Team Gnarl answer the Call of the Netherdeep – session 5 – Back on the road

The characters:

• Badger – Ginger, a male halfling Gunslinger.
• Hinesh – Gnarl, a male kobold Way of Mercy monk physician.
• Lyam – Tezmin, a male harengon warlock of the Genie (dao)
• Sarah – Hildegarde, a female tempest cleric of the Wildmother (Melora)
• Grey – Bek, a Shadar Kai bladesinger wizard

As may be apparent, we are utilising several non-WotC sources for this campaign. In addition to the usual 5e books, characters could draw upon the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, Tal Dorei Reborn, and Gunslinger.

Yulisen, 12th Fessuran, 836 PD

As the heroes packed up their camping gear (including newly purchased tents from the merchants) they were approached by a pair of adventurers, an armoured human female and a male shadow elf in normal travellers garb. Greetings were exchanged and the newcomers explained that in their own ways, each had been led to this place by their deities to join the heroes’ quest to discover the meaning of the vision they had received.

Despite Gnarl’s refuting the existence of gods the party welcomed the new additions and set off into the Barbed Fields, noting the rather drastic change in the terrain very quickly. The muggy marshes gave way to a dry arid landscape, broken by jagged rocks and pillars of stone that upon closer inspection were revealed to be the fossilised remains of gigantic creature’s rib cages that formed crooked spires.

Having purchased travelling rations at the caravan loop the heroes quickened their travel pace, hoping to reach Bazzoxan in around four to five days. They made good progress throughout the day and by evening had found a suitable campsite in the lee of one of the larger outcroppings. As they settled down to rest Tezmin noticed a trio of tiny bright lights a short distance away and awoke his companions before heading to investigate.

The lights were barely bigger than a coin but so bright as to give off an aura that made them look larger from a distance and they hovered over what appeared to be an overturned wagon. The heroes approached cautiously and quickly discerned that the wagon’s wheel had broken causing it to crash onto its side. There was no sign of whatever had pulled the wagon and the wind and dust had eroded any identifying features.

Before any of the others could stop him Tezmin picked up a loose stone and threw it at one of the lights, hitting it squarely but passing through it. The fuzzy light flared, turning into an angrily buzzing little ball of electrical energy that swooped at the harengon, passing through him and giving him an electrical shock. The other two lights did likewise to his companions, whizzing through the air with considerable speed.

Ginger and Hildegarde had been bringing up the rear and used their pistol and spells respectively to engage the lights from range while Bek and Gnarl used their melee capabilities. The quick and agile light balls were difficult to hit though. Tezmin clambered up onto the wagon and disappeared inside, putting his hand down to steady himself and feeling the bony remains of a hand and arm below him.

One of the lights zoomed at Ginger, having been hit by one of the halfling’s pistol shots, but disappeared from sight before it reached him. Another of the lights also winked out, while the third continued to flit between Gnarl and Bek and give them electrical shocks.

Tezmin ran his hand along the arm bone to find it was attached to the rest of a skeleton, the skull seemed to indicate a delicate featured humanoid. He was worried that it was about to animate and attack him when one of the lights suddenly reappeared inside the wagon with him and zapped him again. Calling upon the power of the amulet he had retrieved from Sil’s bag of holding he turned himself invisible and climbed back out of the wagon.

Ginger had readied his pistol as the light had approached him and disappeared when it suddenly reappeared beside him and passed through him, giving him a massive jolt of electrical energy, he whirled upon it and fired point-blank, the pistol barely lifting above his hip as its shot echoed in the night air. The bullet hit true and the ball of light disappeared once more though this time because it was destroyed.

Hildegarde and Bek used their spells to bring down the second one while Gnarl and a reappearing Tezmin extinguished the final one. The rest of the group admonished the harengon for instigating the fight before consulting them or at least letting them know to be ready and Tezmin accepted the blame, promising to be more considerate in future.

He told them about the body in the wagon, and they investigated it. With a light source, they were able to see that there were in fact three bodies in the wagon, all reduced to skeletons by time and scavengers. Judging by the skulls they determined that two were of elf-kind while the third was orcish. Gnarl salvaged some of the tattered fabric and padding from one of the seats while Tezmin searched the rest of the interior, finding a lockbox under one of the seats. The orcish skeleton had a small iron key amongst its remains and they used it to open the box. Inside they found a scroll enchanted with the Thunderwave spell and in a small padded box, a glass bottle of clear fizzing liquid with what looked like a sliver of ivory floating in it. They took the contents and agreed to bury the remains of the three bodies, there was some discussion on saving the skulls to magically question but eventually, they agreed to just let them rest, though Gnarl kept the orcish skull for his own purposes. They returned to their camp and resumed their rest.

Da’leysen, 13th Fessuran, 836 PD

With the disturbed night they slept later than they normally would but eventually set off once more across the Barbed Fields. Again the day proved quiet and uneventful and they searched for a suitable site for their night camp, settling for a small bowl-shaped depression a short way from the trail they were following.

As night fell the land was once again bathed in the crimson glow of Ruidus as it flared in the night sky above them again, as if in defiance of the last night of its fullness. But, thankfully nothing else disturbed their sleep and they awoke the next morning and set off once more.

Miresen, 14th Fessuran, 836 PD

It was shortly after mid-morning when they saw a group of riders approaching at speed. The new arrivals had used the terrain to mask their approach and so were able to quickly surround the heroes before they could run for more favourable standing.

The group numbered a dozen humans, all mounted on horseback and dressed in dirty leather armour. All but one aimed loaded crossbows at the heroes, the other calmly leaning forward in his saddle to address the group. “By order of the Queen of the Kryn Dynasty, you’re nearby ordered to pay the road tax” he leered. Having grown up in and around Rosohna both Tezmin and Gnarl knew there was no such tax in this area and told the riders that they should pay them to be allowed to be on their way. The lead rider laughed and replied “We got ourselves some feisty ones boys, we’ll take the tax off your corpses!” and motioned for his men to fire.

Unfortunately for the riders, the heroes were quick to react and with spells, blades, pistols and bare hands quickly dispatched two of them before the first could pull their crossbow triggers. Gnarl used his agility to swing up onto the leader’s horse, perching just in front of the saddle and striking the man repeatedly. As he saw his men, and most of their horses too, being taken down so rapidly he turned his mount and dug his heels in hard, urging it into a full sprint away from the adventurers.

As the last of the bandits fell to their assault, Tezmin tried to use his eldritch strikes to blast the man out of the saddle but somehow he was able to remain astride his mount and escape into the surrounding hills. They salvaged what gear they wanted from the fallen bandits and harvested some equine steaks before continuing onward, keeping a wary eye out in case the rider returned.

That evening they enjoyed the steaks and as they were preparing to settle down they saw a group of figures approaching on foot. Once they were near enough to see more clearly they recognised the armour of the Arora Watch and relaxed as the patrolling soldiers approached their camp and asked if they could join them for a brief rest.

The heroes were happy to let the weary soldiers take a break amongst them, though Tezmin retired to his tent. The patrol was looking for a reported band of highwaymen who had been waylaying travellers and demanding a road tax, and the heroes informed them that they had encountered them earlier in the day and had even killed many of them. The patrol leader asked for the location of the encounter and the heroes were happy to point it out on his map before he gathered his troops and wished them a good evening, setting off down the trail into the darkness.

Grissen, 15th Fessuran, 836 PD

As they awoke in the morning a strong wind picked up, swirling the dust of the Fields around them and making it uncomfortable to travel without covering their faces with a cloth. Thankfully it died down shortly after midday and they were able to continue as normal until shortly after mid-afternoon they spotted a large black mound ahead.

Approaching cautiously they realised that it was a massive creature lying on the floor in a heap, covered in bristly black fur and apelike in appearance. Getting nearer they saw it had several spears sticking out of it and had been struck repeatedly by what appeared to be axe wounds. Thick black ichor oozed from the wounds to pool upon the parched earth around it, and several large splotches of it could be seen leading off to the west. Ginger, Gnarl and Tezmin recognised the creature from descriptions they had heard or read previously, an Udaak, leftovers of demonic armies that had battled across the land during the Calamity but had lost their connection to the Abyss after the Divergence so now roamed the wilderness as solitary predatory hunters.

Ginger and Gnarl approached the body, intent on harvesting whatever they could from its hulking corpse, but as they approached a trio of small reptilian-looking impish creatures leapt out from amongst the thick fur as the heroes heard a screech from the skies above, looking up to see a humanoid vulture creature diving towards them …

Gnome Force Ultra delve the Dungeons of Drakkenheim – session 8 – in the Night Garden

The characters:

• Jack – Dalin Light, a female tiefling Light Cleric of the Sacred Flame.
• Steve – Ugo, a male human Warlock of the Genie (Dao).
• Morgan – Romy, a female human Fighter Commander seeking troops to heroically lead.
• Jon – Velvet “Vel” Claw, a male tabaxi (foxkin) Rogue Scout for hire.
• Lee – Captain Boots, a male tabaxi Rogue Swashbuckler privateer between ships.

Moonday, 15th Springtide, Year 1.126

The heroes entered the Queens Park Garden under cover of night, but since Ugo couldn’t see in the dark, Dalin used her magic to make a pebble light up and then used a mage hand to carry it ahead of the group. They searched for around an hour on the outer flowerbeds but found no sign of the purple lilies that they needed. The haze had receded a little but was still present around the deeper areas of the gardens and so reluctantly they headed in deeper.

They searched for another hour and came upon a pair of small artificial ponds with cherry blossom trees scattered around them. They could see several lilies floating upon the surface of the pond, but they were yellow once again. Before they could harvest any of the lilies a half-dozen armoured figures strode out of the encroaching haze, Velvet recognised the heraldry on their armour as belonging to the Queen’s Men, an elite force of the Drakkenheim army dedicated to the security and protection of Queen Lenore. The heroes could also see that the soldiers were clearly long dead and hostile as they all drew weapons and attacked.

Dalin shouted a quick warning to her companions to not rush forward just yet as she conjured a burning bead that shot forward before expanding and detonating at the far edge of the pond and incinerating most of the approaching soldiers.

While one of the soldiers hung back and traded bow shots with Velvet, the other closed into melee with Romy and Dalin, striking at them with its sword and deathly cold claw.

The battle was brief but vicious, and the heroes were all feeling the worst for it by the time they finally put the remaining soldiers down and moved on through the haze which was also taking a toll on them. They searched the soldier’s remains to see if there was anything of value, replenishing their supply of arrows and also finding an old sealed letter tucked into one of their bracers. The seal bore the emblem of the royal house of Drakkenheim and they were in two minds about opening it but eventually Romy did and read the contents to the party.

Your Majesty,
Please excuse the haste of this missive, and the messenger who bears
it. Our present circumstances are both dire and desperate.
I have charged this man with ensuring your safety during this
calamity. He is a valiant knight, and will escort you and your
handmaids out of Drakkenheim. It is imperative you flee the castle
immediately via the garden passage.
Do not return to the royal apartments, nor take the main castle gate.
I beg you, your Majesty, do not wait for anyone else, nor burden
yourself with trinkets and treasures, nor tarry in the gardens! Escape
the city with all speed.
I promise, my queen, I shall not leave myself without the king and
your son. I pray that your daughters remain safe. We shall all meet
again in health and mirth soon.
Yours in faithful service,
Johann Eisner, Royal Steward

They searched for another hour before coming upon a small semi-circular area surrounded by perfectly manicured hedgerows. Stone benches faced toward the centre of the semi-circle where a large statue stood, depicting the soldiers of the Queens Men regiment, though it had been repeatedly defaced with graffiti. Behind the statue was a crude campsite where a pair of gnarled, grey-skinned trolls sat quietly.

