Session 48: So You Want to Be a Man? (9/20/26)

Desnova 29 

The PCs decide to follow up on the local bear attacks after speaking with a grizzled old hunter named Murgalov at the Meek & Marrow. But first, to get a good nights' sleep. Aldren returns to the vacant Obylensky Farm where he notices that Suchi the ounce must have been squatting due to an open window and some traces of fur on one of the farmboys' bunks. The rest of the party stays at the Inn, briefly encountering an ex-Red Weather soldier named Volkov and some local women who seem nervous at their presence. Nebol'shoy summons up a new fey-hawk familiar and they set up a tiny shelter in the room after pushing the bunks together.

Desonova 30

In the morning, Aldren returns to the Meek & Marrow for some pancakes with his companions. Lubomir once again offers Bjork some permanent employment, and the Nebol'shoy forks over some platinum to help support the inn while the crowds are thin due to oncoming winter and bear attacks. The barkeep tells them that their old friend Pavli is out there somewhere trying to track the source of the ursine assailants, and the PCs decide to set off along the trail towards the river where they suspect they will find more evidence.

They spend several hours uneventfully enjoying the autumn weather while noting that the path will need some clearing due to inactivity. As they approach the river, they find a strange figure 'listening' to it. She speaks in the secret Druidic speech which Nebol'shoy understands, and turns out to be a former lover of Quagmov, who the PCs have slain. She grills the gnome about other local druids, deciding that he is of too short stature for a mate, and they press on, following tracks which Aldren misidentifies as belonging to some giant humanoid. Further up the river, they spot an upturned, carved log which was serving as a makeshift canoe with some bloodstains on it. Eventually, they find Pavli hidden in a hollowed out tree stump. He is enthralled to see his old friends, but still bitter that they left him in the basement of the House of Drawn Veils some weeks back.

Unbeknownst to Nebol'shoy, Rucia gives Pavli some of the aging draught he still has from the pawn shop basement in Borgaborsk, and though he doesn't notice at first, he ages well into his teenage years. The gnome is confused, and the boy feels ill in his newly aged body until he adjusts. They bring him back to greet Aldren and Bjork, and he insists on accompanying them, thinking he's pinpointed the origin of the larger, deadlier bears in the area to a steamy vent in the mountainside. Once they cross the river in the folding boat and find the fissure, Nebol'shoy realizes there are druidic markings which seem to have 'opened' the place up, and that the fallen enemy Grittnar migh have been responsible for opening up this cavern network and unleashing these mammals of unusual size on the countryside.

They tie a rope to descend into the fissure, noting some thermal activity within. A pit of bones from local beasts, giants and Red Weather mercenaries lies at the bottom, and both Nebol'shoy and Bjork fall in, the latter finding an old vial wrapped in leather still intact with one of the skeletons. Rucia just uses magic to get down, as does Aldren. Pavli makes a show of his successful descent, becoming adapted to his stronger body. He's also been equipped with a magical shortbow and several daggers via Aldren. In the next area of the caves, they encounter a trio of ropers who surprise them and manage to grapple and poison all of them before the PCs eventually turn the tide. Pavli is taken down at least twice in the fight but brought back with healing magic. After the battle, Bjork finds an emerald necklace in the guts of one of the aberrations, and they upgrade Pavli from the daggers to a magical handaxe.

They travel south to a curved corridor where they find an area filled with pine needles, brush, massive bear spoor, and the dented and twisted armored corpse of a minotaur whose head and left arm have been separated from the body. The carnage is not that old, so the PCs figure that a detachment of Red Weather mercenaries must have attempted to clear out the bear bits in recent weeks. They then proceed to a molten cavern containing a caldera and giant rib bone of some ancient beast. Within sits a an enormous bear, tending itself on a pile of treasure and viscera, which Aldren discerns must be Ursolox the Living Avalanche, a creature of legend though to be long deceased...

PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebol'shoy, Rucia

NPCs

Ch'kek'la? (human? female): A woman of unknown age dressed in a dense black bear fur coat and hood, wearing a black crow's mask. She's a member of the Myrkyba druid circle in a neighboring land, and had apparently some sort of relationship with Quagmov, fallen foe of the PCs. Nebol'shoy informs her of his passing without getting into detail. She has eccentric habits like listening to the land about her.

