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37: End of Arc 2

🎧 Podcast Link • October 24, 2025

Recap: The Fall of Helja Ironart​

The session opened with players recapping the dramatic events of the previous session:

The Hostage Rescue: The party successfully saved most of the hostages from the great hall, including George (Olivia's nephew), Will, Roscoe, and Finnwick. Lady Corwin died in the battle, while several Iron Claw guards were dispatched by being pushed into lava or stabbed by the party. Helisanna's ravers joined the fight as planned, creating chaos among the Iron Claws.

The Ultimate Betrayal: Silas executed a masterful deception, pretending to betray the party by stabbing Bru and bringing a fake dragon orb to negotiate with Helja Ironart. While Silas negotiated and stalled for time, Bru (who had faked his death with a natural 20 performance) secretly planted explosives throughout the throne room.

Helja's Death: When Helja agreed to shake on a deal, Silas gave the signal. Bru's timed explosives detonated, causing massive structural damage. In the chaos, Silas attacked with a critical hit for 51 damage, whispering "What were their names?" to Helja—referring to his crew she killed in Greyport. She didn't remember them. Bru's cannon delivered the final blow, incinerating Helja from the inside. Her skeleton collapsed into her throne.

The Escape: The party fled through the collapsing throne room, dodging falling debris. Several Iron Claw leaders (including Grimjaw and Triple C/zombie Captain Corwin) escaped, while others like Car and Athena used teleportation rings to flee. Marta was killed. Ohma successfully stole Marta's teleportation ring with sleight of hand before kicking her off a ledge.

Recovering the Ford F-150​

After the battle, the party discovered that the teenagers (April Bonal, Bernardo, and their friends) had taken the Ford F-150 and robbed the dwarven vaults. The teens were using the truck to distribute gold to people along the road, throwing it at lunchtime crowds in a chaotic but well-intentioned Robin Hood operation.

The Negotiation:

  • Olivia and Elspeth tracked down the teens at their campsite by a massive tree
  • The teens were celebrating, having killed their "arch nemesis" and stolen massive amounts of gold
  • A heated debate ensued about wealth distribution methods
  • Olivia argued the teens were just "throwing gold at the same people" without proper tracking
  • The teens accused the party of being out of touch with the world outside High Forge
  • Tensions escalated until Leliana cast calm emotions on everyone
  • Eventually, the party convinced the teens to work with Chalk Rock to organize proper relief distribution
  • The F-150 would primarily become a government vehicle for Chalk Rock, though Taco Cat could still use it

Key Quote: "I'm not trying—I don't want you to give it to me. I want you to take it to Rock Chalk and work with him to find a good way to distribute it." - Elspeth

The Epilogue: One Month Later​

Christopher Hooper narrated an epilogue covering the weeks following Helja's death:

High Forge Rebuilding:

  • High Forge was restructured under the leadership of Chalk Rock and a "softening" Grimjaw
  • Hundreds of civilians had evacuated during the crisis, led by Chalk Rock
  • Many refugees never returned, settling in new communities along the road
  • The "cavern circle" training village became a bustling town overnight, renamed Red Brook
    • Red for the blood spilled (or dragon flames, or fallen heroes, or the new dawn—depending who you ask)

Lady Corwin's Mercenaries:

  • About a month later, Lady Corwin's mercenary army arrived, led by Captain Sir Eric
  • They marched through, investigated, and left
  • Official report: the city was "sacked and nothing worth saving"
  • Soldiers who explored blocked-off areas told stories of "a witch that rides a black dragon in the bowels of the city" and "horrific heavy metal ringing through the halls" (Helisanna)

The Vroomfall Operations:

  • The party used their Vroomfall as a mobile base and bubble of safety at the High Forge gates
  • The F-150 became primarily Chalk Rock's government vehicle (much to Olivia's dismay, as he kept dinging it)

Progress on Projects:

  • Bru's recording machine was recovered, with messages from Victor
  • Bru, Olivia, and Scarlet made significant progress on the Stellaro (pocket village project), reaching about halfway complete
  • Pepsi (the baby dragon) was successfully trained to be companionable, like a ranging dog that comes back when hungry

Character Downtime Activities​

Bru (Justin):

  • Worked on the Stellaro project with Olivia and Scarlet
  • Trained Pepsi "How to Train Your Dragon" style
  • Successfully got Pepsi to be friendly and companionable, though not taking specific orders yet
  • Built a mount on top of the Bugatti for Pepsi to ride at high speeds
  • Had an emotional moment with Silas, pouring out drinks to honor their fallen crew from the old gang

Ohma (Walden):

  • Worked with Lakitu to research where the moon goddess fell (near Greyport)
  • Planned the journey to find out what happened
  • Also studied pizza-making with Lakitu as the master and Ohma as the grasshopper (a fun role reversal)

Silas (Tyram):