The heroes instantly dropped their hands to their weapons but one of the trolls held up his hand and calmly called to the in common to hold. Still roughed up from their evening so far the heroes were more than willing to avoid another fight and left their weapons sheathed. Conversing with the troll they discovered that he and his brother had come across this quiet little area and decided to stay as no one bothered them there. When asked about where to find the purple lilies they said the flowers usually grew in or near water but as they were colour-blind they weren’t sure if they were yellow or purple. The trolls also told the heroes that the girls often harvested the lilies and took them away, but since the trolls left the girls alone they didn’t know where they took them.

The heroes asked what girls? The troll described them as wearing ruined dresses and having hair covered in moss and algae that clung down over their faces. As the heroes prepared to move on the trolls asked them not to reveal their location to any other trolls they might come across.

The haze was beginning to affect all of them as they searched for another hour but then came across another circular pond where they saw five lithe female figures clad in dirty dresses that may once have been exquisite gowns but were now sodden and ruined. Plants were now growing upon the fabric and weeds and moss were matted and indistinguishable from their hair. The figures slowly waded around the pond harvesting the lilies that grew there.

When Dalin’s light fell upon them they all halted and turned towards the approaching heroes and as Velvet slowly stepped into the pond himself they retreated towards the further half of the pond. The foxkin slowly waded to the nearest lily and harvested it, as he did so one of the figures simply dropped beneath the surface of the water.

Fully expecting something to grab him and pull him underwater at any moment Velvet harvested a second lily and the four remaining female figures all pointed at him and opened their mouths to scream a hoarse but loud animalistic cry. The heroes didn’t wait to see if this drew the attention of anything else nearby and as quickly as they could manage they ran out of the gardens.

The two lilies were already showing signs of wilting and so the heroes decided to rush back to Reed Manor and get them to Oscar as quickly as they could. As they ran through the streets of the inner city they turned a corner to find another group of adventurers battling a trio of the mutated figures known as dregs. The leader of the adventurers wore a familiar breastplate and ridiculously plumed helmet. The heroes didn’t want to waste any time so turned back and detoured around the fight, making their way out of the Inner City via Shepherd’s Gate and turning north to Reed Manor. As they travelled through the outer city they passed one of the Academy mages and his guards, Ugo shouted as he ran past “It’s right behind us, run for your life!” and must have been quite convincing as the now terrified mage dropped his findings and with his guards ran.

One of the hulking “gardeners” was guarding the gate but must have been instructed to let them enter as it swung the squeaking iron gate open wordlessly at their approach. As they passed the old fountain the obese toad gave a deep croak that drew their attention but it just sat there staring at them. They walked up to the door and before they could knock it was opened by one of the apprentices and they were shown into the living room while another apprentice went up the stairs to fetch Oscar.

When the pudgy mage came down they gave him the pair of purple lilies and he became excited at the prospect of producing more of his serum for them, offering to produce either two normal doses or four half-strength doses, the heroes said two normal doses would be sufficient. Oscar noticed that Velvet was looking particularly affected by the haze and directed him to take a seat as he produced a magnifying glass and tweezers and he proceeded to examine the foxkin closely. Dalin assured Oscar that he would be able to deal with it but the mage replied “Please make notes if his symptoms get worse, and if he dies bring me the body to study” before he waddled off, presumably to the basement, to begin work on the serum doses.

The heroes left the Manor and decided to head to Eckerman’s Mill to spend the night so they could return for the doses in the morning. Arriving at the Mill they spotted the mage they had scared earlier but avoided him and spent the night camped alongside the Academy mages and their assorted guards.

Tidesday, 16th Springtide, Year 1.126

Once they were awake the next morning Dalin used her Purge Contamination spell on Velvet, causing the foxkin to vomit out the purplish bile from his system and leaving him feeling exhausted. They gathered their gear and returned to Reed Manor where one of the apprentices had the familiar syringes waiting for them. From there they returned to where they had scared the Academy mage the previous evening, finding several pieces of delirium at the site and packing them carefully into their packs for future use or sale before continuing on through Shepherd’s Gate and into the Inner City. Rather than return to the Queens Park Garden for more lilies they decided to head towards the Market Square and the Cosmological Clocktower.

The market square was the largest open courtyard in the city, consisting of two plazas, separated by a cluster of banks, vaults, guild halls, and businesses. The ruins and remains of high townhouses with storefronts surrounded the square. Scattered across the plaza are the remains of Drakkenheim’s central open-air market: rows of stalls, canvas tents, pavilions, baskets, crates, wagons, barrels, wheelbarrows, carts, and bones creating a tattered display of the chaos of that day left behind. The Market Square Plaza bore the scars of many battles: makeshift barricades, scorch marks, broken weapons, armour scraps, and a few scattered corpses. Many rats scurried about, crows picked over the remains, and a thin, silvery-purple mist hung in the air. Looking up, they could see the Cosmological Clocktower piercing through the fog.

A thick cloud of Deep Haze surrounded the Clocktower, but Ugo conjured a magical gust of wind that blew a clear corridor along the side of the tower base and allowed the heroes to rush around to the copper double doors and into the interior. The tower interior was a dramatic contrast to the elegantly decorated outer facade. The walls were exposed brick, and a rickety wooden staircase ascended the interior supported by a wrought-iron scaffold. The decorative exterior windows allowed some light to pass into the tower; many along the way were shattered and broken. The stone floor was covered in dust, bone, debris, and avian faeces. Gears connected by chains, stacks of heavy dangling counterweights on pulleys, and pendulum mechanisms hung down the northern wall. High above could be seen the bells.

The Haze still permeated the ground floor and so the heroes began ascending the circling wooden stairs. They were about two-thirds of the way up when they heard a screech and saw several winged figures detach from higher up the stairway and swoop towards them. As the figures approached the heroes could see they had female forms with almost bat-like wings, the figures began singing and Ugo and Velvet seemed to be enchanted by the song while the rest of the party heard it as horrid screeches and caws.

Dalin didn’t dare risk another fireball in case they destroyed the wooden staircase, so the heroes had to fight the harpies with their melee weapons. Romy was able to use her commanding presence to snap Ugo and Velvet out of their enchanted states so that they could join the fray, though in his exhausted state Velvet was finding it difficult to shoot his bow as effectively as normal.

The fight was hard but the heroes won out and as the last of the harpies dropped lifelessly to the floor over a hundred feet below, they paused to catch their breath and look up towards the rest of the tower and whatever awaited them above …

Team Gnarl answer the Call of the Netherdeep – session 4 – Gloom and Doom

The characters:

• Badger – Ginger, a male halfling Gunslinger.
• Hinesh – Gnarl, a male kobold Way of Mercy monk physician.
• Lyam – Tezmin, a male harengon warlock of the Genie (dao)
• Sarah – Silver, a female goblin artificer/weretiger
• Tom – Mercutio, a male air genasi college of Tragedy bard, reborn in skeletal form

As may be apparent, we are utilising several non-WotC sources for this campaign. In addition to the usual 5e books, characters were able to draw upon the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, Tal Dorei Reborn, Gunslinger, and after an interesting roll on the Heroic Chronicle for Sarah’s character, Children of the Moon from Grim Moon Studio’s Nightfell setting.

Miresen, 7th Fessuran, 836 PD

With the landscape around them bathed in the blood-red moonlight of Ruidus, the heroes took a very cautious night’s rest, Mercutio singing a short lament before settling down.

Crimson orb of dread,

Clouds shield us not from your light

Or your wretched curse

Grissen, 8th Fessuran, 836 PD

When they awoke the next morning they still felt uneasy but gathered their gear and began making their way along the caravan route once more. It was approaching midday when they saw a pair of mammoths in the distance being harried by a dark flying shape. As they got closer they saw one of the mammoths strike the flying creature with its trunk, causing it to rise up into the air out of reach. It was then that the flying creature noticed the heroes’ group and swooped towards them with an unearthly screech.

It looked like a gigantic bat but it seemed to be trailing smoke behind it as it flew at them. The heroes prepared to face the creature and spread out slightly so as not to present too tasty a target.

As the monster swept down on the group it let out an ear-splitting shriek that paralyzed the heroes and awakened the slumbering skeletal remains of a fallen soldier that had fought in a battle ages in the past. Thankfully the paralysis wasn’t long-lasting and the heroes quickly recovered and began battling the monster and the the awakened skeleton.

Mercutio tried to drive the bat-creature off with a Disonnant Whisper, calling out “Wings of ashen smog, Share not your malice with us, Lest you feel our wrath” but the beast seemed unaffected and responded by grasping the bard in one of its claws before launching itself skyward still holding Mercutio.

The monster rose up to a height of eighty feet and then dropped the bard, his impact with the ground knocking him unconscious.

Tezmin and Ginger pelted the flying monster with their spells and pistol shots, while Gnarl smashed the skeleton to pieces with a well-placed punch through its spine before rushing over to the called bard and reviving him, and Silver launched magical missiles to strike unerringly into the monster.

The creature again swooped down and unleashed a shriek that again paralyzed most of the heroes and awoke another five skeletons. Gnarl was one of the unparalyzed heroes and began smashing the unloving daylights out of the nearest undead.

Silver shrugged off the paralysis only to find the bat-like monster barrelling towards her and she was snatched up in one of its claws and borne aloft. The beast was showing signs of being quite injured and looked to be trying to carry the little goblin off to feast upon without interruption. Ginger took a long-range shot at the monster, clipping it but not enough to cause it to fall but it did release its prisoner.

Silver had a micro-second to choose to either try and grab hold of the creature’s leg or strike at it with her thunderous gauntlets. She chose to strike, her artifice-enhanced armour gauntlet smashing into the leg and making the beast cry out in pain before she fell earthward. Just before she hit the ground she saw the beast flying off with all the speed it could muster, in search of easier meals. The armoured goblin plummeted to the ground with a thump and lay motionless.

Gnarl continued to be a bane to the skeletons, smashing them to smithereens with his bare fists and the remaining foes were quickly laid low and they rushed to see if they could do anything for Silver who still hadn’t moved.

Sadly, they found that the impact had killed her. Checking through her belongings they found a metal disc and when one of them touched it they heard Silver’s voice come from it, explaining that in the event of her death, they should take her bag of holding but be aware it would disappear and take anything inside with it after three days. While Tezmin went through the rest of her belongings, Gnarl performed a type of autopsy, taking blood samples, a tooth and a claw from their odd little goblin ally. Afterwards, Tezmin put her remains in the bag of holding and they moved on until they found a suitable site to make camp for the night once again.

While they made camp, Gnarl retrieved Silver’s remains and buried them in the wilds as Mercutio said a few words over the grave “Brilliant of mind, Beast-like goblin felled too soon, Gravity brings doom”.

