Session 11: A Failed Start
[Jan 23rd, 2025] – Hearthrest 20th, 697 G.R.
The heroes find themselves in a dangerous situation as the bandits on the ridge continue to pelt them with arrows. Vickle is able to soothe Singh’s pain and revive the monk, giving time for Sigvid and Singh to climb the cliffside and take the fight to the bandits. Leonell and Vickle support from the ground with their magic as Amin secretly enacts his blessings upon his allies. Singh flips around the battlefield with amazing agility as Sigvid tries to cut down a bandit with his blade. He hits a hard stone instead and his sword shatters in half. He is forced to finish the fight with his khanjar dagger. With some effort, the heroes fell the bandits, with Singh finishing them by throwing the last two off the side of the cliff.
The heroes decide to return to Korratus to treat their wounds and to allow Sigvid to get a new blade. Unfortunately, Sigvid finds his coffers have run dry, much like the University, and he has to borrow some silver from Singh. He manages to get the Taskiran Weaponsmithy to repair his sword quickly in exchange for Vural’s khanjar dagger. During the two days it takes to repair Sigvid’s sword, the others stay busy.
Vickle continues studying her occult magic and expanding spellcraft. Leonell uses the time to research who else might be buried in Teli-Nehi’s tomb, and learns that his concubine was likely buried alive with him. Singh spends the time trying to meet with some nobles to convince them to support Princess Nirea’s return to power in Korenell, but finds he is actively rejected by the noble quarter of the city.
After the break, the heroes then return to their expedition. After a few hours into the mountains, they come to a deep chasm and must climb down. Singh leads the effort down the cliffside, and Amin and Leonell take a few bruises when they nearly fall. The heroes then come across a beautiful valley flush with spring-time waters and life. They catch some fresh game before continuing onward.
The heroes then find themselves high on a cliffside, turning a bend. They look back and see numerous cloaked figures following them and coming in close, it’s members of the Nine Swords. Sigvid calls for the others to fall back as he charges forward against the enemies. The fast-moving warriors of the Nine Swords charge in, but the heroes are ready, and blast them with magic, sword, and fist. Soon only the leader of the righteous warriors remains.
.
Session 12: Finding the Tomb
[Feb 6th, 2025] – Hearthrest 26th, 697 G.R.
The heroes quickly take out the leader of the Nine Swords. They then leave their bodies to scorch in the sun as they continue onward, now weary of others that might be following them. They then come across a hidden goat path in the mountains and follow it. It leads them to an ancient shrine, long forgotten under and overhand of stone. It appears to be dedicated to Aset the Mother, an ancient Arathian deity of family and peace. There is a smoothed stone idol upon the altar, but the heroes decide to leave it be.
The heroes then come into a sheltered spot and camp for the night as the sun meets the horizon. The night is uneventful and the heroes continue their journey the next morning. The next day, they come across a low-land area where the sands have been smelted into glass as if deadly-hot fire was sprayed in great blasts haphazardly across the ground. There are a few remnants of body parts baking in the sun and one unconscious old Arathian man. Amir revives the man and shares his water. His name is Haldun Nabi and the heroes eventually learn that he is a member of another Nine Swords sect that was seeking tombs to help fund their activities.
The heroes debate about helping him, even as Vickle uses Arbas’s name to convince Haldun to trust her. In the end, they give him some supplies and send him on his way towards Korratus alone. That evening, as the desert sun sets, the heroes arrive at the entrance to the Tomb of Tali-Nehi. It is little more than a stone archway carved into the side of the sandstone cliffs. Ancient Arathian hieroglyphics only provide a warning to would-be thieves.
The heroes force open the stone doors and enter into the tomb. They immediately find numerous skeletal remains of others who might have entered in the past. They are all arranged such that they seem to be reaching desperately for the door, but their skeletal visage offers little information about the horrors they were fleeing.
Two stone statues suddenly come to life and begin blasting the heroes with magical stones. The heroes move quickly and begin assaulting the statues until they are broken and lifeless. Now, the tomb of the Mad Priest beckons beyond the darkness of their lights…
.
Session 13: Tali-Nehi Rises
[Feb 20th, 2025] – Hearthrest 26th, 697 G.R.
