Campaign Journal #14: Chaos in Myruna

We return to our heroes, all currently separated:

A dwarven librarian approaches Kodrak hesitantly and tells him of murders and desecration at the local dwarven temple, and that their Shard of the Light of Sentor has been shattered. On the wall are the words 'Eltheodir has risen'. This mirrors a similar cult ritual in Lyrum—though our heroes stopped that one.

While walking, Sentie sees two guards outside a building. As he passes, a third guard flings the door open and vomits in the street. Sentie glances inside and spots two corpses on the floor, blackened and contorted. This also mirrors some assassinations in Thyrre.

The revision mentioned in our last journal happens: rather than saying that everything is quiet in Myruna, Barclay's liaison officer Reda advises him that the town is in chaos: "Everything's gone to shit. A cult murdered some dwarves at their temple in Dweorfton [dwarf-town]. A council member almost got murdered in a carriage. Some guards are missing. We're involved in none of it. We knew about none of it. The higher-ups are shitting bricks. About the only thing going right is the pirates. Haven't seen 'em for weeks."

Barclay visits the curio shop Eyefuls & Trifles and speaks with its owner, Phenrey Byshe. Phenrey is shaken by his earlier conversation with Sentie, who had tried to sell his (copied) runic spell page; he isn't sure if Sentie was being truthful, was there to rob him, or, perhaps worse, was a foreign agent who would drag him off in the night.

We jump back to Sentie, who helps a mother with a sick child. She says that she's been waiting for a doctor all day, but when she finally saw one, he was running away. Sentie also tends to Ol' Jack, who says the town guards have been messing with him by rotating the manhole cover in "Murder Alley".

Raehendra explores town, visits a bookstore, and gets into a fight.

Renn buys wine for the evening and runs into the Silver Hare, the adventuring guild they met in Lyrum.

Eventually, everyone returns to Captain Eofra's home, where they are staying in Myruna. (In the meantime, Eofra has dropped off 750 gold pieces and two baskets of food. Renn pockets the gold.) Barclay gets upset at Sentie for attempting to sell the runic spell page, as it's tied in with everything they're doing—and potentially to the assassinations as well. Barclay burns all of Sentie's notes.

The following morning, our heroes visit tiny Dweorfton, a small walled area of Myruna, and offer their help at the dwarven temple. In an extended ritual, their partially repaired (but uncharged) Shard of the Light of Sentor is recharged—and so is Kodrak's smaller shard.

We leave our heroes as they are about to speak with the newfound leader of Dweorfton.

Soundtrack:

Austin Wintory, The Banner Saga (2014), The Banner Saga 2 (2016), The Banner Saga 3 (2018)

The Main Cast, our player characters:

• Barclay Stone (he/him), human bard (college of eloquence)
• Aevyr, his imp familiar
• Kodrak Kukkerlun (he/him), dwarven fighter (battle master)
• Raehendra Tiddlybumpkin (she/her), gnomish ranger (hunter)
• Renn Summerstar (he/him), elven cleric of Lioris (twilight domain)
• Sentie Rancis (they/them), human wizard (school of transmutation)

The Supporting Cast, non-player characters:

• Ol' Jack, (likely) unhoused alcoholic
• Phenrey Byshe, owner of Eyefuls & Trifles
• Reda, Whitsleaf liaison officer in Myruna
• [Unnamed mother]
• The Silver Hare, adventuring guild
• Aldire, half-elven fighter
• Hainan Halfheart, dwarven cleric
• Irinduith the Ever-Fair, elven ranger
• Meera Haemuund, human wizard
• Nellandus of Gauwhil, human rogue

See the full cast list at Campaigns in Elsemorn—now with photos of the miniatures used in the game!