Murgalov (human male): A grizzled trapper and hunter in the Northeast Tzarswald, seems to operate out of Svodnikha although he claims he has no home. Dense eyebrows, thick gray hair, curled on top and long in the beard. Wears foul-smelling furs and carries a blood-stained rabbit net around with him. Often grovels for meals and drink, and used to know the lost hunters from the abandoned lodge southeast of Svodnikha.

Volkov (human male): A tall human male with long blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Bulky with muscles that project from his 'sleeveless' plate mail armor. The armor is painted red, and he carries a greatword worn on the left as a longsword, and a book satchel, halberd and short bow. He also wears a cape that is far too short on him which seems a bit ridiculous against the rest of the attire.

Session 47: Do Squids Have Butts? (5/24/26)

Desnova 28

The PCs travel by folding boat through the Jaggerhead Lake, destined for Borgabosk. En route, they learn from some fisherfolk that Svodnikha has been under attack from some bears, and not for the first time! They next encounter something serpentine and frightening in the waters, which turns out to be some sort of naga which considers herself the guardian of the river. After a brief communication, they are sent on their way, and eventually arrive at the dwarf town.

The PCs split up to exchange some gems and jewelry, including some of the jeweled crab bits from the Lost Isle of Skorbi, and pick up any orders that they had at the Smeltworks, including a shield made from the carapace of Old Marrow. Aldren purchases a jade ring. They rent some rooms at the Hammers Rest for the evening, and meet an old soldier named Chainpike, who peer pressures them all into gambling on some brawls in the inn's fighting pit. Chainpike actually surprises them and ends up winning a round and some money, before wisely retiring with his earnings. At night, the PCs magical squid air bladder is lifted by some local thieves, but they track it down in short order without murdering all the perpetrators.



Desnova 29

The party treeports back to Svodnikha. The population is now thinner than normal; due to some wild animal attacks in the area and the encroaching winter months, it's about halved. They visit the Obylensky Farm and the Meek & Marrow to see some old friends, a few of whom are still around. They get over to the Soverat barracks and meet Private Polgar, the sole soldier left in the village, who has spent most of his time providing care for bear-attack victims. Some smaller bears have been spotted about the area, and a few larger, they seem to be sweep-hunting in this region of the Tzarswald. Though he claims to be a 'triage' officer, Polgar also appears to be fornicating with any of the single (and maybe a few married) women left in the village!

Speaking of single women...the PCs visit Tanka to notify her of her Old Shard's passing, and exchange some parcels. Though saddened, she deals with the loss practically. She also tells the PCs that she recently spotted a carriage coming through the village bearing an eerie red lantern en route to the Halfwynter Lodge up north.

PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebol'shoy, Rucia

NPCs

Chainpike (human male): A tall man in his 60s with the bearing of a soldier, he has a large, drooping gray moustache below a blunted nose and deep blue eyes with flecks of gold. His hair hangs thinning and shoulder length below the hood of a forest green cloak that he wears, and he huffs smoke-rings from a lacquered birch-wood pipe, the flashiest thing about him. There’s a hobble in his step which seems to indicate some knee or foot injury he once sustained, and he appears armed only with a humble short sword tucked into a leather sheath.

Private Polgar (human male): A tall man in his late 20s with a straight black beard and excess of chest hair on his skinny frame. A newly appointed soldier in Svodnikha with 'triage' skills' that may or not included sleeping with every local woman he can find. Currently the sole Soverat appointed to the village.

Session 46: The Wake of Destruction and Other Partings (4/26/26)

Desnova 26

The PCs look around Old Shard's Tabernacle to find signs of a struggle, and then perform a brief burial ceremony before moving on to the rest of Zolovny. Sadly, it too has been sacked. The Sallowmoon gypsies seem to have vacated the place, but most of the Ganelari clan has been destroyed by some sort of insect plague. And this is the story for the rest of the fishing village/den of ill repute, they find swaths of scorched earth and bodies, areas destroyed by insect swarms, and then a lot of victims with stab wound, many in their backs. In the basement of the House of Drawn Zippers, they find Lt. Strand locked away, who fills them in on some of the details. Zolovny was sacked by three black riders who each weilded a vast and destructive power.

