Back into those catacombs? How did I know? Always the same. This time it's escorting a journeyman wizard through so he can find a library access.

****STARTING GOLD (15); Sold Warhammer (7.5), scale (25)

> Backstory / This is Your Life

Me? Both my parents were humans, no clue there was any dormant infernal heritage until I came along.
Mom had a tough time with the labor, so I was born in a Temple. Chauntea, I think they said. They named me Phaedra Hornraven, but I changed my name as an adult, like many tieflings.
The reason I was a surprise is because I’m third of four siblings and the two older kids are regular fair-skinned, raven-haired Iluskan human.

There’s Benedick. (NE) Big brother is a forger in Xanathar’s gang, pretty successful now. He’s a good info source when needed and just incredible with inks or paints. He sends letters along with Aunt Vik’s sometimes & they always have some fun wax seal or a little painted sketch.
After him was Mawra (LN). Stick up her ass & bossy, she works as a jeweler, like Da. Heard she and her kids hit hard times; I sent some money, even though we don’t get along. Benedick tells me she gave it all to the guildhall to pay dues instead of buying food or fixing up her shop. Stupid and stubborn.

My kid sister is a Tiefling too. No wings, but cute horns. Cefrey is a (N) Druid now. Works for the Enclave. Nature stuff, protecting a small farming village & tending to the local forest. We get on fine; she just likes owlbears better.

But yeah. Growing up, Folks in the village didn’t take to us being different. Said we were cursed. Drew Talona’s Tears or the symbol of Asmodeus on our door whenever they got too rowdy at the tavern. Makes an impression on a kid.

After Cefrey came, Ma got real scared. Villagers got nastier. Eventually she abandoned us. Left with the Vistani. Least those were the rumors. Family wouldn’t tell me nothin’. Da? Da was hung for kidnapping, of all things. Kidnapping! Not sure any of it was true. I never heard nobody say they had proof.

Someone in the village sent to Aunt Vik & Uncle Roark. They came and moved us to Waterdeep and cared for us best they could. We were poor, but they managed to keep a small house. He made really beautiful saddlebags for a fancy shop, and we ate every night. Better than a lot of folks.
I always found it easy to make friends, and I loved being around people. Most Waterdhavians didn’t make a big deal about us lookin’ different. There’s lots of weird kids and odd stories in the shadier wards of the ‘deep.

When I was 12 or 13, I was out in the market teaching Cefrey on making deliveries for Uncle Roark. There was a commotion; a kid that was playing on a roof or a balcony or something, but now she was dangling off the edge. Somebody elbowed me and looked at my wings. Listen, I’ve never been the strongest, but I’m not terrible with rope. I tied the kid off and looped the rope through the pulley for a wash line. Let a couple of big laborer types do the drop-him-slow-keep-it-steady thing—belaying is it? Yeah. That.
Anyway, kid was a Shou, named Chen Lao (NG). Plain human, no horns or hooves or nothin’.
Her people have some tradition called “life debt” which is really harsh when you’re 11-and-a-half and you gotta swear your whole life away, but she’s more like my best friend or sister. Anyway, these days she does the cooking and washing and feeds the horses when we travel.

Couple days after the rescue, stories were in the paper and this sculptor comes poking around; says he’s high up in a guild and he’s brought a reward. Has a talk with Vik & Roark. Comes back a month later, shows them some contracts & a small stack of gold Dragons.
Alls the sudden, me, Cefrey, and Chen are moving into a big house cross the city and we’re ‘pprenticed by the guy. Well, turns out Eravel Stonewood is actually an Adventurer, a bona fide Half-elven Wizard. Cuts marble when he’s bored. Brews potions and poisons and changes things with magic when he’s not.
He teaches us loads, but while we all learn lots of reading, and some plants, and place names, none of us really have the knack for learning magic off of books.

It was Eravel that took me to see the Folks. The ones that taught us who our ancestors are. Showed me the making of poisons and the how to triage the sick in an epidemic. That’s where I really learned. Started to figure out— sickness? dying? It’s part of life. Talona has a job. It makes me pretty good at mine. I became a hired henchman for Eravel.

