As the session picked up, the party was still in the treasure room, basking in all their newfound riches.
Sergor, who had equipped the necromancer’s gauntlet in his attempts to pass safely through the traps, suddenly realized that his hand was aching. Angling the gauntlet a bit he managed to see that his hand was in fact shriveling.
Meanwhile Finley started dissecting the mimic for its tongue with Oliver’s help, and Raoden started investigating the room for anything hidden, albeit unsuccessfully.
Finley then went to get a barrel of salt in which to preserve the tongue.
The group then started debating what they should do about Vasq and his bodyguard, but first things first, they let Raoden cast Comprehend Languages to read the Netherese book they were about to hand over to Vasq.
The moment he started reading, he immediately closed it back up and refused to continue reading. Apparently it was a Netherese translation of the Book of Vile Darkness, reassuring the group that Vasq is an evil bastard that needs to be dealt with.
Now they began debating what they should do with the book. Raoden suggested sending it in a package to his dad. They said it’s a good idea if they had a good way to do it, so instead they thought maybe they should give it to Marzat Creekleaf.
Aria suggested using it as an entrance to Candlekeep, which immediately triggered Raoden’s intense interest. Oliver suggested they keep the book so it doesn’t get to the wrong hands and doesn’t corrupt any magic user they give it to.
Then they short-rested.

Being completely paranoid, they decided to hide the book from Vasq just in case. They put it back in its chest, then Raoden conjured a small metal box to put the amulet in to block detect magic, and that they hid in a sack of flour in the kitchen.
They then went out to confront Vasq, who waited eagerly for them.
Agreeing to split the loot the following morning, they followed him back inside to “help him with his expedition”. Inside they very quickly confronted and arrested him. They went outside to let the bodyguard know that Vasq was arrested, and he can either leave with them or travel on his own, whatever he prefers. He preferred to leave alone because he “doesn’t work with traitors”.
Vasq complained about not finishing his archeological expedition, so they went inside with him to pick up the evil book while he measured random walls and stones.

When all was said and done, they set out on their way towards the temple of Lathander in Beregost to deal with Sergor’s predicament.
They travel for most of the day and at some point in the evening Aria noticed yellow eyes in the bushes watching them and heard barking laughs like hyenas. Using their own element of surprise, Sergor and Raoden began casting spells pre-emptively and thus a fight ensued with a bunch of Gnolls.
They managed to kill most of the Gnolls before the rest turned tail and ran. While Sergor looted the corpses, Raoden stood in the middle of the carnage, breathed in deep like a manly man, and only shed three tears while crying inside.

They continued their journey and arrived at the temple, where Sergor announced his urgent care matter of the gauntlet.
Finley introduced themselves as the So Far Group (formerly known as The Baldur’s Gate Five), but the guard on the wall only caught on to the latter part of the name.
A cleric greeted them and said that he is not capable of curing Sergor but there are more powerful clerics he can wake up. He escorted them inside to wait.
They paid exorbitant prices for lodging.
A powerful cleric emerged and said he could either remove it or first identify it to find out if and what kind of curse it is then remove it. They decided to first identify if its a curse to not pay the whooping amount of 1500 double eagles for the curse removal to not work. They found out that the gauntlet was indeed cursed and that it basically shrivels your hand away until it replaces it completely, so they paid for the curse removal as well. By the end Sergor used all their mutual money to get it removed and then healed himself.