Whelsen, 9th Fessuran – Folsen, 11th Fessuran, 836 PD

The next three days passed without incident, other than finding the grounded remains of another of the smoking bat creatures. The heroes examined the body carefully and noticed it had been brought down by multiple arrows and several blasts of lightning. Gnarl and Ginger took samples of its skin and meat and were able to deduce that its species had originated from the shadowfell and had a vulnerability to radiant damage.

The availability of forageable food was becoming scarcer. As afternoon drew to evening on the third day they reached a large stand of oak trees into which the well-rutted path disappeared, passing a wooden sign bearing the shepherd’s crook symbol of Melora, the Wild Mother and the words “Emerald Loop Caravan Stop”. The heroes dimly recalled that the oak grove was rumoured to be home to a pair of dryad sisters who let caravans rest here in safety as long as they were respectful and polite. As they followed the path through the trees they could smell the enticing scent of meat roasting ahead.

A family of goblins were busy making repairs to their home atop a full-grown horizonback tortoise, while several caravan wagons circled a bonfire at the centre of the clearing, and the heroes could see many people gathered around it cheerily sharing a meal. They introduced themselves and added some of their foraged items to the communal feast and took a share each while they had a pleasant evening chatting with those present.

Tezmin approached a pair of bugbear merchants and sold them Silver’s bag of holding for fifteen gold pieces, while Gnarl traded them the moon-touched spear he had pulled from the giant shark in the Emerald Grotto for some healing potions and gold coins.

Ginger spotted a young tiefling tending to his moorbounder mount and struck up a conversation with him, his name was Justice and along with his mount, Rice Pudding, they were scouts for the Aurora Watch along the caravan route between the Loop and Bazzoxan. Ginger asked if Rice Pudding could eat the bat creature’s flesh, explaining where it had come from. Justice informed him that the monster was called a gloomstalker and was a common nuisance in the area, its flesh was inedible to most but his moorbounder “has a cast-iron gut” and let Ginger feed her and even pet her while she munched the chunk of meat down.

After a pleasant evening, sharing food and stories with the gathered merchants, Aurora Watch members and goblins, everyone took to their beds and slept soundly, the soldiers taking the night watch.

Yulisen, 12th Fessuran, 836 PD

They were rudely awoken when the bugbear merchants led a group of the Aurora Watch soldiers to their campsite, demanding Tezmin’s arrest. The bag of holding had disappeared in the night and they were accusing him of trickery. It was a tense moment but the soldiers remained calm and after hearing all the sides turned to the merchants and said “So he sold you what you believed to be a bag of holding which then disappeared, but you agreed to his asking price of only fifteen gold pieces knowing full well a bag of holding was worth considerably more? Gentlemen, this is over, you both learned a valuable lesson to not try to pull a fast one lest you be the one being the victim. Sorry to have woken you for nothing folks, good day”. As the soldiers began to head back to their bedrolls and pack up one of them turned to Tezmin, “You know you’re very familiar, do I know you from somewhere?” the harengon quickly denied having met the soldier “I just have one of those faces I guess” and the soldier walked away.

As they all ate some porridge that had been cooked beside the bonfire they saw another caravan entering the clearing, amongst which were the blue-skinned genasi, Ayo, and her companions. Before they could talk to them though, a courier rushed from the caravan to Mercutio, handing him a sealed letter. The bard’s curiosity was piqued, and he eagerly opened the letter and read it to himself. As he read his mouth fell open, and he clutched the letter to his chest as he broke out into as wide a smile as his skeletal face would allow. He had been requested to perform at one of the most prestigious theatres in Rosohna and was to be escorted there immediately by the courier and an escort of Aurora Watch to perform for several high-ranking members of the Kryn Dynasty!

The heroes were sad to see him go but wished him luck as he pursued his dreams further afield, as they each declared that should their paths cross in the future they would be welcomed …

This was Tom’s last session with us as he’s off to live in New York before we meet up again. We wish him all the best in his American adventures and there’ll be a seat waiting for him at the table when he visits.

Gnome Force Ultra delve the Dungeons of Drakkenheim – session 7 – Human Guinea Pigs

The characters:

• Jack – Dalin Light, a female tiefling Light Cleric of the Sacred Flame.
• Steve – Ugo, a male human Warlock of the Genie (Dao).
• Morgan – Romy, a female human Fighter Commander seeking troops to heroically lead.
• Jon – Velvet “Vel” Claw, a male tabaxi (foxkin) Rogue Scout for hire.
• Lee – Captain Boots, a male tabaxi Rogue Swashbuckler privateer between ships.

Fireday, 12th Springtide, Year 1.126

Standing at the garden gates of Reed Manor, the heroes noticed the absence of its usual hulking gardeners. Smoke still rose from the chimney and light could be seen through the cracks in the window shutters so they were reassured that someone was still in residence. They knocked on the front door and a moment later the eyehole was opened by one of the apprentices, after the heroes told them they were there to talk to Oscar about testing his serum they were allowed to enter and shown to the lounge. All the tables were full of alchemical apparatus while the majority of the chairs were piled up with books, jars and other paraphernalia. Only two chairs were left clear, these were positioned before the fireplace. The heroes were left to decide whether to sit or stand as one of the apprentices went to inform Oscar he had visitors and a few minutes later he came into the room carrying a small wooden crate.

“I’m glad you decided to accept my request, I even have a second dose ready so that we can get comparative results” announced the sweaty mage. The heroes asked how long the potion would last, what to expect and how soon should they take it before entering the Haze.

“Potion? Oh no, not quick acting enough, we learned that on previous tests. No, you need to inject the serum directly into the heart” Oscar announced calmly as he lifted one of a pair of quite robust syringes from the crate, the heroes’ eyes widened in shock but they could see they contained a thick swirling orange fluid. “One dose should protect a person for up to six hours by our calculations”

The heroes took the two syringes and as they were leaving Oscar reiterated the instructions for their use, adding that if they found any purple lilies in the garden to bring them back for him so he could make more.

The heroes began making their way back towards Shephard’s Gate quietly discussing who would take the serum. They finally agreed that Romy and Ugo would test the serum but the discussion had been so distracting that they had gotten themselves turned around and wound up on the northwestern edge of town before they realised. Paying more attention, they once again marched into the Outer City and made their way to and through the Gate and to the Hooded Lantern Garrison where they decided to take advantage of the hospitality so as to have a fresh start the next day.

While resting, Romy enquired if someone could check the garrison’s records for information on her father’s last mission and one of the squires was assigned to do so.

Starsday, 13th Springtide, Year 1.126

After eating the meagre porridge of the garrison’s mess hall the heroes set off on their first foray into the Inner City proper. Aware that the Lanterns had warned them that it was much more dangerous than the Outer City, and so they moved with caution. They headed for a landmark that was easily visible, the ruined Academy’s Inscrutable Tower as it still towered over the taller buildings.

They were almost at the edge of the thicker Haze that surrounded both the Tower and the Queen’s Park Garden when they found themselves surrounded by shambling figures coming from alleyways and ruins around them. Velvet bound up onto the remnants of a nearby low roof and began peppering the approaching undead with his bow while the others prepared to defend themselves in close-quarters combat.

Despite being outnumbered the heroes made very short work of the undead, even the armoured wight falling under the combined assault of Romy’s longsword, Dalin’s sceptre and Ugo’s magic, and they took a moment to gather themselves before the two humans let their comrades stab the syringes into their chest. The puncture wounds leaked a little of the orange fluid before magically closing up and the heroes made their way as close as they could to the thick purple fog of the Deep Haze.

Dalin, Velvet and Boots took up defensive positions to await their allies’ return as they watched Romy and Ugo disappear into the swirling, sparkling purple mists. Romy and Ugo felt a prickling sensation all across their bodies, like pins and needles or static. They began searching the expansive gardens, walking along the pathways between the raised flower beds, barely able to see further than thirty feet ahead, after an hour they found themselves at the outer edge though further around to the north from where they had entered, and turned around and headed back in. It took another two hours of searching before they came across a larger section that housed a pond. The surface of the water was choked with purple algae around the edges but further towards the centre Romy spied a trio of water lilies. Using her longsword the warrior tested the depth of the pond, finding it to be only around two and a half feet deep, at least at the edge, and began wading towards the lilies. She had gotten about halfway when the algae coalesced and rose up to attack her!

From the safety of the pathway, Ugo hurled magic at the purple blob as it struck at Romy with pseudopods. The warrior was focused on the flowers though and used her blade and warpick to sever the stalks and gather the trio of blooms while dodging the clumsy swipes of the algae monster. Her prizes safely in her grasp she sloshed back to Ugo as quickly as the knee-deep water would allow and as they moved away from the pond they realised that the creature wasn’t pursuing them. It was then that they realised that the lilies were yellow, not purple, but made their way out to rejoin their companions.

The heroes headed back to Reed Manor via Shepherd’s Gate, the journey being without incident and were eagerly received by Oscar and his apprentices. Oscar had what felt like a hundred questions for Romy and Ugo about the efficacy of his serum and any effects they may have suffered but they were relieved to report that it did appear to work exactly as he had described. Sadly the same could not be said about the lilies, they were indeed yellow and not the ones he needed, but Oscar was sure he could find a use for them and gladly paid the heroes three hundred gold pieces for them.

The heroes decided to make their way back to Emberwood Village, and the journey was happily uneventful. They reached the welcome sight of the sleepy town early in the evening and settled down to rest in their rented accommodation.

Sunday, 14th Springtide, Year 1.126

Despite it being the weekend, Romy and Boots were able to visit the smithy of Tobias Crowe & Sons and retrieve their new weapons, while Dalin visited the chapel and received some training from Flamekeeper Hanna so that she could perform the contamination removal spell. In the afternoon they decided to head back into the Outer City for a few hours hunting for delerium and managed to acquire several pieces before returning home.

They visited the Gilded Lily to see if River was there and indeed the mage was in her usual seat. They told her that Oscar’s serum worked and the tiefling again asked on behalf of the Academy if they could steal or copy the outlaw mage’s research notes so that they could produce the serum also. Romy suggested they simply work with Oscar rather than treat him like a criminal and River told her that while she mostly agreed with her, the ruling bodies of the Academy had declared Oscar and those like him as outlaws, and no longer part of the Academy. As such the Knights of the Sacred Flame had orders to kill them on sight. Everyone looked at Dalin and she simply said “Just because they have the same faith doesn’t mean we have the same ideals”. They bid River a good evening and returned to their cottage for the night.

Moonday, 15th Springtide, Year 1.126

The heroes made their way to Caravan Court and sold their delerium to Fairweather Trades & Exports before strolling across to see Aldo at his wagon. For the first time, they didn’t find him eating something. Velvet enquired if he had any magical bows available and the large man informed them that he had a bundle of half a dozen magical arrows or a simple magical short bow, the arrows being five hundred gold pieces while the bow was a thousand. The foxkin had to dig deep but managed to get a thousand together and bought the bow. Romy asked if Aldo had any unusual items and after pondering for a moment he reached up and pulled, twisted and turned several drawer knobs before pulling open the bottom drawer to reveal a pair of goggles. “These will allow you to see as well in the dark as your furry friends here” declared the merchant, “a steal at a mere nine hundred gold pieces”. Romy hummed and harred for a few moments before finally agreeing and buying the goggles. After wishing him a good day they gathered their gear and made their way back up to the Lantern Garrison.