Many of the PCs' contacts and friends are missing, including Smoker who may or may not lie beneath the scorched rubble at the Flapping Salmon. Strand and several other Soverat soldiers survived, as well as a group of children and elders that were sheltered at the Stockade, but all other residents seem to have been slain or fled the area. The PCs find a roguish boy near the docks who asks if they want some company, but he ultimately heads off on his own. Speaking with some of the D'vryn, they realize that Olena and the other Sallowmoon escapees might have set up at one of the camps near Arkany.

Desnova 27

They decide to tree-port with the survivors to Arkany, where they carefully hide Stellum out in the woods to prevent discovery. The non-D'vryn seek refuge in the city, and then the rest of the party marches off to find the Sallowmoon camp. En route, they encounter a pair of giant Elk, one of which is brought down to feed the troupe, while the other flees for its life. They rejoin with Olena Sallowmoon and her clan-mates, all thrilled to be reunited with the children that they had left in the Stockade shelter.

Next, the PCs trek back to the west and put the folding boat to water at the Jaggerhead. Sailing back to Omutny, they encounter a strange, arrogant but fit man who has scaled one of the rock formations in the lake and is just sitting there sunning himself. After some mutual taunting, they return to the temple of St. Flume, where they are reunited with Rucia! It turns out the dragonborn had been spat back into the Skorbi River where he was eventually fished up by some of the monks, and he's been imbibed and unhappy ever since.

Captain Condor is returned to life at the temple, and says his thanks and goodbyes to the party. Stellum also offers to take Rickardt to his home of Maegra, hopefully beyond the range of Dr. Flargheist and his travelling circus, and the plasmoid accepts. The PCs thank Stellum and Rickardt for their help and, reunited with their paladin, plan out their next step.

PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebol'shoy, Rickardt

NPCs

Cullov (human male): Knife-strapped bilge rat of a boy, doesn't seem up to much good as he openly inquires about roguish pursuits. The PCs encounter him in Zolovny after it's been sacked by the Three Uncles of the Funeral Guard.

Budi (human male): A middle-aged human male in peak fitness, with short cropped hair under a wide farmers' hat. He usually wears loose-to-no clothing on his upper body to reveal his physique, and can be found about the region performing extreme stunts for show.

Session 45: Escape to Reality (3/29/26)

Desnova 25

Rickardt and Stellum move to the small island off in the distance where a rowboat was spied, and invisibly sneak upon a scene in the foliage above, where three of the surviving Lay Blade pirates are cooking and discussing the disappearance of their Captain. They are quite surprised when attacked, with the cook going down under a mighty swing from the storm giant, and then the powder monkey Taggit combusts all of his explosives at once, turning the whole islet into a fireball. Stellum takes a massive amount of damage while the plasmoid dives to safety, only to find out that the monk he thought he had beaten up was a wooden decoy. The real monk then calls Rickardt to a duel further up the islet from the conflagration, but is quickly defeated when his wooden style can't defend from the elemental attacks. The whole confrontation is witnessed by the other PCs from the shore, and the Golemeter.

Within the 'needle-like' tower of the coast of the Isle, the PCs find a hidden dock with some abandoned boats, and a level above that there's an old bedchamber and study for the place's last resident, a monk of St. Flume who passed some decades before. It mentions that many of the other brothers and sisters of his order had eventually been slain by pirate intruders or left to explore the rest of the Elemental Plane of Water, which the Isle of Skorbi is apparently a small part of. At the top of the needle, they find the glass windows they had seen earlier, and a strange mobile-like device of bones and wood handles. Bjork attunes to it and realizes he can start seeing through the eyes of the various golems that protect the place, so one by one he sets most of them to pursuit of the Golemeter vessel. Though it takes some time, Dr. Flargheist eventually has to set his vessel to circulate the demi-plane and stay ahead of them.

