Hello Adventurers!

As we prepare for Project Cerberus' summer launch, we're writing a Choose the Adventure series that will showcase content from the upcoming book.

Your choices directly steer the direction of the book.

I'll be capturing the full saga here for anyone who missed an episode and wants to catch up! Each week an email is heading out with the next part of the story.

Talk soon!
-Brendan

The goblin grinned. It was a child really, holding aloft a sealed missive in one hand and the other, much closer to you was empty, palm up. Dropping a coin into the outstretched palm, you snatch up the note and slam the door of your sleeping cube in the kid’s face. The sound of his twittering giggle echoes and grows fainter as presumably the herald moves on.

It’s one thing when they show up during the day pitching the post for a tip, and quite another to be awakened at a quarter past three, in the wee hours of the morning. Banging your head as you sit up too quickly when your door erupts thunderously under the assault of a herald’s knocking club.

The note is a summons from a fixer that operates in these parts, goes by the name Grindol. Another goblin of course, but with respect down here in the lower sector of Arcology Jade. Best not keep him waiting too long. Up and out the door you go as you strap on the last of your kit and make your way over to Lucky’s Lounge on Cambion Corner.

Through the doors, the place is all but empty, and you can catch a glimpse of Grindol’s broad, toothy grimace in the back, corner booth. A massive, hand-rolled cigar hangs from one side of his lips, unlit. The place smells like sweat and bad brew.

A drunken dwarf stumbles out of the darkness, colliding with you, sending you both sprawling. Standing up and dusting yourself of whatever grime you might have collected from the floor, you notice the now-sleeping dwarf wears a badge indicating he’s a member of a guild...

Look at the tan on him! What’s a farmer doing all the way down here? The Reaper’s Collective lives at the top of the arcology, where you hear they get actual sunlight to work with in growing food for the masses. You crouch to examine the snoring dwarf. He must be loaded. Reapers work for a bunch of druids and by the looks of him, they’re well-fed. Rifling his pockets turns up a small paper packet of seeds, worth a fortune down here. His loss as you pocket the packet.

“When you’re done fondling my customers, we gots business you and me,” Grindol’s nasal tone slaps you back to cognizance. “You wanna work or what?”

Approaching the fixer’s table, you see him pull out a heavy pouch that makes an audible clinking sound when it hits the table. Grindol cocks an eyebrow, “I got nine more just like dat if you k’n find a missin’ kid for me. This one comes all the way from the Nexus. Evidently this kid’s some kinda psion prodigy that’s supposed to be important or sumthin’.”

That kind of coin could be life changing, perhaps even get you a pass up top. Grindol looks pleased as you nod your agreement. “Look… the muk’e’muks up top think the ‘nappers are taking the kid to the Vault. You’re gonna need a guide. Luckily, I’ve got three on tap. All of deez guys owe me one. Take this token to one ‘a dem and let ‘em know what’s what. Tell ‘em I’ll call us even if they come through.”

There you have it. Job of the century and all you gotta do is go get a kid from some ‘nappers. But which guide do you pick?

Crumbling chunks of loose sandstone cordoned off with rusty iron mesh is likely a far cry from the stout fortifications built by Astra’s ancestors on the Ethereal Plane, but it’s what comprised the exterior of the dragonborn’s domicile. This far down in the arcology, and everything starts to look like the wreckage of a war zone. Every other structure for two blocks was reduced to rubble, giving anyone in this particular structure clear line of sight for at least a hundred feet in every direction.

Indeed, as you approached a resonant alto growl issued a simple command, “Turn back now or I’ll blow a hole in you the size of my fist!”

You’d once seen what the breath weapon of an ethereal dragonborn can do, and not wanting to put her resolve to the test, you hastily identified yourself, stating that you’d been sent by Grindol to offer an opportunity for forgiveness from debt with the goblin fixer. The only answer was a clawed fist protruding from one makeshift murder hole to beckon you closer.

