37: End of Arc 2
🎧 Podcast Link • October 24, 2025
Recap: The Fall of Helja Ungar
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 grandson), 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 Ungar. 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. Grimjaw and Triple C (the zombified Captain Corwin) did not teleport out; they ran ahead of the party on foot, 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.
Clearing the Great Hall
The party caught up with Grimjaw and Triple C at the door from the Forge Heart to the great hall, where the concert was still raging.
Beyond the Door: Silas peeked out (Perception 23) to find Betty the red dragon clashing with two constructs, while Duncan the black dragon closed on the stage with ravers climbing all over him. Rather than shove the two Iron Claws out into the fray, Leliana cast Suggestion on Triple C, urging him to go relax and party at the stage. He failed the save and stumbled out the door, and was last seen dancing badly among the ravers. A gout of dragon fire then blasted the doorway, and everyone dodged clear.
The Real Orb: Silas's orb in the throne room had been the fake. Bru, who had carried the real dragon orb the whole time, pulled it out. "Oh, you guys really had us," said Grimjaw, who promptly switched sides: his boss was never going to pay him again, and he "just follows the money."
Commanding the Dragons: With the whole party linked through his psychic whispers, and buffed by Olivia's Bless and aura, Leliana's bardic inspiration and Bru's Flash of Genius, Silas laid his hands on the orb. His consciousness dropped into a black void where Astro waited for him. The group's Wisdom saves (the top two averaged 25) carried the effort. Astro's consciousness snapped at Silas, but Elspeth and Olivia flooded in and held an invisible barrier between them. Silas commanded every dragon besieging High Forge, except Pepsi, to return whence they came and harm no mortals on the way.
Helisanna's Dragon: Betty took to the air and obeyed. Duncan did not: he now had bright, shining purple eyes, and Helisanna rode on his shoulders, still playing her death metal. The music forced Intelligence saves, and Elspeth and Olivia each lost a point of Intelligence. Duncan tackled Betty out of the air. "Goodbye, Betty," he whispered. "Get wrecked," yelled Helisanna, and with a twist Duncan snapped the red dragon's neck.
The Hail Mary: Silas used his interdimensional sending stone to call Naomi, shouting over a fire alarm on her end, and asked her to set up an interview for Helisanna at the Lotus Casino. He then re-cast his psychic link to include Helisanna, leaving Bru out, and pitched her on a residency at the casino. Olivia added that a residency meant consistency, and Silas's Persuasion (20) won Helisanna over, though she said she would check with her "boss" first. She rode off declaring the whole thing metal, her voice echoing off the cavern walls. Their frenzy spent, the ravers drifted back into the tunnels, having killed the remaining golems.
The Collapse: The Forge Heart then exploded behind them, forcing another Dexterity save (15 fire damage on a failure), and the cavern began to come down. Olivia took the map from Bru's pocket and handed it to Leliana. With Bru coaching her, Leliana painted weak points into the mountain so the collapse fell away from them, like felling a tree. A rockslide at the back of the city settled, and the cavern stabilized.
Aftermath: Leliana shoved Silas and Olivia boxed his ears for the stabbing stunt. Silas apologized for everything except stabbing Bru. Lies only work if you're selling something people are prone to believe, he said, and cutting and running is who he has always been, but not who he wants to be now. Elspeth cuddled a traumatized Kevin. Grimjaw watched the whole thing with a bowl of popcorn. The party briefly considered pushing him into the lava, but Olivia offered to pay him instead and Ohma proposed an internship. Silas put Olivia in charge of him, and she steered the dissolved Iron Claws toward civic service rather than crime. Chalk Rock then strolled in: he had talked to the city's religious leaders and led the citizens in an orderly evacuation to camps outside the city. Olivia left Chalk Rock in charge in her stead, with Grimjaw at his side. Grimjaw's plan was to make the Iron Claws the new police.
The Bugatti Recovered: Silas and Bru headed up the mountain pass and found the Bugatti at the dragons' nest, covered in mud as if someone had been doing donuts in it. They found Pepsi there alone, missing their mother. With Silas helping and a Flash of Genius, Bru's Investigation check (26) turned up 26,000 gold pieces in the hoard.
Victor's Messages: Back at the van, Lakitu showed Ohma a strange sending stone he had found in Bru's napping corner. It was fitted with an answering machine loaded with months-old messages from Victor. Bru later pieced them together: Victor is building a teleportation interception device in Greyport.
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, with Ohma and Leliana, 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." - Olivia
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 Zoomfall Operations:
- The party used their Zoomfall 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 Elspeth's dismay, as he kept dinging it)
Progress on Projects:
- Bru's recording machine was recovered, with messages from Victor about a teleportation interception device in Greyport
- Elspeth, Bru, 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 Elspeth 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 (Zack):
- 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 (Taylor):
- 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)
Olivia (Ellis):
- Spent three days with Chalk Rock at the police headquarters, going over how to run an orderly and democratic society
- Fully immersed in rebuilding the city and helping establish relief efforts
- Confirmed George (her grandson) 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
Elspeth (Ali):
- Worked with Bru and Scarlet on the Stellaro
- Reached out to Rebel Rebel (kidnapped, caged and stabbed by the Iron Claws) to check on her wellbeing
- Attempted to commune with her god (Tony) 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
- Elspeth: Anvony's Wrench (magical multi-tool)
- Olivia: 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 Tyr, 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
Bru and Silas found 26,000 gold in the dragons' hoard on the mountaintop while recovering the Bugatti. 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, first nicknamed the "First Bank of Bugatti."
Looking Ahead: Intermission Sessions
Christopher announced plans for intermission sessions between Arc 2 and Arc 3:
Two Options for Guest GMs:
- Run sessions based on character downtime activities (visiting Naomi, researching the orb, etc.)
- 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 the purple-eyed black dragon Duncan in the depths of High Forge, plays "horrific heavy metal"; offered an interview for a residency at the Lotus Casino
- Teleportation Rings: Multiple Iron Claw leaders had them and escaped (Car, Athena, others)
- Grimjaw and Triple C: Grimjaw switched sides and now helps Chalk Rock run the city; Triple C was last seen dancing among the ravers
- Party Resources: 26,000 gold in party funds, the recovered Bugatti, Ford F-150 (technically Chalk Rock's but available), Zoomfall, progress on Stellaro
- Dragon Orb: A fake orb was used to deceive Helja; Bru carried the real one, and Silas used it to order the dragons out of High Forge. A ritual is needed in Greyport
- Pepsi: Successfully bonded with the party, especially Bru
Unresolved Threads
- Where did the Iron Claw leaders with teleportation rings escape to?
- Can Grimjaw, the Iron Claws' new "police", be trusted?
- What is the dragon orb ritual in Greyport?
- What happened when the moon goddess fell near Greyport?
- What is Victor's teleportation interception device in Greyport for?
- 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.
Elspeth vs. Chalk Rock: Elspeth'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 (Olivia, the only one who likes him, put him in charge).
Amulet Trash Talk: Olivia's new magical amulet immediately began insulting her dedication to Tyr 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.