Not Even Death Itself
The Party has found themselves cheating death itself, but for what purpose, and by whose hand? Two of they're members are missing, but they gain another, as they head back to the tavern where the events of the evening prior are still a mystery, but instead of the answers they are looking for, they only seem to find more questions.
Valerie experienced a dark vision of crawling out of the dirt naked in a grim forest, shifting into a Tabaxi to rouse Diablo, Renatus, and Craum while a laughing young girl warned they were running out of time.
She then truly awoke on an examination table coughing up black soil, surrounded by her fully recovered companions inside the district Sunkeepers headquarters. The coroner, Emelyne, expressed total fascination at their spontaneous revival, noting they were completely healed—raising them to Level 4—and bore no lingering wounds. She explained their bodies had been recovered from the slaughter at the Prancing Tabby, along with the real Marie's corpse, though Ornnar, Dakka, and their gear were missing. When Sunkeeper Captain Regulas Morton burst in demanding they be quarantined as undead, Emelyne confirmed her tests proved they were restored without divine or necromantic magic.
Morton urged them to investigate the crime scene, leading the party back to the dark, abandoned Prancing Tabby. Upstairs, only dried gore and creature ash remained, with no trace of their missing companions. Investigating the lower level, Renatus discovered a hidden hinged door inside a barrel leading into the sewers. As they navigated the murky tunnels, a multi-tentacled monster lunged from the sewage; although its bite infected Valerie with a weakening disease, Emelyne delivered the killing blow, causing the creature to inflate and explode.
Emerging from a broken sewer gate onto the 8th level in Cog Bottom, Valerie realized they were near the Watchers' compound. As they debated whether Ornnar and Dakka were taken to the cult or the demon temple, the Watchers' leader, Eleryian, appeared and invited them into his sanctuary. Craum spotted burn-like marks on his neck, and when Valerie questioned him about his magic, Eleryian revealed his true state: pulling off his amulet, he exposed that his body was covered in oozing sores hidden by illusion magic, explaining his power was stripped during the departure of magic.
Revealing that the thief Gregory was also missing, Eleryian asked for their help to find him, gifting the party two healing potions and a Scroll of Locate Person. After Valerie subtly warned him about the signs of skinchangers, the party set off into the city to track down their missing companions.