Approaching cautiously… slowly really, for there was no real cover from possible ranged attack, you stepped up to a door that looked strangely durable compared to the rest of the structure. The sound of multiple bolts being thrown preceded the grand reveal of Astra, ethereal dragonborn explorer, and like yourself, maker of questionable decisions.

Just when you started to think that all was well, however, a snarl erupted from Astra as she exhaled a mote of destructive energy over your shoulder, and then disappeared altogether in an eruption of ethereal mist right before your eyes. Turning around, you could see a trio of wererat thugs quickly approaching with blades and hand crossbows. Bracing yourself for the attack, you…

Blades flashed as the wererat thugs closed in for the kill, an evil sneer under their preternaturally twitchy noses. Each managed to score a hit on your torso, but to no avail as they only seemed to chip away at your stony exterior. Focusing your will, the stone around your fists thickened as you lashed out at one of your assailants. The thug’s evil grin dropped as your punches made satisfying popping and cracking sounds when they fell upon them. Blood trickled from the corner of the creature’s mouth, and the lycanthrope doubled over, hissing in pain.

You noted a faint movement to your left, and as you turned to look in that direction, a stream of lightning ripped through all three wererats directly in front of you. As your vision cleared from the brilliant flash of light, you saw their remains twitching on the ground before you. Astra strode from the shadows at the side of her home, “You were saying?”

“Grindol offers you forgiveness in exchange for this service. Lead me into the Vault to rescue this child-psion from the Nexus and you’re free and clear.”

Astra smiled sadly, “When do we start?”

We left the next morning, heading deeper down into the arcology than I had ever gone. From time to time, Astra would stop and speak with someone. A lone beggar in the gutter here… then further on a trio of mhanod miners on lunch break. The mhanod are like upright, armored anteaters, and evidently these had been caught trying to tunnel under the arcology shell, and now they’re doing hard labor just above the Vault as penance.

Astra returned, “A group of well-dressed scholars with a child came through here a day ago. Looks like we’re getting close.”

We continued on into the darkness, never breaking stride, for fear we’d never catch up. Just when we were most weary though, a scraping of claw on stone let us know we weren’t alone. Something peered at us from the darkness, and all we could see were its eyes. What is it?

Edging forward for a closer look, you were both startled when two eyes became one and then winked out of existence altogether.

Rushing forward, you reached the edge of the chamber with no other creature in evidence, “What in the blue blazes was that?” Your voice sounded overly loud in this quiet space.

“What in the blue blazes was that?” Another voice echoed from out of the darkness, sounding altogether like your own, even though you didn’t speak.

Spinning about, you catch sight of an enormous raven. The bird stood three meters tall with a wingspan that could easily enwrap you both in a single feathery hug if the creature were so inclined.

A voice not your own intruded on your justifiably shocked thought process, “Hello there. Who might you be and what are you doing all the way down here?” Clearly, besides being enormous, the raven was also telepathic, and intelligent as well.

Looking over, you could tell that Astra would be of no assistance here as the dragonborn stood stock still, mouth agape in what could only be described as a state of wonder.

“Weeeell… I am Jaden Saige, and this gaping gambler is my new friend Astra. We’re looking for a child accompanied by a band of erudite, if misguided, professors. You see, the child was abducted recently, and we seek to deliver them home. I don’t suppose you’ve seen such a group wandering about?”

Cocking its head curiously to one side, the voice in your head replied, “Happy to make your acquaintance. I am the Garrulous Rook, and today this cavernous cairn is my home, my lair, my demesne if you will.”

“Have you seen the child and their abductors?” You could feel your teeth begin to grind.

“I might.. I might… I might have indeeeeed seen such a group, and not long ago did they pass by this way.”

Biting back a venomous retort, “I don’t suppose you’d like to enlighten us as to the direction they took?”

“I once new a rather short fellow named Took, though I can’t recall the last time we spoke, or even where he went, though he was certainly a pleasure to speak with nonetheless.”