The heroes treat their injuries and take a break after the clash with the guardians. Sigivd confronts Amir about his weapon training, noticing that he seems quite trained despite trying to hide it. Amir admits that he is in fact trained with weapons and that his healing powers a gift from the solar goddess, Sol. He does not reveal much more about his past.
The heroes decide to head deeper into the ruins where they find a pool of crystal clear water. They throw a bone in the water, but nothing happens. A warning in Arathian tells to drink the waters of life, but not to indulge. They decide to leave it be and head down the stairs into the main burial crypt. They then find the sarcophagus of Tali-Nehi, the Mad Priest, himself. The mummified dead priest immediately rises from the crypt and leaps at the heroes.
The heroes find themselves succumbing to the powerful mummy’s attacks and supernatural fear. The heroes spread out and try to fight off the mummy as it claws and strikes at them. Sigvid, Amir and Singh are each hit by the mummy, a seem to be afflicted by a curse that has begun to rot their skin. The heroes are eventually able to defeat the mummy and put the Mad Priest to rest for good. They then try to heal their magical curse with the magical pool in the other room, but it doesn’t seem to help, although it does seem to lift the spirit.
They head back into the main crypt where they find a stone throne and two smaller chairs to either side of the throne. Vickle reads an inscription that says “…as long as my throne stands, I am immortal.” Vickle suggests they destroy the chair to the right of the throne. Sigvid destroys it and the curse seems to have bene lifted. The heroes then head into another chamber where they find an upright sarcophagus with two gemstones as eyes. Sigvid enters and triggers a trap trying to reach the sarcophagus that pelts him with poisoned darts. He then disables the trap and is able to get the gemstones.
In the next chamber, the floor crumbles, but the heroes leap out of the way before the flagstones drop into a deep pit. They are then attacked by two mummified cats and two mummy brutes that come from a nearby corridor.
.
Session 14: Ancient Trauma
[Mar 6th, 2025] – Hearthrest 27th, 697 G.R.
The heroes fight against the mummified cats and human mummy brutes. They take them out quickly and treat their wounds before exploring more. They find two corridors with sarcophagus where the mummies came from. They also find a statue of Bastet, the cat-goddess of guardians with some hidden trinkets. The heroes then head into another chamber on the other side where they find a huge pit filled with deadly rusty spikes. Sparkling in the center of the pit between the spikes are a few gemstones surrounded by skeletons impaled on the spikes.
The heroes decide to grab one of the sarcophagus lids to drop on the spikes allowing Singh to nimbly get closer to the middle. They decide to then grab another sarcophagus lid to drop on the first. While grabbing it, Singh has an intense emotional feeling that does not seem to be his own, as if he was touched by a haunt of some kind. The heroes continue and drop the sarcophagus lid on the first, bending the spikes lower. Singh then deftly climbs on the lids over the bent spikes and reaches through to grab the gemstones. However, he does cut his arm on the rusty spikes and contracts tetanus.
The heroes continue on up a nearby stair where they are all blasted by a magical electric trap. It nearly kills Vickle, Amir, and Leonell. At that moment, more mummy brutes come out to fight Singh and Sigvid. Thankfully, they are able to start reviving their friends and fighting off the brutes. Everyone is revived and the heroes defeat the brutes. The heroes decide to try and rest outside. However, they are all bombarded by a sandstorm before they can get any sleep.
The heroes head inside to rest in the first chamber as the winds whistle outside. Amir takes the first watch as the others get some sleep. However, they are soon haunted by a dream of being buried alive and wake up with a supernatural fear and unsettling feeling. Singh and Sigvid are particularly affected and are left with traumas. Sigvid is perpetually irritated, having feelings of anger and rage. Singh has a sense of dread, seemingly doubting his abilities to fight.
The heroes decide to continue to rest without sleep, and prepare themselves for more expedition. They are then visited by a ghost of a sad and malevolent woman who screams and sets fear into their hearts before disappearing. Thankfully, Vickle is able to counteract her scream with a well-timed occult words of protection. The heroes head near Tali-Nehi’s tomb and find both side have sarcophagi for his concubines. In the eastern tomb, they see the sarcophagus image matches that of the woman ghost.
