Episode 6: Showdown with the Six - The Orrery of the Wanderer

Episode 6: Showdown with the Six. The Dran & Courtier The characters (now 6th level) have learned that the Orrery of the Wanderer channels magic even more powerful than intended by its creator, the lich Lottie. As such, Lottie broke the orrery into parts and scattered those parts far and wide, hoping that no one would discover their secret. But the enigmatic group known as the Six has collected at least one orrery component (perhaps more, depending on events in episode 5), and its agents now attempt to use those components to open a portal to the Far Realm. After a suitable amount of questing and research, the characters locate the ritual site, which they learn is in the small town of Red Larch. That settlement is the childhood home of Omin Dran and the stomping grounds of the Acquisitions Incorporated franchise known as the "C" Team, whose members have recently gone missing. The characters speed toward Red Larch, where they find foes allied with the Six guarding the Dran & Courtier inn. That otherwise quiet establishment has always possessed unusual magical qualities, but these have been warped by the slowly opening portal to the Far Realm. The characters can interact with the local townsfolk, learning that the members of the "C" Team entered the inn but have not returned. Likewise, the inn's co-owner and proprietor, Propha Dran, has not been seen since the planar strangeness suffusing the inn started. When the characters enter, the Dran & Courtier appears normal at first. But opening any of its interior doors causes the entire site to transform under the watchful eye of an agent of the Six known as the Keymaster. A nightmare version of the Dran & Courtier is revealed, filled with aberrant horrors. Defeating the horrors of this incarnation of the inn returns the characters to the actual inn. A second transformation turns the characters into miniature heroes as they are greeted by Splugoth the Returned. On behalf of the Six, the wily goblin asks the characters to...