Looking at Astra, you note that she has a half-cocked grin splayed across her face as she shrugs in helpless humor.

Wrestling with a sigh, you plead with the raven, “I beg of you, please tell us where the child went.”

Cocking its head back the other direction, the Garrulous Rook peered at you with its other eye, “Hrm, well that is a conundrum indeed and while I do possess this knowledge, I never give anything away for free… I’ll tell you what. There is a creature in the next chamber that has been harassing me to no end. It has a violent nature to be certain, and if you were to exterminate this blight, I would fairly declare that payment for this one trivial morsel that you so request.”

“What… what creature? Can you at least say what it is?” You can now feel the blood rushing to your face as your temper rises.

Calm as ever though, “Well I’m not sure what you’d call it. Perhaps you could help me with that?”

“Fine! We’ll be right back, so don’t you go anywhere… Rook.”

Jaden and Astra exchanged glances of irritation as they moved out of earshot of the massive raven. “What’s a bird that big doing down here anyways?”

Regaining her composure more quickly, Astra cocked an eyebrow, “It’s a phase raven. Interrogating it is pointless. It’ll just slip into the Ethereal. So, it looks like we’re doing a job for the bird… we should probably be quick about it too. Don’t want it to get bored and leave us hanging.”

With that, it was settled. The two of you picked your way through the passage, which narrowed awkwardly into a two-foot-wide hall of rough-carved stone. If that weren’t enough, there was a slow trickle of water that smelled strongly of rotten eggs and made the gentle downward slope somewhat treacherous.

After a few minutes of slowly squeezing through the narrow hall, it opened up into a cavern well below Zephyr’s Veil. Doing your best to move quietly, the two of you slipped into the chamber, peering through the darkness for any hint of the creature the Rook spoke of.

Not only did the room appear to be empty however, but it was also a dead end. A pool of smelly water collected at one end and moss grew everywhere. With a snort, Astra turned on her heel, “I wonder what roasted giant raven tastes like.”

At that moment, however, you noticed a brief shimmy of movement on the ceiling, but it was too late. What must’ve been a wave of psychic energy spiraled out from that point, assaulting your cognition with the unmistakable feeling of hunger, causing your head and gut to simultaneously spasm in pain.

Astra collapsed unconscious immediately, blood trickling from the corners of her eyes and mouth. Clutching the sides of your head in a vain attempt to keep it from exploding, you watched in horror as an amorphous, translucent slime dropped from the ceiling to the floor. Some of the moss it landed on dissolved, as the strange blob of a creature seemed to exude a strong acid from its surface.

Your mind raced with possibilities at this point. How do you defend yourself from some terrifying psionic ooze and save Astra as well? And then a voice rang out through the cavern in bold tones, “Need some help?”

Struggling to look behind you, a shadowed figure approached from the hall you recently emerged from, but who was it, and what were they doing down here?

Feeling the strength of the earth through your feet and hope from the heavily armored fellow clanking towards you, your skin ripples once again as you turn into living stone. You scoop Astra up effortlessly in your powerful form and yell to your new companion, "There's nothing here! We just need to get away from this ooze and resist any more mental assaults."

He nods and unleashes a brilliantly bright light, his sword aglow with radiant energy.

You make your way toward the ooze and unleash a thunderwave, creating enough space to get by.

The paladin backs away from the ooze, his light seeming to be enough to deter the creature from following.

The paladin briefly places one palm on Astra's forehead, which flairs with the same brilliant light. Astra's eyes flutter open as she dazedly looks around. "My head feels like a storm giant's anvil."

The paladin looks the two of you over. "Garrulous told me he sent you two down there. That raven is the dumbest smart creature I've ever met. Anyways, we haven't any time to spare. We need to head to Vixenta immediately. She knows the whereabouts of your quarry. They are headed deep, deeper than most have ever ventured, and if we are to catch them, we must move quickly."