The ghost then rises from the sarcophagus, screaming in agony and clawing at the air. The heroes realize she is perpetually being buried alive. Vickle uses her occult magic to temporarily calm the ghost as Sigvid and Amir are able to tear off the lid of the sealed sarcophagus, releasing the ghost’s remains. She immediately calms and is able to reason and speak with the heroes in Ancient Arathian. She gives them a warning about the whispers that drove Tali-Nehi into madness. She says to “… beware the whispers of the Sallow Pharoah as he speaks from the Endless City on the lake, under the two moons.”
The heroes then take her remains outside, where the sandstorm has subsided. They bury her properly and Leonell gives a prayer to Bastet to protect her rest.
.
Session 15: The Black Scarab
[Apr 3rd, 2025] – Hearthrest 27th, 697 G.R.
The heroes decide to head into the room of the Mad Priest’s second concubine. As soon as they enter, Vickle eagerly explores the sarcophagus lid but seems to trigger a magical trap or a haunt of some kind. The statues on the other six less-adorned sarcophagi in the room suddenly “sit-up” and spew form a nasty vapor and then assault the heroes with mental attacks of their tortured spirits. The heroes are forced to flee as this power nearly kills them.
The heroes take a moment to rest and recuperate after the attack and decide to explore elsewhere. They head into a chamber connected to the priest’s tomb where they find numerous clay jars. Upon opening one a zombified hand leaps out and tries to strangle Vickle. Sigvid quickly stabs it with a dagger, miraculously missing Vickle’s throat. But soon more leap out and threaten others. The heroes take them out quickly before anyone else is strangled.
The heroes then head past the fountain and find a sarcophagus dedicated to Bastet, goddess of guardians and cats. Inside, they find numerous cat skeletons upon a magical cloak. Sigvid takes the cloak, finding it quite comfortable. The heroes then find a secret door on the eastern side of the tomb where there are numerous treasures. They then explore the western side and discover yet another secret door that bypasses the haunted chamber.
The heroes then step into a small chamber where the walls are covered in carefully written ancient Arathian hieroglyphics, written in charcoal, seemingly telling a story. On the back wall is floating above an altar is the Black Scarab. Written upon the altar, etched into the stone, in Ancient Arathian, is a cryptic poem:
See the dreaming world waking, all of reality is now quaking,
What once was real is now the dream, and the dream is what will always be.
The Sallow Pharaoh is always watching, the stars of fate always marching to his beat indefinitely.
The heroes wait and rest as Amir does his best to translate and understand the ancient writing on the wall and learns this is the story of Tali-Nehi himself.
Tali-Nehi describes viewing the stars one night, when a meteorite crashed into the desert. In the wreckage, he found a strange purple crystal that was somewhat glass-like. He decided to use it to craft a new lens for his telescope. Upon using the new lens, he peered into the night sky for stars in the void between the stars he knew. He was met with a voice, an entity deep in the void, that contacted him through his mind. Over time he began to learn the secrets of the universe, that the world marched to an unseen beat, and it was the entity, whom Tali-Nehi describes as the Sallow Pharaoh, who beat the drum. He fashioned the lens into the Black Scarab, forever keeping it upon him to communicated with his new master, the King of Kikasa, Ur-hastur. He came to believe that all of his reality was simply the Sallow Pharaoh’s dream and that he must put an end to this false life to join his new liege in the grand city on the lake, Kikasa, in the twilight lands under the two moons.
The heroes, so distracted by the story, soon find that the door they entered was gone, with naught but a stone wall in its place, solid and impermeable. However, behind the floating scarab, a doorway seemingly opened into a night sky (despite it being midday by all accounts). Leonell grabs the scarab, for “safe-keeping”, finding the levitation was only a simple dweomer. With no other option, the heroes then decide to enter the doorway into the lands beyond, finding a familiar, yet different desert greeting them, with strange stars twinkling above amid two moons, one crimson, and one pale blue.
.
Session 16: The Realm of Madness
[Apr 17th, 2025] – ?????
The heroes step into the wide desert and find a city glowing in the distance, but it is not Korratus, it is a strange city of towers rising over a beautiful lake. They see a strange man sitting at a table shuffling cards. He invites to read their fortunes. They each take a turn having their fortune read by the stranger as he predicts tribulations and hardships in their future. As each hero is read their fortune, they then fade away into nothingness.