Campaign Journal #13: Fleeing Pirates and Chasing Clues

We return to our heroes at four in the morning, on a merchant ship sailing the Hallas Sea north of Loril. Renn Summerstar is partying with the crew when a 15-foot-tall projection of Lady Ilyavoe, the Ironwitch of Fellsdare, appears on deck—fulfilling Renn's request to meet. She answers questions from Renn (and later, Barclay) and clarifies her role in their adventure, which is mostly tangential:

• Bartholomew spoke with Ilyavoe about his realistic dream/vision of the party. She advised him to trust it, or at least look into it.
• Later, when her "spy" returned with the three books, hiding them in a well in Thyrre, she hired Bartholomew to return them.
• Her role as Ironwitch is to observe and counter external threats to the nation of Loril, primarily from the lands of Casseval and Feore. She is aware of internal threats (like Galix and the cult of Eltheodir) but they are outside the purview of her office.
• She closes by telling Renn and Barclay that three ships, presumably pirates, are on an intercept course with their own vessel. Their only hope is to alert the crew and sail as quickly as possible to Myruna.

For the next five days, our heroes assist the ship and crew wherever possible:

• Barclay inspires the crew, gives critical (magical) suggestions, and later causes a pirate helmsman to steer his (pirate) ship into another. Aevyr, his imp familiar, steals a spyglass from a pirate lookout.
• Kodrak assists the crew with turning the sail, a necessary maneuver as they tack into the wind.
• Raehendra fires cannons and later fiery arrows, critically damaging one ship and drawing pirate crewmembers away from their jobs to put out fires.
• Renn generally stays out of the way, though he later magically enhances the crew.
• Sentie creates energy drinks for the crew and rains fire upon the pirate ships.

In time, the ship reaches the safety of Myruna, where it will take several days to clear customs. The party is sent to shore to spend that time as they see fit. The captain, Eofra, allows them to stay at her home, as a thank-you for their assistance.

Kodrak goes for a run around town, when his shard of stone again communicates with him. It indicates that it is a "Shard of the Light of Sentor" but is still only partially active. Kodrak visits a library for more information—which we'll get to next session.

Raehendra also visits a library, but for information about Greebles. The librarians find two books for her: one does mention "Greebles" but it is clearly a typo; the other, by an author named Ippan, seems to back up some of the details in Valyric Paega's journal.

Sentie visits a curio shop and offers to sell (a copy of) the runic spell page. The shopkeeper clearly recognizes the document (by mention alone) but pretends not to, and curtly asks Sentie to leave.

Barclay visits the local Whitsleaf guildhouse and speaks with his liaison contact, Reda, getting the lowdown on local activities. [He is told that little is happening in Myruna, which we'll have to...revise next week.] He also runs into a former Whitsleaf guild member, Giry, who tells him that people were looking for him in Fellsdare, just after Midwinter. Remembering that Bartholomew's dream happened at Midwinter, Barclay sent a message to the dwarf via sending stone: "At Midwinter, did you task people to search for me using shadowy sketches of me? And what's the status on that Proof vs. Detection charm?" Bartholomew replied: "Yes. Needed to know identities/intentions of group. Hope you understand. Whitsleaf subtly inquired, leading to job. My agents in Falxmed have lead on charm."

Renn visits the library for information about the time known as Scymrelde. The librarians research the mention and relay what they have found:

The Scymrelde or Scymralth was a (likely legendary) time shortly after the sun Morn was put to sleep (also likely legendary). The sleeping sun bathed the planet in magical essence, which allowed spells to be created. These early spells had few safeguards, which wreaked havoc on people and the land alike. The mages who survived learned to control their spells while everyone else sought shelter for at least a generation.

Soundtrack:

Joe Hisaishi, Princess Mononoke (1997)

The Main Cast, our player characters:

• Barclay Stone (he/him), human bard (college of eloquence)
• Aevyr, his imp familiar
• Kodrak Kukkerlun (he/him), dwarven fighter (battle master)
• Raehendra Tiddlybumpkin (she/her), gnomish ranger (hunter)
• Renn Summerstar (he/him), elven cleric of Lioris (twilight domain)
• Sentie Rancis (they/them), human wizard (school of transmutation)

The Supporting Cast, non-player characters:

• Ilyavoe, human, the Ironwitch of Fellsdare
• Eofra, half-human, ship captain
• Walthy, the cook's boy
• Ship crew
• Giry, human, thief and former member of Whistleaf
• Reda, Whitsleaf liaison officer in Myruna

See the full cast list at Campaigns in Elsemorn—now with photos of the miniatures used in the game!