They rested in the barracks until late afternoon, then set out once again towards the Queen’s Park Garden, hoping that the nightly drop in the Haze would allow them to search for the lilies Oscar needed to produce more serum more easily …

Team Gnarl answer the Call of the Netherdeep – session 3 – hit the road

The characters:

• Badger – Ginger, a male halfling Gunslinger.
• Hinesh – Gnarl, a male kobold Way of Mercy monk physician.
• Lyam – Tezmin, a male harengon warlock of the Genie (dao)
• Sarah – Silver, a female goblin artificer/weretiger
• Tom – Mercutio, a male air genasi college of Tragedy bard, reborn in skeletal form

As may be apparent, we are utilising several non-WotC sources for this campaign. In addition to the usual 5e books, characters were able to draw upon the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, Tal Dorei Reborn, Gunslinger, and after an interesting roll on the Heroic Chronicle for Sarah’s character, Children of the Moon from Grim Moon Studio’s Nightfell setting.

Conthsen, 3rd Fessuran, 836 PD

With the huge shark dead and the emerald necklace in the hands of the other group of adventurers, the heroes began filing out through the newly opened fissure towards the golden glow. Tezmin decided to bring up the rear and delay the other teams using the fissure as long as possible.

The narrow passage led south and upwards until the heroes found themselves emerging from the water into a relatively large cavern, with breaks in the ceiling showing sunny skies above – odd considering they had entered the grotto at dusk and had only been down here less than quarter of an hour. Several trees grew in this new chamber, arrayed around a central crystal pedestal that seemed to grow out of the floor naturally. Resting upon the pedestal was the source of the glow, a golden amulet on a thin gold chain.

Silver was at the head of the group and eagerly grasped the golden amulet, the moment her little hand closed upon it all of the heroes received a vision of a spectral figure of a man rising from it. Dressed in a tattered red cap and leather armour and shield, his face was framed by curly brown hair and had a melancholy expression. “I am imprisoned, help me!” he pleaded.

Suddenly, the ground vanished beneath their feet, and they fell, tumbling through a vortex of golden light. Deeper, deeper, deeper, then suddenly stopped. The golden light subsided, and they found themselves suspended in a pitch-black expanse. They could feel water buoying them. A crimson light appeared in the distance, illuminating the melancholic warrior, who looked to be shackled to the ground by red fleshy tendrils.

He raised his gaze to the heavens and, sobbing, choked out, “Moon Weaver, I beg of you. Guide those with the power to save me to the site where first I prayed to you.” He looked around, and his eyes settled on the heroes. “Oh, gods, there you are! My name is Alyxian. I am lost in darkness. Long ago, I prayed to the Change Bringer in the heart of a temple of evil. I beg you, take my jewel and…”

Consciousness left them as the pressure of the water began crushing the life out of them. Alyxian’s voice was the last thing you heard before you passed out. “Save me. Please.”

The heroes awoke as they were being dragged clear of the surf by the other group, as they regained their feet the blue-skinned genasi told them that once they entered the fissure she and her companions heard a muffled voice but couldn’t make out the details. Then the glow disappeared and the heroes all collapsed. She had no idea how long they would be unconscious for they couldn’t just leave them there and so she ordered her team to pull them ashore.

Tezmin asked if they were planning on giving them the emerald back but the genasi grinned and nodded towards the golden amulet still clutched in Silver’s hand “I’m sure you’ve grabbed something worth a lot more than a mere hundred gold coins there, but to show no hard feelings the first round’s on us”.

With that both groups made their way along the shore to where the Elders and the crowd awaited, unaware that the contestants had exited the grotto by a different route. The genasi, Ayo, presented Elder Ushru with the emerald and to the cheers of the crowd he announced her team as the champions of the Festival of Merit. As a consolation, he informed the heroes that a room had been provided at the Broken Tusk for them to rest the night, and both groups headed to the inn.

True to her word, Ayo bought the first round for both groups, and during the evening they had a drinking contest and several rounds of gambling amongst themselves before finally heading to bed in the early hours of the morning.

Folsen, 4th Fessuran, 836 PD

The heroes were awoken by a knock at their door, and the voice of Elder Ushru asking them to join him for breakfast downstairs as he wished to discuss something important with them. Once downstairs they saw Ayo and her crew at an adjacent table and gave them a warm greeting before joining Ushru for breakfast. The orc Elder made pleasant conversation as they ate for several minutes before his tone became more serious.

“A vision came to me last night. A golden amulet rose to the surface of a pool of blood, and countless hands lunged upward out of the blood to grasp it. In turn, all the hands fell back into the pool until only one remained. The one whose hand claimed the amulet was a handsome man with curly hair and a sombre expression. He turned to me and said, ‘They must find me. The ones from the grotto.’ Tell me, did anything happen to you in that place that would help me understand this vision?”

The heroes showed him the amulet and told him what had happened to them when Silver had first picked it up. Ushru didn’t recognise the name Alyxian but suggested they head for the temple at Bazzoxan, “Bazzoxan is a grim town under the control of the Aurora Watch, not a pleasant place to visit. But if what you tell me is true, what you have found is likely a Vestige of Divergence, an enchanted relic from the time of the Calamity known as the Jewel of Three Prayers. People do not stumble upon Vestiges without a reason. And there is no place in Xhorhas where the memory of the Calamity lingers more strongly than in Bazzoxan.”

Bazzoxan was a week and a half walk away from Jigow so the heroes gathered a few supplies and set off around midday at a leisurely pace, foraging for game and edible plants as they went. The rest of the day and the day following passed without incident and they camped out under the night sky.

Da’laysan, 6th Fessuran, 836 PD

As the group travelled south towards the Emerald Loop caravan stop they became aware of a figure travelling parallel to them. While it was too far away to determine details, they could see it was a humanoid riding some type of quadruped. It matched their pace and direction for a couple of hours before veering off and away into the distance. Despite keeping an eye out for it, they didn’t see it return for the rest of the day.

Miresen, 7th Fessuran, 836 PD

Shortly after midday, they noticed the rider once again paralleling their course, they decided to veer towards it to see if it too adjusted its course but instead, the rider turned towards them, and as it did so it was revealed that there were two of them that had been riding in such a way as to disguise their numbers. As they got closer the heroes could see it was a pair of lizardfolk riding muscular panthers with tusks.

The heroes approached and called out a friendly greeting but as the riders got closer they saw them reach for the javelins they were carrying and realised they were definitely not friendly.

Tezmin conjured an area of spikey growth around their mounts before backing away from his companions. Unfortunately, the moorbounders coiled their powerful back legs underneath themselves and sprang out of the area of the harengon’s spell and right amongst the heroes, stabbing out with their javelins while their mounts clawed at their targets too.

Mercutio cast a Disonant Whisper spell at the lizardfolk nearest to him, “Thou shalt feel the wrath of sin, as my utterance flays thine skin”, but the reptilian shrugged the insult away as it stabbed his weapon into the bard and its mount’s claws tore into him. Mercutio fell unconscious from the attacks, while Silver succumbed to her animalistic side and leapt at the rider, her claws slashing wildly at him. Ginger and Tezmin used their ranged attacks to strike the other rider, knocking his lifeless form from the saddle and his moorbounder began charging back the way it had come. As it passed by Gnarl, the little kobold monk grabbed the harness holding the saddle on and was pulled along for the ride.

Gnarl tried to call the beast to a halt but its injuries and desire to get as far from the combat as it could. Once he realised it wasn’t listening to his calls to halt he acrobatically somersaulted from the saddle and began making his way back to his companions.

Meanwhile, the remaining rider and mount were continuing to fight on. The heroes managed to slay the rider and despite Silver’s cries to capture not kill the fleeing moorbounder, Ginger’s pistol ended its life with a well-placed shot to its rear.

The heroes regrouped, searched the lizardfolk’s corpses and even managed to salvage some moorbounder meat for their evening meal before setting off once more, travelling until they needed to make camp.

After their evening meal, they were preparing to settle down for the night when the landscape was suddenly awash with crimson light. Ruidus, the red moon flared, making their surroundings look eerily blood-soaked.

Long thought to be a sign of bad luck, the red moon’s appearance could only bode ill for the heroes …

Gnome Force Ultra delve the Dungeons of Drakkenheim – session 6 – Dwarven Dealings

The characters:

• Jack – Dalin Light, a female tiefling Light Cleric of the Sacred Flame.
• Steve – Ugo, a male human Warlock of the Genie (Dao).
• Morgan – Romy, a female human Fighter Commander seeking troops to heroically lead.
• Jon – Velvet “Vel” Claw, a male tabaxi (foxkin) Rogue Scout for hire.
• Lee – Captain Boots, a male tabaxi Rogue Swashbuckler privateer between ships.

Tidesday, 9th Springtide, Year 1.126

Having been asked to deliver the Academy’s proposal to the dwarven miners, the heroes retired to their rented accommodation for the night so that they could set out fresh in the morning.

Windsday, 10th Springtide, Year 1.126

After waking up the heroes gathered at the Bark & Buzzard for some breakfast and Boots suggested visiting Caravan Court before leaving town so they did so. Boots asked Aldo if he still had the dagger for sale and the large man confirmed that it was indeed still available for four hundred gold coins. Boots handed over the money and Aldo retrieved the dagger from his strange wagon and gave it to the tabaxi.

The heroes made the trek to the outer city and began heading towards the area known as the Scar where the dwarven mining operation and smithy were located. As they got closer the haze thickened uncomfortably, reducing vision to no more than fifty feet in any direction.

As the group neared the sound of digging a rugged voice called out “If ye be beasties ye’ll be getting a bullet!”, to which the heroes responded that they were people, not monsters, and cautiously approached.

The dwarven camp was an open-air forge with a small brick office building, surrounded by spiked barricades with three raised wooden platforms sporting what Boots identified as cannons. Bedrolls were scattered around a small cooking fire where a pot of stew bubbled lazily. Several dour dwarves watched from close by as the group approached and were greeted by a female dwarf with her hair tied back in three braids.

They explained that they had brought a message from the Amethyst Academy regarding a trade deal and the dwarf joked about Lanterns being errand boys for the Academy now. She read the letter from Master Runeweaver and then told the group that while the Academy was requesting an exclusive contract they already had an existing contract with another party for a percentage of their find in exchange for protection.

“Actions speak louder than words, work a night shift protecting this place and I’ll see that my kin give your offer due consideration,” she asked. Sadly the effects of the Haze were taking a toll on the heroes and they felt in no position to be able to spend the rest of the day and the night remaining in the area, so they told her they would have to do so another time and began making their way back to Emberwood Village.

They had only been walking for about half an hour when they saw a group of humanoids approaching up the street. Dog-like muzzles and fur-covered bodies revealed them to be Garmyr, and they were armed with an assortment of bows and weapons. As they spotted the heroes the Garmyr gave yips and howls as they charged forwards.

The pair armed with bows held back, trading bowshots with Boots and Velvet, while the rest met Romy further up the street in a tangled maelstrom of slashing blades and smashing picks. Ugo and Dalin provided spell support where needed, and it wasn’t very long at all before all but one of the dog-men lay dead on the ground, the sole survivor scurrying off into the ruins before the heroes could catch him.