You have serious misgivings about trusting this individual, though he seems sincere and did wander into danger to help you. Reluctantly, you follow him and all efforts to find out more about him are met with a finger to the lips as he signals silence.

You've been walking for twenty minutes through a mixture of manmade and natural tunnels when you start to see a faint green glow up ahead and hear rhythmic chanting. Rounding a corner, you catch your first glimpse of Vixenta.

She's in the middle of casting some sort of spell from an old book. You recognize a few of the gestures and words common in: 

Vixenta calls out, "Hurry, I have enough power to send one of you through, but you must hurry!"

You dash forward with Astra and your silent companion clanking behind you. "Where?"

Vixenta lets out a few halting words. "I sent them, the child and scholars, through already. You must go now if you have any hope of catching them." She gestures to a glimmering green circle on the floor. "I can't hold it. Now or never."

You give Astra a quick glance who nods her head slowly. You read it as good luck and good bye, stepping through. Almost immediately, a javelin flies your direction and a hooded figure takes off running. You immediately summon your power.

Focusing for a moment, you conjure a sphere of mud and fling it at the retreating figure, grappling them in place with enough force to knock the wind out of them and highlight your irritation with the situation.

You're not sure where you are, but the symbol on the figure's cloak looks awfully similar to a marking folks adopt back home who embark down the feat path: 

As you approach the figure, the tattered cloak falls away, revealing a young man, no, a boy, trying to pry his feet out of the mud. When he sees you approaching, he freezes before slowly raising his hands and straightening.

He looks scared but meets your gaze with gray eyes. Maintaining eye contact, you sigh, "And where might we be?"

"I don't know from where you've come, or more importantly why, but you're just outside the Guildhall."

You don't know what this means, but press on. "I am seeking a child and several scholars."

"They are taking refuge in the Guildhall. I'm not sure what this is about, but we don't get visitors, and now we've got eight of them. Nine if I count you." Just then, you see he's carved some sort of rune into the mud encasing his leg, and you suddenly get the strangest sensation as your magic floats away and the spell ends.

"How did you do that? I've heard the Runecarvers are capable of interesting feats, but I've never felt my magic just dissipate like that."

He shrugs a shoulder, "Eh, it wasn't hard. Now, follow me, and I'll take you to them. It's dangerous out here."

He walks you around a mound of dirt, where you find two pack mules and begin making your way. An hour or so later, you're riding through some ruins of epic proportions.

You swear you keep seeing shadows move and the faintest echo of voices lost upon the wind. The boy seems unperturbed, but your head is on a swivel, looking everywhere all at once. You tap into your power and summon the primordial force of air, instantly amplifying your hearing.

You immediately hear a conversation happening somewhere nearby, but out of sight.
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The words echo in your mind. "Tesh, you must get to the others and warn them of the approaching stranger. It is no longer safe here." You realize that you're the stranger in the statement you overheard."Who is Tesh?" you ask the boy suddenly, urgency in your voice.He opens his mouth to respond, but you both hear movement. Turning towards a nearby section of the ruins, you see a figure sprinting through the sand at a pace only a monk could sustain."Is that Tesh?" you ask.The boy nods, looking a bit bewildered."Is there a faster route we can take?" you press, clearly seeing your opportunity of chasing directly after Tesh to be futile.

The boy thinks for a moment, then points out three different paths, each fraught with its own dangers:

You decide the mystic river sounds like your best option. You've been chasing after this elusive party for what has only been a couple of days, but it has felt like months. You're so close, a little risk is necessary to close the gap.

Cresting a hill, you see a brilliant city full of light and an oddly colored river flowing before you. There's a winding path down the cliff to the water below.

You look at the boy. "I will give you flight if you take me to the city."The boy's eyes glow with wonder for a moment before he clamps down on his emotions. "It will cost you 10 gold pieces."You toss him a small sack, grab his arm, and jump off the cliff. The boy screams, before seeing the ground flying away below him rather than rushing up to meet him."I must be touching you, or you will lose your flight." This isn't technically true, but it does make it easier to ensure he'll guide you appropriately. You also don't want him to plummet to his untimely death if he does get out of range.

