Chapter 3: The Kelpie Report

General Summary

Session 3 marks our first combat/battle of the campaign, and first interaction with other members of the aristocracy!! The Sterling family is gathered at the Sterling Mine docks, together with the Frost family, to celebrate the ship the Frosts have sold the Sterlings to replace the one damaged by the storm. After a speech by Elinor (as CEO of Mining Operations), and the "ribbon cutting" as it were, there was mingling and formalities exchanged on the beach. Suddenly, however, everything turned to terror as Glenn, Lady Maeve's Lady's Maid, fell off the dock into an odd bit of frothing water, from which a terrible-to-behold Kelpie reared it's equine head out of the water with bloodlust in it's eyes! It let out a terrible scream, followed by strange, entrancing music that caught some event-goers off guard. Entranced by the melody, many started moving toward the beast.
Here is a quick account of each of our PCs role in the battle.
Dominic: He dove into the dark and dangerous water, rushing to Glenn's aid! Using his skills as a fighter, he got to her quickly and prevented her from sinking in her heavy clothing any further. Thanks to some creative thinking, and luck, he used his energy blasting pistol to expel ALL of it's capable charges in one powerful blast, shooting himself and Glenn to the surface again! The force of this blast caused him to lose hold of Glenn's clothing, however, and threw him tumbling into the waves. While in the waves is when he saw Dove, clearly in distress, struggling under the water as if held by some invisible enemy! Swimming to her aid now, he stabbed the invisible threat with his rapier, striking true, and helping free Dove from its grasp! Knowing Dove could not swim well, Dominic grabbed her and pulled them both to the edge of the dock, where Uncle Oliver was. It was then that Oliver called to Dominic to defend the family and kill the beast!, so Dominic ran along the dock, across the treacherous gangplank, and onto the compromised ship in an effort to get near enough the Kelpie (now turned human form) to place a striking blow!
Dove: Dove was on her way up to the carriages to escape the threat of the environment when she was prompted to look back at the beach by a forceful gust of icy wind. There, from her vantage point, she watched in horror as Glenn (on the errand Dove had passed off to her) tripped and was, seemingly, thrown into the water where a sea beast had suddenly appeared! Feeling responsible for Glenn's fate, she threw away her inclination of self-preservation and rushed back to the water! She waded into the cold waves, throwing a dagger at the Kelpie which struck true. She could see Glenn, floundering, and Dominic close by, and timing her maneuver carefully, she allowed herself to get pulled up on the crest of a wave and struck at the Sea Horse with her special rapier, extended out to twice it's original length. As she did this, damaging the beast, the souls of two unfortunate bystanders whom had died by the Kelpie's attack rushed into Dove, clinging to her as an anchor to the mortal world! An unearthly wail cried out from the souls as her body convulsed, her legs kicking out and finding contact with Glenn's head, pulled once again under the water. Suddenly, from behind, an unexpected enemy grabbed Dove, and pulled her beneath the waves! It is there that Dominic saw her, and rescued her, just as her nose and mouth were filling magically with ice, nearly cracking her jaw and clearly trying to suffocate her beyond help. Temporarily unburdened by the need to breath, due to the dark magic of the souls within her, Dove made a show of passing out, and was temporarily aided and helped to the dock by Dominic. She tried signaling to him which way she thought her attacker had gone, but he decided to put his attentions on her, knowing she could not swim, and NOT knowing that she was, temporarily, safe from drowning. As Dominic left to help with the Kelpie, Oliver offered his assistance to Dove, who denied it, confirming she was safe, and pulled herself back under the dock- much to Oliver's confusion. Before she disappeared, Dove asked him for a distraction so she could make it up to the carriages, and away, before any of the Frosts saw where she had gone. Oliver told her to look for his Valet, which upon reaching the upper bank and carriages, she does. She expresses the need for a quick and secret escape- to which he offers the carriage and acts as "door guard" while Dove speaks to Dominic inside the carriage, in private.