Sigvid finds himself in a training room where he finds the “Faceless Warrior” who insists that all warriors are simply tools of their liege. That it is pointless to seek the enlightenment that Sigvid seeks, as he is a tool of war and death. Sigvid is challenged to fight the warrior and they spar for what seems like hours, finding they are equals in every sense. But eventually, Sigvid gets the upper hand, but he pulls short on the deathblow. The warrior promises that he would not have done the same, as he is a mere instrument of death. Darkness fades over Sigvid’s eyes
Singh finds himself in a dark, but opulent throne room. He meets a woman who resembles Princess Nirea, but her bleeding eyes are covered, and yet she still seems to see. She introduces herself as the “Queen of Thorns”. She demands fealty from Singh, saying that she will one day conquer all kingdoms. She is currently disposed by her “peasantry” that seemingly formed a democracy and ran her out, she now seeks Singh’s help to regain her throne of power. Singh refuses and she sends guards after him. Singh manages to deftly escape the guards, but tumbles down the hill when he leaves the chamber, before fading into darkness.
Vickle finds herself in a vast and dark library with innumerable books at least two stories high. She comes across a strange masked figure with glowing green eyes. It introduces itself as the “Scholar of the Unknowable”. They banter about the purpose of knowledge, with the entity suggesting that knowledge is something that should be used like a currency, using secrets and desired information as payment and collateral to control others. When it is clear Vickle does not agree, the entity ignores her. Vickle explores the library a bit and sees a book titled “the Life of Vickle Trig”, seemingly an autobiography. When she questions the entity about it, it recites her life story and mentions that the book was not completed. Vickle then finds the exit and heads out into a strange city with a massive palace towering over it. She then fades into darkness.
Amir finds himself on the steps of a grand temple bathed in light from an unknown source. He sees a line of beggars waiting to enter a side door. Amir enters the temple and meets a man who introduces himself as “Light of Virtue”, a champion of the “holy light”. He explains the temple brings kindness to those that seek it, but providing food and sleep for the weary and hungry. Light of Virtue mentions that they are in the “Land of the King”, who is a paragon of virtue. Amir explores deeper and finds a grand hall with hungry beggars being fed a meaty stew to their hearts’ content. When finished, they are escorted one by one to a back room to “sleep”. Amir questions Light of Virtue more about their philosophy and feels something is amiss. Light of Virtue then brings Amir to the back room showing that the “sleep” offered to the beggars sends them down a chute to be ground into food for the other beggars. Light of Virtue seems to think this is highly kind and virtuous to do this. Amir panics and tries to fight, but finds his weapons missing and he then shrouds the place in darkness and escapes, tumbling down the hillside before fading to darkness.
Leonell finds himself in a bloody battlefield with a sea of bloody corpses and flocks of hungry carrion fowl. He sees a lone knight standing over a man pleading for his life. The knight bends down, seemingly to offer aid, but instead he systematically cuts off the pleading man’s fingers one by one. He then turns to regard Leonell, showing that his face is distorted, with hooks holding his eyes and mouth into an unnatural smile. He introduces himself as the “Lord of Harmony”, seeking to impose order and harmony upon the world. He argues that peace is created by force and that all can be subjugated into a peaceful and harmonious society. Leonell disagrees with the knight and the Lord of Harmony draws his blade to cut Leonell down, but the young scholar manages to stumble away, tripping over bloody corpses. He tumbles and falls face-to-face with the dead body of Professor Oztoprak before fading into darkness.
The heroes all awaken, alone in the desert as the rising sun greets them. They are parched and hungry and feel like they haven’t slept in days. Each carry a great mental toll as the strange world they stepped into seemed to strain their minds. The heroes search around the desert and eventually find each other, mostly thanks to Leonell’s survival skills. They realize they are a couple days away from Korratus. They head back towards home.
On the return journey, they then see horse-rider charging towards them. It is the famed horse-archers of the Azangys Khanate. The horse archers ride in to attack. Amir and Sigvid charge one of the riders, with Sigvid cutting him off his horse. Singh strikes at the other, trying to trip their horse, but is trampled instead. Leonell and Vickle blast them with magic from afar.
.
