Welcome to the World of New Genesis!

This website and the Dungeons & Dragons Campaign Setting it contains are both works in progress. This site has two main purposes: To provide me a way to organize and structure my work on my campaign setting and to provide my players a way to navigate, observe and comment on the work in progress. This Campaign Setting is set roughly 500 years after the conclusion of the "Army of New Genesis" campaign, which ran for 5 years and spanned 3 different iterations of the D&D rules. The Campaign Setting itself has been run for over 20 years and has spanned 5(!) Editions of D&D rules!

The information found on this site is currently being updated and translated to the 5th Edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

New Genesis is a world at its pinnacle of magical and technological mastery. Elven arcane masters fight along side belching, steam powered Aragonian mechanika. A Human brigand produces both a rapier and a blackpowder quad-iron pistol against a Zamberian Dragon-man. A Necrotech enhanced, Defiled fleshcrafter unleashes a barrage of crackling Spark at a deft Golden Gnome Physical Adept. A Bloodwing pirate captain and his crew attempts a raid on the last Dwarven city on the planet, the air-ship producing Skyharbor, located on the highest mountain peak in the known world. From the highest spire of the Floating Citadel to the deepest recesses of the Coredepth caves, from the exotic and ancient lands of the half-dragon Zamberians to the Beastial East where monsters rule, from the steam and smoke shrouded capital city of Aragos in the dark southern continent of Downspin to the fridged northern glaciers of the Barbarians, New Genesis needs adventurers like you!

News and Updates

Archives: 2019 - 2018

Return to (and escape from) Deepgate!

Now armed with the weapon of knowledge, in the form of a detail city map, the Red & Black took the opportunity to plan their strategy of cleansing Deepgate of threats. Moving south to the Merchant Mill quarter, they moved into the large, extravagant inn, whose name had been lost to time. Seeking to ransack it for treasure, they instead found themselves surrounded by beaked, tentacled, floating, brain-like creatures… Grell! Despite the creatures’ venomous tentacles and predatory nature, the heroes dispatched them in short battle. Deciding to recover their magical energy, the heroes spent the rest of the day searching the inn, finding a small fortune in abandoned gold coins and gems in the various rooms. During the night, they were again visited by the hideous, aberrant grell, but Renshaw’s Leomund’s Tiny Hut kept them hidden and safe.

The next ‘morning’, such as they were in Deepgate, the heroes moved west into the Diplomat Quarter. Spying the temples, embassies, greenhouses and the local Wizard’s School. Cautiously approaching the Wizards College, Zula noticed an odd, fish-belly white orb silently floating towards the party, from around the corner of the garden wall of the College… the strange orb’s front slowly split, revealing a massive, blood-red ruby-like eye. Tentacles slipped out from around the orb and began to lash out at the party… they quickly found that this beholder-like creature was vampiric! It quickly drained Borgrath if life force, dropping him, unconscious and on death’s door. Zula was not far behind. Only Valas’ use of Hypnotic Pattern and Renshaw’s ability to wildshape into a large, fast form, allowed the Red & Black to escape with their lives.

Continuing west, the party came across a the ancient remains of a Zamberian Monk. A medallion around the corpse’s neck proclaimed that the long dead Monk was a ‘Moongate Climber’, trained in the Draconic fighting style of ‘Fang and Claw’.

Making their way to the other side of the circular river that surrounds the city, the heroes took a the time for a short rest before moving on. As they caught their breath and bound their wounds, a Torin’s voice again spoke again to Valas: go west, and you will find something important. Don’t worry, its safe.

The party entered the western river tunnel and found a break in the wall, to an even more ancient Dwarven catacomb… There, Valas’ suspicions towards the voice in his head reached a critical point. It had not been Torin Sunstrike’s soul speaking to him through the Ring of Mind Shielding, but another, alien entity... luring them into a trap! Once Valas confirmed this with the actual Torin, the party fell back… only to push forward again, this time with great caution.

