The night of the new moon, with the stars shining bright in the sky there’s a hush in the air and calm breeze that floats through the wilds of the island and town alike. Even the Labyrinth seems calm as the sky remains bright and clear. It’s almost a little eerie, but nothing seems amiss, at least in the early night hours. When the clocks toll midnight, however, that all changes. Like a thunderclap echoing through the sky, a shout clambers through the night air, cutting through the silence so sharply that it will undoubtedly wake many who may already be asleep...

“If she will not be MINE, then Yuraia will be NO ONE’S!!”

A swirl of minty green light whirls up into the sky from Vaeros’ castle, red sparks zigzagging up into the sky towards the stars twinkling in inky space. It’s almost instantaneous, the way this whirlwind of magic zips into the sky and replaces the stars, blotting them out from the sky like greedy birds gobbling bright berries from high in the trees. A red circle appears in the sky, suspiciously where the moon should be, were it not shrouded in darkness. With a snap, the outline wobbles into rigidity and shrinks into nothingness. Those who are awake will feel a snap in their ears like air pressure dropping, and the faintest feminine gasp echoes behind the void.

On the ground the earth shakes, a low rumble that barely displaces anything, but there is a fear that gallops in, natives wake first and open doors and windows to look up into the sky with wide eyes. There’s murmurs, shouts, and an air of panic among gelfling and goblin alike.

“She’s gone!”

“GONE!”

“The stars are—where are the stars?!”

The moon and the goddess it represents, Yuraia, has been torn from her sky. It has left the world the dreamers have been brought to in a state of disarray. Without the moon, there can hardly be sun, and though the night still rolls into an inky, starless sky, during the day it barely feels like twilight. Nature has grown out of control, the forest and its inhabitants twisting with the overflow of unbalanced magic. Trees and plants have overgrown becoming monstrously large. Daffodils may only be a few inches tall normally, but some plants are the size of trees while others have grown gnarled and angry, spines and poisons twisting through root and leaf as they tumble from the forest and spill into the city. The city is overtaken almost immediately buildings locked in by roots and overgrowth, stone choked by aggressive plantlife.

Dreamers are tasked with helping to fortify these buildings by the natives, their trust in the Dreamers having grown since the recent festival. There’s little to do at the moment other than reinforce and defend, and this includes the Dreamers’ homes themselves. No castle, no mushroom, no hobbit hole is spared. Roots and twisted plants do their best to invade as if reclaiming what was once theirs. Those who fall victim to sharp branches and thorns will find the poison weakens them, or perhaps makes them sick. Nothing deadly, yet.

It’s not long before twisted creatures also begin appearing, deer and rabbits, hawks and birds, all changed and overgrown, twisted just like the plant life. These creatures are aggressive and strong and will attack in packs. The wolves that had caused such a ruckus are back as well, their arrival warned by howls that echo from the forests. Fighting these creatures takes great effort, and is best done by sticking together, but hiding, for now, might also be wise...

On the 5th day, as the sky turns to twilight there’s an extra warmth that comes with it— the return of the Sun, somehow. Those who pay extra attention may see shadows in the shape of something draconic blotting out portions of the sun in the far distance. It becomes more clear what they are as the shapes get larger, closer. Dragons of every color fly in towards the island, most landing at the town center, others landing at the edge of town and others, who seem to be more familiar with the landscape of the island may choose to land somewhere familiar.

Once the dragons have landed, there’s a moment when a voice calls to each Dreamer, inside their mind.

“I am Seravo. My magic is weak but I have sent the dragonlings to help you reign in Vaeros before he ruins everything. Prepare yourselves with the dragon’s help. I will dissipate the enchantment that protects the castle, but I cannot do it for long. My reach is limited. Find Yuraia’s magic and release it. Subdue Vaeros. Give me more time.”

Several dragons will nose parchments into Dreamers’ hands, instructions given on how just to help alleviate the repercussions of Vaeros’ temper tantrum. Most importantly, it provides a way to make a potion that will be used to drop Vaeros into a several month long sleep, a punishment for his attempt at spreading the pain of his unrequited love.

• Those who have taken the red potion will find that their abilities are needed to help create crystals to fuel the dragon’s firebreathing. By combining their magics into plain crystal conduits they can create snacks for the dragons, that are then used to spray fire breath to burn back the overgrowth, untwisting the magic and returning things to their correct size. Pairs will have to work together to make these conduits strong enough. Combine their magic, fire it into the crystal and take care of each other when exhausted. The bond between the casters is just as important as the magic.
• Those who have taken the gold potion are able to speak with the twisted animals and find that their words can either soothe them, encouraging them to return to the forest or their efforts to fight back help push them back into the dragons’ flames to purify them. Teaming up is especially effective, and encouraged. Those without animal transformations will find that similar efforts only seem to make things worse.
• Those who have taken the blue potion will find that they are immune to the poisons and pinches from the twisted overgrowth, and it will be their task to travel deep, deep into the woods to retrieve the glowing Hyalily, the main ingredient used in the potion described on Seravo’s parchments. It will take a concentrated effort to focus healing magic on the Hyalilies to prevent them from wilting until they can be dumped into a brew for the potion. This is their chance to put Vaeros in his place. For the time being.

