace inside the dome appears unguarded.
Conference:
Graz’zt’s three generals present Asmodeus to him in his court along with the other dark six. Graz’zt tells the generals that when their conquest of Baator is complete they will each be granted their own layer to rule as they they wish. He then turns to execute Asmodeus. The party continues their climb on the outside of the palace to the top spire.
Homecoming:
The party returns to Kodrus Vale a day after the world tree was destroyed. The sky has a strange aurora as Nidhogg begins to uncoil from around it and regurgitate the earth. In a few days they will see the aurora begin to fade from the sky as the world serpent starts its departure back to limbo.
A huge rift has been torn in the earth between Kordus Vale and SummerSpring.
Glimmergaunt takes Drandis and departs to give the world tree cone to the order of Yggdrasil so the High Druid can replant it and save the earth.
Investigation:
The party goes to talk to Brock Mez'Gar. At the academy they find he is absent. Iggy the goblin investigates the fighting academy and finds three secret basement levels that house an assassins guild, a temple to the raven queen, and a shrine to Mez'Gar. They also learn that he has left towards Ironview and has the Ring of Acererak. Though he told them he couldn't find it in Graceothantis' remains he did indeed locate the object.
Departure:
The party rests for several days then continues on towards Shadowmarsh Cliffs. They find the Evil Jungle Prince Zirakas the Rakshasa and his army of infernal creatures parked out front laying seige to the city. They are starving out the orcs who are are camped within.
Iggy creates a magical barrier so they can sneek through the keep's walls. The Rakshasa's forces see the party approach the front gate, and once inside Kodrus Jr knocks over some metal objects and alerts the orc guards on the main wall who turn to attack the party.