And once Eravel disappeared between jobs, well it’s me and Chen, now that Cefrey split off to play with her owlbears.

Sometimes I get hired to cure a plague. Sometimes just to go count before and after and send a report. Sometimes to keep people alive or to go make sure someone is dead. It’s all part of the cycle.

• Potion of Superior Healing, Invulnerability, Frost giant Strength, Potion of speed, and (1) Spell scroll of greater Invisibility

Downtime Activity: Dwarven Firespirits - Vergadain, a dwarven deity of wealth and trickery, was known for his favored drink; as clear as water and smelled of honey and cane sugar, but was in truth an incredibly potent liquor that put standard dwarven spirits to shame. He would sometimes challenge unknowing humans and elves to drinking contents, where he would slyly swap in sweetened water while his opponent would down drink after drink of this highly-flammable liquid. It rarely ended well for them. And now you have the recipe!

You may spend 60 downtime days to craft one barrel of firespirits. Each batch requires special sweet herbs from the wooded copse near Durlag’s Tower and 100 gp worth of other materials, including aged dwarven spirits blessed by a dwarven priest. If you find yourself in possession of campaign documentation that bestows ownership of a distillery, this time and gold cost is reduced by half.

Each barrel contains approximately 30 gallons of firespirits, and can be sold for 1,000 gp. Alternately, as this is a rare elixir; it may be worth a significant amount to Fai Chen, certain high-ranking lords, or other purveyors of such fineries. Additionally, if you give a nip of firespirits (just a wee one) to a dwarf, all Charisma (Persuasion) checks made with them are made with advantage for the next hour.

(Claimed & Crossed off) Story Award: Favor of SEER - Add 3rd level wizard spell scroll + (1) potion of heroism

Proceeding into Durlag's Tower, we discover several floors of death traps devised by a true master of the art. We arrived at the basement just minutes before Rajiram's advance force, including the Baron's simulacrum. A ridiculously tedious fight, but I did get to try my new sterilization protocol, Fire Storm. Killed off most small organisms and bacteria, but was not lethal to the giants and humanoids. Id' consider it a successful field test, even if not rigorously controlled or peer reviewed. Warrants further experimentation.

Story Reward : Favor of Candlekeep - You surrender of the copper tablet to the acolytes of Oghma at Candlekeep has them overjoyed. The Great Readers spend many weeks poring over the ancient artifact’s hidden meanings and may one day puzzle out where the missing section is located. The next time you visit Candlekeep or interact with the faithful of Oghma, any Charisma ability checks you make are made with advantage.

Hsing told us that Seer went missing in the ruins of a defunct wizard's academy. On arrival, we were ambushed by three stone giants and a pair of cloud giants, and then within the catacombs below the ruined academy we were set upon by a half dozen vampire spawn, a pair of svampire sorcerers, and two banshee.

Far more resistance than I was expecting for what seemed a straightforward search and rescue.

I. hate. vampires. At least SEER is safe. I never want to go back into those catacombs again.

Bought Breastplate

Maeve Voidbreaker (Ethan McDaniel), a family acquaintance, officiated the wedding of Oleandra with her life partner Chen Lao. The service was held in Hospice of St. Laupsenn, a temple to Ilmater in the North Ward.
Witnesses were Cefrey Hornraven and Tilly Leanhart.

Purchased 2x greater healing

SA: Indebted to Gwyrdd You've pledged a favor to the young green dragon Gwyddentuliar. He'll likely call it in when you can do something for him.

+Scroll of Greater Restoration

Traded with UTHEMAR WASANATHI, a very loud, braggart and gladiator.

correction for Season 9 ALCC retroactive guidance

Corrections for Season 9 AL Content Catalogue retroactive changes.
also add 3 potions superior healing, 2 scrolls greater restoration

Correction for S9 retroactive WPM guidance

Back into those catacombs? How did I know? Always the same. This time it's escorting a journeyman wizard through so he can find a library access.

