“The goal of all life is to die- I will at least die for a cause! My heart and actions are utterly pure... Everything I do, I do for the Fatherland."
—Lord Gabryel von Gothwyn, Duke of Rockham
Our fourth campaign set on Abmarah, Shards of the Empire follows the party called the Krono Krew through the holy-roman inspired turbulent political climate of the Great Kingdom of Terros. The campaign started in June 2023 and ended in May 2024.
The party works with the Department of Dungeons as well as the College of Zaubarovia, with allegiances to different noble houses as they work against Gabryel von Gothwyn, the Hand of the Kaiser, and his intention of gathering all of the Time Gears to save the country from civil war.
They end up also saving Vogh Vulfrhûn from an evil dragon mob-boss called the Verdant Fog, as well as preventing an invasion of Primerealm by Shatterrealm by winning a tournament on Varkosi Arcanos. However, only a few people ever learn of the party's role in saving the world from Gabryel or Shatterrealm, the public only knowing them as the heroes of Vogh Vulfrhûn.
Player Characters
The Krono Krew had six characters. For Chapters 4 and 5, Tasmyn wasn't present in the party other than the very last session.
Ingrid Rennwald - F Noble Moon Elf Arcanist Magus (Daibik)
Erna Frieg - F Urchin Mountain Dwarf Arcane Trickster Rogue (Tara)
Gideon Huxley - M Archaeologist Human Light Cleric (Vijay)
Kai Li - NB Acolyte Changeling Aberrant Mind Sorcerer (Jouweria)
Werner von Gaten - M Noble Spy Drow Swords Bard / Paladin (Samir)
Tasmyn Burakha - F Refugee Half-Wood Elf Battlesmith Artificer (Jinee)
Synopsis
Chapter 1 - The Adventurer's Guild
It is the year 3E482. The Great Kingdom of Terros is one of the greatest nations in the world. Once, the start of the third era of this world was marked by its founding. In the nearly five hundred years since, cracks have only grown larger. There is ever-present talk of two of the constituent kingdoms across the mountains calling for independence, and the law of the land is being enforced further to stamp down on this. This separatist movement has caused turmoil to engulf the nation.
In their travels, Gideon and Kai Li met while guarding a caravan, Ingrid and Erna saved some farmes from a polymorphed Owlbear, while Tasmyn and Werner met up and saved the fishing district of Rockham from a polymorphed young purple worm. They all met up at the Department of Dungeons and formed a new team to be eligible for the upcoming expedition, and took down a festival-interrupting pumpkin ogre on their first day.
They stumbled upon Finethir Shinehelle, an elf trapped as a sheep due to a polymorphing apprentice mage named Noke, revealing Ingrid's noble heritage and leading to a confrontation involving a polymorphed bed dragon and many polymorphed guards such as Guz.
They met other DoD teams such as the Ivory Suns led by Meras and Team Rosé, eventually journeying to the ruins of Varkaria, guided by rumors of a mythical time gear. Amid puzzles, traps, and discoveries, they found themselves entangled with Gabryel von Gothwyn, the Duke of Rockham and sponsor of the expedition. They realized that he is a vampire, and defeated him. However, a time fast forward happened, with the rest of the world believing that the expedition was a failure and Gothwyn mysteriously alive- A new Gothwyn from a different timeline, having replaced the original one.
The team's unity grew as they uncovered truths and, unexpectedly, gained possession of the elusive time gear. Embracing the name the 'Krono Krew', they embarked on a journey to the College of Zaubarovia, seeking answers about the time gear's significance and the mysterious connections to Gothwyn. They also picked up a rainbow skull at Varkaria which they then realized is a demilich.
Chapter 2 - The Mage's College
Immediately upon leaving Rockham, the party ended up at Fort Altenhügel, where they clashed with goliath 'Ogolavi' raiders led by Nagal. This battle became a turning point when the demilich skull they possessed transformed into Zuq’zeen, an archfey lich. Zuq’zeen unveiled crucial revelations about Gothwyn's powers, shedding light on his uncanny ability to return through temporal replacements each time he faced death. He then disappeared, promising to return one day with rewards.