Via a small, rough tunnel in the back of the catacomb, the party entered a strange, alien construct... some sort of nautiloid shaped vessel, fused into the living rock! Panels weakly displaying glowing, alien symbols flickered in the dark. And then, the voices began again, attempting to lure the entire party into the cave beyond, through a crack in the vessels hull. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, the heroes retreated, barely escaping the creatures mentally speaking to them from beyond the darkness. Only a glimpse of a green. four-eye-stalked Beholder-like creature gave them a clue as to what chased them.

The party, having seen enough, returned the Great Lift, boarded it and returned to Skytouch, far above. Kormen greeted them warmly, or as warmly as a Dwarf can, and invited them to be debriefed on the fate and nature of the forgotten city of Deepgate…

Catching up with the Red & Black

The Red & Black soon found themselves being approached by representatives of the Crimson Guard; an order created hundreds of years ago to protect the world from the influences of interplanar entities. Once heralded as sentinels against the Mind Flayers, they had since fallen into extremism, paranoia, and witch-hunts.

The Crimson Guard members (Joseph the Crimson Knight, Goradar the Bruiser, and Cassinara the Crimson Cleric), offered the R&B a simple job: track down a demon hiding in the city of Terra. Using their skills and connections, they quickly found a lead. A red Tiefling had been spotted in the slums and the Red & Black began tracking it, though magic, detective work, and questioning locals. As they searched, a profile of the Tiefling began to emerge that conflicted with the Crimson Guard’s depiction of a ravening demon… this Tiefling was a merely a child. A child, in fact, from the Skygate Sanctuary, a monestary far the north.

Zula the Monk of the Open Hand had been given her final test to attain the rank of World Walker; to track down and return the wayward child, Malexire, to the safety of Skygate Sanctuary. Spying the Red & Black hot on his trail, she approached them and explained the situation. Malexire must be protected from the Crimson Guard at all costs. Once the Tiefling was finally found, the R&B saw for themselves that the ‘demon’ was merely an innocent child, scared into running away from home in a ill-conceived plan to save his monastery from the assaults of the Crimson Guard.

Despite their deception to Joseph and his band that they had killed the Tielfling, the Crimson Guard tracked them to a farmhouse in the outskirts of Terra for a final showdown. A battle ensued and the Red & Black emerged victorious.

Fully aware that they had now made mortal enemies of the Crimson Guard, the four adventures left for the Skygate Sanctuary with the Tiefling boy under their protection.

Chartering a guide and boat to navigate the Orkrist river north, the heroes eventually arrived at the mouth of the river as it flowed into Crater Bay. They bid farewell to the guide and traveled north, along the coast of the Bay, towards the ancient and mysterious Sideswipe Tower. Before reaching the tower, they were ambushed by a band of brigands… led, as luck would have it, by an old associate of Valas Frear. Feno Bramblethorn, the Wood Elf highwayman, and his somewhat merry band of bandits, had made the base of Sideswipe Tower their base of operations, full of their ill-gotten goods and treasures. Despite their best efforts, the magical protections of the Tower kept the rogues out of the higher floors and the magical secrets kept within. With a clever mix of cunning and magic, the Red & Black opened the seals and made their way to the tower’s upper floors. There, they found the tower’s magical power: a massive teleportation circle. This circle was keyed to the sister circle in the tower on the far-side of the Bay, Sideswept Tower. They activated the tower and were transported a hundred miles in an instant.

After making their way down Sideswept Tower, the Red & black found themselves at the edge of the Windswept Highlands. Somewhere in the gale-scoured canyons and mesas, Zula’s and Malexire’s home awaited their return. After a few days of sand-blasted travel, the heroes came across a battered and emaciated man crawling down the path. Despite their efforts, he quickly passed away, but not before choking out his final word… “neogi”. None of the Red & Black had any clue what the word meant but set out from whence he came to find out.

Rounding a rocky corner, the heroes eventually spied a large canyon, with what looked like a massive, red and silver crystalline spider of unknown make. Larger than a sea-faring galleon, the spider looked as if it crashed landed in the valley, creating the crater in which it then rested. Making their way towards the construct, the heroes passed unidentifiable wreckage, broken and burned bodies from humans and other never-before-seen creatures.

