As the group finished tending to their wounds from the Doom husks, they saw the dwarven researcher and her team extract the large crystal object: a dragon’s skull. The researcher, who never gave her name, seemed in awe of the skull, offering to give the party any other dragon bone they wished. Though the party asked for research notes, or something more scientific, the dwarven woman evaded questioning and repeated that the dig was now complete, and the site would be closed soon. The party took a crystallized talon and made their way back to Riel.
Riel seemed interested in the talon the party brought him, and he began to examine it using a spell. He mumbled to himself, talking through his process, and seemed to be making headway. It appeared the dragon talon did provide a clue toward the unknown magic runes in his formula. As he neared decrypting the spell that was cast in the ritual circle so long ago, by the Doomking himself, the group noticed Mord approaching the circle, a few researchers in tow.
Once Riel had finished decrypting the spell, he seemed aghast, as if what he had just discovered could change the world. He was quickly interrupted by Mord demanding he hand over the spell’s formula and all his notes. Riel was taken aback, retorting that he was head researcher and would not be ordered around by a novice mage. The group realized then that they had been duped. Mord was not the head researcher, and he was now threatening the party to get his hands on the spell.
Riel quietly murmured to the party that he would encrypt the spell using his own magic, should they fail to stop Mord. They just needed to protect him while he completed the ritual. The party agreed as Mord and his crew drew their weapons. Mord waved a gloved hand over his body, dematerializing his beige silks, revealing a dark coat and boots, alongside a silvery iron mask he and his followers conjured upon their faces. Vinio immediately recognized it as the telltale marker of Doomqueen Loyalists.
Battle ensued as Mord conjured chilly purple flames to block the drawbridge out of the circle. The party took some wounds, and Riel suffered two arrow shots, but they came out victorious. Vinio, enraptured by the rage of the Loyalists killing his family during his childhood grappled Mord, demanding information from him. When it was obvious Mord would not cooperate, Vinio began to strangle him. Aurora attempted to barge in to jab her spear through his gullet for her own reasons, but Vinio shoved her away. He drew his staff and silenced Mord with a single bolt of dark magic to his head. Vinio took Mord’s glove, touched by the Doom’s flames, as a trophy. The only remaining accomplice of Mord’s offered very little, speaking only in radicalized epithets about bringing about the cleansing wave of the Doom, allowing the next cycle’s people to ascend to greater heights. Though he mentioned he had a boss, higher than Mord, and that this boss was a male, he offered very little else. Aksell finished the man with a swing of his blade.
Though Riel seemed grievously wounded, he reported that his encryption spell was complete as he shut his journal, staggering on his feet. He fired a magical flare to summon medics. Before he fainted on a stretcher brought by healers, he mentioned that the spell the Doomking had cast used not only Doom Magic, but the magic of dragons as well. Before he fainted, obviously light-headed and loopy, he mentioned that their mating process was especially intriguing.
The medic told the group Riel would need to rest for a considerable amount of time, but she advised them to visit the outpost near the entrance of the dig site to get a new escorting party back to the coast. The party moved along, meeting a stern mage named Mar. Mar’s long blond hair was blanched by sunlight, and his skin was considerably tanned, so he likely had worked in the dig site for some time. As they traveled on their mounts back through the dunes, he assisted Aksell in removing some glowing blue spell that had been placed on his horns, remarking that it’s interesting that apparently an Archmage had cast the spell upon him, though Aksell offered no further details. Mar also inquired after a trace of magic he could sense from Arturo, though Arturo also evaded his questions. The group learned that Mar was from Falen, and he said he had studied magic for many decades.
The group arrived back at Dieter’s ship, their delivery mission successful. The journey back to Naviga was pleasant with no further scuffled. With the sun setting the day the ship made port, the group headed straight to the town square to win the contest, Cassian in tow.
As they approached Fehr and Dieter, clearing about to wrap for the day, they noticed a scoreboard with groups and token counts hung with wooden panels. They found themselves comfortably in the lead as they strolled up to Dieter and Fehr. When Cassian noticed the white-haired individual next to Dieter, he groaned. He explained that it was the Archmage of Naviga, and that very few tolerated him, saying they would soon find out why.
Once Dieter had awarded the group the seven tokens he promised them for their delivery, the white-haired mage, Az (Azel to his friends, he said), dramatically introduced himself. He feigned an embellished despair as he bemoaned the fact the group would soon be out of the competition, winning it, claiming he was hoping to give them his own request. A request to dive deep beneath the waters of the central fountain to a submerged wizard’s tower, long abandoned. He claimed there was near an entire city buried beneath the waters of Naviga, and no records exist of what lurks below.
The party declined Azel’s request to instead win the contest, as Dieter could not hold their winning position as they tended to another request. They would have to risk losing the contest while in the tower, he said. The group opted to turn over their tokens, winning the competition, though Fehr did allow them to each keep one token as a way to remember the contest. They were brought on stage as a crowd began to gather, Dieter congratulating the group as Endran and the crowd cheered them on.
Once the noise had died down, the group spoke with Dieter, informing him of the thief that stole away with a necklace of his. He told them it was his father’s and that when he inherited his father’s belongings, he no longer had room to store everything in his home. He loosely recalled the necklace, reporting that it was also faded when he was a child, and that if he remembered correctly, his father had retrieved it from somewhere beneath the waterways of Naviga.
While some of the group grabbed a bench to work on some crafting projects, Vinio and Arturo spoke with Azel. Vinio asked after the tower Azel would’ve had them explore. Azel explained the tower was deep underwater and was likely rigged with dangerous traps and “entities,” as he called them. Arturo also briefly asked about the touch of magic that seemed to linger on him, and Azel replied that it felt loosely like some magic that touched relics they had pulled from underneath Naviga. Though some in the group were beginning to feel regret at not taking Azel up on his offer, they nonetheless continued forward, purchasing some much-needed supplies before retiring to their rooms at the inn.
Before finding sleep, Aurora spoke with Vinio, apologizing to him for her outburst with Mord. The two felt no hard feelings over the scuffle.
When the new day dawned, the party ventured downstairs, finding another set of packages with some of their names etched in red lettering. Another mysterious gift from the strange sender none of them knew.
With Cassian as an official escort on their voyage to Illeta, the party made their way back to the docks to use Dieter’s ship once again, but this time for their own leisure. Dieter’s steward-captain asked if they were ready to sail, stating that, “The sea is calling.” The group replied yes and answered that call.