You don't have the speed of the monk Tesh, but now you've at least got the advantage of a straight shot. You've heard monks can run across water, though you haven't seen it yet and you're hoping Tesh hasn't either.

You've got a few minutes to get your thoughts in order. Time to figure out what you're going to do when you arrive: 

As you close on the city, you decide you might be better off dropping the boy a bit before the city and watching Tesh's arrival from the shadows. You find what looks like the remnants of a ruined tower a couple of miles outside of the city and drop him off just inside. He grumbles as you fly away, but still seems exhilarated by the flight.

Circling back towards the direction that Tesh should be arriving from, you find a nice rocky outcropping jutting up into the air filled with dark crevices. Wedging yourself into the shadows, you have a perfect vantage point from which to watch the approaching Tesh, which you can just barely begin to see in the distance. More dust cloud than person at this point; Tesh's speed is incredible.

You flex your hands and luxuriate in the power flowing through your own veins while in your primordial form. The power is always alluring.

You don't have to wait long until you see Tesh race by below. You watch as they slow just out of sight of the city to a quick walk and enter the East gate. You lose vision of them for a moment and begin cursing your perception before you catch a glimpse of them heading into a squat building in the center. There aren't any clearly connected buildings, though you suppose there could be an underground tunnel. Improbable but not impossible. You stretch your shoulder back as you ponder your next step:

You decide to investigate further. There's something gnawing at you with the way they are behaving. You make your way into town and, over the course of a few hours, discern a puzzling collection of facts:The boy that the scholars absconded with hasn't been seen since they arrived.The scholars are looking for a wide array of monsters.The scholars have purchased quite a few supplies including rare metals, glassware, and crystalsPutting it all together, you have a strong sense that this group is trying to collect rare materials to perform one or more body modifications. These have grown in popularity over the past decade, though you haven't heard of any that require so many rare materials.

You've gathered enough facts, it's time to talk to the party directly.

As you approach, you can hear two voices whispering outside of the squat building thanks to your air primordial form.

"He hasn't much time, and we are hardly close to securing the required materials. Plus, Tesh has warned us someone is coming for him. We are out of options. I think the only course of action is to get as far away from civilization as possible when it happens. He will lose control at some point, and the aftermath will be devastating. I'd guess we have no more than a week. That is barely enough time to minimize the casualties."

You hear a resigned sigh, "I don't want to believe it. We must hold out hope, but I fear all we have left is hope."

As you close to within 20 feet, the two robed figures look up.

One of them rushes inside the building, while the other steps in front of the door. "Afternoon, stranger."

You get straight to the point, "I've been sent to retrieve the boy, but I'm positive I don't have all the context and am beginning to wonder whether retrieval is the right plan. Fill me in. I think I can help."

The man rubs a hand over his prickly scalp and pushes his hood back. It looks like it's been a few days since he's shaved. "I don't know you. I don't know what you are about, but I do know that if you attempt to retrieve this boy, all that we know will be gone. He seems to be unwillingly tapping the Power of Convergence and will be unable to hold it much longer. We have resigned ourselves that the best option we can come up with is to get as far from society as possible. The current operation may buy us another few days at best."

He stares at you for a moment before seemingly making up his mind. "Come, though, if you disturb what is happening, we all perish," he says in Druidic. Your eyes widen a little, but you respond in kind, "I will not disturb the inhabitants as though they were my grove."

The man smiles weekly, and nods, beckoning you to follow.

Inside you see the elven boy lying on the table, sweating profusely, as a metallic arm with a mixture of resonance crystals and organic muscle and connective tissue is being grown and attached to a stump that ends mid bicep.

The boy briefly looks in your direction, before grimacing and closing his eyes.