Finding an entrance, they made their way into the bowels of the vessel, fighting off horrendous, venomous wolf spider/eel hybrids and hulking, bipedal insectoids with stone-rending claws, called Umber Hulks. From the scraps of the clues they found on board, the heroes concluded that this vessel came from the beyond the sky and that the spidery monstrosities, called Neogi, were slavers that used life-draining magic to power their Deathspider ship. They defeated the ship’s masters and absconded with the vessel’s charts, ledgers, and other written materials.

A day later, they arrived at the Skygate Sanctuary, but something was amiss… the howling winds that tore through the canyons, and the monastery itself, were silent. The air was still as a dead sea.

The joy of finally arriving home was undercut for Zula and Malexire by the stagnant, still air. Never in the history of this order of monks had the winds not blown. As the heroes made their way into the monastery, the still air coalesced into a raging, vaguely humanoid whirlwind and attacked. The monastery was under assault by enraged air elementals! Fighting their way through the manifested elements, they finally reached the inner sanctum where they found a group of haggard, exhausted monks defending the younglings from the constant assaults by the air itself.

The heroes eventually discovered the source of the attacks… a Dimensional Lock had been smuggled into the monastery inside the stuffed animal of one of the younglings. This Lock was constructed using Crimson Guard magical technology and, once deactivated, allowed the barrier between the Prime Material and the Plane of Air to thin to it’s normal level. This allowed the Air Elementals to again return to their home Plane, causing their rage to immediately subside.

Having completed her mission of returning Malexire safely, and helping save Skygate Sanctuary itself, Master Anvil granted Zula the title of World Walker and released her from his tutelage. From there, the heroes decided to seek out the Crimson Guard and meet them head on in their home city of Southton.

Zula, knowing this area since chuldhood, knew of the northern entrance to the Marduhk Kuhn, an ancient Dwarven river passage beneath the nearby Skytouch Mountain. This underground river would take them directly to Skytouch mountain, the capital city of the Dwarven Clans and home to the largest merchant city in the known world. From the skyharbor there, they could charter an skyship to ferry them rest of the way. However, their plans where to be interrupted by a greater fate…

During the night, Valas Frear, the Shadow Sorcerer, was visited by an entity calling itself Crisk. The Shadar-Kai explained that he had always been with Valas, draining his soul of the sorrow and trauma that he had suffered so much in his life. Crisk, apparently, had taken some pity upon on Valas and wished him to be free of the influence of the Raven Queen. The best way to accomplish this, according to Crisk, was to shift her gaze to a person who suffered even more than Valas… a man named Grindstaff. Crisk instructed Valas to seek out this necromancer and he would attempt to shift the Raven Queen’s ‘favor’ from Valas to Grindstaff.

In the morning, Valas obtusely mentioned his desire to travel to Zamber, on the other side of the known world. Borgrath, as a Zamberian Dragonman who had never been to his homeland, was open to the suggestion. Renshaw, a wanderer by nature, offered little resistance. Zula, after speaking with Master Anvil, was assured that the threat the Crimson Guard posed to the monastery was over, at least for now.

The plan was now to get to Skytouch and charter a skyship to Zamber… all based on the whim of a half-remembered dream.

The Red & Black approached monumental entrance to the Marduhk Kuhn, its ancient Dwarven-hewn stone doors now askew. Dispatching the troll that lived within the entrance, the heroes continue down into the roots of the mountain range. They eventually emerged into a wide cavern containing a lake. The shore was a stone carved dock that helpfully still contained a few serviceable boats and cargo rafts. Lashing two rafts together, the heroes began their voyage down the underground river south, towards Skytouch… but not before Renshaw used his Druidic powers and turned himself into an octopus to explore the dark riverbed.

The heroes, using their muscle, magic and special powers made excellent time. After a few stops and rests, they eventually emerged into a massive, cone-shaped cavity within the rock. This was Deepgate Village, located deep beneath the city of Skytouch near the mountains peak, high above through solid rock.

