With a recovered barrel of Black Goo in tow, the Oddfellows set out for Saddleford to contain it. The narrow, steep trail slows them, and a lone traveler they pass draws suspicion. Moments later, an unseen breach begins. The figure reappears atop the barrel, revealing powerful sorcery and attempting to take it by force.

The party disrupts the attempt, but the attacker opens a portal and escapes with a portion of the contents. Through it, they glimpse a structure of dark stone overlooking a desolate shoreline.

With part of the goo now in unknown hands, the party abandons the detour and pushes into the Dank Deeps. They locate Voss, defeat him in a short fight, and recover Brezug, who confirms he was coerced and had been delaying the work.

The immediate pursuit ends, but the Black Goo is further dispersed and now linked to a new, capable actor.

The party begins transporting the recovered barrel toward Saddleford, intending to neutralize it with Archive support. Progress is slow. The trail is narrow, steep, and poorly suited for a wagon, forcing careful movement and limiting speed. The added burden of the tied-up and gagged dwarf guard they captured earlier does not help.

Along the way, they encounter a lone traveler heading in the opposite direction, toward the Dank Deeps. They quickly throw a blanket over the captive dwarf. The exchange is brief but uneasy. The traveler shows unusual interest in the party and their cargo, lingering on the wagon, particularly after noticing the dwarf’s leg protruding from beneath the blanket. After they pass, the party’s Fungril guide quietly notes that the traveler’s accent does not match the region.

The Breach

Shortly afterward, Winston notices the now-uncovered dwarf shifting in the wagon, edging backward while staring at the barrel. Investigating, he sees faint spirals of wood rising from the barrel’s top panel. Someone is invisibly drilling into it.

The party reacts and reveals the hidden figure. It is the same traveler, now without disguise. He is already atop the barrel in the wagon, a powerful sorcerer attempting to seize it.

The Clash

His control of the scene is immediate and precise, forcing the party to respond defensively as he holds position over the wagon. He encases himself and the barrel in a sphere of protective force, deflecting several attacks and striking back with bolts of black lightning.

Through magic or sheer strength, a few party members breach the barrier, forcing him to give ground momentarily. The opening is brief. He reestablishes the barrier, regains control of the barrel, and begins opening a transport portal.

The Portal

Through it, the party glimpses a stark landscape: dark stonework rising over a desolate expanse, with a large body of water beyond.

The attacker attempts to withdraw with the barrel, but the party disrupts the effort at the last moment. The barrel is partially destroyed in the struggle, denying him full control of its contents.

He escapes through the portal with only a fraction of the Black Goo.

The immediate threat is gone, but the situation is worse. A powerful unknown party has escaped with a portion of the Black Goo.

The party abandons the route to Saddleford, releases the captured dwarf guard, and pushes into the Dank Deeps, a damp cavern network dense with fungal growth.

Approach

Moving carefully, they spot one of Voss’s guards and dispatch him quietly. A second is incapacitated, but the party is detected as they close on Voss and his remaining guard.

Confrontation

A short fight follows. Voss uses the surrounding fungi to release hallucinogenic spores to disorient the party. When his final guard falls, he pours a dark substance into the body, transforming it into a fungal monstrosity.

The creature immediately turns on him, striking Voss and sending him sprawling. Raz follows with a concentrated blast that kills Voss outright.

“Didn’t we have questions for him?” someone asks.

Aftermath

Fhino attempts to draw out final answers, but the effort fails. Brezug provides what he can. Voss forced him to assist in analyzing the goo, but Brezug deliberately sabotaged the work to delay progress.

Brezug shares one key finding. The goo is not inherently "evil." It acts as a catalyst, magnifying existing phenomena. In the right hands it could be useful. In the wrong hands, dangerous.

Brezug knows little about the buyer. He is certain Voss feared him. The arrangement appears to have been made through a contact in Dawnspire.

Containment and Return

The party secures the remaining goo samples, contacts the Archive to request a clean-up crew at the wagon site, and arranges passage back to Dawnspire.

Most of the Black Goo is accounted for, but a meaningful sample is now in the hands of an unidentified actor. Voss is dead, but the buyer remains unknown. Brezug is safe, and his findings clarify the nature of the substance; it acts as a catalyst rather than a singular threat. The Oddfellows have contained what they could and ended Voss’s operation, but the unknown sorcerer and Voss’s Dawnspire contact remain at large.