****STARTING GOLD (15); Sold Warhammer (7.5), scale (25)

> Backstory / This is Your Life

Me? Both my parents were humans, no clue there was any dormant infernal heritage until I came along.
Mom had a tough time with the labor, so I was born in a Temple. Chauntea, I think they said. They named me Phaedra Hornraven, but I changed my name as an adult, like many tieflings.
The reason I was a surprise is because I’m third of four siblings and the two older kids are regular fair-skinned, raven-haired Iluskan human.

There’s Benedick. (NE) Big brother is a forger in Xanathar’s gang, pretty successful now. He’s a good info source when needed and just incredible with inks or paints. He sends letters along with Aunt Vik’s sometimes & they always have some fun wax seal or a little painted sketch.
After him was Mawra (LN). Stick up her ass & bossy, she works as a jeweler, like Da. Heard she and her kids hit hard times; I sent some money, even though we don’t get along. Benedick tells me she gave it all to the guildhall to pay dues instead of buying food or fixing up her shop. Stupid and stubborn.

My kid sister is a Tiefling too. No wings, but cute horns. Cefrey is a (N) Druid now. Works for the Enclave. Nature stuff, protecting a small farming village & tending to the local forest. We get on fine; she just likes owlbears better.

But yeah. Growing up, Folks in the village didn’t take to us being different. Said we were cursed. Drew Talona’s Tears or the symbol of Asmodeus on our door whenever they got too rowdy at the tavern. Makes an impression on a kid.

After Cefrey came, Ma got real scared. Villagers got nastier. Eventually she abandoned us. Left with the Vistani. Least those were the rumors. Family wouldn’t tell me nothin’. Da? Da was hung for kidnapping, of all things. Kidnapping! Not sure any of it was true. I never heard nobody say they had proof.

Someone in the village sent to Aunt Vik & Uncle Roark. They came and moved us to Waterdeep and cared for us best they could. We were poor, but they managed to keep a small house. He made really beautiful saddlebags for a fancy shop, and we ate every night. Better than a lot of folks.
I always found it easy to make friends, and I loved being around people. Most Waterdhavians didn’t make a big deal about us lookin’ different. There’s lots of weird kids and odd stories in the shadier wards of the ‘deep.

When I was 12 or 13, I was out in the market teaching Cefrey on making deliveries for Uncle Roark. There was a commotion; a kid that was playing on a roof or a balcony or something, but now she was dangling off the edge. Somebody elbowed me and looked at my wings. Listen, I’ve never been the strongest, but I’m not terrible with rope. I tied the kid off and looped the rope through the pulley for a wash line. Let a couple of big laborer types do the drop-him-slow-keep-it-steady thing—belaying is it? Yeah. That.
Anyway, kid was a Shou, named Chen Lao (NG). Plain human, no horns or hooves or nothin’.
Her people have some tradition called “life debt” which is really harsh when you’re 11-and-a-half and you gotta swear your whole life away, but she’s more like my best friend or sister. Anyway, these days she does the cooking and washing and feeds the horses when we travel.

Couple days after the rescue, stories were in the paper and this sculptor comes poking around; says he’s high up in a guild and he’s brought a reward. Has a talk with Vik & Roark. Comes back a month later, shows them some contracts & a small stack of gold Dragons.
Alls the sudden, me, Cefrey, and Chen are moving into a big house cross the city and we’re ‘pprenticed by the guy. Well, turns out Eravel Stonewood is actually an Adventurer, a bona fide Half-elven Wizard. Cuts marble when he’s bored. Brews potions and poisons and changes things with magic when he’s not.
He teaches us loads, but while we all learn lots of reading, and some plants, and place names, none of us really have the knack for learning magic off of books.

It was Eravel that took me to see the Folks. The ones that taught us who our ancestors are. Showed me the making of poisons and the how to triage the sick in an epidemic. That’s where I really learned. Started to figure out— sickness? dying? It’s part of life. Talona has a job. It makes me pretty good at mine. I became a hired henchman for Eravel.