The PCs finally make use of the amulet of the planes to return home, but when cast, it throws them to a different part of their world, an endless span of russet grasslands near a small foreign village. They spy that the inhabitants are humans of a slighter build, and Aldren is sent in to communicate. Though the residents (of Hongyu) have a strange reaction, a bold farmer named Vin warms up to the half-elf, and eventually he and an elder gentleman with better language skills name Schuan accompany Aldren back to the rest of the party, where they exchange tales. It turns out the PCs are in the Tak'fang Empire, near the border of Caowan, on the vast continent of Shara-zai, southwest of Karnovya. After leaving the Tak'fangese hosts some liquor, the PCs use treeportation to return to Zolovny outside the Bloombark Tabernacle. Something is amiss...the wildflower fields show signs of trampling, red hoof-marks in the ground...and Old Shard has been murdered within its walls...

PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebol'shoy, Rickardt

NPCs

Navigator Heruway (human male): An unarmed man, slender and fit wearing a black-dyed vest and white cloths wrapped about his wrists. His hair is shaved to one side, the rest combed to the other and left in a series of cascading braids with bone baubles hanging in them, as well as a sharp bone piercing his septum. His broodish countenance and naturally tanned skin look foreign.

Schuan (Hsin male): An elderly man of some 70-80 years, a thin but long white beard flows down beneath a scarred nose, wizened eyes and thick white brows. His head is bare save for a few flecks of hair and moles, and he leans on a cane cut from a hoe.

Spoony the Cook (human male): A stout man wearing a blood-stained apron, arms swirling with tribal-patterned tattoos, a cleaver in his hand with bright feathers pinned through its hilt. He smokes a bourbon-scented pipe which seems to stay evenly lit and require little maintenance, an eyepatch with a single ruby at its center over his left eye, and has splotchy, pock-marked red cheeks glaring out angrily from a short but bristly brown bear.

Taggit the Powder Monkey (hadozee male): A wiry humanoid with thick membranes hanging below its arms to its back, it is otherwise decked out in a leather vest and crimson sashes. Its pointed jaw is thick with a goatee, its forehead is scrunched and its hair is formed into a skullet. Smoke rises from the creature in several places, behind its ears and from several objects carried in its sashes, vest and belts.

Vin (Hsin male): The primary 'speaker' of the Hongyu village, middle aged with skin tanned to chestnut hue from his work in the sun. He has short cropped hair beneath a wide-brimmed straw hat, and carries a fork, with a sickle slung through the sash of cream-colored farmers' garments.

Session 44: All That Skitters (2/22/26)

Desnova 24

With their new giant friend in tow, the PCs decide to examine the island further to find the placement of their antagonists and a potential way out. With Condor's preserved corpse tucked away, they start to retrace their way along the various paths that range from the center of the main island to its shores. They discover an oddity in some of the bases of the isle's guardian statues, that they can be turned as platforms, which uncovers a large blue-faceted gem. In the dark phases on the island, the gem emits a bluish light that targets the southeast of the Isle.

They next find a strange fountain they had missed, with a clockwork fish swimming against the current spewed out of a trident of what they assume to be an image of St. Flume. Rickardt squishes down the water system as far as he can, while Stellum notices something in the fountain's stone beard. Nebol'shoy takes some time to look it over the the party recognizes that it's an amulet of the planes, shaped like a starfish. Unable to use it at the moment, the PCs continue to seek out other statues to realign their bases. They find another on the central Isle and then decide to walk underwater to some of the barrier islets and examine those.

They notice an accumulation of the small jeweled crabs that they encountered earlier on the beaches, most of which are scooting towards a cavern on one of the islets, where they seem to have a symbiotic relation with a colossal version of themselves! Energy attacks seem to reflect off the hide of the crustacean, which has an extra layer of protection from the 100s of miniature jeweled crabs that attach to it! Eventually they are able to crack the carapace and bring low the creature, showering its cavern lair with many of the dead miniatures. The PCs heal the best they can while some of them work at its hide to remove some chunks of the presumably valuable jewels.

They move along to the next islet, which they find hollowed out beneath into a natural cave. The place reeks of dead fish, and guts and fish-bones coat the walls and ledges about the central pool. But they are not alone in this place...a creepy voice reaches them, and it turns out there's an emaciated and seemingly immortal crewmember of Condor's father's craft who has been hiding out here from the other denizens of the island and visitors. Quite blind and quite mad, the man regales the PCs with tales of how he craves the flesh of humans and was a serial killer, skills which made him ideal for food preparation at sea. The PCs do free the creep from the cavern, but leave him on the islet itself, unable to swim away.

