Session 373 - The Whale's Graveyard
General Summary
The Story So Far
Ash - An expert in the occult and a skilled monster hunter. Ash uses his talents and budding alchemical expertise to battle what people fear most for a price.
Ryobi - A monk of the embattled Order of the Warriors of Mameka. Ryobi is given an important mission: retrieve the holy blades containing the souls of his brother knights, which were lost in the recent Rethemi civil war.
They are joined by Vinzent, a bard with a morbid demeanor and a haunted past.
This is the continuation of Session 371 - A Disastrous Performance.
Ash, an amateur alchemist, is fascinated by the glowing mushrooms he discovered in a cave network, and he could use them to create some genuinely fascinating bombs or elixirs. Vinzent recalls that the Hall of Ancient Knowledge (Golotha’s Guild of Arcane Lore) has a book on the subject. Ash will investigate further.
Location - City of Golotha in the Kingdom of Rethem.
20th Ilvin (Winter) 727TR
Part 1 – The Hall of Ancient Knowledge
Sir Adelrin, however, has worries; his boyhood friend and master alchemist, Sir Wilfrod Granfiel, has not returned from an expedition to what he calls the Whale Graveyard. Sir Wilford is a well-respected expert on the leviathans and discovered a section of the coast near Cape Kobeo where numerous whale bones can be found. The leviathans beach themselves there with some frequently. Unfortunately, the local Kubora tribes consider this section of the coast and whales sacred.
As a favor, Sir Adelrin asks the heroes to find his friend.
Part 2 – Hunters in the Snow
The trio heads out, with Ryobi particularly cautious. His Fighting Order, the Warriors of Mameka, crusades against Kubora and are killed on sight.
A few days beyond civilization, the party hears a howl, and out of the snow, three white wolves emerge. These large canines are quite a handful, knocking Ash and Ryobi to the ground and nearly tearing them to pieces. Only Vinzent’s magical healing prevents them from being eviscerated. Their white fur does make great cloaks.
The next day, the party encounters the locals, a hunting band of four Kurboan warriors. Ryobi manages to conceal himself in trees, and the barbarians do not attack immediately. One of the blue tattooed warriors speaks some harnic and attempts to question the party, but Vinzent interrupts and inadvertently insults them. Enrages, they immediately charge forward, allowing Ryobi to position himself to their rear stealthfully. They don’t like Vinzent, and he is forced to use a Mirror Image to avoid his head being hacked off. The warriors are out-maneuvered and killed.
The only other problem the trio encounters is several patches of blood-sucking bushes, which are quickly incinerated.
Part 3 - The Whales Graveyard
The heroes enter the long stretch of shoreline, and the occasional whale skeletons confirm it is recently dubbed Whale Graveyard. After a day of searching in the cold, windy rain, they spot a beached leviathan. The beast is enormous and rotting, with deep claw marks and bite wounds on exposed parts of its body. Something has been feasting on it. Also, there are signs of more minor delicate cut makes. Someone has been analyzing the carcass, and it is likely Sir Wilford, and there is an abandoned camp nearby.
Examining the dead whale more closely, a mass of blood-sucking worms emerges from the holes in its guts. These are disgusting annoyances, and although the heroes are somewhat nauseated and sickened by the vermin, they are quickly disposed of.
Sometime later, Ash decides to examine the enormous carcass from the inside. Just after he climbs into the whale’s baleen-covered mouth, Ryobi spots a predator far above, a Wyvern. Vinzent and Ryobi join Ash in the mouth cavity of the whale. The Wyvern lands and begins feasting on the cadaver but senses fresher meat (i.e., Ash). After sniffing, it savages at the baleen, smashing a hole, revealing the crouching hero. Fortunately, Ash has a flask of acid in hand and throws it directly into the face of the reptile, causing it intense and ongoing burning pain. The Wyvern is enraged and fights back, but Ash and Roybi soon have its measure and kill it. Ash harvests its venom.