And once Eravel disappeared between jobs, well it’s me and Chen, now that Cefrey split off to play with her owlbears.

Sometimes I get hired to cure a plague. Sometimes just to go count before and after and send a report. Sometimes to keep people alive or to go make sure someone is dead. It’s all part of the cycle.

• Potion of Superior Healing, Invulnerability, Frost giant Strength, Potion of speed, and (1) Spell scroll of greater Invisibility

Downtime Activity: Dwarven Firespirits - Vergadain, a dwarven deity of wealth and trickery, was known for his favored drink; as clear as water and smelled of honey and cane sugar, but was in truth an incredibly potent liquor that put standard dwarven spirits to shame. He would sometimes challenge unknowing humans and elves to drinking contents, where he would slyly swap in sweetened water while his opponent would down drink after drink of this highly-flammable liquid. It rarely ended well for them. And now you have the recipe!

You may spend 60 downtime days to craft one barrel of firespirits. Each batch requires special sweet herbs from the wooded copse near Durlag’s Tower and 100 gp worth of other materials, including aged dwarven spirits blessed by a dwarven priest. If you find yourself in possession of campaign documentation that bestows ownership of a distillery, this time and gold cost is reduced by half.

Each barrel contains approximately 30 gallons of firespirits, and can be sold for 1,000 gp. Alternately, as this is a rare elixir; it may be worth a significant amount to Fai Chen, certain high-ranking lords, or other purveyors of such fineries. Additionally, if you give a nip of firespirits (just a wee one) to a dwarf, all Charisma (Persuasion) checks made with them are made with advantage for the next hour.

(Claimed & Crossed off) Story Award: Favor of SEER - Add 3rd level wizard spell scroll + (1) potion of heroism

Proceeding into Durlag's Tower, we discover several floors of death traps devised by a true master of the art. We arrived at the basement just minutes before Rajiram's advance force, including the Baron's simulacrum. A ridiculously tedious fight, but I did get to try my new sterilization protocol, Fire Storm. Killed off most small organisms and bacteria, but was not lethal to the giants and humanoids. Id' consider it a successful field test, even if not rigorously controlled or peer reviewed. Warrants further experimentation.

Story Reward : Favor of Candlekeep - You surrender of the copper tablet to the acolytes of Oghma at Candlekeep has them overjoyed. The Great Readers spend many weeks poring over the ancient artifact’s hidden meanings and may one day puzzle out where the missing section is located. The next time you visit Candlekeep or interact with the faithful of Oghma, any Charisma ability checks you make are made with advantage.

Hsing told us that Seer went missing in the ruins of a defunct wizard's academy. On arrival, we were ambushed by three stone giants and a pair of cloud giants, and then within the catacombs below the ruined academy we were set upon by a half dozen vampire spawn, a pair of svampire sorcerers, and two banshee.

Far more resistance than I was expecting for what seemed a straightforward search and rescue.

I. hate. vampires. At least SEER is safe. I never want to go back into those catacombs again.

Bought Breastplate

Maeve Voidbreaker (Ethan McDaniel), a family acquaintance, officiated the wedding of Oleandra with her life partner Chen Lao. The service was held in Hospice of St. Laupsenn, a temple to Ilmater in the North Ward.
Witnesses were Cefrey Hornraven and Tilly Leanhart.

Purchased 2x greater healing

SA: Indebted to Gwyrdd You've pledged a favor to the young green dragon Gwyddentuliar. He'll likely call it in when you can do something for him.

+Scroll of Greater Restoration

Traded with UTHEMAR WASANATHI, a very loud, braggart and gladiator.

correction for Season 9 ALCC retroactive guidance

Corrections for Season 9 AL Content Catalogue retroactive changes.
also add 3 potions superior healing, 2 scrolls greater restoration

Correction for S9 retroactive WPM guidance