Session 17: Strangeness Afoot
[May 29th, 2025] – Rainfall 2nd, 697 G.R.
The heroes take out the remaining Azangys warriors as the final one flees into the desert with the stray horses. Leonell then leads them out of the desert and back into the warm clutches of the city of Korratus. The heroes realize that many days have passed during their strange trip to the dream-world. The University is still in dire financial situation and the plague grows in Lowertown.
The heroes rest for the night and each seek medical and therapeutic help at the University. Sigvid learns that one of his former students, Pareon Wenx was murdered in a duel to the death against some unknown travelling warrior. Vickle learns that some students have formed an unsanctioned secret society or book exchange on campus. The heroes then identify their magical trinkets and sell off some treasures from the tomb to help keep the University afloat. They decide to keep the Black Scarab, fearing its strange powers should not be free out in the world.
Over the next two nights, the heroes get a glimpse of strange short men wearing purple masks and with stuffed geese hanging around their necks. The first night, only Vickle observes them stealing a plain stool from her neighbor’s house. The second night, Singh, Sigvid, and Leonell also see them stealing plain furniture. Sigvid chases them but loses them in the alley. Vickle chases them as well through the city, finding herself lost in Lowside. She heads back, and is accosted by some Guretti thugs that try to rob her.0
Singh meets with his secret contact, Edith Davy, and learns that they may have a new heiress to put on the throne. Singh is astounded that he is apparently given credit for finding this new heiress and for gathering local support for the cause. He then learns that the new heiress uses the secret moniker, the Queen of Thorns. Singh grows worried about his encounter in the dream-world and sends a secret letter to Princess Nirea to learn more from her end.
The heroes continue to do their duties at the University, but they then want to look into these strange night thieves. They end up locating the source of the thievery to just near their own homes, but the furniture seems to be brought to Lowside, particularly an abandoned brewery. The heroes stake it out until late into the night, but see nothing. After asking the Lorenzi Laugh about it, they decide to just explore the abandoned building. They head past the homeless folk and down into the rat-infested basement. They soon find a secret door through one of the abandoned kegs.
.
Session 18: Legacy of the Clockmaster
[Jun 12th, 2025] – Rainfall 2nd-3rd, 697 G.R.
The heroes gather together to step through the oversized brewing barrel to the secret door at the back wall. They creep down the narrow tunnel to a reinforced door on the far end. Sigvid listens carefully and hears the sounds of strange humming songs from at least four individuals. The sound is so surreal that it irritates and stresses Sigvid. However, he sneaks the door open and they see four of those short furniture thieves in a chamber. There is also a strange shrine of a cloaked figure.
The heroes step in boldly trying to ask the thieves what they are doing. They immediately turn their heads in unison towards them, which disturbs the heroes greatly. The little men then complain that the heroes can see them and that they are not “dancing”. One of the them the says, “we shall make them dance.” Then then all draw knives and charge at the heroes. Sigvid charges in to distract them, but is ganged up on and goes down. Leonell heals him as Vickle and Singh take out some of the thieves.
Leonell then has the sudden realization that these “men” are not humanoids, but rather he believes they may be some strange clockwork automatons. Sigvid and Singh take the remainder of them out. The heroes then hear shuffling in a nearby room and decide to pick up one of the “automatons” and they sneak into a small side chamber, closing the door behind them. They spend some time examining the automaton, finding fake skin and blood over a clockwork skeleton. A large gearbox inhabits the center and a strange crystal “brain” inhabits the skull. Through careful extraction, Vickle is able to acquire the creature’s “mind crystal”.
The heroes decide to get the hell out of there, so they sneak back up through the brewery and rush back home to rest. That night, Leonell overhears some students gathering outside. He looks and sees them wearing dark cloaks and robes as they then head off campus. The next day (Rainfall 3rd), the heroes have to work their duties at the University, but they do take time to seek some counsel from the young student counselor, Guy Roberts. But they all are careful to not reveal the insanity of the night world to the counselor.
That evening the heroes gather together and decide to split their efforts. Singh and Sigvid decide to stake out and see what those students are up to, while Vickle and Leonell decide to research in the library to understand the strange crystal they found in the automaton. Sigvid and Singh follow the students to the Lowside Harbor, where they enter an abandoned warehouse. He overhears them performing some sort of occult ritual of deception and cloaking. They then leave before they are seen.
