The Emerald Collective Podcast

Deep within the Underdark, the Curtain Callers attempt to unravel the mystery surrounding the ruined duergar settlement and its peculiar inhabitants. While Sir Tirion and Mina question their unusual hosts, Daemon and Aelfric take a more methodical approach, searching the abandoned village for evidence of what happened here, and whether the survivors they've encountered can truly be trusted. But patience wears thin, and Shadar withdraws from the investigation in search of solitude beside a quiet underground pond. Away from the others, the cleric turns his attention towards something far more personal, reaching through the veil in search of a figure from his past. When Mina joins him, a rare moment of tenderness offers some respite from the darkness surrounding them. But questions remain. What happened to this settlement? Who, or what, are its inhabitants? And in the depths of the Underdark, are the Curtain Callers investigating the aftermath of some forgotten tragedy… or have they walked straight into it?

The earth remembers what men choose to forget. Drawn together by a mystery rooted in years long buried, a group of investigators begins to disturb the settled dust of the past. Old accounts are revisited, uneasy questions are raised, and beneath the ordinary details of human history they glimpse the outline of something that should not be there. There are absences where answers ought to be, and beneath the hills, unseen in the lightless depths, something ancient appears to have left its mark upon the generations above. The investigators have only begun to dig. They cannot yet know how deep the past descends, or what may feel their hands upon the soil.

Deep beneath the Krynell Mountains, the Curtain Callers encounter an unlikely ally in the form of Rilk, a drow who claims to have helped Galfond Illemis escape the cult’s grasp. Armed with a map of the Underdark and a troubling revelation about Aelfric’s connection to the Violet Madness, the party presses deeper into the maze below. Along the way, Daemon meets a strange stick-like creature named Bick, who warns that the trees have begun to stir in anger. Their journey eventually leads them to the ruins of a duergar settlement, where three survivors appear untouched by the outbreak, and seemingly unaware of the danger spreading through the depths. But in the Underdark, ignorance may be no protection at all.

With Mina and Shadar safely across the gorge, the task falls upon Daemon to clear the void with whatever tricks he has left up his sleeve. After a perilous journey through the mines at break-neck speed, his tricks were running out. Elsewhere, Tirion and Aelfric find themselves level with another drow and a fatal obstacle ahead of them. With tensions sunning high and spell slots running low, there is little room for bad decisions. At the end of the mines, Shadar spots something that might lead to the place they've been seeking....

The mine shafts run deeper and more dangerous. As the tracks deteriorate, the Curtain Callers advance at breakneck speed through obstacles, ruined structures, and relentless pursuers. As Daemon, Mina, and Shadar pave the way in front of them, Tirion and Aelfric leave a trail of destruction in their wake. As they approach the deeper parts of the mines, they find a wide gorge they will need to jump, with seconds to decide, will Daemon, Mina, and Shadar find away to make it across?And above them, an old wooden bridge looks fit to collapse, will Tirion and Aelfric make it?