Their journey continued, leading them through Rustrest Lake in Kystby, where they stole some Aeterian Bronze from a giant warforged corpse for a duergar smith named Grenthrum. They ended up in a tense confrontation involving oozes such as Gooka, while hiding from the lake's owner. Gideon then got visions about darkness under Tromden.
Upon reaching Tromden, Ingrid reunited with her brothers, delving into discussions about Gothwyn's intentions and the looming prospect of civil unrest. Later in Tromden, they ventured into the sewers under the Abyss-Drowned Chapel. This pitted them against dark aberrations, and they ended up helping out a blackreyne hunter by killing the dark monster that spawned them. Gideon was awarded a Lightwater's Shield through the ordeal. The party ventured into the Eulebärwald to get to Hyarat. In the forest, they stayed at Stellern’s Hunting Lodge, aiding a monk from Xi-Di named Yi-Wen Ma, and enduring a perilous encounter with Zaubaraptors. The monk then told Kai Li of Aeplanera Monastery.
Finally at the College of Zaubarovia, the party studied their history and researched at the Library of Oblivinus. Tasmyn attended a guest lecture conducted by Dr. Svarka Stali of the Lunar Skion Labs, Ingrid met her former teacher Prof. Azal Shoushan and had a truel with him and Werner, Erna met her benefactor Magister Alfarihm and one of his agents Qesrea, and the entire party met Magister Uxius who revealed the time gear in the Uhrwerk Bowels under the College. They explained that Gothwyn is visiting for a diplomatic meet soon, and that they'd need to protect the time gear.
The Knights of Gothwyn showed up, led by Vollrath van Etamann. He had a nice coffee lunch with the party in which they tried to talk diplomatically. The party fought an Ulitharid summoned by Prof. Urmene while she was trying to help Kai Li, and the illithid ended up killing Gideon who had to be revived. The party then battled Vollrath in the Clocktower when the Knights invaded the Uhrwerk Conspectus, killing him. They were then called to the bowels by Magister Uxius, who was beaten by Gothwyn, who was now a werewolf. After a tense battle that included aberrations called the Hounds of Tindalos, the party ended up killing Gothwyn a second time, as he got replaced by a female version named Gabryelle.
The time gear ended up getting stolen anyway by Qesrea, and the party spent a week studying at the college and recovering. Uxius then sent them onwards to the Underdark, where they believed the next time gear was.
Chapter 3 - Under the Mountain
The journey commenced with the party bidding farewell to their professors, departing the college and teleporting to Tromdenburg. Heading to Kystby, they reached to the aftermath of another raid by Ogolavi Goliaths. Rushing to aid the town, they thwarted the attackers, revealing details about their allegiance to the enigmatic 'Verdant Fog.'
In subsequent days, their travels led them to Vogh Vulfrhûn, encountering King Baergrumm II and Baron Tuvik Emeraldeye. Suspicious conversations regarding the Verdant Fog and tasks to resolve a miner's strike unfolded. Werner started having dreams where he met and befriended Olzari, a tiefling time gear guardian, and slowly started to convince her to let the party take the time gear and free her from her duty.
They visited Aeplanera Monastery, where they met Master Molok who explained the concept of everything being a spirit to Kai Li. Further revelations emerged as they encountered Alfarihm's childhood friend, Master Carlos, shedding light on Alfarihm's heritage as the son of a Marid.
Returning to Vulfrhûn, they encountered Lawkeeper Rynnis Frosteye, learning about suspicious events and a potential conspiracy regarding a mining safety accident. Investigating the mines, they discovered drowned miners and links to Baron Emeraldeye's schemes, leading to confrontations with assassins and a deeper dive into the unfolding mystery. They learned that most of the Emerald Fog followers were looking for Grenthrum, the smith they helped long ago.
Journeying into the Underdark, they faced the challenges of the harsh area, and continued the pursuit of Grenthrum, discovering the Myconid Colony and encountering hostile drow assassins. They forcefully recruited the only remaining assassin, Bakos, who revealed that Baron Emeraldeye IS the Emerald Fog. Finally, they reached Kidzulduhm, encountered Gokir Myrkrdatter, and learned of Grenthrum's hiding place and the existence of the World Cube- A bomb that could destroy the city. The mission escalated as they made the decisive choice to confront Baron Emeraldeye.