Vickle and Leonell finally find a picture of the mind crystal in an ancient looking journal in a forgotten section of the library. It is titled the “Machinations of Motion and Minds” by Saytak Aytac, “the Clockmaster”. The strangest part is that the book is dated 831 G.R. (134 years in the future), and yet Leonell confirms the ink and parchment and actually centuries old. But the book details drawings of various mechanical contraptions, including a humanoid automaton with a image of the mind crystal. But the notes indicate that the magic is impossible, since magic cannot create a soul. The heroes decide to leave things be from there and rest for the night.
.
Session 19: All is Not Well
[Jun 26th, 2025] – Rainfall 4th-6th, 697 G.R.
The heroes continue working at the University for a few days. Leonell tries to study the genealogy of the writer of the strange book, Saytak Aytac. However, he finds nothing, but Vickle follow after him and is able to discover nothing of note, he doesn’t appear to exist in the history, though some of his possible family members have been noted. Sigvid and Singh mostly take care of themselves, trying to relieve their stress and trauma.
Vickle confronts the student who informed her about the secret society on campus. However, the student denies ever asking her about it and seems legitimately clueless. Sigvid also has a strange encounter. During his class he hears a scream in a building, when he investigates, he finds a student staring fearfully at a strange symbol burned into her notebook. However, she then gets up and leaves. Sigvid convinces her to see the notebook and finds no such symbol inside it.
Leonell investigates the disease impacting Lowertown, but learns little, other than it may originate from a public house where a strange dark-cloaked figure appeared. Sigvid confirms the symptoms match the bubonic plague and suggests they avoid the area. Vickle talks with the student who was sick, and she confirms that she was at the public house doing charity work the day the cloaked figure was there. However, she seems to have forgotten what happened that afternoon and found it odd she hadn’t left until sundown.
The heroes decide to return to the abandoned brewery to find the automatons stealing furniture. They pass through the rat-infested building into the secret lair. They are again accosted by the automaton rogues. They quickly fell many of them with Sigvid’s deadly sword swipes and furious thuds of Singh’s bo-staff, which cracked many of their metallic skulls. Leonell provided much needed healing as Vickle provided magical support through her art and blast of seeking magical bolts.
It is then that the sound of gear whirring and steam belching came forth. A massive automaton built like a large furnace comes towards them…
.
Session 20: Automaton Lair
[Jul 10th, 2025] – Rainfall 6th, 697 G.R.
The automaton surges forward and belches a blast of hot fire towards Sigvid. Sigvid seems poised to attack the giant smoke-belching automaton, but his allies convince him to pull back. The group is then squeezed into the narrow corridor as the machine reaches for them and grabs at them. They soon realize that its blows are quite deadly and they retreat back towards the basement of the brewery. Leonell does his best to keep his friends alive, but his healing magic has run out.
Vickle is knocked down and Leonell picks her up to flee with her, but Sigvid and Singh allow the automaton to enter the basement and surround it. They beat upon it with a flurry of furious strikes and eventually the machine is destroyed. The heroes find a cruder mind crystal in the head on this machine.
The heroes treat their wounds and continue to explore the underground lair. They find a room full of junk, but there are a few trinkets among the garbage. Sigvid finds an ancient Elven sword called the Stormblade that is blessed by Atha the Storm Queen. In the next chamber, they defeat a single hoodlum and find three Lorenzi Laugh thugs had been captured by the automatons. They free them hoping to gain further favor from the local gang.
The heroes explore a few more chambers, finding more piles of junk and signs that this place once belonged to a a possible rival gang before the automatons took it over, such as a dusty barracks and the shrine to Nalit the Shadow. Both Vickle and Leonell find powerful magical staves, also seemingly of Elven design. Then Singh finds a set of magical Elven hand-wraps that are blessed by Mara the River Queen.
The heroes then come into an office chamber where Vickle finds a secret door and Singh finds a stack of fresh letters and missives. But before they can look at them, Vickle opens the secret door and causes a nearby statue to shed its illusion. It is actually a metallic automaton with crossbows for hands. Beyond the false bookshelf, Vickle sees a flesh-bound book on an altar. On the wall, written in charcoal, reads “Praise be to Ur-Hastur, the conductor of the music, the orchestrator of the eternal dance.”