Securing their boats, they came ashore and began to explore the dark, dusty and utterly silent village. The town was built upon a perfectly circular ‘island’, that the Marduhk Kuhn flowed around, at the bottom the hollow cone. In the center of the circle, a massive, girded structure extended all the way to the top point of the cone and seemed to continue beyond. Some sort of elevator, perhaps?

The village had clearly been abandoned, seemingly some short time after an attack. Many buildings and homes had been abandoned quickly, with plates of now-dust food and glasses still on tables. The dusty, skeletal remains of dwarven guards, unidentifiable monsters, and civilians littered the streets. Whatever happened here, happened suddenly and long, long ago.

Once at the structure in the center of the village, the heroes found a massive, complex, mechanical lift system. It seemed that the defenders of the city made this place their last stand and actively sabotaged the Great Lift from operating. A lone elven corpse, in plate armor and surrounded by the remains of what was assumed to be Mind Flayers, lay in the control room. Most of the adventurer’s gear was destroyed by time or the battle, but his Bag of Holding and his Ring of Mind Shielding remained. Valas placed the ring on his finger and a voice began speaking in his mind! The soul of the vanquished hero, Torin Sunstrike, remained in the ring, after all these centuries and could now speak to Valas telepathically.

Apparently, Torin was an Elven paladin who was visiting Deepgate at the time of the Mind Flayer Invasion and gave his life defending the Great Lift to give the dwarven guards time to sabotage the Lift, to secure the city above. Once the heroes removed some metal items jamming the mechanism, the Great Lift sprang back to mechanical life!

Riding the lift upwards for many minutes, they emerged into a bright cacophony… and surrounded by a regiment of spooked Dwarven Defenders!

Now in the bustling light and warmth of Skytouch, the heroes found lodging and began planning their next moves. As they recuperated from their journey, they scoured the local library for information, sold some recently found historical treasure, and had new weapons and armor crafted, some from the preternaturally tough Umber Hulks they had defeated earlier.

As they waited for their gear to be crafted and forged, Kormen, the Captain of the City Guard, approached them, offering them a simple job: to go back into Deepgate and clear it of any dangers so that it may be repopulated after its 500 year entombment caused by the Mind Flayer Invasion.

Agreeing to the terms of reward, free passage, and to be able to keep what they find in the town far below, the heroes again boarded the Great Lift, riding it the thousands of feet to the border village.

Emerging from the clanking machinery, the heroes began to comb the dark, subterranean town, searching for more clues to its fate. In the pitch-black alleyways of the residential area, a swarm of quadrupedal brain-like creatures descended upon them, stunning the Red & Black with pulses of psionic energy. Barely recovering Borgrath’s mind from the clutches of the Intellect Devourers, the heroes continued, this time with greater caution.

Deciding to gather more intelligence about their surroundings, the heroes went to the Administrative Quarter, where the town hall, magistrate’s office, and other such official buildings were located. There, they spied what seemed to be a magically unsullied cloak, only for it to spring forward and wrap itself around Renshaw’s head! The Cloaker was a deadly creature, but no match for the quick thinking and combat prowess of the Red & Black.

Searching the nearby buildings, the heroes found what they came for: a detailed map of the town! Armed with new sense of direction, and Torin’s recollection of that fateful day, the heroes moved back into the town proper…

WoNG 1901: Red & Black

The story of the Undying takes a break while new heroes appear in New Genesis!

• Valas Frear, Half-Elf Shadow Sorcerer
• Renshaw the Red, Human Druid of the Moon
• Zula, the Half-Orc Monk of the Open Hand
• Borgrath, the Zamberian Barbarian

In Terra, the City of the Crescent Lake, Valas Frear, Zula the Half-Orc, Renshaw the Red, and Borgrath the Zamberian had taken a job from the city's Merchant Guild to investigate some reported nearby attacks by a large, bestial humanoid (possibly an Ogre or Hill Giant) along the trade route from the distant city of Southton. After seeking and interviewing some merchants who had seen this creature, buying supplies, and renting some horses, the heroes made their way to the location of the attacks.