Departing for the Hourglass Caverns, they faced trials against crystal golems, navigated sandstorms, and confronted the purple worm that guarded the time gear. Upon reaching the Hourglass Temple, Werner realized that Olzari was already dead, and had a final conversation with her in which he received the time gear.
At the temple, they faced Qesrea and her assassins, who teleported seemingly to Erna. She revealed that Alfarihm had a magical tracker in Erna the whole time. She offered a duel between her and the other two college students. When the duel turned against her favor, she tried to steal the time gears, almost escaping with them if not for Kai Li or Werner's quick intervention. She did escape, but the gears remained with the party. Their victory led them back to Vulfrhûn, where plans unfolded involving disguises, getting the police on their side, confrontations, and a final showdown with the Baron and Chief Magan Ogolavi. When the battle turned against him, Emeraldeye transformed into Tulunvithar, a legendary green dragon who started poisoning the entire city. The party barely managed to take him down with the help of their newfound allies at the city such as Bakos, Polina, and General Hanmaeth.
Post-battle, the party recovered, and Gideon's origins were revealed. Later at the award ceremony, Ingrid was knighted, Gideon bestowed with Fort Altenhügel by Preceptor Stella Di Silvestri of the Knights of Gothwyn, and the rest were rewarded with magic items and money. They were asked to help with the remaining Ogolavi threat by the General.
Ultimately, their paths diverged as Werner and Kai Li parted ways, promising eventual reunions, while others pledged their support to the Department of Dungeons as well as ending the Ogolavi threat.
Timeskip Year
Immediately after Vulfrhûn, the four remaining party members would have come home to a mostly dysfunctional Fort Altenhügel, now Fort Huxley. A six hour travel from Rockham, the fort on the old hill provided good privacy away from city life while still being near everything that mattered around them.
Guildmaster Holroth would have helped them make the fort an official outpost for the Department of Dungeons, serving as a lookout post as well as a place for any teams to stay the night or get resources. The DoD helping with a lot of the cost involved with rebuilding the fort, the party also recruited a few permanent members besides Bakos...
Such as Guz the Half-Orc (his prison sentence was up, and he didn't really do much wrong!), Noke himself as an Archivist (he spent six months as a sheep, and then Finethir wanted rid of him. Some may say his sentence was too light on account of all the kidnapping and deaths, but this way he actually serves a purpose! He seems less murdery not working under Finethir, too.), and Grenthrum as a smith (As if three reformed enemies weren't enough!). In addition to these old faces, they also hired two new ones- Trysta Rieger, a female half-elf housekeeper and cook who used to work for Ingrid's family in Tromdenburg, and Eryka Amberberry, a female halfling DoD official who keeps track of all the bounties, requests, money, and letters.
Gideon spent most of his time at the Fort, researching and setting things up. Tasmyn also stayed at the Fort almost all the time, working on her projects. Ingrid and Erna both worked out of the Fort for their jobs, although not necessarily together all the time. Team Ivory Suns stayed at the fort often but not for long, as they worked with Ingrid against the Ogolavi Clan but had their own missions as well.
Eventually nearly a full year later, the team was called to Etabrück by Werner, who had been stuck in the city unable to leave due to his mother's insistence. Gothwyn's plans were escalating, and they would need to act once again.
Chapter 4 - The Shatterworld Tournament
On the day of the Riversong Resonance festival in the city of Etabrück, the Krono Krew come back together to rescue Werner from Arxbrück Castle. They discuss politics and the current state of things with his mother, Duchess Iôlwen von Gaten. She reveals that Julian’s brother Sören has been spying on Duchess Innes at the capital city of Timeron while studying at the Hall of Harmony. They ask for her to not try to kill Innes, and she asks them to go talk to King Renaer Aldriglød and convince him to attend the Grand Wedding held at the capital in a month’s time. Having his enemy there would prompt Gothwyn to get reckless and reveal their true self. They agree, but she doesn’t let Werner go with them. They all eventually manage to convince her to let Werner rejoin the party, but only on the condition that he agrees to marry Princess Sloe Sombra of the Crimson Empire for a political alliance.