The heroes cautiously made their way on to Emberwood Village, fully expecting the Garmyr to return with reinforcements but were relieved to reach the village without further incident. They went straight to the Gilded Lilly to report to River and found the tiefling sat at her usual table, her raven familiar perched atop the high-backed chair. After telling her of the dwarves’ position, she said that while disappointing she could certainly see their point of view. The heroes asked River if she could do anything to help Boots and Ugo, as both had begun to exhibit visible mutations caused by contamination. The mage agreed to help and began mixing alchemical solutions in her now empty drink glass and performed a purging spell upon each of them. Restored to normality, Boots asked if there was any reward for delivering the message to the dwarves, “Yes,” replied River with a smile, “you just spent it on the components for those spells”.

“A little bird told me that you recently paid a visit to a certain Oscar Yoren, maybe he has something that could help you last the night. The Academy would certainly pay well for a sample of his serum, and even better for a copy of his research notes.” the tiefling added as she caught the barman’s attention and signalled for another drink. The heroes bid her a good evening and returned to their rented cottage to rest, the magic that had forced the contamination from Boots and Ugo had left them exhausted.

Earthsday, 11th Springtide, Year 1.126

Over breakfast the next morning the heroes agreed to head back to Reed Manor and see if Oscar’s offer of field testing his serum was still open. Before they left town, Romy popped into the Watchtower and brought Petra up to speed with what they had been doing. The Hooded Lantern Lieutenant agreed with Romy that an arrangement between the Lanterns and the dwarves would be beneficial though would stretch the Lantern’s resources even thinner. Romy asked if there were any tasks for them to carry out in the meantime but Romy said she had no new orders for them as yet.

The heroes made their way to the outer city and to the ferry landing, they didn’t have to wait long after ringing the bell before the familiar sight of Stick rowing his boat appeared. The fog that usually hung over the river was little more than wispy clouds today and as Stick suddenly stopped rowing halfway across, the heroes could see another boat approaching. A group of half a dozen men were rowing upriver and both boatloads gave each other a courteous nod of greeting as they passed by. Stick still sat unmoving, as the other boat reached level with the city wall.

The heroes heard a crunching noise as the decorative dragons atop the towers on either side of the river detached from their tower roofs and took flight. The other boat was frantically rowing but before they could reach either shore the dragons both dove down and smashed into and through the boat. Dragging its passengers beneath the surface of the murky waters. As quickly as they had dove under, the dragons flew up out of the water, returning to their respective perches, but other than some small wooden debris there was no sign of the boat or its passengers.

With the dragons looking like they’d never moved, Stick began rowing once again and soon deposited the heroes on the opposite landing. Shouldering their packs the heroes continued their trek through the ruins, giving Temple Gate a wide birth as it was still under the control of the Garmyr, before heading towards Shepherds Gate. The guards let them through once they recognised them and they entered the inner city and went straight to the garrison.

Once they reported in they were directed to Captain Ansom where they repeated the report they had given to Petra back at the Watchtower. Ansom confirmed the request to offer the Lanterns protection to the dwarves if the heroes returned there and told them to get some food in the mess hall.

While they ate Romy noticed one of the older Lanterns sitting across the hall kept watching her but looking away when she returned his gaze. Curious, she went over and spoke to him. He apologised for any offence he may have caused but she looked a lot like someone he used to know. As they talked, she learned that his name was Luther Hess and he had served with her father during the Civil War. He knew her father had last been seen when he led a mission into the city that no one came back from. He didn’t know where in the city they had gone to but suggested she try asking the paige’s to search the records. They said goodbye and she rejoined her companions as they made their way down to the barracks for the night.

Fireday, 12th Springtide, Year 1.126

The heroes ate a fairly bland breakfast in the mess hall before heading out of the garrison and returning through the Shepherds Gate to the outer city. They skirted around to avoid the College Gate and as they travelled up one of the roads they were accosted by a trio of floating apparitions.

Ahead of them was what looked to be a semi-corporeal female form, while behind them was a pair of smoky wraiths. Velvet let fly an arrow at the lone female and watched in dismay as it appeared to have very little effect upon her before he ducked behind the broken wall of a nearby house. Romy and Boots stepped forward weapons at the ready as both had magical blades that should be able to damage the ghostly apparitions.

The wraiths were surprisingly swift and flew into melee with the heroes, their claws grasping with a chill from beyond the grave. The female figure closed the distance and let out an ear-splitting shriek that left Velvet, Boots and Romy standing with their heads ringing and incapacitated.

Thankfully Dalin’s faith in the Sacred Flame saved the day, as she held her holy symbol aloft and repulsed the floaty undead with the power of her conviction. The warp witch and one of the wraiths fled into the foggy streets while the rest of the heroes quickly dealt with the remaining wraith. They briefly entertained the idea of chasing after the witch but decided to not tempt their fate and instead made haste to reach Reed Manor …

Team Gnarl answer the Call of the Netherdeep – session 2 – race through the Emerald Grotto

The characters:

• Badger – Ginger, a male halfling Gunslinger.
• Hinesh – Gnarl, a male kobold Way of Mercy monk physician.
• Lyam – Tezmin, a male harengon warlock of the Genie (dao)
• Sarah – Silver, a female goblin artificer/weretiger
• Tom – Mercutio, a male air genasi college of Tragedy bard, reborn in skeletal form

As may be apparent, we are utilising several non-WotC sources for this campaign. In addition to the usual 5e books, characters were able to draw upon the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, Tal Dorei Reborn, Gunslinger, and after an interesting roll on the Heroic Chronicle for Sarah’s character, Children of the Moon from Grim Moon Studio’s Nightfell setting.

Conthsen, 3rd Fessuran, 836 PD

J1 Pie eating contest, J2 mini maze, J3 Swimming race, J4 Arm wrestling, J5 Paddy field, J6 Horizonback herding, J7 Riddle contest, J8 Temple of the Luxon, J9 Helter-Skelter, J10 Black Islands

Elder Colbu Kaz gave each contestant a potion bottle, explaining that it was a potion of water breathing and that its magic would last for one hour. Elder Ushru stood before the mouth of a cave in one of the basalt rocks and addressed the crowd and the competitors. “You brave and valiant individuals have triumphed in many challenges this day; now, the final Test of Merit awaits you!” He pulled a palm-sized gold-and-emerald amulet from his robes, held it aloft, and declared: “This medal’s twin has been placed in the deepest cavern of the Emerald Grotto. Be the first to claim the Emerald Eye and return it to this place to be declared Jigow’s Champions of Merit, and receive the one hundred gold piece grand prize!”, he turned to the two teams of adventurers. He quietly added “I suggest you drink your potions in readiness”, and the assembled figures all quickly quaffed their potions. Turning back to the crowd he raised his arms and loudly announced “Begin, now!”.

The heroes were the quickest to respond, splashing awkwardly into the water-filled tunnel leading into the grotto. They had to go in single file and Ginger used a light cantrip to illuminate their path as they had swam half crawled through the narrow passage until they reached the first chamber.

Fronds of kelp swayed back and forth in the current, blocking a clear view of the way ahead and they had to force their way through to the southern side of the chamber before finding the way onwards. This led to a forked tunnel where they could continue southward or turn to the east. After a very brief discussion, intensely aware that the other group were hot on their heels, the heroes chose the eastern route and followed the tunnel in a snaking path to the next chamber.

This larger chamber was dimly lit by glowing algae that lined the walls and the stone columns that supported the ceiling. Tezmin and Silver took a moment to scrape some of the algae into their now empty potion bottles, giving themselves a very slight light source. The chamber exit was low on the southern wall and partly blocked by waving bone-white seagrass. Mercutio swam through it, noticing that it seemed to reach out and try and grasp him as he passed through, and called a warning back to his companions. The rest of the heroes swan through but Silver got her leg entangled by the grass and felt a wave of necrotic energy pulse into her leg.

Her allies helped pull her free before the seagrass could entrap her further and they continued into the next chamber.

This chamber was larger, and they could see that the water didn’t quite fill it, leaving the top ten feet of the cave in the open air. Several large cracks in the ceiling allowed the light of the rising red moon, Ruidus, to filter through casting an eerie bloody glow throughout the chamber.

Their movements as they entered created several waves which caused the loose the dirt and stone of the chamber walls to come loose and despite trying their best they all got caught to some degree in the minor landslide. The falling silt and stone partially blocked the exit from the chamber but also revealed a small cave to the east of the chamber. While her allies began clearing the exit of debris, Silver explored the side cave and discovered a potion of healing and a serviceable but waterlogged scroll, presumably hidden by a previous visitor on the chance that they would have been taking part in the race through the grotto.

Once they had the exit clear enough to squeeze through they progressed towards the next chamber, though Gnarl held back and once everyone else had passed through cast a Frostbite spell to try and block the tunnel behind them in case the other team were coming this way.

The next chamber was not as large but held the first signs of animal life they had seen, a small shoal of silvery, diamond-shaped fish swimming close to the centre of the chamber. After watching the fish for a moment the heroes recognised them as quippers, carnivorous fish with reputedly bad tempers.

Mercutio swan forward and tried his spell of Speak with Animals, attempting to calm the quippers and assure them that food was further back down the tunnel and that his skeletal form wasn’t edible. Sadly the only part of his message the quippers focused upon was the word food as they all began exclaiming “Food!”, “Food!” and swarmed to the attack.

The heroes had to fight quite hard as the ferocious little fish tried to bite the flesh from their bodies, Gnarl getting dropped unconscious in the process, but eventually, the heroes were able to kill the swarm of quippers, revive their kobold friend and swim on to the next chamber where they could see what looked like a light source moving around.

The water here is a little warmer, and a gentle current pulled toward a crevice in the south wall that emitted shimmering golden light. Prowling around the cave’s pillars was a massive shark. The emerald amulet hanging from a crude thick rope harness tied around the shark’s body was identical to the one that Elder Ushru had held aloft to begin the race, and a silver spear protruded from its side giving off a silvery light that danced across the walls of the cave as it swam.

Once again Mercutio attempted to talk with the animal, learning that the shark was angry that it had been tricked by a land-dweller who had placed the harness upon it and then trapped it in there. Before the bard could attempt to negotiate with the shark it sped forward, its toothy jaws wide and bit deeply into the reborn.

Tezmin tried to keep as far from the shark as possible as it manoeuvred through the cave, trying to pelt it with his eldritch blasts but having minimal success. Ginger took careful aim with his pistol at the harness, fully aware that he only had the shots currently loaded while submerged. His shot sped through the water, on target and hit the chunky rope, tearing a large wad off it away but the harness held in place as the shark swam at Silver, the little goblin artificer almost disappearing inside its maw.

Gnarl swam and tumbled across the shark’s back until he reached the embedded spear, planting his feet on the shark as he grasped the spear and tugged it free, causing the monstrous fish to snarl with pain.

Whilst none of the heroes were full clerics, many of them had limited healing magic and they were able to revive their companions as they continued to battle the shark and its vicious bite sent them repeatedly into unconsciousness.

Ginger managed to sever the harness with his final shot, and the amulet tumbled to the bottom of the cave. Silver scuttled over, grabbed the target of their search and hid amongst a patch of seaweed, unaware that the shark had seen where she went. The shark dove at the hiding goblin, tearing most of the seaweed apart as it thrashed and gnashed at her before letting her unconscious form once again drift to the cave floor, dropping the amulet beside her.