The ambushes were carried out at the base of a series of soft waterfalls, where the road passed nearby. Cautiously, the heroes approached, dismounted and began to investigate the area, only to find a few broken, and thoroughly pillaged, wagons. Just as they were beginning to question the veracity of the victims, a large club-wielding Ogre appeared, seemingly out of thin air in the shallow pool at the base of the largest waterfall!

The heroes immediately formed strategic positions and prepared for the monster to attack. Within the first moments of combat, they noticed something odd… the hulking creature's attacks never seemed to find their target, even when the blows seemed guaranteed. Valas the Shadow Sorcerer, taking a risk to test his theory, went into melee with the roaring Ogre, only to have the creature's savage club swing pass right through him… this monster was only an illusion!

Perhaps sensing that their ruse was discovered, a small cadre of goblin warriors appeared from hidden cave entrances among the waterfalls and began to pelt the heroes with arrows and rocks. Their leader, a Shaman of some kind, wielding an old, well-used wand, appeared with them and attempted to use another illusionary Ogre to fend of the heroes.

After a brief battle, the heroes defeated the Shaman and discovered that he spoke understandable Common… he had found the wand in some nearby ruins and used it to scare aware merchants, so that they would abandon their goods for his goblin tribe to plunder. It worked a few times, but then these adventurers showed up. Taking the wand from the goblin shaman, the heroes made the leader promise to return to the caves in the waterfall, leaving the passing merchants be. Annoyed at the loss of his newfound magical power, but grateful for their lives, the goblins agreed.

Having returned to Terra, the heroes explained the situation and received their rewards. Their success, however, did not go unnoticed by other organizations…

Eyespur Tower

The celebration and ceremony for the re-taking of Nex was jubilant, at least by Defiled standards. Lady De'Fyll bestowed a new title to the heroes... they would now be known as The Undying, to Defiled everywhere. As a symbol of their title and station, each of the heroes was also presented with a small, self-contained, magically enhanced, self-charging Spark battery, in the form of a small, darksteel and glass locket. During the reception after the formal ceremony, the heroes spotted a lithe scout speak with Lady De'Fyll, causing an expression of mild concern to cross her porcelain face.

Summoning the Undying to her meeting chambers, she explains that a scout had just discovered the remains of a zombie... that bore the mark of Grindstaff the Gaunt. The Scout investigation further and tracked it back to Eyespur Tower, an ancient and long-abandoned prison perched on the rocky, storm-lashed coast to the east of Vanth. Not one to act with half-measures, Lady De'Fyll ordered the Undying to their first official task: explore Eyespur Tower for any sign of Grindstaff. She reasoned that what better base of operations than one under the nose of your enemy, a place where they may never look?

The recharged and re-equipped Defiled army, led by Lenora, the Captain of the Guard, were to accompany the Undying to the tower, in the case of mass resistance. At dawn, they rode.

A couple of days of travel later, the heroes, and the accompanying army of Defiled, emerged from the Graywood and spied the looming tower. As feared, throngs of shuffling undead began to pour from the abandoned prison... Grindstaff's dark work, no doubt. The Defiled army swiftly made ranks and met the horde head-on, attempting to drive a wedge for the Undying to pass through, so that they may enter the tower proper. Seeing their opportunity, the Undying urged their Defiled horses on and charged through the fray, past the hundreds of skeletons and zombies to the squat prison at the base of the tower.

With the sounds of the battle raging behind them and the roar of the waves crashing upon the rocks coming from below, the heroes slipped inside the prison. They were immediately set upon by large, fleshy creature in ill-fitting armor! After the massive humanoid was defeated, they discovered that it was, in fact, a Flesh Golem that had armor plates riveted directly to its body. Upon closer inspection a strange, and quite worn with age, symbol was discovered engraved into the metal chestpiece: the wizard mark of Addison Bain. Bain was a well-known Artificer, Golem-maker, and inventor of magical Constructs several hundred years ago. Perhaps this prison purchased these Golems from him and used them as guards or for defense?