The party then catches up and goes to celebrate in the festival, where they get their fortunes told and play a drinking game. In the morning, they use the map to teleport to Fort Huxley. They meet all the members that work there as well as Tasmyn, and Erna introduces Werner to Grumpy. Everything seems to be converging at the capital. Gideon asks Eryka Amberberry what the quickest route to Aldrigvinter would be, and she says that teleporting to Hyarat and taking a ship through the icy ocean would be faster but not safer. They choose that option, and stock up on supplies.
That night, Ingrid and Kai Li seem to have a shared dream of the plane of Tindalos. They see corpses of goliaths and monks alike, and sense a time gear under Timeron. They then see a flash of Orr’eeyar. In the early morning, Ingrid wakes up to Kai Li taking out the time gear from her bag, who apparently sleepwalked into the state. After some misunderstandings with the others when they see the two in Ingrid’s room, they all have a serious discussion about the time gears and the monoliths.
Eryka hands Werner a postcard from his father who is still in Kasaaq. Teleporting to Hyarat Docks, they ask around but find no one willing to sail up north in this winter. Erna finds a bakery she used to steal from as a kid, and buys bread for everyone with her own money. In a tavern, Werner eventually located Captain Jahaesko, who has a ship called the The Sigmosi Coffin. He has some business in Uppborg and willing to drop them off at Aldrigvinter. After some negotiations, they land on 1250 gold and set out. He introduces them to his first mate Ingfrid, who Erna takes a liking to. Werner doesn’t take well to the choppy seas, getting sick. That night, Erna sneaks down to their cargo hold and sees a mysterious locked crate that has a magical trap on it. Stealing some ale, she spends some time talking to Ingfrid on the top deck while they watch an aurora.
The next day is spent mostly through storms and harsh seas, and dealing with reaper crabs. The day before they reach Uppborg, the crew overhears Jahaesko and Ingfrid argue. Busting into his office, they make them reveal their smuggling operation and deal with the Lunars in Uppborg. They decide to help out and interfere if the need be. That night, the party sneaks into the cargo hold and unlocks the magically locked crate without triggering the trap. They see the Abysscube, which nearly charms Ingrid. They decide to lock it away again and see how things play out. In the morning, they reach Uppborg and follow Jahaesko to the Lunar warehouse. The deal goes well with the scientist Dr. Viktyr and Ritsin, until the abysscube charms nearly everyone. Ingfrid shoots Viktyr in the head and kills him, as Erna breaks into the warehouse in the charm. In the ensuing chaos, Ingrid accidentally blows up the entire warehouse full of gunpowder using a fireball, nearly killing Ingfrid. Kai Li, in disguise as Alfarihm, scares Ritsin as they take the money and run back to the ship, sailing out of the harbor and onto Aldrigvinter.
They say their farewells to Jahaesko and Ingfrid. The city is decorated for Vakosi Arcanos (the holy day of Varkanus during which all mages are stronger) soon, and they head into Castle Fyrst. At a meeting room, they meet Ser Gerion Ulfheart, one of the most important generals in the Førish military and one of Ingrid’s mother’s main rivals. He greets them and talks about Ingrid and Erna’s takedown of the Ogolavi Clan. When King Renaer enters with a book in his hand, he has a civil conversation about his reasons for wanting independence. They eventually end up telling the full truth about Gothwyn and the time gears to him and Ser Gerion, which makes them reconsider and try to call off the war. However, he’s already made alliances and set things in motion that he can’t easily undo, such as an alliance with JIIK HAN, the ruler of Shatterrealm. Alfarihm helped him make this contract. He asks for their help in calling it off, but shadows fill the room and they are attacked by vampires from Shatterrealm. The vampires avoid Gideon until he uses light magic.
They head into Shatterrealm, and as they make their way into Zeskahn city, they are ambushed by a gang that they quickly take care of in the market. In the throne room of Khaz Jiik Han, he offers Renaer a way out- win in the Shatterworld tournament tomorrow. Alfarihm is there as well alongside Qesrea, and threatens to kill the party. Zuq’zeen suddenly interjects out of nowhere, and sponsors the party in the tournament. He later reveals to the party everything that’s going on as well as his role as protector of Primerealm.
