Skip to main content

43: The Greyport Zoo Gambit

🎧 Podcast coming soon • February 13, 2026

Level 10: Everyone Gets New Tricks​

Before the session proper begins, the party takes time to celebrate and process their Level 10 milestone, each member gaining significant new capabilities from their harrowing adventures at Luna's crash site.

What Everyone Got​

Silas took the Telekinetic feat and bumped his Charisma to +4—now the second most charismatic person in the party, a fact he does not let go unnoticed. With Reliable Talent already applied to his deception, he is, as he puts it, an even better liar than he was before.

Silas: "You could be lying to us right now." DM: "Exactly."

Leliana hit the bard milestone of Magical Secrets, gaining access to spells from any list—bard, cleric, druid, or wizard. After much deliberation about the weight of this cosmic gift, she chose Conjure Animals. The party's unanimous suggestion: summon a herd of sheep.

Bru gained two Replicate Magic Item infusions and the ability to craft uncommon magic items. After debating between a Periapt of Wound Closure ("always stabilized, double hit points from hit dice") and Winged Boots, he landed on the boots—with the reminder that flying melee fighters win fights.

Olivia: "Remember how helpful it was when all of us could fly? All except one."

Ohma now unleashes three unarmed strikes on a Flurry of Blows instead of two—five total in a single action economy—and can remove charmed, frightened, or poisoned conditions through sheer force of will at the end of each turn. His monk now hulks out his ailments. He also crossed 100 HP, hitting 103.

Olivia gained her Level 10 Paladin feature: Aura of Courage. Allies within range cannot be frightened while she lives. The group appreciated this immediately.

Silas: "When Olivia is here, you've no need to fear."

Returning to Greyport: Heroes' Welcome​

Silas's Luna Revival Pitch​

On the voyage back to Greyport, with the coast still on the horizon, Silas brings up the subject everyone has been avoiding.

Silas: "Ma, your goddess looked to be in pretty rough shape back there. I know I'm right. But anyway—I've thought of a way we might be able to do something about that."

His plan: leverage Leliana's musical talent to host concerts and revival festivals, directing audience worship explicitly toward Luna. Eldora grew powerful through the slow accumulation of worship—what if they ran that process in fast-forward?

Silas: "This is in addition to maybe pilfering some of the relics from the Elderans and feeding them to Luna or whatever. And most importantly, we could definitely monetize this."

Leliana immediately bristles at the monetization angle. Silas pivots with impressive speed.

Silas: "We can make some like t-shirts or something. And hey—I'll even do it legit."

Ohma points out she could redirect her existing followers' devotion toward Luna rather than herself. The group lands on a framing that even Silas approves of:

Silas: "It's not a cult if there's already a religion behind it. There's an air of legitimacy to this that normally cults don't have. Well—you'd be the leader of the cult."

Ohma raises a concern about Silas's uncharacteristic commitment to doing things legitimately.

Ohma: "I am concerned something has changed in you. I like it, but I fear that something may change—and we may need to be prepared."

Silas: "Well, as long as I'm making money, that's all that really matters here."

Ohma: "Okay."

The Victor Situation​

The group also remembers a critical loose end: during the ritual, Ohma threw a sending stone down to Luna's resting place. Victor holds the matching stone. To communicate with Luna, they need Victor's stone. Their plan for retrieving it is... direct.

Silas: "We go find Victor, use his sending stone—and by use, I mean take it, so we don't have to talk to Victor anymore."

Leliana: "Glad everyone agrees."

The Victory Parade​

The SS Leroy pulls into the Greyport harbor dragging the white dragon's corpse behind it. Harbor Row smells of lit barbecue pits and roasting meat. The Dragon's Hide tavern is packed. It is a full heroes' welcome.

Commander Tannell strides up with a heavy duffel bag.

Commander Tannell: "Congratulations, team. Partial success, but we'll take the successes where we get them. Following up on the orb is next—but for now: several dead dragons, and here are your earnings."