It was then that the heroes spotted the familiar figures of the other group entering from the tunnel to the west.

The goblin cleric looked up at the blue-skinned water genasi, and as she gave a nod, he bobbed along the cave floor to where Ginger’s unconscious form lay and used a spell to stabilise the halfling’s wounds. The drow wizard began casting a spell, sending a small black orb into the flank of the shark that suddenly expanded and seemed to suck everything nearby into itself for an instant.

The ogress, Maggie stalked forward waving her arms to attract the shark’s attention. It turned and swam at her, biting into her shoulder but Maggie seemed not to notice, smashing her maul into its hide as it continued past her to take a bite at the genasi.

Ayo, the genasi, while visibly hurt by the shark bite swam forward to where Silver lay, but instead of aiding the little goblin she picked up the amulet and swam back to her companions with it. Tezmin swam over to the fallen artificer, retrieving the potion she had found earlier and administering it to her while the rest of the two groups continued to assail the shark with their attacks.

Under their combined assault they were able to kill the shark, but as its life ended it began thrashing about in its death throes, cracking one of the pillars supporting the chamber’s ceiling, before finally smashing into the southern wall where the glowing crack was, the impact widening the crack as the shark’s body finally came to rest.

The crack had widened into a narrow passage from which poured forth a golden light …

Gnome Force Ultra delve the Dungeons of Drakkenheim – session 5 – Reset their Cache

The characters:

• Jack – Dalin Light, a female tiefling Light Cleric of the Sacred Flame.
• Steve – Ugo, a male human Warlock of the Genie (Dao).
• Morgan – Romy, a female human Fighter Commander seeking troops to heroically lead.
• Jon – Velvet “Vel” Claw, a male tabaxi (foxkin) Rogue Scout for hire.
• Lee – Captain Boots, a male tabaxi Rogue Swashbuckler privateer between ships.

Moonday, 8th Springtide, Year 1.126

Over a dozen dark-furred ratlings erupted from the alleyways around the heroes, ahead, behind and beside them. One of the ones ahead wielded a gnarled staff and the heroes recognised it as one of their spell casting shaman. It gestured toward the group of heroes and they felt the telltale pull of magic as Dalin found herself outlined in octarine flames.

The rest of the ratfolk surged forward, eager to get in melee with the heroes. As the clawing vermin drew near Dalin called out to his companions to shield their eyes, “You want light, have it!” and channelled her divine light out in a burst of radiant energy that incinerated every one of the rats save the shaman.

The shaman gave a loud squeaking cry which was answered by a roar from a nearby alleyway before disappearing. Boots advanced up to the ruined fountain and peered down the adjacent alley, his eyes wide as he saw the biggest ratling yet barrelling towards them.

Dalin put a prayer of blessing upon herself, Romy and Velvet, as the warrior cautiously advanced and the foxkin climbed onto a nearby roof as the ogre-sized ratling charged into Boots, swinging a wicked-looking blade that glistened with delerium.

The tabaxi pirate quickly backed away and took up position on another roof and the ratling ogre advanced upon Romy while Velvet and Dalin pelted it with arrows and spells. Despite the monster’s ferocity, it struggled to get a clean hit on Romy and the heroes quickly put it and the reappearing shaman down.

Taking a brief moment to catch their breath and take the ratling ogre’s delerium blade, the heroes continued their trek through the sprawl to Shepherd’s Gate. They informed the gate guards that they had been invited to Lantern’s Garrison and they were allowed to pass through the gate into the Inner City, though one of the gate guards accompanied them “in case you get lost”.

Once they reached the garrison their guide returned to the gate and they were allowed inside where Captain Ansom had been awaiting their arrival. He didn’t look particularly pleased to see them but led them into the main keep and up to the third floor where the leader of the Hooded Lantern’s awaited them.

A human man in his early fifties, Lord Commander Elias Drexel. Despite his age, he looked like he was still a capable warrior in his own right, and he stood looking over a map of the city with several wooden tokens placed upon it to represent various forces and places of interest. As Ansom led the party in Drexel looked up from the map and welcomed them.

He recounted the report that both Ansom and Petra had given him on the party’s endeavours in rescuing the captain from the ratling nest, giving Ansom a withering glare as he did so. Ending with the pair’s recommendation that the party be offered membership in the Lanterns. “I assume your arrival here confirms your wish to join us?” he asked. The party agreed and he produced an ornate badge of office from his belt pouch and each of the group swore their oath with their hand placed upon the badge in turn. Afterwards, he turned to Ansom, “Take them to the quartermaster for their gear, dismissed”.

Ansom led them back out of the keep and across the courtyard to a smaller tower, though this one had no windows. Inside they could hear the sound of hammering coming from chambers below and were led into a large chamber where numerous boxes and crates were stacked and being sorted by more Lanterns.

Ansom introduced them to the Quartermaster, an elven man with long straight black hair. The Quartermaster looked at the party appraisingly before diving into several of the boxes and producing green cloaks with the symbol of the lanterns on, one for each of them, and a leather satchel. “Keep this dry if possible,” he said as he pulled three small packages from the satchel, “These are your flares, set one on fire and toss it aside. It’ll make a plume of red smoke that will alert other nearby units that you are in dire need of aid. Don’t use them until you absolutely have to”.

Ansom thanked the Quartermaster and led the heroes back outdoors, as they walked he asked them if Petra had asked them to look into their missing potion delivery. The party confirmed that she had and that they intended to do so but wanted to start fresh the next day so he led them down to the barracks. “These used to be the dungeons but when we reclaimed the Garrison we learned that the Haze didn’t reach down here. So now we use them as our barracks. It’s not pretty but it’s safe. The mess hall is at the end of the corridor”. He led them to a cell with enough bunks in it for all of them before leaving to return to his duties and the heroes were able to rest until the following morning.

Tidesday, 9th Springtide, Year 1.126

Refreshed and ready to head out in their new cloaks, the party left the garrison and exited the Inner City via Shepherd’s Gate. They gave the Arcane Gate a wide berth again and circled around to the northern side of the Outer City that was once home to some of the wealthier families and their small estates.

As they approached Reed Manor they saw it was a run-down two-storey stone house surrounded by a rusting wrought-iron fence and an overgrown yard filled with shrubberies and brambles. The long, thin windows were boarded over from the outside, but light flickered within the ground floor. Several chimneys rose up from the slate-shingle rooftop, a light trail of smoke streaming from each. A collapsed small outbuilding, perhaps once a stable or shed, bordered the yard. A short cobblestone pathway led through the yard up to a small set of steps leading to the central double doors. A large, round iron
knocker hung on each. Before the doors is a fountain whose central decorative statue had crumbled away into the basin, which was filled with brackish rainwater and algae. A large fat toad sat beside the
water, croaking loudly as the party approached.

A pair of hulking figures wearing heavy brown overcoats with their hoods drawn up over their faces were in the garden. One stood at the front gate, while the other lumbered in a patrol around the manor grounds. At the party’s approach, the one at the gate grumbled in a deep, haltering voice “What you want?”. When they replied they were here on behalf of the Hooded Lanterns about the potion delivery it said “This way” and led them up to the front doors before knocking on it three times, returning to its post at the gate without waiting for a reply.

A moment later the small observation slat in the door opened and a male face peered out, the heroes explained again why they were there and the door was opened and the man ushered them indoors and into what looked like a dining room. Two more figures were there, all of them dressed in simple robes with leather aprons, and working with various glass apparatus and vials. From atop the cupboards lining one of the walls a bat, cat and rat sat watching the proceedings. The trio were Oscar Yoren’s apprentices and after explaining why they were there one of them disappeared through the north door to fetch him.

A few minutes later the apprentice returned with a short pudgy man, with pale skin and receding hair that seemed plastered to his head with sweat. Oscar apologised for the error with the potion delivery, explaining that he had been intent on his research and simply lost track of time. He ordered one of his apprentices to fetch the box of potions from the storeroom and while they waited he asked if the heroes would be interested in field-testing his latest creation. “I have created a serum that should allow the user to utterly ignore the effects of the dense clouds of Haze for around an hour or so. Sadly neither myself nor my apprentices have the physical fortitude to perform such a rigorous test but you look like you could manage it. What do you say? If it works just think of the use it could be for your fellow Lanterns”.

The heroes said they would think about it but for now, they just needed to get the potion delivery back to the Lanterns. The apprentice returned with a small crate that clinked as the potions within jostled. Oscar ordered one of the apprentices to make sure that future deliveries were kept on schedule and bid the heroes good day, returning to whatever his research was, and they took the crate and left.

They returned to the garrison and took the potions to the Quartermaster. “Excellent,” he said, “now they just need distributing to the supply caches”. The heroes were asked to resupply some of the caches in the Outer City and were given the locations of four. Each cache was to receive three potions, a bundle of sixty arrows and a sealed ceramic pot of salted meat for emergency rations. They decided to visit the cache at Eckerman’s Mill first in the event that the Amethyst Academy mage, River, was there.

The journey out to the mill was uneventful but when they arrived the mages camped there informed them that River had gone to Emberwood Village to meet with their superior. They refilled the cache, which was hidden in the hollow of a tree behind the mill, and set off for the next one that was located in the Sprawl a short distance south of the Rat’s Nest.

As they re-entered the Sprawl they got themselves a little turned around and found themselves back on the outer edge of the city before getting their bearings and heading back in. The cache was hidden in the storeroom of an abandoned florist shop. After dropping the supplies off they began heading south towards Stick’s ferry landing but the ever-present fog seemed to get worse and cut vision down to around thirty feet in all directions.

They saw a large shape looming in the street ahead and while Romy, Dalin and Ugo hung back with the supplies the two rogues crept forward to see what lay ahead. It was a humanoid the size of an ogre, with dark chitinous growths protruding from its skin like exposed bones. It seemed to be sniffing the air as it swung its head back and forth as Boots and Velvet took up hidden positions on either side of it.

However, it seemed to smell the fox-kin and with a howl, it ripped a chunk of its own belly flesh free in its meaty paw and flung it at the rogue. The disgusting grenade of flesh exploded all over the scout, covering him in viscera as the monster charged towards him. Boots dashed in, stabbing with his rapier and cracking his whip against the creature’s hide before dancing back into the concealing fog. Velvet ducked out of the monster’s reach and melted into the fog, hoping it would try to follow.

Unfortunately, it heard the movements of the other heroes and with an agility that belied its bulk, it spun about and charged at Romy. It smashed into the warrior with its massive fists, heavily damaging her. Velvet, Boots and Dalin rushed back towards the fight, the rogues firing their bows as soon as they could see the target through the fog and the cleric sending healing magic towards her ally. The fight was vicious but short-lived, and the heroes picked themselves up and continued their trek to the ferry landing.

The river crossing was uneventful and the heroes began making their way to the third supply cache’s location, an old Apothacrian store. The cache was hidden under a false floorboard behind the old shop counter. As the rest of the group put the supplies in place, Boots heard the sound of a jack-in-the-box playing from within an old toy shop a couple of doors down and went to investigate.

The sign outside read “Blinsky’s Toy Shoppe, If it’s no Blinksy’s, it’s no fun!” and the door was ajar. Boots cautiously entered the shop, standing just inside the doorway. Dust covered everything, the puppets hanging by their strings from the rafters, the discarded plush animals on the floor, and the counter at the far side of the room. Sitting on the counter was the jack-in-the-box, oddly not covered in dust. AS the swashbuckler watched a small, ivory pale hand reached up from behind the counter to push the box forward as a child-like voice called out “Play?”