Elinor: Running the event, exchanging pleasantries, doing her duty... Elinor rushed to the attack of the Kelpie as it made itself, and the threat it posed, known. Picking up a smooth stone from the rocky beach, she imbued her arm and the stone with arcane charge and hurled it at the creature, stiking it fiercely! Amidst her attacks on the monster, Elinor discovered Glenn, struggling to pull herself up and out of the waves' roiling force. Her mother, Lady Maeve, came up and, while little help, assisted Elinor in helping Glenn out of the treacherous sea and back up the beach to where Lord Spudnic, seemingly caught in the trance of the Kelpie, was being corralled by some servants from walking into the water. Elinor, wishing to aid in the attack, and those that she cared about in the fray, was dutifully caught up in facilitating those less capable members of her family and staff whom rely upon her strength and intelligent leadership.
Nicholas: Nicholas, who had been conversing with, and coming to like, Lady Emily Frost, quickly noticed her caught by the Kelpie's magic song and put forth his body to block her from walking into danger. Splitting his attention, he cast fire at the beast, only to find that ice shot from his hands as his eyes turned blue! Now anxious that others would see and tag this phenomenon, he used some clever tricks he had developed in his magic education regarding damage manipulation, drawing deep from within and overriding his arcane attacks to deliver electric damage instead of ice! Between firing his attacks on the beast, and trying to protect the vulnerable Lady Emily, Nicholas was stuck upon the beach, eventually cradling a now unconscious damsel and feeling like many secrets, unanswered questions, threats, and problems were boiling to the surface in front of him! Pulling this power through him, he unleashed a final assault upon the Kelpie-woman, slaying her where she stood on the water, thrashing the boat with magically manipulated seaweed vines! Lady Emily as she became conscious acknowledged her savior, and shared in some extra attention from their mothers and the rest of the attendees as it was announced that she and Nicholas would attend the first ball of the season together, and applauded with the rest to congratulate Nicholas on saving the day!
Oliver: Uncle Oliver, immediately assessing the threat to everyone present as the Kelpie revealed itself from the sea, used his arcane (and real) charm and practiced coersion to combat the power of the Kelpie's song, convincing many people to rush further inland to safety! Seeing many already near the water sucked in by the monster's magic, he then rushed onto the docks to once again provide support and try and cast a protective barrier of will against the Kelpie's greedy hunger. He noticed an unconscious and bleeding Glenn rolled about by the waves and healed her with his magic, bringing her to awareness again so that she might try and save herself. Truly fascilitating the charge of his family, nothing was missed by Oliver as he guided people's actions to where they would best serve the fight. After the Kelpie was overthrown, Oliver called to Nicholas to come aid him as a distraction and social clean-up-crew, cheering Nicholas as Slayer of the beast, checking in with Lord Frost, Lady Frost and everyone, and claiming, loudly and passionately, that THIS fight, this united success against the Kelpie, was a VICTORY, and if nothing else a positive, bonding experience for the Sterling and Frost families, surely tying their relations with each other even more tightly. The crowd, overcome by the flowery words and surety in Oliver, accepted this take on the night's events with gusto!
Fun/intriguing things of note during the battle/session:
Lady (Aunt) Alice used the magic she wove through her music, and lyre, to literally fly herself over the water and alight atop the mast of the new ship! There, she kept on a trill of musical song, later helping to save Lord Demdon Frost from being drowned by the Kelpie and levitating him back to the relative safety of the beach.