On the day of Varkosi Arcanos, the first round of the Shatterworld Tournament begins. Erna and Qesrea face off against Durandal and Doomblade, and manage to win without killing anyone. Werner and Kai-Li face off against Yatra and Blazar. Yatra kills both of them, but Kai Li’s revival of Werner comes in clutch and he barely wins the fight after Blazar’s forfeit. Ingrid and Renaer face off against Meurig and Kuu. Kuu kills Renaer who is later revived, but eventually Ingrid defeats him, sparing both of them. Gerion & Gideon face off against Vasirr and Siceois. The fight goes on for a while until Vasirr realizes that this is wasting Primerealm resources, calling off the fight and having a conversation with the new party.
As round 2 begins, Ser Gerion and Renaer win their match. Zuq’zeen, Gideon, and Kai-Li face off against Xephak, Ophelia, and Izana. The fight is pretty evenly matched, and at one point Xephak transports everyone into his demiplane. After Gideon kills him, the others forfeit. Erna, Ingrid, and Werner face off against Alfarihm, Qesrea, and Ceolmaer. After some words are exchanged, the fight begins and Alfarihm instantly calls down a meteor swarm. Alfarihm chooses not to disintegrate Erna. Ingrid ends up killing Qesrea, and Erna convinces Ceolmaer to forfeit and escape Alfarihm. Eventually, Ingrid casts earthbind on him, setting up Erna to finally kill him. They take his magical items, and end up having a conversation with Ceolmaer where he reveals that Alfarihm gave the time gear to Gothwyn.
Khaz Jiik Han jumps into the ring, and challenges the remaining primerealm fighters directly in a final Round 3. The fight is difficult, with most of the fighters not managing to beat out their fear of him for a while, until Ser Gerion’s aura helps them. Jiik Han used a lot of ki attacks alongside his legendary spear, Krajul. At one point, he punched up Ingrid into the air and slammed her back down into a crater. He kills werner with a ki beam, and Renaer is given a potion by Erna despite him only managing to make a few attacks on Jiik Han. Ingrid blocks all of Jiik Han’s attacks at one point, and eventually manages to get the kill on him, slamming him down into the same crater as before. Zuq’zeen revives Werner and sends out a big proclamation to Shatterrealm to choose their next emperor next year, and that they are forbidden from trying to conquer Primerealm for another century.
They teleport back to Castle Fyrst back in Abmarah after taking Jiik Han’s spear and cape. Renaer is angry at his lack of uselfulnsess, but vows to help the party and agrees to attend the wedding. The next day, Gideon has a bad dream and wakes up having lost 30 kgs, most of his health, and with black veins. Weakened, he even tries to stab out his eye before he’s stopped by Kai Li. Realizing that the battle of light and dark within him is killing him, Zuq’zeen says that he’ll help him out in Timeron. They teleport back to Fort Huxley, where they receive an invitation to dinner with Gothwyn in her Timeron mansion. They discuss their next steps.
Chapter 5 - The Green Wedding
As they travel to Timeron, Ingrid and Kai Li have another shared dream of Tindalos. This time, it feels like it was triggered by Tempos. Kai Li hears whispers against her, and finds herself on a pile of monk corpses. Afterward, the corpses all turn into various versions of Kai Li, with Gothwyn at the top. Upon waking up, Kai Li reveals what happened to her during the timeskip, and how she accidentally summoned the hounds of tindalos at her monastery and she let all the monks die.
They reach Timeron early in the morning. They immediately head to Olzarburg Hill, and decide to stay at Villa Gaten instead of Villa Rennwald. They leave Bakos to unpack their stuff as they head out into the city, running into the goblin Count Kruggus who asks for an invitation to the wedding. At the Hall of Harmony, they meet Sören, Werner’s brother, who is very nervous around Ingrid. He promises to meet Werner at night back at the villa, and introduces them to Elise, who recognises the pure light within Gideon. Later, at the DoD, they finally reunite with Team Ivory Suns. Guildmaster Holroth introduces them to the DoD Grandmaster, Aam-Fen-Ross. They decide to reveal everything about the time gears and Gothwyn to Holroth and Fen, who agree to help out the party if push comes to shove. Fen reveals that the Ivory Suns have been working for Gothwyn for the past year. After a brief moment of doubt, Meras says that they have been working for Gothwyn to be closer to the enemy, and have a map to the time gear under Timeron. As everyone heads back to Villa Gaten, they run into Ingrid’s mother Innes and aunt-in-law Melisandey. They exchange some words, and her mother gives her the cold shoulder once she learns that Ingrid will be staying with the Gatens. They catch up with the Ivory Suns and later Sören, who reveals all the major details from his spying diary on Innes.