Boots called back “No, it’s alright I’m just looking” and the voice responded angrily “Play!”. Boots picked up one of the plush animals, a threadbare teddy bear and was about to respond to the voice again when the bear turned in his hand, its claws growing and its face turning mean with a fang-filled maw. “Whaddya think you’re doing, Jack?” the bear snarled as it wriggled in his hand, and a small porcelain jester doll came running out from behind the counter at Boot’s legs.

The jester kept asking “Play?” as it charged across the shop floor and something in its voice triggered a childhood fear in the tabaxi. Boots threw the bear out into the street as the rest of his party came to investigate where he had gone. Dalin got to the doorway just in time to see the jester attacking Boot’s leg and sent a guiding bolt into the little monster, the radiant beam burning straight through its porcelain face and leaving it motionless on the floor.

Velvet had also reached the outside of the door as the bear came flying out, he watched as the tiny toy landed in the street, jumped back to its feet and charged into him, tiny claws slashing futilely at his legs. The foxkin picked the bear up by its scruff and pinned it to the wall with a piton. They were prepared to simply leave it there but the bear was slowly trying to pull itself free and continued a tirade of verbal abuse aimed at the rogue. Not wanting to wake up in the night to find the bear stabbing them or worse, they set it alight and watched it burn until it stopped moving before heading out to Emberwood Village and their last drop-off at the watchtower.

The journey to the village was relatively quiet and they dropped off the supplies at the watchtower, Petra commenting that the green cloaks looked good on them. She hadn’t received any new orders for them from the garrison so they left and went in search of River.

After asking around they were directed to the Gilded Lilly and upon entering they saw her sitting at a table with an older human gentleman in exquisite purple robes and a delerium-tipped staff leaning against the wall beside him. They approached the pair and when River saw them, she introduced them to her companion and him as “Eldrick Runeweaver, master of the Amethyst Academy”.

They spoke with Eldrick, the older wizard saying that River had told them of their success in acquiring the delirium chunk, and asked if they were looking for further gainful employment. The heroes said they were and he explained that a family of dwarven miners had begun a delirium extraction operation in the area known as the Scar, just south of the crater. The Academy wanted the heroes to approach the dwarves with an offer to purchase all the delerium they could produce, exclusively. The heroes agreed to do so and he gave them a sealed letter for the head of the dwarven operation …

Team Gnarl answer the Call of the Netherdeep – session 1 – let the festivities commence

The characters:

• Badger – Ginger, a male halfling Gunslinger.
• Hinesh – Gnarl, a male kobold Way of Mercy monk physician.
• Lyam – Tezmin, a male harengon warlock of the Genie (dao)
• Sarah – Silver, a female goblin artificer/weretiger
• Tom – Mercutio, a male air genasi college of Tragedy bard, reborn in skeletal form

As may be apparent, we are utilising several non-WotC sources for this campaign. In addition to the usual 5e books, characters were able to draw upon the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, Tal Dorei Reborn, Gunslinger, and after an interesting roll on the Heroic Chronicle for Sarah’s character, Children of the Moon from Grim Moon Studio’s Nightfell setting.

Conthsen, 3rd Fessuran, 836 PD

J1 Pie eating contest, J2 mini maze, J3 Swimming race, J4 Arm wrestling, J5 Paddy field, J6 Horizonback herding, J7 Riddle contest, J8 Temple of the Luxon, J9 Helter-Skelter, J10 Black Islands

The motley crew had met on the road, all heading to the coastal city of Jigow, and arrived just after lunchtime on the day of the local Festival of Merit. The centre of the city was a buzz of activity, with excited children and adults alike enjoying the festivities. As the heroes walked deeper towards the throng they were pushed past by a trio of running goblin children, the lead one hugging a steaming hand pie to its chest as a large orc woman called after them to berate them but still having a huge smile upon her face. A pair of Aurora Watch guards walked by, and they overheard one say to the other that his gauntlet had been crushed during an arm-wrestling match. Upon hearing this Silver marched up to him and offered to repair the gauntlet, the guard held his hand down and the goblin artificer used a mending cantrip to restore it to normal. The guard was thankful and showed his restored gauntlet off to his companion as the heroes walked on.

Several banners hung around the clustered building of the Jumble, advertising various festival activities and the heroes agreed that they must try everything! First up was a pie-eating contest, run by the large orc woman they had seen scolding the thieving children earlier.

Silver and Mercutio wanted to enter but the organiser, Agathe Silverspoon, refused to let the bard take part, saying that his lack of internal organs gave him an unfair advantage. Silver took her seat alongside three other contestants, a cocky male drow flexing his muscles, pointing at people in the gathering crowd and winking; a female halfling, sitting very still with a smirk on her face; and a young male human, scanning the crowd as if looking for someone. Everyone quickly ate their first pie, but then the cocky drow couldn’t finish his second one, and both Silver and the scruffy human failed on their third. the female halfling proudly finished her third pie with a resonating belch and was awarded her prize, a medallion of merit.

Not to let an initial defeat put a dampener on things the heroes moved on to the next activity, where an elderly goblin in robes sat before a trio of tables under a banner that read Test your wit with me, against these riddles threee.” The goblin was one of the city elders, Elder Colbu Kaz, and invited contestants to face a trio of puzzles, at the cost of two silver pieces a go, if anyone could correctly solve two of them they would receive one of his medallions of merit. Ginger and Mercutio entered the contest, and the heroes noticed a well-dressed drow gentleman in long robes intently watching the proceedings.

After attempting all three puzzles, Mercurio proudly raised a medallion of merit but Ginger was unsuccessful. The robed drow looked appraisingly at the skeletal bard and then walked away into the crowd.

Gnarl spotted a large ogress talking to a diminutive goblin beside the entrance to a wooden maze, as he approached he heard their conversation. The ogress was trying to convince the goblin to attempt the maze but the little goblin wasn’t willing to try. A tan-feathered aaracockra sat on a chair raised thirty feet in the air eagerly watching the people trying the maze. At the same time, an orc stood at the entrance taking the entrance fees and turning away anyone bigger than goblin.

Not even noticing the orc asking for his fee, Gnarl marched into the maze and began making his way through it. The orc was about to grab the kobold by his collar but Silver stepped forward and paid the entrance fee for her companion. The wiry little monk was about to walk into a dead end when he quickly spotted it and about turned before the watchful aaracockra could notice. Two or three more turns and Gnarl had made it to the exit, where another orc handed him his medallion of merit and he rejoined his companions, face beaming.

Silver, Tezmin and Mercutio then tried the horizonback herding, riding young horizonback tortoises along a course through the streets to the awaiting paddock. Even these younglings were between twelve and fifteen feet tall but still small compared to the massive size they would eventually grow to. A young orc named Adan was taking the entrance fees while a blue-skinned young woman who looked to have some orcish ancestry sat nearby watching the tortoises.

As the trio mounted their tortoises, Mercutio used a Speak With Animals spell to try and create a better bond with his, and as Adan led the way they began trying to guide their mounts along the route. Silver got bucked off her mount three times, even getting bitten a couple of times as she tried remounting, and Mercutio, despite his spell, ended up being carried by his mount into someone’s garden en route where the tortoise decided to eat their grass. Tezmin managed to get his mount to the paddock and received his medal of merit from Adan before the orc had to rush off to retrieve the other two.

Next, Ginger wanted to try the arm-wrestling where the drow guard had had his gauntlet crushed. It was being held outside the Butcher’s Slab. The ogress that had been talking to the goblin at the maze was taking part also and after both of them had defeated their first opponents they faced each other Ginger was able to defeat the ogress and then faced the current champion, a burly orc woman wearing the uniform of the Aurora Watch. It was close but the orc beat the halfling and remained champion.

As the companions regrouped at the paddock they could see another of the festival games nearby, its banner proclaiming it the Wetwalks Paddywhack. Two elderly goblin farmers were presiding over a free-to-enter rice harvesting race for teams of two. Tezmin and Silver partnered up, facing a pair of drow and a pair of orcs. Ginger wanted to enter but had no partner but the scruffy human from the pie-eating contest offered to partner him, introducing himself as Irvan. The goblins ran through the rules and started the race. The pair of orcs kept getting in each other’s way, and the drow were constantly bickering over who should be cutting the plants and who should be gathering. The race came down to Tezmin and Silver against Ginger and Irvan and the spry halfling and scruffy human found a rhythm that the others couldn’t match, winning their medallions of merit.

The final festival challenge was taking place at the docks, a rusty spear had been thrust into a wooden post a distance from the shore and contestants needed to swim against the current to retrieve the spear and bring it back to the referee, a goblin named Omo. Silver and Mercutio entered along with the blue-skinned woman from earlier, a lanky orc, a grumpy goblin and a human woman. At Omo’s whistle, they all ran into the surf and began swimming, most of them were struggling against the current as the race had been timed to take place with the incoming tide, except for the blue-skinned woman who seemed unphased by the current and she reached the spear and pulled it out before the closest of the other swimmers had passed the halfway mark.

It was then that Ginger and Tezmin noticed a pair of grey fins breaking the waves and heading towards the swimmers. With shouts of “Shark!” to alert the swimmers the pair took aim at the watery predators, Ginger fired his pistol as Tezmin launched bolts of eldritch energy. They managed to drive one of the fish off but the other lunged at the goblin swimmer and disappeared into the depths with him still struggling in his jaws. The remaining swimmers returned to shore, the blue-skinned woman handing the spear to Omo and receiving her medal of merit in return.

As the heroes regrouped a horn was blown calling everyone to the area the horizonback tortoises had started from, Elder Colbu Kaz was joined by an orc that many of the locals identified as Elder Ushru and they announced “Mighty warriors, brilliant strategists, you have impressed us with your feats of strength, your incisive wit, and your sturdy bellies,” he booms proudly. “But the main event, as you know, is yet to come. Only two teams will be chosen to compete in the final challenge—a race through the Emerald Grotto, in the depths of which the greatest prize awaits!”. The two elders consulted their notes on who had won the most medals of merit before announcing that the heroes and a group consisting of the blue-skinned woman, the well-dressed drow, the meek goblin, ogress and Irvan the scruffy human were the highest scoring teams, and led them to the southeastern shoreline where a group of black basalt rocks jutted out of the water.

Elder Colbu Kaz gave each contestant a potion bottle, explaining that it was a potion of water breathing and that its magic would last for one hour. Elder Ushru stood before the mouth of a cave in one of the basalt rocks and addressed the crowd and the competitors. “You brave and valiant individuals have triumphed in many challenges this day; now, the final Test of Merit awaits you!” He pulled a palm-sized gold-and-emerald amulet from his robes, held it aloft, and declared: “This medal’s twin has been placed in the deepest cavern of the Emerald Grotto. Be the first to claim the Emerald Eye and return it to this place to be declared Jigow’s Champions of Merit, and receive the one hundred gold piece grand prize! Begin, now!” …

Gnome Force Ultra delve the Dungeons of Drakkenheim – session 4 – Recovering the Relic

The characters:

• Jack – Dalin Light, a female tiefling Light Cleric of the Sacred Flame.
• Steve – Ugo, a male human Warlock of the Genie (Dao).
• Morgan – Romy, a female human Fighter Commander seeking troops to heroically lead.
• Jon – Velvet “Vel” Claw, a male tabaxi (foxkin) Rogue Scout for hire.
• Lee – Captain Boots, a male tabaxi Rogue Swashbuckler privateer between ships.