Lady Nicole Sterling, proficient in some sort of illusory arts, conjured up the image of another sea monster to challenge the Kelpie, appearing very real and in the vision of a great squid! Even though the Kelpie was not fully absorbed in this new foe, it did add to its confusion and splitting of its attention. After giving up the facade, Nicole noticed blood pooling in the shallower waters, and fearing someone was in need of aid, threw forth her magical healing somewhat blindly and healed the unknown victim of their wounds!
Lady Crystal, and Lord Latham Frost- twins and oddly tempered- ran in tandem, using their ice magic to create an ice platform upon the water which they jumped onto and propelled into the brakish, chilly fray! Just as they reached the action, however, their father, Lord Demdon, was in need of rescue so they caught him up and made a beline for the shore. It is on this return dash that the Kelpie was struck by Oliver from behind with some sort of ancient, forgotten magic, causing it to flea in momentary terror from him and collide with the Frost twin's icy surfboard!
Lord Frost was seen staggering out of the water near the south shore, claiming to have been caught by the Kelpie's song, and having just escaped a grisly fate. He looked for information about what happened, and if his family members were safe.
As Dove seeks refuge inside Lord Oliver's carriage, Dominic, Oliver, and Elinor meet up with her and make an expiditious retreat from the dock commotion. It is on this journey home that they have some frank conversations- Dominic grateful for Dove's safety but asking her flat out if she poses a threat to his family. She confirms that she is afraid she does, and shares how she believess Lord Frost tried to kill her tonight, in the water. When pressed for her reasons for such a theory, she opens up about her true, full name, that she used to work for the Frosts, and that she saw something she was not supposed to once- Lord Frost in an affair with another woman- which caused him to dismiss her and banish her, via threats, to the island states off the mainland of Regencia. Since she returned, however, she is now convinced he wants to get rid of her. The three Sterlings process this information and assure Dove, who offers to disappear for the safety of everyone involved, that she is a valued member of the Sterling family/staff/"crew" and that they would take this attack upon HER as an attack upon House Sterling! How to go about protecting themselves, exposing the Frosts, determining what role they played in tonight's events and how nefarious their intentions were, etc., would take very careful planning and approach. They would need to decide who they could trust, and discuss things further....
Back on the beach with those who had not left so quickly, Nicholas and Emily distract the crowd by allowing themselves to be pretty birds in a cage for a little bit. Using this moment of distraction, Lord Frost has a private conversation, hidden around the bend of the beach, with... Lady Nicole Sterling. He threatens her, demanding information or denying guilt... something. She tells him without emotion that whatever it was that HAD been between them in a past interaction was never something that she considered real, or long-lasting, but assuring him that SHE had a special card that might twist his arm some in his threats and cold anger. He demands to know what this upper-hand card was, doubting her confidence... but she looks to Nicholas and Emily in the crowd, drawing his eyes as well to the pair, as the camera fades to black.
End of Session 3, of Shadows & Blood Ties: A Regencia Story.
If interested in watching the full recordings of this session, used the link below! https://youtu.be/ofbuS_5d038

Rewards Granted

Our PCs get to Level Up to Lvl 4!!!

Campaign

Shadows & Blood Ties: A Regencia Story

Protagonists

Elinor Sterling

Lawful Neutral Variant Human ()
Wizard 3

17 / 17 HP

STR
10

DEX
10

CON
12

INT
16

WIS
14

CHA
14

Dove Broadhall

Neutral Halfling (Criminal)
Rogue 4
Warlock 1

23 / 23 HP

STR
8

DEX
19

CON
9

INT
13

WIS
13

CHA
14

Lord Dominic Sterling

Neutral Good Variant Human (Regent)
Fighter 4

28 / 28 HP

STR
8

DEX
18

CON
14

INT
10

WIS
14

CHA
12

Nicholas Sterling

None Variant Human (Second Son)
Sorcerer 5

17 / 17 HP

STR
8

DEX
16

CON
14

INT
10

WIS
14

CHA
18

Player Journals

Mending by Dove Broadhall

Report Date

31 May 2024

Primary Location

The Sterling Mine Docks

Secondary Location

REGENCIA

Related Characters

• Dove Broadhall
• Elinor Sterling
• Lord Dominic Sterling
• Nicholas Sterling
• Oliver Sterling