Part 4 – Sir Wilford
Sir Wilford is obsessed with whales and spends my time educating the heroes on his latest findings, which he is writing about in a scholarly paper. He confides that he believes whales are warm-blooded animals, not cold-blooded fish. Ash finds this wild idea ridiculous and advises Sir Wilford not to report this in his research paper if he wants to keep his good academic reputation intact.
To be continued.
NPC Interactions
Sir Adelrin Lanegrun - Guildmaster of the Hall of Ancient Knowlege
Sir Wilfrod Granfiel - Missing expert on whales
Created Content
Related Reports
Guildhall of Arcane Lore - Hall of Ancient Knowledge - Updated.
Player Characters
Ryobi - Human - L5 Monk
Background - Temple Guard.
Archetypes - Barbarian.
Ash - Human - L5 Thaumaturge
Background - Weaponcrafter.
Archetypes - Alchemist.
NPC Companion
Vinzent - Human - L5 Bard
Background - Cursed.
Archetypes - Blessed.
Next Session
Ryobi
Ash
NPC Companion
Vinzent
He is a skilled minstrel who is infamous for his depressing performances and bad luck.
Zahuruk Fungi
Zahuruk, also known as the Brooder’s Brand, is a pale, luminescent fungus that grows in deep caverns.
Habitat
This is a rare subterranean fungus, however, it can be cultivated, usually by dwarves and orcs who harvest them for food.
Properties
Whenever exposed to a change in air pressure or a sound, the mushroom glows with light for several minutes.
Uses
Food and a light source. Underground dwellers often use them as an alarm system for intruders.
Zahuruk is also used in many alchemical and exotic herbal potions.
Book - Grotgruie's Pharmacopoeia of Luminous Fungi
Grotgruie's Phamacopia of Luminous Fungi was originally authored in 330TR by the Dwarven Apothecary Grotgruie Kluzmaal.
Content
This manual catalogs Grotgruie's extensive studies and experimentation on subterranean fungi, especially ones that create light, and the alchemical and herbal potions his clan has created over the centuries.
The Pharmacopeia was stolen and found its way into a library of the Coranan's Guild of Arcane lore in 520TR, where 3 copies, translated into Hârnic, were scribed.
Properties:
This book contains a wide range of alchemical and herbal recipes. It grants the user a +2 bonus to Nature, Herbalism Kit, Alchemy Tools, and Poisoner's Kit check when referring to or using subterranean fungi.
Price: Original 450sp and Copies 120sp
Weight: Orginal 5 lbs, Copies 2 lbs
Stinky whale carcasses and bite and claw marks from a Godzilla, excited to see what comes next. Personally, I would have had the Wyvern run away after getting a bottle of acid to the face. Also, why would the Wyvern attack 'fresher' meat when there is a buffet in front them, just my 2d.
Love the Khuzan book on fungi, inspired world building lore there.
EvilGMProTips: Depending on the acid type rolling 1 in combat or falling would invite a lot of potential for self-inflicted damage, samesies with the wyvern poison. Oh no PC your flask of acid broke in your back pack roll a save for all of your stuff and take 1d6 or egad man, that flask of Wyvern poison broke open, make a save vs poision or die. Subtler might be: Town Guard Inspector: What is this then, Wyvern poison you say and why would ye be need'n that, sir? Shackles and uncomfortable questions to follow...
Muhaahaha! }:D>
Your probably right, the wyvern would probably prefer easy rotting meat, but maybe it has something against humans. I’ve done the broken vial of poison in the pocket and broken acid vials/potions in the backpack tricks in the past, found it hilarious, but for some reason the players concerned weren’t so amused. Hmm, been playing a lot with curses lately, I think you have given me an idea.
"I’ve done the broken vial of poison in the pocket and broken acid vials/potions in the backpack tricks in the past, found it hilarious, but for some reason the players concerned weren’t so amused."
Bugger'm if they cannot take a joke }|> :D