One thousand gold each. She also produces a large yellow block with an arrow pointing up. The party each take a turn jumping on it. They change color with each jump. Level 10, officially canonized.

Commander Tannell: "We can talk later. Enjoy the picnic. You deserve it."

Dragon Skewers​

Before heading off in search of Victor, Silas insists they at least stay for dragon skewers. It takes 15–20 minutes for the fresh white dragon to get a proper sear, but the front-of-the-line hero treatment makes the wait negligible.

The verdict: incredible. Like the most perfectly marbled wagyu steak, melting on the tongue—with a strange, crisp, minty aftertaste that the DM attributes to white dragon ice breath. The party eats in satisfied silence.

DM: "No wonder people hunt dragons, am I right?"

The Greyport Zoo​

Victor, their eccentric and deeply annoying ally, is known to be a regular patron of the Greyport Zoo. The party heads there.

Describing the Zoo​

As they approach, the DM hands description duties back to the players—this is their city, their world, their zoo. The party collaboratively constructs it.

The Entrance: A massive bronze statue anchors the gates—Dane (Ellis Taylor's previous ranger character who founded the park) and Steve the wolf standing heroically, eyes fixed on some distant horizon. Smaller animals cavort around their feet: squirrels climbing Steve's leg, bunnies in mid-prance. The statue is surrounded by a splash fountain where children play. Patina has begun to form at the base from water erosion, as an architect would note.

The Owl Bear Exhibit: The main attraction, drawing the largest crowds. A family of owl bears—matriarch, patriarch, and two juveniles—interact directly with visitors in an enrichment-focused, deeply spacious pit enclosure with elevated boardwalks above.

The Moss Kitten Café: Mosskittens—small feline creatures made entirely of living plant matter—available for 5-minute interactive sessions. A popular stop.

The Platty Puff Restaurant: A D&D splatbook creature: platypuses wearing chef's hats who bake and run the establishment. The espresso bar is staffed by the café's mosskitten baristas.

The Steve Merchandise Empire: The zoo's mascot is Steve. Full mascot costumes with sunglasses and rainbow capes staff the entrance. Mylar balloons of every former party member float above vendor kiosks. Light-up wands with Steve's face as the hilt. Novelty sunglasses with wolf imagery. And those toy figures with the string in the base—push the bottom, Steve collapses; release, he springs back upright on his hind legs. "Steve Dots" (dippin' dots) sold from every other kiosk.

The Ticket Line​

The party waits 45 minutes in line behind what appears to be every stroller in Greyport. Entry costs one copper piece. Even Silas is not cheap enough to argue.

He does attempt to pass himself off as a small child to get in at a reduced rate. This fails.

Ticket Clerk: "I haven't seen a halfling before."

Silas: "I'm a human child."

Olivia: "He has the immaturity of a child, but yes, he's an adult."

The Owl Bear Exhibit: Midnight Werewolf​

The main owl bear exhibit is surrounded by a packed crowd. At a round table inside the enclosure, a family of owl bears hosts a live round of Midnight Werewolf—the fantasy equivalent of the social deduction game Mafia—with five human visitors.

The matriarch owl bear is an exceptional moderator. She speaks with calm authority:

Matriarch Owl Bear: "Werewolves, open your eyes. Point to who you will slay this evening."

A young boy named Timothy is eliminated in the first round. He pout-walks to his father in the stands.

Bru immediately tries to cheat on behalf of a random participant.

Silas: "We only cheat if we stand to gain monetary value from it."

The owl bears, apparently, can talk. This surprises Bru more than it should.

Bru: "Didn't Fufu talk to me? He talked to me. He didn't talk to you guys."

Tracking Victor​

The Ticketing Counter Lead​

After their owl bear detour, the party asks the ticketing staff about a patron matching Victor's description. The front desk attendant recalls him immediately:

A patron named Victor recently caused a scene—he tried to bring a gun into the zoo. The staff escorted him out. He is, however, allowed to return without weapons, and he does so regularly.

Trevor in the Security Office​

The security office contains two guards: one standing at rigid attention like a Buckingham Palace sentry, and one asleep in a rocking chair. The standing guard introduces himself as Trevor.