  • Contacted Twilight Company to help move supplies to sprouting communities
  • Researched the dragon orb ritual needed in Greyport
  • Planned to visit Naomi and Julius for a weekend or two
  • Shared an emotional toast with Bru to honor their fallen crew members
  • Even Pepsi joined them for drinks (Jack and Pepsi)

Elspeth (Ellis/Taylor):

  • Fully immersed in rebuilding the city and helping establish relief efforts
  • Confirmed George (nephew) survived and was safe
  • No major personal quests, focused on community service

Leliana (Luke):

  • Helped rebuild High Forge and worked with former Iron Claws on rehabilitation
  • Planned to reunite with family (location not yet established)
  • Wanted to return to performing, but for pure entertainment and teaching—not fame
  • Planned benefit concerts to raise funds for the city
  • Taught music classes to help kids (especially former Iron Claws) express emotions and process trauma

Olivia (Ali):

  • Worked with Bru and Scarlet on the Stellaro
  • Reached out to Rebel (formerly Rebel Rebel, the kidnapped scientist) to check on her wellbeing
  • Attempted to commune with her god (Torch) through night drives in the Vroomfall
  • Mapped out new villages and established contacts throughout the region
  • Taught the teenagers how to drive (but refused to teach Chalk Rock, since she believes he'll kill her grandmother)
  • Constantly pointed out every new ding on the F-150 to Olivia when Chalk Rock drove it

Level Up and Magical Items​

The party leveled up to Level 9!

The teens handed out magical items they'd found:

  • Bru: Cloak of Displacement
  • Olivia: Anvony's Wrench (magical multi-tool)
  • Elspeth: Amulet of the Devout +2
  • Silas: Cloak of Arachnia
  • Leliana: Mandolin of Rude Truths

Notable Item Personality: Olivia's Amulet of the Devout spoke to her: "Yeah, you're really not a great follower of Torch, are you?" It then went silent for days before saying, "I bet you can't lift 200 lbs," and going silent again for a week. The amulet appears to be a trash-talking strength trainer.

Party Finances​

The party found 26,000 gold on the mountaintop during their confrontation with Helja. After discussion about whether to keep it secret, Silas decided to share with the party ("Silas is growing as a person"). The gold was added to party inventory, stored in the "First Bank of Brugatti."

Looking Ahead: Intermission Sessions​

Christopher announced plans for intermission sessions between Arc 2 and Arc 3:

Two Options for Guest GMs:

  1. Run sessions based on character downtime activities (visiting Naomi, researching the orb, etc.)
  2. Run backstory quests with everyone playing mirror-image versions of their characters

Suggested Backstory Session: The heist where Bru and Silas's crew was killed by Helja in Greyport—told from their perspective with other players running crew members.

Arc 3 Preview: The party will definitely head to Greyport for the dragon orb ritual and to investigate where the moon goddess fell.

Key Information Learned​

  • Red Brook: New town formed from the refugee camp, thriving community
  • Helisanna Status: Still alive, rides a black dragon in the depths of High Forge, plays "horrific heavy metal"
  • Teleportation Rings: Multiple Iron Claw leaders had them and escaped (Car, Athena, others)
  • Surviving Villains: Grimjaw and Triple C escaped and could return
  • Party Resources: 26,000 gold in party funds, Ford F-150 (technically Chalk Rock's but available), Vroomfall, progress on Stellaro
  • Dragon Orb: Fake orb was used in deception; real orb location still unknown, ritual needed in Greyport
  • Pepsi: Successfully bonded with the party, especially Bru

Unresolved Threads​

  • What happened to the approaching dragons from the previous session?
  • Where did the Iron Claw leaders with teleportation rings escape to?
  • What will Grimjaw and Triple C do next?
  • What is the dragon orb ritual in Greyport?
  • What happened when the moon goddess fell near Greyport?
  • What messages did Victor leave for Bru?
  • Will Helisanna remain an ally or become something else?
  • How will High Forge's new government under Chalk Rock and Grimjaw develop?
  • What is the completed Stellaro project supposed to do?

Character Moments​

Bru & Silas's Toast: One of the rare emotional moments from Bru, shedding a tear as they honored their fallen crew. Even Pepsi joined them, creating an unexpected found-family moment.

The Teen Argument: The entire party got into a heated generational debate with teenagers about wealth distribution, teen slang (67, unc, skibidi toilet), and whether throwing gold at people counts as proper charity work. Leliana had to calm everyone down with magic.

Olivia vs. Chalk Rock: Olivia's ongoing feud with Chalk Rock continues, as she refuses to teach him to drive and constantly documents every scratch he puts on the F-150.

Amulet Trash Talk: Olivia's new magical amulet immediately began insulting her dedication to Torch and challenging her to lift heavy objects, establishing itself as the snarkiest magic item in the campaign.

The session masterfully wrapped up Arc 2 while planting seeds for Arc 3's journey to Greyport. The month-long epilogue allowed characters to pursue personal goals, develop relationships, and prepare for the next major chapter of their adventure.