Sunday, 6th Springtide, Year 1.126

As Romy’s hand closed upon the sceptre she heard a voice in her head.

Darkness leaves a heavy burden on the heart.
The light brings freedom from the weight of sin.
If you would take up my sceptre,
it is not enough to merely bear the light.
You must illuminate yourself.

Casting her gaze back at the pyre behind her she said out loud, I’m not setting myself on fire and released her grip on the sceptre. Curious, Ugo stepped over and placed his own hand on the sceptre, hearing the same message and sighing as he let go, reassured that his companion wasn’t going insane.

The warrior maiden strode over to the doorway and called to Dalin, “This is some of your religious bullshit, you deal with!” passing into the northern chamber with the resting bodies while the cleric went to examine the statue and sceptre herself. After placing her hand on the sceptre and hearing the same ethereal voice in her head, the cleric tried lifting the sceptre but found it was extremely heavy and unliftable. She let go of the sceptre for a moment, and looked back at the pyre, considering if her natural resistance to flames would help if she immolated herself, but instead chose to cast a light cantrip upon herself.

Now glowing she reached out once more for the sceptre and was able to lift it clear of the statue’s hands, it felt no heavier than a standard staff. Dalin rejoined Romy and Ugo in the northern burial chamber and they shouted through the door to Boots to relay the request to Velvet above to swap the doors over once again. Once the foxkin had done so they all exited the undercroft via the stairs that led up behind the statue in the garden. Despite their best attempts to do so quietly, their ascent was heard by a group of rough-looking individuals that were searching around the chapel grounds.

Each of the humans bore some sort of burn mark, their leader’s being more prominent as the left-hand side of his face had been badly burned. The leader demanded they hand over the sceptre, and when they tried to deny having it he dismissed their claim, “You wouldn’t be leaving there empty-handed, and if you have, then we’ll take everything else you have anyway!” and then commanded his bandits to attack.

Ugo cast a crown of madness on one of the bandits, causing them to spend some of the battle stabbing at their own ally, while Boots and Velvet used their bows to pepper the bandits with deadly accuracy. The bandit leader saw this and ordered his own crossbowmen to focus upon the rogues and the pair were dropped unconscious from the return fire. The leader himself engaged Romy and Dalin in melee, his scimitar and dagger slashing back and forth at the heroes. While it looked as if the heroes were going to lose for a moment, Dalin used her divine magics to revive her two companions as the last of the bandits were dispatched and the heroes were then able to focus their attacks upon the remaining leader.

Once they were all dealt with, the heroes piled the bodies and set them alight to prevent them from coming back as undead at a later time. Gathering themselves back together they set off back towards Emberwood village. As they walked through the outskirts of the city they heard a sobbing woman from a nearby ruined building but decided to give who or whatever it was a wide berth and just get back to the safety of the village.

It was early evening when they reached the village and they remembered that they needed to pay for the further rental of their cottage so Dalin headed off to the Bark & Buzzard to do that and to then head to the cottage to examine the sceptre. The rest of the group headed to the Skull & Sword, as they entered they found it was a lot quieter than on Boots’s previous visit. They got drinks and were taking their seats when the flamboyantly dressed halfling entered “Frida you gorgeous specimen, my usual please” he called as he strolled up to the bar and took a seat on one of the stools. The half-orc barperson poured him a large glass of what looked to be red wine and the diminutive figure chugged half of it down in one go, putting the glass down with a loud belch “Ah, that hits the spot” he declared.

Romy approached the bar and began talking to halfling, discovering that his name was Cuff Goldburg and he was an entrepreneur with his fingers in many pies. They learned a few tidbits about the rougher side of the area, including the existence of the fighting pits where individuals or teams could battle one another while the crowd placed bets on the results, with the victors working their way up to being allowed to challenge the local champion “Big Linda”. Cuff told them that if they were interested in the pit fights they should talk to one of the other patrons of the tavern, indicating a swarthy-looking individual sat at a table with a pair of companions called Mel.

They had a brief conversation with Mel, learning that if they wanted to try the pit fights they should head over to Buckledown Row and speak to Reeda at Sneaky McGhee’s. The heroes bought Cuff and Mel a round of drinks and set off to take their rest at the cottage.

Dalin had spent time examining the sceptre in the peace and quiet of the empty cottage, discovering that it was not only a religious icon but also a magical staff, capable of casting several spells as well as being usable as a weapon. When the rest of the group came in, the cleric told them of her discovery and they agreed to return it to the chapel in town come the morning.

Moonday, 8th Springtide, Year 1.126

The sky was overcast but it wasn’t raining as yet as the heroes left the cottage and headed over to the Bark & Buzzard to take their breakfast. Afterwards, they headed over to the Chapel of Saint Ardenna and saw a pair of knights of the Silver Order waiting outside beside a wagon. Upon entering they saw Flamekeeper Hanna talking with High Flamekeeper Ophelia Reed and approached them.

Dalin held out the sceptre and both of the Flamekeepers gazed at it with awe. The heroes explained the situation with the risen undead in the crypt below the chapel and Ophelia said that she would have a cleansing squad sent to deal with it. As they talked the senior flamekeeper said that with Dalin’s desire to visit the lost holy places of Drakkenheim and if possible restore them it would be prudent for her to wield the sceptre rather than it be just sat on an altar and “gawped at”, Dalin was almost speechless at the honour and when the High Flamekeeper passed over the bag of coins she had promised as a reward for retrieving the sceptre, the humble cleric refused her share. The heroes were about the leave when the chapel doors burst open, a man in an intricately engraved breastplate and a helm with a ridiculously oversized plume atop it, barged in leading four more men carrying a fifth lying upon a shield. “Good sister’s we require your aid” shouted the plumed man.

Ophelia was leaving to head back to Camp Dawn with her knight escort but Hanna approached and directed them to lay the injured man on the floor where she began to examine him. The heroes stood nearby observing as the flamekeeper examined what looked like a vicious bite on the man’s shoulder but his writhing indicated that there was more to his injury than that. Hanna looked up at the plumed man and told him that his companion’s wound was contaminated, to which he replied “Good sister, money is no object, he’s been with my family for many years. Whatever it costs I can pay it, just heal him I implore you”. At that Hanna began chanting a spell that Dalin was unfamiliar with, the patient began to writhe and she ordered the others to hold him still before continuing her chant. Whatever her spell was, once she completed it the man had stopped squirming and looked to be more relieved. Hanna followed this up with a couple of healing spells and the open bite wound was healed. She got to her feet and spoke to the plumed figure once more “That will be one thousand gold pieces, and he needs to rest for a few days but he’ll be alright, the contamination has been removed”. The figure handed her a small pouch, the heroes realised that it wasn’t big enough to contain a thousand coins but overheard him say “Platinum should suffice”, before commanding his men to lift their companion once more and after thanking Hanna once again they all left.

The heroes too left the chapel, heading to Caravan Court to resupply, Romy and Ugo went to speak to Armin Gainsbury, the wiry little gnome trader, and bought out his current stock of flasks of oil after agreeing with him to acquire a barrel full on their behalf. After that, the group went across to see Aldo.

The huge man was eating a large leg of meat, the juices dripping as he bit into it but not a drop landed on or stained his immaculate clothing. At their approach, he dropped the meat onto the plate a child was holding, dropped a gold piece that he seemingly pulled from thin air beside it and told the child to give his compliments to his master for the succulent feast and dismissed him. As the child left they saw him pocket the coin and as he left the confines of the court begin to bite the meat as he walked away.

The heroes asked Aldo what goods he had available this day and the large man reached up like before and began turning handles on various draw fronts before sliding the large bottom draw open to reveal a dark-bladed dagger, a bundle of green-tipped arrows and a trio of familiar looking healing potions.

They enquired about the dagger and Aldo told them that it had once belonged to the Sultan of Brunigh, “it was a wedding gift from his new bride, unfortunately, she then plunged it into his heart on their wedding night, and she was put to death the next morning”, he told the heroes that their mutual acquaintance River, the tiefling mage, had examined it for him and assured him that it was magical but not what the specific enchantment was. They asked how much it cost and he told them that he couldn’t possibly let it go for less than three thousand gold pieces. The heroes didn’t purchase the dagger but did buy another of his impressive healing potions before bidding him a good day and leaving.

Upon exiting the Court they saw Petra Lang, the Hodded Lantern Lieutenant, approaching them. She greeted them warmly and asked them to come and talk to her at the watchtower if they had the time. They followed her there and joined her at a trestle table in the tower. She explained that because she had gone against the Lantern’s standing orders and asked the heroes to rescue her brother she had now been assigned as liaison to the Emberwood village as punishment. However, she had also been authorised to offer the heroes the opportunity to join the Lanterns if they were so inclined. If they were they should visit Shepherd’s Gate and tell the gatekeeper they were there to join up, then they would be admitted through the gate to the Barracks and be sworn in. Regardless of whether they decided to join or not, she also had an authorised mission from her commander for them too. She explained that the supply caches her brother had told them about were low on supplies because their regular shipment of potions hadn’t arrived and several of the previous shipment had been contaminated, “Thankfully not bad enough to be deadly but requiring expensive healing nonetheless”. Their supplier was a mage named Oscar Yoren who had taken up residence in the abandoned Reed Manor to the north of the city. Somehow he and his apprentices had found a way to remain within the Haze and produced potions at a reduced price for the Lanterns in return for being allowed in and out of the city to retrieve components for their craft. “We need you to visit him, confirm if our deal holds and get the missing shipment back to Shepherd’s Gate for us. Rumour is that he had a falling out with the Academy but that’s between him and them”. In return, the Lanterns would pay them two hundred and fifty gold pieces each and possibly give them an item from their armoury (at this Velvet’s ears perked up). The heroes agreed to go and look into it and said goodbye to Petra.

They began heading out of town and towards Stick’s ferry landing, discussing the opportunity to join the Lanterns as they went. General opinion leaning towards accepting the chance to join up. Their walk through the outer city was uneventful and they reached the landing and rang the brass bell as before.

The ferry appeared out of the river fog in a few moments and as the figure of Stick pulled it alongside the landing he held out his hand as usual and they each deposited a gold coin into his palm and took their seats. As Stick silently began poling them across the mist-shrouded river they again played their little game of trying to spot the wooden duck. Romy and Ugo spotted the strange effigy, though Romy was the quicker and took the betting pot. Stick took no notice of their activity and they soon arrived at the northern shore landing and disembarked. They hadn’t even decided on their route ahead before the ferry disappeared once more into the shrouding mist.

They were discussing what route they should take as Romy decided to blow the bone whistle she had recovered from the dead ratling, once again only the tabaxi heard the high-pitched “wheeeet” of the whistle. They decided to avoid the area around Temple Gate once again, not wanting to run into the dog-men that Ansom had informed them of previously, and set off on a wide arcing route through sidestreets and alleyways.

They were passing through a densely crammed area when the alleyways ahead to their sides erupted with squeaking vermin-furred figures …