They make their way back to the shore and set up camp once they have aimed all three statue bases, which converge upon an outcropping of rock on the south shore of Skorbi. They also note that, while the Lay Blades' vessel seems to have been scuttled in conflict with The Golemeter, a rowboat has escaped to another rocky islet near where they enter the plane. Aldren scouts and notices the massive stone guardians of the Isle have rendered down the Lay Blades' craft into its components and are distributing them elsewhere on the island before returning to their rests.

Desnova 25

After a rest, the PCs decide to approach the further scout the southern beach. Nebol'shoy summons a bird familiar which flies above and notices that there are glass windows or some-such on the stone pillar off the beach. They also notice that the sky starts to darken on the far east of the beach, a surefire sign that the Golemeter is moving...

PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebol'shoy, Rickardt

Session 43: Carnage and Kittens (1/11/2026)

Desnova 23

Mockleg doesn't have a chance as the colossal, emerging turtle devours him in its maws, his staff and other implements flying over the field of flotsam. The creature proceeds to spray gouts of burning steam which dispatch Captain Condor, sending him drowning to the bottom of the pocket plane. The PCs react, with Nebol'shoy and Rickardt flying back to assist them, and Aldren firing off as much ammunition as he can at the massive opponent. Bjork does his best to use bardic magic to mentally halt the creature, with some success, while the PCs switch up their tactics, battering it with spells and monk-fists as much as possible. At one point, Aldren is riding atop the creature, and begins to burn from heat generated through its spines, and it then creates a cyclone of steam which buffets the whole party. As its health is whittled down, it starts to move, and Nebol'shoy transforms into a giant squid to grapple with it, while Aldren follows along the cliffside and Rickardt continues to punch away...

The creature dissolves into a field of blue motes that drift off into this strange plane...leaving little to nothing behind. Condor's drowned corpse is recovered from the depths beneath the wreckage, while the PCs desperately try to recover Mockleg's remains. They find some of his clothing and items, but no trace of flesh or blood, all of which were consumed by the monstrous mythic reptile before it, too, dissolved. After mourning, the PCs decide to try and solve the riddle of the statue floating among the wreckage, dragging it to shore nearby. Using location magic and Rickardt's elemental flight abilities, they drop off Nebol'shoy and Bjork at the turtle's egg-pit above the cliffs, where they discover that one of the eggs is now covered in cracks and bleeding blue light, perhaps reincarnating to take the spot of the guardian they defeated! They also manage to find the statue's foot nearby.

Aldren and Nebol'shoy are flown south, staying low to the trees to avoid the pirates and Flargheist's aerial scouts, and manage to locate the other piece of the statue in the jungle near the fallen abbey. Unfortunately it is in the den of several of the kamadan cubs, obviously the offspring of those they fought in the ruins, and one of them must be dispatched before it can be recovered. The PCs regather on the beach after bringing back the missing limbs of the statue, and then rest and recover in a leomund's tiny shelter.

Desnova 24

The following morning, the petrified statue is reconstructed and Nebol'shoy uses magic to transform it to flesh, and it turns out to be a young storm giant named Stellum, who hails from a place called Maegra. The PCs discern that this is a distant nation from their own world. The giant claims he was abandoned here after being cursed by his cousin, a storm giant witch who didn't want him interfering in her marriage. Very bold and forward, he confers with the PCs about getting out of this blasted plane and back to his home. They determine that either of the opposing parties on the island might have the means to return without Condor's river ritual, and so they march off with Stellum to confront them, dragging Captain Condor's remains along in the bag of holding.

PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebol'shoy, Rickardt

NPCs

Stellum (male storm giant): An adolescent, blue-skinned giant standing roughly 15' tall, he has long shock-white hair and the beginnings of a flowing beard. Armored only in a toga, his frame ripples with lean muscle. Scars remain on his arm and leg where they were severed and later reconnected to his body.