They went to bed down for the night, and then Oliver gathered everyone besides Raoden in one of the rooms to talk about Raoden behind his back.
Oliver thought that Raoden was not actually over his “problem” and that he might be trying to kill himself, and that he’s also putting everyone else in danger because he’s insane, reckless and unpredictable.
Oliver thought that if Raoden wanted to kill himself thats fine with him, but he keeps putting them all in danger in the process and that’s not ok. He alleged that ever since he “disobeyed the orders of the prince and didn’t get on the boat” Raoden dislikes him, so he shouldn’t be the one to talk to him.
The rest of the group agreed that they should talk about dangerous behavior and that it should stop, but they are not fine with letting Raoden harming himself. Aria also said she thinks that what Raoden probably sees is as Oliver abandoning them in a crucial moment, but Oliver was not convinced and said that it does not excuse the behavior. He also said that probably Aria and Finley should talk to him because they’re the ones he likes the most.
He mentioned that not only did Raoden run into traps and endangered them all, he tried to case a spell on him to force him to go on the boat that would put them all in danger, and he blew up a powder keg on Seatower killing himself and almost killed him too. Sergor and Aria said Raoden probably didn’t know he was there, and he was just trying to be heroic.
Oliver said that at the beginning he gave Raoden the benefit of the doubt, but after seeing the repeating behavior he doesn’t anymore and still thought they should talk to him.
Then they all went to sleep.

11th of Hammer

Di Next Morning they adjourned from the temple.
On the road they all converged on Raoden, Aria saying she thinks it’s time to have a group conversation. Raoden agreed and told Sergor it’s time he shower more.
They all said that they mean to talk about Raoden being reckless and selfish.
He disagreed, and told them they in turn don’t care about him. Sergor put him in a torture house and Oliver punched him in the head and also abandoned them when they needed him, while they joined him in chasing Darril Bozerman and also in tracking down Vasq.
Raoden was reckless in trying to help and save his friends.
Aria then tried to steer the conversation to new beginnings, and after some heated discussion with some mutual insults between Raoden and Oliver, they managed to apologize to each other and agree to turn over a new leaf as Finley said they should leave all the problems to the Baldur’s Gate Five and now they are now the So Far Group, and So Far they didn’t have any problems, starting now. In the spirit of coming clean, Finley admitted he’s afraid of ladybugs, but no one responded and the silence hung in the air while they all kept riding ahead.

In Beregost, Finley took a gem from the party loot and put an equivalent 100gp back in, and gave the gem to Cera the tavern wench who fucked him the one time.
In the meantime Sergor went to the smithy and asked to the deliver his armor to Baldur’s Gate when it is ready.
Then they all kept on riding towards Baldur’s Gate.
The night before arriving in the city Raoden brewed some anti-insanity tea again in preparation for his check up with the psycholo-quack. Oliver stayed up to watch with Finley and talk to him. He saw Finley gluing wood around a gem, and Finley explained that he was re-making his humonculous, with a few new changes.

Oliver told him that he meant to ask him a favor before they get back to the city and everyone is busy with their own stuff. He asked him as the smartest person he knows to help him with understanding what is going on with his ship and the demon captain. Finley said Raoden is smarter than he and maybe he should ask him. OIiver last time Raoden researched something he got fucked up on drugs and he didn’t want to put him through that again so soon, falsely believing his ghost ship is as interesting as magic that Raoden would go drug-crazy about that too.
Finley said he can look into that, but that Sergor too would probably have more knowledge about dealing with demons and stuff. Oliver said that he already asked Sergor and he said he doesn’t know anything that sounds relevant and he didn’t seem to him like the research kind of guy.
Finley then said he will look into it.
Oliver then hesitantly said there’s actually one missing detail that could be relevant. Feeling that he’d already once trusted Finley with his life flying above the sea using a potion he made he said fuck it and decided to tell him.
Calling hamster to be a part of the story telling he reached inside his coat’s inner breast pocket, and pulled out a piece of old parchment, stained with what was seemed like a drop of a clear liquid.
On the parchment were various verses from the same incomplete song he gave Finley once before, inside the replica of his ship. This time it was apparent that the verses were written as things unfolded as the writing was a bit different from one verse to the other. Reaching the end of the song he noticed that there are two more verses that did not appear in the copy that he previously received, written in a very shaky hand writing.
When it dawned on Finley that the ship sank, he noticed that Oliver was tearing up. He asked if Oliver lost everything, and in turn Oliver said it was his home. His family.

