Session One Hundred Twelve: The Rescue

Once inside the city, the group made their way toward the Golden Tower. Ali had told them that the processing center was in the high bureaus, near the tower. While they walked, Rafiq contact Kraah's mind with the way.
Kraah was not being interrogated at that moment, so Rafiq told him about the plan. Kraah agreed, but had to wait until the beak clamp was removed, because the spell required him to speak. Hopefully, he could hide his words and the templar will not notice that he cast a spell. The chance was slim, but it was the only chance they had.
When the group arrived at the bailey of the Golden Tower, they found that it was guarded by a templar and two half giants. Rafiq expertly bluffed and bribed their way inside, claiming he had business with the Bureau of Trade.

Session One Hundred Eleven: The Plan

The group began planning immediately, on how to rescue Kraah. Rafiq knew any templar building would be warded against teleportation, so it would not be as easy as teleporting in and out.
Dimitria thought they could just wait for Kraah to be killed and then try to recover his body and bring him back to life. Rafiq was okay with that idea, but Selia and Yusef were not. Kraah was good friends with Yusef and he would not risk his life so callously.
Meanwhile, Kraah was locked and bound in a small room. The door opened and the female elf templar greeted Kraah again. She spoke softly and promised to let Kraah live, if he gave her what she wanted.
What she wanted was the gemstones. Kraah refused to talk, but he knew a mind bender was prodding his thoughts. He tried to think of nonsense, but it was difficult to completely shut out her questions. His mind betrayed him several times.

Session One-Hundred Ten: Chaos in the Slave Pens

The group made a plan. They would disguise themselves, with Rafiq dressing up like his father and everyone else as his retainers, except for Clavis. Clavis was a well known gladiator in Tyr and Rafiq's father was his owner, so it should not be suspicious for them to be together. They agreed and Yusef made them all disguises.
Rafiq used the way to teleport them outside of Tyr and they confidently walked up to the gates, skipping the line outside. Rafiq easily fooled the gate templar, tricking him into believing that Rafiq was actually his father. Once inside Tyr, Clavis was instantly recognized and adoring fans started mobbing around him. It took awhile to disperse the crowds and move through the merchant district.
Once the group arrived at the arena, Rafiq attempted to fool the guards there, but the guards were not fooled by Rafiq's attempt at impersonating his father. They began questioning Rafiq about why he didn't sound right, as one of the guards had just talked to Rafiq's father the day before, but Kraah quickly moved in and began to sweet talk them, explaining that Rafiq was a bit under the weather. Suspicious, but not willing to accuse a noble of a crime, the guards sent a runner to check with the noble's estate.
Then, as they were waiting, Clavis punched one of the guards in the face, which bloodied his nose. Everyone was surprised by Clavis' action, but Kraah recovered quickly and used magic to freeze the other guard in place. The guard with the bloody nose began to run and scream for help. Yusef, Selia, and Kraah began chasing the fleeing guard, while Rafiq, Clavis, and Dimitria ran inside the arena.

After Action Report: D20 Cruise

On April 26, 2024, I boarded a plane from my native Salt Lake City, UT to Orlando, FL. I had applied and been accepted to run two 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons games aboard a cruise ship bound for Mexico, for a D20 Cruise event.
Thankfully, a good friend of mine had applied and been accepted as well. This was convenient, because I did not have to share a cabin with a stranger and some of the DMs on this cruise were pretty strange. Neither one of us had ever been on cruise, but we both had decades of experience running games.
My largest concern was my players. I was worried that my players would not like me, or like my game. Basically, I was afraid I would not be good enough.

Session One-Hundred Nine: Tyrian Conundrum

The group continued to fight the templars and the half-giant guard, but Kraah landed next to Rafiq and told him that reinforcements were on their way and would arrive soon. Reluctantly, Rafiq opened a dimensional gateway and the group fled through it. Selia was carried by Yusef and Rafiq was pushed through by Clavis.
They arrived back at the Lost Oasis. Kraah and Dimitria wasted no time in using what little healing magic they had to patch up the group. However, it was not enough and they decided to recover for the rest of the day.

Day 3, Week 2, Fifthover, Friend's Vengeance, 190th King's Age, Sun Descending

The group decided to rest and recover for another day.

Day 4, Week 2, Fifthover, Friend's Vengeance, 190th King's Age, Sun Descending

After the group had sufficiently recovered, they discussed their next move. They decided to disguise Kraah and Rafiq. Their plan was to have Rafiq pose as a slave of Kraah's and go to the client village, which the Bishara estate was near, and inquire why the Bishara estate was attacked.

Session One Hundred Eight: Return to the Bishara Estate

Kraah, Rafiq, Selia and Yusef limped through the portal and appeared exactly where and when they had left. They were not in the best of health, but didn't have much time to lick their wounds. Time resumed, as normal, and they scrambled to save Clavis, who was drowning.
Selia tied a rope around herself and handed the other end to Yusef. She then leaped into the water and saw a creature dragging Clavis into the depths. Selia used her bone dagger and stabbed at the creature. The creature fought back, but in doing so, released Clavis. Clavis floated back up to the surface and Kraah was able to push him to shore. Rafiq and Dimitria pulled Clavis out of the oasis and used their knowledge of healing to expel the water from his lungs.
Meanwhile, Selia was doing a decent job of fighting off the monster, while holding her breath. However, once Clavis was safely back on shore, Yusef began pulling the rope and Selia was whisked away from the fight. The monster tried to grab her, but failed and Selia was dragged ashore.
Kraah, Rafiq, Selia, and Yusef were badly wounded, from their fight with the efreeti, and Clavis needed time to recover from his ordeal has well, so the group decided to rest near the oasis for the rest of the day.
Kraah. Rafiq, Selia, and Yusef shared their experience in the paraelemental planes with Clavis and Dimitria. Dimitria was fascinated by the entire story, but Clavis only liked the parts with fighting. They gave the efreeti's bronze scimitar to Clavis.

Session One-Hundred Seven: Assassins!

Suddenly, the world around Selia, Yusef, Kraah, and Rafiq seemed to stand still. Selia was still struggling to keep her head above water, so Yusef threw her a rope and pulled her out. It took the group a few moments to recover and then they wondered what was happening.

Rafiq noticed that they seemed to be in a bubble and outside of the bubble, time was frozen. To test his theory, he threw a small pebble away from himself. Once the pebble was a few feet away, it froze in the air.

Suddenly, a large dimensional gateway opened inside the bubble. The group was uncertain and discussed their options. they could just leave the bubble, and possibly time would resume for them, or they could go through the portal. Kraah really wanted to go through the portal, so the rest of the group agreed and passed through the portal. Clavis was still in the water, but he wasn't going anywhere.