Due to their injured state, the heroes immediately try to flee the automaton. Vickle grabs the dark book and runs as the others hold it off. Singh, taking the rear, closes the door on it as they flee towards the entrance.
.
Session 21: The Mystery Deepens
[Jul 24th, 2025] – Rainfall 6th-7th, 697 G.R.
The heroes pull back to the main chamber, but the automaton catches up to them. It blasts Singh with its crossbow and he goes down. Sigvid pulls a potion out and pours it down Singh’s throat to revive him. Vickle then throws an alchemical bomb that freezes the automaton and slows it down. This gives the heroes a chance to escape back out of the brewery, leaving the automaton behind.
The heroes return to the University and then to their own homes. They rest for the night. However, Sigvid awakens to hear a scuffle out in the alleyway near his home. He looks out and sees a vagabond trying to steal a man’s satchel. The would-be victim draws a dagger and attacks the vagabond. It is then that a cloaked knight appears and hacks off the assailant’s arm, leaving him to scream in pain as he drops to the ground. The knight disappears into the darkness. Sigvid rushes out to help the man, but he dies from blood loss. Sigvidchecks the satchel and sees the Yellow Sign up it, but it disappears before he can show it to the vagabond. The sounds of guards coming echoes in the streets and the would-be thief flees. Sigvid leaves as well, taking the satchel. He finds numerous wooden figurines inside. He hides the satchel in his attic.
The next morning (7th Rainfall), after much debate, the heroes decide to return to the brewery. They explore the place and find more evidence that the place once was used by a thieves’ guild. There is an entrance to the sewers at the back and dusty traps and forgotten thieves’ gear. The heroes explore south and find a large cavern that opens out through a small sea-cave to the ocean. Three boats are docked in the cavern, one of which is overladen with stolen furniture.
Four of the masked goose-bearing automatons are loading the boat and tying off the furniture with ropes. They sing a nonsensical song as they work. One of the boats is full and a single masked automaton rows it out of the sea-cave. Sigvid sneaks forward and watches them load more boats for half an hour, but afterwards they gather together and come up towards the heroes. Sigvid returns to the others and they prepare themselves. The automatons see the heroes and immediately get frustrated as they “are not dancing”. A quick battle on the rickety wooden bridge takes place, with the heroes felling the automations quickly.
Now they debate on whether to quickly take one of the boats to follow the one that left, or to stay and find the letters that were sitting on the desk in the office…
.
Session 22: Alchemical Concoctions
[Aug 21st, 2025] – Rainfall 7th-11th, 697 G.R.
The heroes decide to forget about the boat overloaded with stolen furniture and return to the northern portion of the smuggler’s caverns and attempt to recover the letters on the desk. They goad out the automaton with the crossbow arm as Sigvid steals the letters and a long brass object. They then flee the complex as the automatons chase them. A repaired hoodlum automaton follows them upstairs, but they smash it to bits. The heroes then read the letters, learning they were written by the Clockmaster, perhaps the same one who wrote the book they found. He instructs someone named Eustace to “prepare the city for the coming of the King“. The hoodlum automatons were sent by the Clockmaster to help Eustace sow chaos and prepare for this prophesized coming.
The heroes relax the following day, with Vickle trying to understand the long brass key they found, but she learns nothing after combing the library. The next day, Vickle and Singh share a beer and Singh unloads much of the mental strain weighing down on him. Leonell spends the holy day in prayer as Sigvid meditates on the old Dragon Gods.
The following day, Highfall the 10th, the heroes are back to work and school, tending to their students and their duties. However, Vickle learns that the high-performing student, Idonea Porter, failed to show up for her rhetoric exam. Also, the emeritus law professor says that the charitable student, Nicola Codington, didn’t show up for her oral law exam. The professors also notice that the students have been taking alchemical “enhancement” concoctions.
That night, Singh finally hears from Princess Nirea in a coded letter. She is appalled that someone else is trying to claim the throne of Koronell. She asks that Singh seek out this Queen of Thorns and learn if she has a legitimate claim to the throne. She also requests that Singh continue to find allies in Korratus.