Oliver told him that they used to have a strategy, ramming or passing by another ship, and he would jump and take out the leaders top to bottom. They tried to attack Dragonfang (a different pirate ship), and by the time he managed to climb the ship he saw that the Pearl was already half sunken.
Finley said he’s familiar with being the last one left, and hiding it. Hiding how you feel, and assured him that he is not the one to blame. Oliver replied that he could have stopped it, and that those were his men. His job was to keep them safe. Happy. It’s all he cared about.
Finley told him he still believed he could get his people back, and maybe if the ship is back that’s a good thing too.
Oliver agreed and said that he didn’t think he would ever be able to said again but it seems like now he has to. He confided that he doesn’t know if Umberlee has something to do with it, but that was what the priestess have claimed when he arrived at Baldur’s Gate. He added that what made him unsure was the rise of the dead ship that the priestess could not explain, and ever since talking to her about that he’s been worried about the souls of his men.
They agreed they would help each other get back home.
They shook on it, and Finley pulled Oliver into a hug and cried on his shoulder.
Before they faded to black, Oliver said he hoped it didn’t change Finley’s opinion of him, but Finley said that it did because now he trusts him more than ever.

Arriving at the Wyrm’s Crossing the group decided they’re going to avoid paying taxes. They declared they have nothing to declare, and when Vasq tried to tip off the guards the group handed him off as a bounty and received 500gp in Sergor’s name because he is tax exempt as a member of the Parliament of Peers.
Inside the city a courier announced a new issue of the Baldur’s Mouth and the Group accosted.
The first article was about Guild extortion in the lower city being at an all time high.
The second article was about Marshal Blazespear being appointed a new Duke despite Silvershield’s opposition.

The last article was gossip – A temple to Waukeen is being erected.

They all then went to the Blushing Mermaid to let the Harpers representative know that they have put Vasq in custody.
Oliver told him the good news and the bad news – We caught him, but the Flaming Fist took him. The rep said he can work with that.
They told him Vasq works for the Zhents and to make sure to not let them know that the So Far Group messed up their plans. The rep said he will see what he can do. He gave them a sack of gems worth about 1k GP, and told them it was all a test to see if they are worthy of future jobs.
Then they went to Marzat’s.
Raoden antagonized the poor boy who claimed to be the future apprentice of Marzat.
Then they met Marzat herself and gave her the Book of Vile Darkness. She was interested and Raoden asked if they can trust her not to read it and actually destroy it, and she said they can trust her.
Raoden excitedly told her that he killed monsters and only cried a little. Also he was not tempted by the darkness and found a scroll that can help him restore his connection to Max, allegedly.
She asked them if they found anything related to the book with it, but they didn’t really. They told her of the evil items they found, so she asked them to bring them and also the corpse of the necromancer.
Later when they brought everything, she dismissed them and said she’s gonna start her research.

They all left Marzat, with Sergor, Oliver, and Aria going to the temple to Kelemvor, Raoden going to meet with his psychologist, and Finley going to mummify the Mimic tongue.
The trio paid to discover that the necromancer’s dagger and cloak are not cursed. Raoden told his psychologist he hasn’t used drugs in a while, but didn’t say he still believes in the Creators.
Oliver went to the Sorcerous Sundries to inquire about transferring the enchantment from the dagger to his scimitar, realizing that would end up costing a fortune.
Raoden went to Azakah. He slammed into the shop exclaiming that he found the ritual for reconnecting with Max and also that he was not tempted by the darkness. She didn’t even remember who he was, so she stabbed him in the neck with a porcupine spine and licked the blood, immediately remembering him.
She told him to just go home and do the ritual.
He asked her if she knows anything about his staff, which she took and plunged into her cauldron despite his protests that it’s a family heirloom.
She then took it out and unscrewed the crystal off of it, telling him that interestingly it was from the Astral sea, but then made its’ way through the Fey Realm, the Shadow Realm, and the Plane of Fire, and the staff itself was the vessel harnessing its power.
She told him once he understood who was the original owner of the staff and why it made its way through all those realms, he would learn to unlock its true power and would also be able to exchange the crystal for other crystals with different powers in turn.

And then the session ended.