Those who choose to remain in the town are encouraged to help soothe the natives, who despite their trust of the Dreamers, seem almost aggressive at the mention of going against Vaeros in this way. Brew the Hyalily potions, help arm the dragons with defensive equipment, and ready dreamers who decide to go deliver the potion and free Yuraia’s magic.

Somehow, the Clinic that was built by some of the Dreamers seems to be the safest, perhaps protected by the magic of the wish made to make it happen. Those who find themselves injured or poisoned, or even exhausted by their efforts will find refuge here. No attempts made by nature will breach these walls, making it the one completely safe location during the overgrowth.

[mod note: those who were around to help raise dragons will find that the ones they raised are returning. Each partnership or player who participated will be greeted by their dragon. Those who helped raise more than one will only be greeted with one returning dragon. Even if there is only one partner of the dragon-raising pair remaining in-game, it’s possible to have your dragon return regardless, but this is optional!]

Dreamers are reminded this is meant to be a stealth mission and to invade the castle further than the dungeons will have grave consequences, as Seravo’s magic will not be strong enough to protect them from Vaeros’ influence should they wander...

The dragons fly the Dreamers over the Labyrinth, though the layout that sprawls below them seems to shift and shimmer in a way that makes it impossible to map. The castle, however, stays rigid and visible though it almost seems as though it tries to shift out of view. Nevertheless, the dragons land at the large sewer openings one by one, dropping the armed and ready Dreamers at the smelly bog-odor openings. The dragons themselves will not venture inside, but they will stand guard, keeping the entry hidden and safe for now.

Once inside it’s clear that getting to the innermost chambers of the dungeon will take a while. Each hallway is armed with traps. Pitfalls, swinging spike traps, boulders that will chase dreamers back the way they came, as well as whirling blades are all employed. Rows of empty cells line the dungeon walls, shackles hung on the wall open and rusted. Observant Dreamers will not miss desecrated, skeletal corpses in some abandoned cells.

Aggressive Guards are stationed throughout the dungeon. Goblin and Skeksis serve Vaeros as security down here, and they are not afraid to attack to kill trespassers. It’s up to the Dreamers to avoid these guards or to knock them out with diluted Hyalily potions in order to venture in deeper. The deeper cells contain creatures of all sorts, but setting them free is not recommended. Sirens wish to lure Dreamers into the cells with them, for a long-desired snack, other creatures simply wish to trade places with the Dreamers, bartering for their freedom with promises they won’t keep.

In the end, Dreamers have two choices when it comes to how to help once they get deep enough:

1. Those who are persistent enough will find the chamber Seravo described in his parchment. The door to this chamber opens and in the middle is a large tube full of what looks like water infused by crystalline moonlight, stars swirling within. There’s a quiet hum of machinery, and for those with particularly sensitive hearing, they might hear a quiet song, hummed by the moon goddess herself. The glass cannot be cracked or broken, but perhaps there is a way to interfere with the mechanism keeping the enchantments active. It looks strangely familiar, similar to the fountain found months ago past the grotto that appeared so suddenly. It’s up to the dreamers to figure out how best to disrupt the flow of magic running this machine, but once they do it, the contents will drain. It’s only a matter of time then, before Vaeros discovers something is happening.
2. Those who are brave enough to face the danger, are tasked with setting up the full-strength Hyalily potions on the first floor of the castle, just beyond Seravo’s influence. This level of the castle looks almost abandoned, the once-present opulence hidden behind grime and abandoned and trashed decor. Faded tapestries line the floor and there’s an echo of enraged screaming echoing from higher in the castle. Statues line the walls, and the most eerie thing about them is the way they seem to watch the dreamers as they set up the potions, rigging them to implode into Hyalily gas when opened. Dreamers who do not pay attention to these statues for long enough will find out why they seem so eerie. They move when no eyes are on them much like weeping angels, and their purpose is to catch intruders and drag them into the bog of eternal stench below the castle, to drown in the smell and die. It’s important for Dreamers to work in pairs, lest they fall victim to the statues and their iron grip. If a dreamer is caught, there is no escape for them. The clock will, at some point, strike midnight again, and with the deafening chimes and the release of the magic trapped within the dungeon, the potions will activate, releasing their contents as a gas that will penetrate all of the castle. While these potions will lul Vaeros into a forced sleep, it will do the same for all breathing creatures within the castle, so the Dreamers will have to hurry to find an exit. They only have so much time...

Regardless of the efforts it seems as though Vaeros’ anger has quelled and his magic dispelled... For now. It will take time to see if the efforts made really have made a permanent difference of some kind. Where has Vaeros gone? Did the plan work? Or is he simply nursing his broken heart and biding his time to show the Dreamers just what they have done?

Time will tell.

[mod note: in order to streamline this event, the rest of the castle is inaccessible. Dreamers can try, but they will find the castle twists and turns and spits them back out in the dungeons, or worse, drops them in there (or the bog of eternal stench) violently and without care to their well being.]

Sometime Mid May we are going to offer a survey regarding threads that dive into the dungeons! We’ll ask a few questions and give players a week to fill them out. These surveys will greatly inform the next event that takes place during our next intense month. We are fine with some handwaving for these threads, but will lean heavily on what is played out.

So, though this event seems a little like it is on rails for the time being, the threads we are shown will fork into several possible paths.

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