"As I see it, we still have a chance. If we can collect enough raw materials from these monstrous creatures, we can build a device to begin dissipating the power. It won't be completely harmless, but it won't be the power of 100,000 fireballs either. I think it's our best bet, but we are unable to retrieve the materials needed in time. Perhaps with some help," he looks pointedly at you, "there may still be a chance. Here's the list." He unfurls his hand and you see a piece of bark begin growing with a list of ingredients elegantly etching into the bark in Druidic.

Where to start?

Looking through the entries, you decide to kick things off tracking down a flameskull. Glancing through the list, you also see a fire elemental as one of the targets.

You decide you will be better served switching to water as your primordial form. You can feel the primal element washing over you, encasing your arms and swirling about your body with the unrelenting force of oceans hiding just out of sight.

You are about to lose yourself in the rushing torrent of power flowing through your veins, but you exert your will, and the element subsides, allowing you to regain your control. 

The next days pass in a blur as you work your way through the list, collecting the miscellaneous ingredients needed to potentially save this boy and the realm. The scholars made an agreement with you to meet in five days' time at the remnants of the old guild hall, where an epic battle was fought just before the cataclysm.

They believe that is as far as they can safely get, and they may be able to salvage old equipment from the ruins to help with their endeavor. 

You have two days left and only a handful of ingredients left to claim. There are three prime spots to find them, but you only have time to go to one of them. Which location will you choose, risking it all? 

The sunken oasis seems like your best bet. Shortly after entering one of the buried ruins, you’re struck by how surprisingly clean it is. A faint glow emanates from around the corner. Preparing for the worst, you cautiously peer around it and are met with an unexpected sight: a summoner, casually studying a map, with a gelatinous cube by his side.He notices you immediately. "Why, hello! What brings you to this dank place?"

You mention you're on the hunt for a few specific creatures. He listens, then presses you for the full list.After you finish, he pauses again, this time for an uncomfortably long moment. "You aren't gathering these for the Sapphire Order, by any chance, are you?"Caught off guard, you give him the short version: a young psion boy, some sort of conflict with the power of convergence, body modifications being performed to dissipate the energy. As you recount the details, it all starts to sound a little strange, even to you."Let me show you something," he says, reaching into the gelatinous cube, which suddenly presents a scroll. "Read this list first, then scan the rest. Does it sound like what you're looking for?"Your eyes widen as you read the list and devour the details. They're not trying to dissipate the energy within the boy—they’re trying to bind it, to control it!"I very much doubt that 'young man' is anything more than an illusion, probably one of the Sapphire Order’s leaders. They’re making a power play to overthrow the balance. I don’t care much for any of the factions, but an advantage like this could make the Sapphire Order unstoppable. What are you going to do?"The initial mission, the twists and turns—you're not sure who to trust. You glance at the gelatinous cube, its googly eyes staring back at you as if offering silent counsel. It feels like you only have three options.

You grapple with the weight of your decision, caught between the allure of unimaginable power and the dangers of what the Sapphire Order is attempting. If you harness this power, you could change everything—save lives, end suffering, be a power for good—but you also know the corruption that such power can bring. A chill runs down your spine as you imagine the destruction that could follow if things go awry.

Taking a deep breath, you resolve to disrupt the experiment. "I'm going to stop the process," you declare.

He nods, his gooey form shifting with excitement. "A bold choice! I'm Viktor, by the way. Looks like we have quite the adventure ahead of us."

You grasp Viktor's outstretched hand, feeling the strange texture of his plasmoid material—firm, yet yielding under your grip. "Do you think we can use any of these materials to help us? Maybe create some modifications that will give us a fighting chance?"

Viktor's eyes narrow thoughtfully. "We might just be able to, but it’s a gamble. With your healing magic and my knowledge, it could work. Here, take this." He hands you a rough sketch of potential body modifications scavenged from his travels.

The balance of power itself rests on your shoulders. But you won’t be doing this alone.

*All content is work-in-progress and will likely be updated.

I hope you enjoyed this epic saga and are ready to head out on an adventure of your own!
-Brendan