Next evening, they head to Villa Gothwyn. The dinner gets heated, and they manage to reach no real compromise. She still wants the wedding to proceed without any issue, and for them to not fight during the ceremonies. They agree for now, and she vows that even in her perfect world, neither she nor any future Gabryel will erase them from the timeline- promising the party their perfect ending in her world. The party doesn’t realize it, but she uses time stop to steal her time gears as they leave. As the party head back to Villa Gaten, they see Meras acting suspiciously outside the villa. They realize that he’s a Meras from a different timeline, and inside the villa, end up fighting various different people from other timelines- Erna from Another World, Sören from Another World, Evil Kai-Li, and ‘Ballista Gemini’ aka Gordon Huxley from Another World. The fight is tough, but they manage to kill most of them and incapacitate Alt. Erna. Werner steals the second moonshade from Alt. Sören just as the real one arrives. He elects to watch his other self die for Gothwyn’s cause. Werner receives a secondary Moonshade, breaking all laws of time.
They interrogate Erna from Another World, and she explains that Gabryelle brought them here and is paying her well. They don’t gain much information beyond realizing that their time gears are gone, but Erna manages to convince her alternate self to stay in our timeline and be free of her Alfarihm. At that point, they are invited by Meras to the DoD, where they also run into Team Rosé. Grandmaster Fenn explains time breaks to them and how sometimes two timelines converge, and that’s how Gothwyn’s multiversal replacement works. The only way to prevent it and actually take her time gear would be to get Adamant Orbs, stones that could protect them from timeline fluctuations. He tells them to go to the Temporal Spire, the grand temple of Tempos in the city. There, a priestess gives them the orbs, and they also witness the Temporal Clock- 12 time gears, only unlockable by gods, and five missing. Werner’s mother also shows back up and catches up with them.
Next morning, Zuq’zeen arrives with a solution for Gideon’s sickness. He warns that he will most likely die, and to come with him alone. However, the entire party decides to go with him. Zuq’zeen takes him to an asteroid above a dying star, a black hole. There, Gideon witnesses two possible futures for himself- The light future leading him into becoming a saint and training new lightwatchers, but ending up causing a lot of religious clashes with the Ballista. The dark path involves him becoming a lich to do what must be done, becoming a herald of darkness to counter Kol Han’s light, even corrupting gods. Conflicted by the two choices, he focuses on the feeling of balance, and is eventually transported before Elder Kosmos himself. He ends up making a pact with the Elder God to be their eyes and ears on Abmarah, as balance is restored within Gideon. He keeps both the artifacts, and his health is restored as he is remade entirely by the Original One. As he and the others return to Abmarah, Werner’s father arrives with an entire Kasaaqi band.
The party does some shopping, and heads to the opening ceremony of the wedding. There, they interact with a lot of nobles and important people from all over the world, including Xi-Di, Kasaaq, and Cinoh. Most importantly, they meet Emperor Sombra of the Crimson Empire. He instantly senses their powers, items, and abilities, and asks them how important their goals are, eventually trusting them. Werner also talks to Sabrae Sombra, his potential spouse, and does manage to impress her to a degree. They then see King Renaer enter last, much to everyone’s stress. He kneels before the Kaiser, preventing war. He then baits Gothwyn out into the gardens, where she tries to kill him. The party intervenes, and manages to kill Gabryelle, and this time they end up taking Time Gear Alpha before the new Gothwyn arrives, who feels much stronger than any before.