Trevor, it turns out, has a complicated relationship with Victor.

He explains that after the gun incident, he began monitoring Victor's movements as a matter of professional diligence. Victor arrives every morning at 9:00 AM with a croissant, spends approximately two hours at the chimera enclosure on a bench, then eats a hot dog in the food court for 45 minutes—during which Trevor sat across from him making eye contact to match his pace, bite for bite.

Trevor: "On the third day, I truly understood him. I was ready to apprehend him as a criminal within the park."

Bru: "You sat across from him eating hot dogs and making eye contact for 45 minutes."

Trevor: "Yes, while I eat my hot dog as well. I tried to match his speed. It is excruciatingly slow."

Silas: "That's not surveillance. That's a date."

His supervisors eventually told him to stop stalking the guests. However, Trevor's final report noted that Victor always "disappears" near the chimera exhibit—never actually entering, but somehow vanishing after three hours on the bench.

It is currently 1:30 PM. Victor left for the day. His apartment location is unknown.

As the party leaves the security office, they hear Trevor's supervisor yanking him back inside:

Supervisor: "Trevor, get the hell back in here. What are you doing? You talking to people again? I told you not to do that anymore. All right, get your ass back in here."

The Chimera Exhibit: Fufu Cuddly Poops​

The chimera exhibit is home to Fufu (also known as Fufu Cuddly Poops and affectionately just "Poo")—the chimera originally collected as part of Lady Lorange's private animal collection and now one of the zoo's flagship residents.

Fufu is having an excellent afternoon:

  • The lion head is sunning on a warm rock
  • The goat head is playing Tony Falcon Pro Skater on a cathode-ray tube television approximately as deep as it is wide
  • The dragon head is reading a book

Victor's bench is empty. He is gone.

The Hidden Projector​

Olivia investigates the bench with her Eyes of Minute Seeing monocle, rolling a 28 on Investigation. Embedded in the ground beneath one of the bench seats is a small projector with a switch.

She flips it.

An alarm blares through the enclosure speakers: "Oh no—the everything's escaped! Run for your lives! Run! Run! Run for your lives! Oh my god, we're all going to die!"

Families scatter. Fufu, enraged by the klaxon, begins roaring at the enclosure walls.

About five minutes later, a trap door rises from the walkway tiles in front of the enclosure. And on the bench, a holographic projection of Victor materializes—apparently a loop of him reading a newspaper, blissfully unaware.

Silas: "Victor's been giving Fufu a really terrible reputation."

Olivia: "Fufu is a gentleman and a scholar. Let's go down the hole."

Victor's Underground Lab​

Through the Sewers​

The party descends into the sewers beneath the chimera exhibit. Service lighting illuminates the winding tunnels dimly.

Survival checks establish navigation: Ohma rolls a 19, Silas rolls a 25, and Bru manages a 17 with half-proficiency. Together they track Victor's path by identifying which tunnel entries show recent use versus years of accumulated grime.

Eventually, a side hatchway reveals something unexpected.

The Lab​

The space beyond the hatch is built inside a converted water collection bay—double-height, with a platform constructed across the reservoir and service lighting rigged throughout. Above, through ventilation grates, the party can hear the bustle of Greyport's main street.

Victor's alchemical operation is on full display:

  • An alchemical bench covered in active reagents
  • A blasting chamber against the far wall
  • A shelf of perfectly spherical violescent orbs—the same type used in the rebinding ritual
  • Multiple gun designs on drafting tables, all configured to fire the orbs as ammunition

Silas immediately begins pocketing orbs with a 23 on Sleight of Hand. Nothing explodes.

Victor's Letters to Bru​

Olivia locates a desk covered in journals and sealed letters. Two of the letters are addressed to Bru.

The older letter, faded and still unsealed:

Victor: "Dear Bru, I remember fondly our times together. It is inspiring and often melancholy as I think now on the sea as I travel it into the horizon. I wish we were once again together for our experiments and our gayety. May we once again be joined together to learn more about the time-space continuum and all that we may explore in between. Your dearest friend and compatriot, Victor."