Session 42: The Rile on the Isle (11/30/2025)

Desnova 23

After rummaging around a little further in the egg-pit, the PCs find no more traces of Friedereck's fishing manuals, which they decide might hold the key to their escaping this plane. They scan about the rocky north end of the island and find a garden of flotilla wreckage below the cliffs, but then notice a figure to the south on one of the paths leading to the farm valley, a crab-like humanoid who is scanning the area for any trace of the Ley Blades' quarry. The PCs decide to surround and engage the scout using Nebol'shoy's magic to transport to a nearby tree, and they find themselves entrenched in a melee with about half of the crew of the Maiden Voyager, including their first meeting with Captain Ponce! He is accompany by a human woman with some sort of accordion, the elven lookout they encountered earlier, the crab, which is obviously some sort of berserker, an ounce cabin girl, and another woman, some sort of ship's surgeon.

The PCs gain the initial advantage but are pressed back by the ferocious attacks of the Captain and his first mate. They quite easily fell the four female antagonists, but the Captain uses a whistle to summon forth the roc-parrot which instantly makes a massive impact upon the battlefield. Fortunately, through some crafty moving of the wounded to safety, the already-taxed Captain decides to take his leave, and the roc follows. The PCs recover as best they can, and pick over the bodies to find a few items before they make their next move. They decide to search the abbey ruins once more for some of Friedereck's angling books, to no avail, before circling back to the north and that mysterious flotilla.



It turns out to be a bunch of wreckage of vessels that must at some point have traveled to the Lost Isle, and hung up in them is a petrified statue of some titan missing a hand and leg. There are numerous flags and pennants amidst the wreckage, unknown to the characters, but little of value remains, and being able to see cleanly to the bottom of the demi-plane, there's nothing much below either except for some schools of fish that seek shelter here. Aldren and Rickhardt scale back up to the highlands when they notice something is very wrong. A rumbling, a splash, and a large part of the water's surface seems to be a moving island! They manage to stay out of the way of what appears to be a colossal turtle, but those still over at the flotilla are only made aware when the wreckage begins to shift, and a massive maw emerges as the isle's guardian seeks to deal with another disturbance to its feeding grounds!

PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebol'shoy, Rickardt

Captain Rubrik Ponce (human male): A dashing, limber, handsome man with perfect sideburns and spectacles dyed a deep blue, he wears a crimson tricorn and enormous, billowing pants which are woven with patterns of narwhals and sea-stars. He wields a whalebone saber and a rapier with a golden basket hilt that sheds glittering light as it cuts through the air, and an additional pair of scimitars are clutched at his belt. He seems to wear a suit of banded leather below, and has a large bone bird-whistle jangling about his throat on a cord.

Crawla the Cabin Girl (ounce female): A hunched humanoid feline with her left ear bitten off and replaced by an array of colorful feathers, she wears a crimson leather jerkin over ragged beige fur, and breeches set in the pattern of palm trees. A pair of serrated daggers are clutched in her paws and she has an extended left front tooth with looks menacing beneath her dark yellow eyes.

Maulghaz (yurian male): A hulking humanoid clad in a thick, crimson shell that has been marred by many arrows and blades. Beady eyes stare out from a taut, mandibled face, and four jointed arms clutch a pair of belaying pins and an oar that seems to have been fashioned into a three-spiked trident. Stubby legs support the creature as it scuttles about, with a segmented tail that leaves a slight residue of slime and water as it moves.

Morale Officer Finch (human female): A slim, attractive woman with white streaks through brown hair tied back in a ponytail, she wears a tricorn lilted slightly to the side with an arrogant attitude. A glint of mail lies beneath a fashionable robe of burnt yellow, and a longsword is slung across her back with a fancy basket hilt. In her arms she clutches a concertina whose grating sounds seem to mesh with the breezes surrounding her ship and the cries of birds wheeling above.

Pryvykyn the Lookout (high elf female): A slender, scarred elven woman wearing a low-cut studded leather skirt and tunic, her hair is set in a wedge-like white Mohawk with trailing braids. She has red and blue tattoos on the sides of her head and cheeks, and her pointed ears, lips and chin are pierced with jewelry of bone and gems. A birchwood shortbow is cluthed in one hand while the hilt of a scimitar is stuck through a crimson sash at her belt.

Spirit the Monster Parrot (roc male): An enormous tropical bird with a wingspan of some 40’ or more, it has talons that look as if they could grip horses with little effort, and a beak that could penetrate the side of a ship. Its feathers are decked out in blazing displays of crimson, yellow and indigo.