The next day (11th), Leonell delightful explains that some of the other students shared an empty vial with him. It has the address of a place called Verdant Alchemical Concoctions on it. It is located near the University, in the heart of Guretti territory. Leonell has to attend class, but Singh, Sigvid, and Vickle head over to the store during their lunch break. However, they are accosted by Guretti thugs on the way. They make short work of the thugs and continue towards the store.
.
Session 23: Shop Oddities
[Sep 4th, 2025] – Rainfall 11th-12th, 697 G.R.
The heroes move on towards the shop, finding an unassuming storefront with the name, Alchemical Concoctions written on a basic wooded sign. They enter and find the shelves lined with numerous colored bottles and a few boxes scattered about, as if they were still setting up. They then meet the kindly, if odd, Fadra man, named Brabun Vasp.
The man goes at length about the quality of his elixirs, but remains secretive about the process or where he gets his ingedients. He also explains that he has many fellow Fadra helping in the process. He eventually tries to combat their skepticism and gives them two elixirs to try out. Eventually, the heroes decide to check elsewhere.
They then look about the building hoping to get a peak of what is happening on the inside. They head around to the other side, to find the shop connects with a common brothel, but no clear indication where one building ends and another begins.
They return to the storefront and head down a side alley. Singh quickly scales the building, but Sigvid struggles. It is then that a strange alchemical plant comes to life and attacks. Singh leaps down upon it as Sigvid and Vickle strike the tangle of thorny vines. They eventually put the creature to rest, but are more wary about Brebun and the alchemical shop. Singh and Sigvid scale the building to the roof and explore. But oddly Sigvid and Singh see that the brothel stretches to the end of the block where the shop would be, where Vickle confirms the shop is quite visible. Something about the building is not what it seems.
The heroes head back to work and leave things be. The next day, Vickle brings her friends to meet Raffi Ozel, an Arathian alchemist and have him test the vial. They return later that day and he explains that he cannot identify any of the substances in the vial. The heroes are puzzled…
.
Session 24: Not What It Seems
[Oct 2nd, 2025] – Rainfall 13-15th, 697 G.R.
The next day, after a long day of working at the University, the heroes set out to explore the strangeness of the alchemical shop again. They first send Leonell to analyze the building for any magical auras, but he comes back empty handed. They then watch the storefront from afar into the evening hours, when the store closes. They watch Brabun Vasp swap the sign over and the front of the shop go dark, although lights can be seen in a back room.
At this point, Singh and Sigvid decide to enter the brothel behind the shop to see if there is any strangeness inside the building like they saw from the rooftop. They suspect the brothel should occupy the same space as the alchemy shop. Leonell and Vickle wait in the street.
After paying a steep entry fee, Singh and Sigvid enter the tasteful brothel, but find that the back of the building is only for private rooms. They attempt to convince the guard they need the private room, at first the guard suspects the two are a couple looking for privacy, but Sigvid’s strange (but truthful) rants about different realities has the guard believe Sigvid needs to lie down and rest off some drugs in his system.
This gets them access to the back room, where they a comfortable private room with no windows. However, they are sure that they must be in the same physical space as the alchemy shop. To further convince themselves, Sigvid pays an exorbitant fee for a private room upstairs. They head up and head to the back of the building, passing what seems to be private meetings of Guretti and other criminal families. They reach the backroom and see a window. Both Singh and Sigvid look out and, to their horror, see Leonell and Vickle down in the street. They call out, and both Leonell and Vickle turn to look. To their horror, the alchemical shop is gone, replaced by the back of the brothel.
They decide to call it a night, the stress and strangeness becoming too much for them. The next day they take it easy, but Vickle is visited by a few commoners who entered the University office pleading for help with the growing plague in Lowertown. That evening the heroes gather at the tavern and talk with Jordan Rampston, the University student healer. He explains that the plague has swept through the city before, but he still worried about the students.
The next day, the heroes take their day off to rest and attempt to recuperate their minds. Singh and Vickle decide to ask around Lowertown that evening. They find one older man who recalls being in the public house the day Nicola was there. He also describes not realizing how much time had past and notes the strange cloaked figure in the corner.
The heroes decide to look into this growing plague, realizing the public house and perhaps the cloaked figure may be the source of this disease…
.