The newer letter, hastily written:

Victor: "Bru! Would you like to get lunch sometime? I have a new discovery I need to tell you about. Please bring me my dowsing rod. See you soon, Victor."

Olivia hands them over with a raised eyebrow.

Olivia: "Honey, I think you've got an admirer."

Victor's Journal​

Olivia turns to the most recent journal entry, dated five days ago:

Victor's Journal: "I think they're on to me. I set up a projection on the bench to try to throw off their scent. I think if I don't think they know what kind of deal they have here, we'll continue to run our operations here until it becomes too dangerous."

Silas: "He knew we were coming. Classic Victor."

A mirroring door on the opposite wall leads further into the sewers.

The Twilight Company Headquarters​

The Wrong Door​

Leliana opens the far door.

On the other side is not an empty sewer tunnel. It is a large, active facility—dozens of people at workstations, at planning tables, moving purposefully between stations. The entire room freezes when the door opens.

Four well-armed figures break away from the crowd and move toward the door.

Charm Person, Applied Liberally​

Leliana upcasts Charm Person to 4th level, targeting all four approaching guards. Three of the four fail their Wisdom save against DC 17. One—a guard named Pat—becomes immediately and effusively friendly.

Pat: "She's one of my best friends that I've known my whole life."

Non-Charmed Guard (Tino): "Pat, this is on you. This is entirely on you."

Ohma grabs the remaining guard's arm—a 16 on strength-based intimidation—stopping him in his tracks long enough for Silas to step forward and flash Twilight Company credentials.

The atmosphere changes immediately.

What Is This Place​

Through Pat and the cooperative layout of the room, the party pieces together the truth: this is a Twilight Company headquarters facility operating beneath the Greyport Zoo.

Visible from their position:

  • The Planning Bay: Active heist schematics covering the walls
  • A major project board: Detailed plans to destroy the Eldoran space station
  • Logistics hub: Zoo operations, animal sourcing, seasonal exhibits—the zoo is a cover
  • Special Ops wing: Down the hall, behind a door Pat cannot enter

And, briefly glimpsed by Leliana through the chaos—an ideas board that looks disturbingly like the planning style of Chalk Rock.

Silas: "We came in through the wrong door. We're friends of Victor's. We're members."

Tino: "Then why didn't you use the front door?"

The Atrium​

The party is escorted down to the main atrium where a gnome receptionist manages check-ins with professional indifference.

Silas invokes the name of their operation:

Silas: "Operation Purple Patch."

Gnome: "Great. We have a safe house for you."

The gnome hands over a key and—after the party asks when Victor will be back—explains that Victor delivers hot dogs to the zoo daily at 12:30 PM as a "loss leader" for foot traffic. This somehow leads to the gnome explaining what a hot dog is, in detail, at length, to five people who already know what a hot dog is.

Olivia: "So he'll be in before or after noon. Okay, thank you."

The Safe House​

The Twilight Company safe house is across the main drive from the zoo—a three-story New York brownstone in warm stone, hardwood floors throughout, and six fully appointed bedrooms across the upper floors. The roof opens onto a garden terrace with a direct sightline to the chimera enclosure.

Ohma: "The Twilight Company does not have bad taste in interior design. This is lovely."

From the rooftop, the party can see Fufu through the enclosure fencing—still agitated but settling, the PlayStation now dark for the evening.

They have a safe place to sleep. Victor will be back at 12:30 tomorrow with hot dogs.