The next morning, Bakos reveals an entire raid group assembled downstairs- Jahaesko and Ingfrid, Team Ivory Suns, Team Rosé, Erna from Another World, even Grenthrum, Yi-Wen, and Tasmyn. The entire group walks towards the entrance to the depths, as everyone has some solemn conversations about what’s to come and the future. Yi-Wen agrees to travel the world with Kai Li if they survive all this, and as the party sees potentially their last sunlight, they all have a moment of cheer and optimism. Erna and Kai-Li both come out and say that they’re gay, and the party eventually heads into the depths. Immediately, they are ambushed by Innes Rennwald and some Temporal Knights. Refusing to budge, she fights Ingrid one versus one, and almost does take her down. Ingrid manages to defeat her mother, and convinces her to stand down. The party gets lost in the labyrinth a fair bit despite the map, as Gothwyn’s forces are already deep inside. They discover that a part of this used to be a temple of Tiamat, and that the time gears were used by the Omniborn to kill the dragon goddess, but only took away Tempos’ favor and heralded their downfall. The entire group splits up at some crossroads, and the Krono Krew ends up in a mausoleum with a Bone Tree. The Treewalker spirits attack, but the Moonshades counter its abilities and the party ends up winning. Beyond that, they get lost in a minotaur labyrinth, and are attacked by the last guardian, a celestial minotaur spirit named Esteros, one of the first minotaurs to exist. They end up convincing him that they are only there to protect the gear. He lets them pass into the sand-filled epsilon chamber, where they see the goddess Tempos in her slumber alongside the time gear.
As Ingrid finally realizes that her prayers truly would never be answered by the slumbering goddess, Kai Li suddenly tries to kill her. Kai Li herself appears in a Tindalos mindscape, as “Prime Kai-Li” reveals herself to both the party and to Kai-Li. She reveals that our Kai-Li was from a different timeline all along, and she was the one who had the pact with Orr’eeyar. She hid herself away behind the only good Kai-Li’s consciousness to hide from gods and scryers alike. She mind controls Ingrid and takes the time gears, almost getting the win before the party and Kai Li manage to take her down. Kai Li vows to stay in this timeline, and defeats her evil self for good. As that happens, Gothwyn shows up with Stella di Silvestri and some knights. They bring out Bakos, Meras, and Iôlwen, threatening to kill them. The party starts their final fight, managing to save the three from harm’s way, and quickly take care of the knights. They kill Stella di Silvestri once her divine intervention to Jakuna fails, as time begins to glitch out with all the time gears reunited. Gothwyn and the Krono Krew alone appear back in the Uhrwerk Bowels, as if rewinding through time and fighting. The fight rewinds further to Varkaria, and even to the DoD Guildhall in Rockham where they first met him. Once they finally get him low enough, time glitches even further back into Rockham Depths, where Gothwyn’s coffin rests.
Werner manages to get the final hit on Gabryel, who is returned paralyzed to the coffin. He accepts his fate, and says that all that he did, he did for love for his family and country, and that he wouldn’t change anything if he could do it all over again. The party together pierces his heart with Moonshade, finally killing him for good. Time glitches one final time as they and the three time gear guardians, Uxius, Galdip, and Esteros, appear in the Temporal Spire. The clock is restored, and the timeline irons itself out and fixes everything, including closing all these gateways to other timelines. Uxius decides to scatter the five time gears again, and raise new temples and guardians to protect the time gears again. Orr’eeyar, through Kai Li, offers to protect Tempos. Ingrid agrees, as Time Gear Alpha alongside Tempos herself are transported to Tindalos for good. The party reappears at the surface of the Depths, reuniting with the entire group and celebrating. Ingrid immediately kisses Meras.
The next day, they are honored by the Kaiser and some few important people in the throne room, including Innes as the interim hand of the kaiser as well as the other four monarchs of Terros. Sofia von Gothwyn becomes the new Duchess of Rockham, and vows to atone for Gothwyn’s sins. She promises to reform the Knights of Gothwyn to do better as they originally intended. The party decides to not make Gothwyn’s deeds public, but their actions in saving the world through the Shatterrealm Tournament come to light. Later, they all share farewells with each other and discuss their future plans, as the wedding continues without a hitch. With time finally restored, their work comes to an end.