The rookie heroes found themselves in the middle of a vast desert after wading through the misty darkness of the dome covering part of Luxen. On the horizon were two suns, both unfamiliar to the group. At the center of the sky was the green lightning storm. Though they were in the desert, the white stone paths of Luxen split left and right, each leading to a section of the city that seemed to be plucked from their original locations. Smoke and flames rose from each.
Seemingly awaiting their arrival, the man in the black coat that the rookie heroes saw in Blackrose Mansion stood at the fork in the road. When he turned, the party got a better look at his attire. His dark coat still covered his head and face, but it lay open, revealing dark pieces of armor covering dark leather clothing. He still wore his sinister, pointed metal gauntlets. At his neck, scarves spiraled down, leaving four black trails, two in the front, two in the back. On his hip, the man wore a blade in its scabbard, a slight purple glow shining through the entry. With a cool, lifeless humor, the man explained that one piece of Luxen held the Royal Road market district, its shopkeepers scurrying to gather goods, while the other held a residential district, innocents fleeing for their lives. With the shopkeepers stood the councilor of Silva, a huntsman past his prime, but notable for keeping greedy hunters from extending too far into the Mythical Forest. Helping the civilians was the councilor of Falen, a renown elven mage who was quite a popular figure among mages and elves alike.
The man in black went on to explain that the cities burned, and the heroes only had time to save one, he wagered. Ed grew tired of his dialogue and pointed his blade in the man’s face, though it was tossed to the side just as easily. Gale protested the choice altogether but grew despaired when the man said it was not his time that would be wasted if they refused. The man asked which group the party valued more and even offered to send them there faster with a portal of darkness. The party then decided they valued the innocent civilians and the elves/mages more. When their choice was made, the man in black summoned his portal and faded in wisps of black dust. The party stepped through the portal.
When they emerged, the party found themselves in the Royal Road Marketplace, the opposite of their desired option. Despite being duped by the man in black, the party rallied with the bearded huntsman atop the statue of the Bloodied Heroes to protect the shopkeepers. Strange goblin-like creatures flooded the square. They wielded burning blades, had almost singed skin, and wore steel cages over their mouths. They howled and shrieked strange noises. These were not creatures seen before in Matar. The party, aided by Vint and Cavo, helped Garlanthe Councilor of Silva defend the shopkeepers as they slowly fled through a wavering portal of darkness. Only one shopkeeper was lost to the flames that were being coaxed by the goblin creatures. Once the shopkeepers had escaped, the goblins faded as if a mirage. Garlan thanked the group, offered them a chest of some of his goods, and escaped through the portal himself to help more people. Once the party had wrapped up their business, the chunk of Luxen faded into the same mirage shimmer and a foreign-looking stone temple materialized. When asked if he recognized the architecture, Vint replied that he also found it unfamiliar.
Inside the temple, the party found a stone chamber with two streams of sunlight flowing to two scepters with glass panes at the top. On the far side was a glass wall. Upon it, the sun of Luxen was etched. On the other side of the glass was yet another shadowy portal. Maron decided to attempt to break the glass by punching it with his gauntlet. Upon his failure, Vint kindly reminded him that this was a puzzle of magic, not brute strength. After some deliberation, the group aimed the dimmer sunbeam at the glass receiving the brighter sunbeam, then pointed the brighter beam at the etching. The etching lit up brightly and shattered the glass wall. The group stepped through the next portal.
The party arrived on a similar chunk of Luxen street, again forking to two other chunks. They were suspended above the clouds, the green lightning still lingering above. On their left, a chunk of Luxen held a large group of Luxen guards battling against horned, winged cloaked figures. On the other side, two Kingsguard were trying to hold their ground against a bipedal creature. The creature had a thick hide, large wings, but a distorted snout. It had features of a dragon but stood on two legs and did not resemble the dragons of legend. Two shadowy gates appeared at each path, yet again forcing the party to choose a side. After slight deliberation, they decided to aid the Kingsguard. One was a dwarf with short brain hair and a thick beard, while the other was a slender elf-woman with pinned-up red hair. Though Maron was almost swallowed whole by the creature, the heroes triumphed. Recognizing them as Londo’s group he had found, the two thanked them and faded off into a portal, seemingly unaware they were suspended above the clouds. They parted with some gear that held some Kingsguard emblazoned equipment. Across the way, the platform with the guards and cloaked figures crumbled into the clouds under the heavy green lightning strikes. The party knew the cost, and continued through the promptly presented portal.
They arrived on a white stone chunk of street, yet again seemingly plucked from Luxen. They were suspended in the air, high above a tortuous ocean spanning as far as they could see. Green lightning still hung above them. The suns had gone, and a heavy rainfall fell continuously. Vint and Cavo had vanished. On their left and right were more sections of street, each with five buttons. Ahead of them was the palace, suspended in-air on its own platform, but no bridge to reach it. After toying with the buttons, the party found that they had to ferry but one person across to permanently activate a magical bridge to the palace. Once all were across, they found the palace doors locked, two buttons at their feet. A whisper in their minds said, “Cloning…was it the magic of [indecipherable] or something else…”. The group had Gale and Amy step upon the plates, and the doors clicked open. They assumed it was having like-gendered people upon the buttons.
In the throne room, the councilor fires were lit as expected, though they glowed with a purple hue. The entrances to other wings of the palaces were covered in shadow. At the throne was yet another shadowy portal, though this had seemed incomplete. When the party approached the throne, they heard another whisper on the wind, Skywalker saying, “Not forgotten to me…”. Assuming this had something to do with the cities lost to the unknown horror in The Forgotten Lands, the group lit the fires of the four braziers that had been extinguished, though it did not appear to do anything else. Amy brandished the ring they had found, revealing it to be a destroyed councilor’s ring. When she approached one of the chairs that had previously sat near an unlit brazier, the ring began to glow with new life, though this also did not appear to do anything else.
While the group deliberated and poked fun while sitting on the throne, Ed painstakingly extinguished every brazier in the chamber except the four that had been unlit on their arrival. Once the task was complete, those on the throne were tossed from the dais as the shadowy portal completed itself. Ready to free themselves from this cursed realm, the party ventured again into the shadows.
In the next area, the party seemingly found themselves at the top floor of the observatory, though it was not all quite right. The wooden floors, stone walls, and enormous spyglass remained, but their positions were shifted. On a raised stage, Skywalker stood with his head down. The man in black stood nearby, holding out a metal object to Skywalker. In front of both of them were battle-scarred Londo and Zola, bound by some strange blue energy shackles. Behind this group sat King Zin, held by the wrist by the same blue bindings, in a luxurious gray seat. Next to him stood Vis, also bound. Beyond all these familiar faces was a glass viewing wall. Outside was a vast blackness, speckled with starlight…