The Undying continued deeper into the prison and passed dozens of empty cells, their doors flung open. It seemed that the undead being battled outside were stacked like cordwood to the ceiling until just before the army arrived... the heroes guessed it took many years to accumulate so many bodies and raise them as mindless servants.

The heroes finally reached the spiral staircase that made its way up the 4 levels of the tower and they began their ascent. The first floor above ground level contained living areas, most likely for the higher-rank guards and possibly the warden. The second floor was a Necromantic laboratory, with a portion dedicated to Golem dissection; Grindstaff seemed to be trying to reverse engineer the magical and mechanical genius of Addison Bain's creations. An 'Allip', an incorporeal spirit created by a mortal soul being shredded by secret, cosmic knowledge, sprang from a book and attacked the party. Despite it's attempts to spread its madness to Theron, it was swiftly destroyed.

The third floor was packed, floor to ceiling, with stolen and reconstituted Necrotech... sparking wires, glass and steel vats of bubbling liquids, pulsating masses of black flesh inside Spark batteries, and countless unrecognizable pieces of equipment made simply moving through the room difficult. Amid the jungle of eldritch technology, two Bodak lurked... They pounced upon the Undying and almost immediately killed Zephir with a single glance, the Bodak's countenance stealing the very lifeforce from his body. Zephir collapsed and the other heroes tried their best to dispatch the horrid undead monsters while not looking at them, to avoid invoking their deathly gazes.

Calling up the fury of his deity, the power of Forge, Blazer turned one of the Bodaks, allowing one to be destroyed in combat and the other to be forced to flee. Unfortunately, the creature's Aura of Annihilation was still effect and nearly drained the entire party of life... Only the quick thinking of Theron, and his willingness to take a chance, saved their lives. Using his Hat of Disguise, he made himself appear as Grindstaff and successfully fooled the remaining Bodak into believing that he was, indeed, the Necromancer himself. Theron ordered the creature to cease its Aura and sent it below, into the awaiting blades of the Defiled army that had just entered the prison. Being a form of undead themselves and being immune to many of the Bodak's anti-life powers, they would make short work of the monster.

The Undying, exhausted and nearly spent, searched the room in detail as they waited for the Defiled army to catch with them. What they found revealed the scope and breadth of the threat Grindstaff posed; it was not only to the Defiled, but the rest of the world, as well.

Grindstaff was developing 'Miasma Bombs': containers of a concentrated form of the Miasma that enshrouded the Defiled lands and that created the twisted and mutated Greywood. These containers could be set off in populated areas and, if his notes were to be believed, turn any living creature affected by their payload into Defiled-like undead under his control. From the notes and diagrams that Grindstaff seemed to have hastily abandoned, a small bomb could affect an entire small village. A large one, an entire city, even one the size of Terra. Thousands could be turned at once.

Along with a small prototype bomb, the heroes took the large, pinned and annotated map that filled the wall above the workstation. The map had several marked locations with few of those scratched out: His secret Laboratories in Terra and Seavale were marked out, leaving three: Zamber, Aragos, and Southton; all large, capital cities. Three locations were marked as 'Test Sites': Greyhook, Cliffport, and Evynnflow; all small, out of the way villages.

The Defiled army soon arrived onto the tower floor and joined forces with the wounded and battle-weary Undying. Moving, en mass, up to the fourth and final floor of the Eyespur Tower, the group entered a lush and well-appointed loft. To the South, a lavish sitting area with velvet couches, to the Southwest a stocked dinette kitchen, to the West, a small desk and writing area with bookcases, and finally, to the North, a massive four-post bed. Standing and facing away from the heroes, motionless and silent, next to the bed were two female figures: one adult, the other of a girl around 10 years of age. The figures were dressed in fine clothes and had luxurious, long hair... and seemed to be chained to the bed by metal collars.