Key Information Learned​

Luna Revival Plan:

  • Leliana's concerts could direct fan worship toward Luna, restoring the goddess's power over time
  • Supplemented by eventually pilfering Eldoran relics as divine fuel
  • Silas insists on legitimacy ("t-shirts") though his commitment to this may waver

Victor:

  • Maintains a hidden lab beneath the Greyport Zoo's chimera exhibit
  • Has been constructing weaponized violescent orbs with custom guns to fire them
  • His lab doubles as an access point to Twilight Company HQ
  • Returns to the zoo daily at 12:30 PM with hot dogs
  • His journal confirms he knows he's being watched, and set up the bench projection as a decoy
  • He has written multiple letters to Bru that he never sent—one nostalgic, one requesting lunch and his dowsing rod

The Twilight Company:

  • Has a full headquarters facility running beneath the zoo
  • The zoo itself appears to be a front organization for their operations
  • Active heist planning visible on the walls
  • A major operation targeting the Eldoran space station is in progress
  • Silas and others have enough Twilight Company history to be recognized as associates
  • Chalk Rock may have some connection to operations here

Bafael:

  • Appears to have remained near Luna's crash site or a nearby island rather than returning to Greyport
  • The party's insight checks suggest he's continuing independent investigation—likely into Luna's condition

Character Moments​

Silas: Architects the Luna revival plan with characteristic mix of genuine care (for Ma) and self-interest (monetization). His willingness to go legitimate—at least in public framing—represents a small but notable evolution. He also immediately starts stealing from Victor's shelf when given the opportunity, which is more consistent.

Leliana: The Magical Secrets milestone is treated with the weight it deserves—picking from every spell list is genuinely powerful, and she agonizes over the choice. Her use of Charm Person to defuse what could have been a catastrophic combat encounter shows the bard's talent for elegant solutions.

Bru: The letters from Victor—especially the nostalgic one comparing their travels and experiments—reveal that whatever the party thinks of their eccentric former ally, he considers Bru a genuine friend. Bru receives this information with a complicated expression.

Ohma: Carries the weight of having seen Luna near-destroyed and Bafael now missing. His immediate embrace of the revival plan—even the concert worship idea—shows the urgency of his devotion. His strength-based intimidation of the Twilight Company guard is five unarmed strikes of potential compressed into a single grip on someone's arm.

Olivia: Finds the letters, reads the journal, locates the hidden switch—the retired detective instincts remain sharper than anyone gives her credit for. Her Aura of Courage now keeps her allies from breaking in fear, which feels appropriate for someone whose job has always been keeping everyone else together.

Unresolved Threads​

  • Victor returns at 12:30 PM tomorrow—what does the party actually want from him? The sending stone, yes, but what else?
  • The letters to Bru suggest Victor has a "new discovery" to share. What has he found?
  • What is the Twilight Company's full plan? The Eldoran space station operation and Chalk Rock's apparent involvement raise major questions
  • The violescent orbs Silas lifted are now in party inventory—what were they intended for?
  • Leliana's charm on three guards will wear off—will Pat remember her fondly or cause problems?
  • How does the Twilight Company's operation beneath the zoo connect to the party's broader fight against Eldoran?
  • Is Bafael still at the crash site? Did he find something else near Luna?
  • Can Leliana's concerts actually generate enough worship to meaningfully help Luna before May 3rd?

Notable Quotes​

Silas: "It's not a cult if there's already a religion behind it. There's an air of legitimacy to this that normally cults don't have."

Ohma: "I am concerned something has changed in you. I like it, but I fear that something may change—and we may need to be prepared." (on Silas's commitment to legitimate business)

Silas: "We go find Victor, use his sending stone—and by use, I mean take it, so we don't have to talk to Victor anymore."

Trevor: "On the third day, I truly understood him. I was ready to apprehend him as a criminal within the park." (on his surveillance of Victor)

Bru: "You sat across from him for 45 minutes eating hot dogs and making eye contact."

Olivia: "Honey, I think you've got an admirer." (handing Bru Victor's unsent letters)

Victor's Journal: "I think they're on to me. I set up a projection on the bench to try to throw off their scent."

Pat (charmed guard): "She's one of my best friends that I've known my whole life."

The session ends with the party settling into a Twilight Company safe house directly across from the zoo, armed with stolen violescent orbs and a 12:30 lunch appointment with the most irritating man in Greyport. Tomorrow, they find Victor. Tonight, they finally sleep in something better than a boat cabin.