As the heroes feared, the figures were the zombified remains of Grindstaff's wife and daughter, killed some 15 years before, the massive gashes splitting their throats ear-to-ear, still open and exposed. The zombies were acquiescent and did not react to being led away by the Defiled to a secure location. The room was then thoroughly searched, revealing Grindstaff's personal journals and ledgers. By his own words, he wanted revenge upon all living people, and the Thieves Guild especially, for betraying him and murdering his family. But, beyond simply murdering his wife and child, the Guild stole their souls with a modified 'Magic Jar'-type spell, to use as leverage against him. Without their souls free to return to their bodies, no form of Resurrection, short of a mighty Wish spell (or two), would ever work. Grindstaff seemed to be under the delusion that turning his family into Defiled would forgo the need for their souls, but Blazer, Cleric of the Forge, quickly determined that was nonsense.

The heroes gathered Grindstaff's journals and rejoined the Defiled army on the battlefield outside the prison. The Defiled took only minor casulaties against the large, but overall weak, horde of simple undead.

As the Undying discussed the situation with Lenora, she revealed that, since their arrival, the Defiled had been working on 'a surprise' for the party, and told them to meet her in the nearby port town of Vanth. In the meantime, she was to go to D'Kae and retreive Theron's estranged father (and former Thieves Guild operative), Deverick. He would be the one to finally put all the pieces together and perhaps give insight to what Grindstaff was planning next.. and where.

In Vanth, the heroes were given back ownership of the 'BSTC Throatcutter', the caravel they arrived on. In the intervening weeks, the Defiled had completely remade the ship with the semi-undead, not-quite-alive magic of Necrotech. The sails, when backlit, revealed faint veins and a skin-like texture. The hull was infused with a dark, necrotic mold. A large Sparkcannon replaced the ballista on the forecastle. The ropes and pulleys replaced by muscle and sinew. In the bowels of the ship, a massive Spark engine quietly bubbled and flexed, powering the entire thing. According the to the Defiled shipwrights, the vessel was mildly intelligent, could generally operate itself and even 'heal' damage to its structure, provided that the Spark engine was fed still-living flesh, at least once a month.

Beyond the ship itself, the crew was also returned. Captain Bilge, the unusually evolved Orc, was there, along with remaining mortal crew. Merc, the 1st Mate, was also there, along with the rest of his mutineers. Due to their rash decision to 'escape' the Miasma-proof Mansion, they had been turned into Defiled and were still adjusting to their new reality. Their new reliance upon Spark meant that they were now bound to the ship, and its Spark engine, for continued survival. The ship was now fully re-built and fully crewed, which led to the heroes to rename the vessel. In honor of their patron, they decided upon 'H.M.S. Darkwynd'.

The Undying spent the day exploring the ship, re-acquainting themselves with the crew, and delving into the wealth of information gleaned from Grindstaff sanctum. The next day, Deverick arrived and the heroes questioned him, perhaps for the last time, about his past and knowledge of Grindstaff the Gaunt. Deverick was once Grindstaff's partner in crime and his closest friend. When it came to his loyalties, however, he chose the Thieves Guild over Grindstaff and his family... as Deverick had his own small family, including Theron, to consider. So, Deverick betrayed Grindstaff, murdered his family and literally stole their souls. Told of Grindstaff's journals, Deverick concluded that Grindstaff was now quite insane, driven to madness by his rage and grief.

The Undying then discussed their next moves. Options were plenty: Three remaining laboratories where Grindstaff might continue his work and be hiding, three test area that might be converted into Defiled armies under the necromancers control, and the mystery of where the souls of Grindstaff's wife are daughter were hidden. After some heated debate and strategizing, the general consensus was to head to nearby Zamber, land of the dragon-men and location of one of Grindstaff's laboratories.

That night, the Undying and their motley crew settled into their new sea-faring home. Near midnight, Theron received a knock on his bunk door. It was Guard-Captain Lenora, but dressed in fine, although old-fashioned, clothing. Her face was fuller, her eyes bright, and her flesh was even warm to the touch. She softly explained to the Half-Elf that she had requested the finest Fleshcafter to meet her in Vanth to test his skills. She asked if Theron wanted companionship that night, and then slipped inside his quarters...

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