Session 23

Property	Value
Beginning XP	835 XP (Level 5)
Beginning gold	345 gold, 353 silver, 813 copper
Ending XP	975 XP (Level 5)
Ending gold	345 gold, 353 silver, 813 copper

1 Rova 4710

The Candlemere Coast

Kairos had done her research before the party set out. The Candlemere island had been provided to the Kellids some two thousand years ago. At its center sat a tower, though nearly all knowledge of its origins was lost. What remained were darker stories: Yogg-Sotath, a patron of time and those who sought control over dimensional travel, was said to reside there. Cults devoted to Yogg-Sotath now congregated on the island. They sacrificed visitors.

The party arrived at the coast. The Candlemere stretched about six kilometers across. They searched for a boat or raft—nothing. Old tree trunks and debris littered the shore, maybe enough to fashion something, but nothing seaworthy. Djacques examined the fallen trees. They hadn’t been felled by a single lightning strike. Something else had knocked them down.

Further along the bank they found an abandoned ferry. Functional enough for crossing the river, but too rotten to take onto the lake itself.

Djacques asked if anyone could craft a proper vessel. Nobody could. He went to explore the ferry landing anyway. Half-collapsed houses lined the shore, rotting and picked over by mites, kobolds, and bandits over the years. Most were beyond saving. The piers, though, were in surprisingly good shape.

He came back to the group with an enthusiastic “Ahoy!”

Munguk

That’s where Djacques found the Hill Giant.

The creature sat on a tree trunk, crying, trying to drink from a large bottle that had been empty for some time. Djacques approached slowly. Hands visible. Voice low.

The Hill Giant sniffled. Hargulka had been mean to him.

Djacques said they’d been having trouble with Hargulka too—that he’d sent a warg toward Hexpan. He uncorked a bottle of vintage wine and held it out. The Hill Giant took it and drained it in a single sip.

A second bottle loosened things up more. The creature wrapped Djacques in a bear hug, crying and snottering all over him. Leonardo asked what Hargulka had done.

The giant talked. He’d found a forgotten keep—collapsed, half-gone—and tried to join Hargulka’s army. Hargulka denied him. Wouldn’t even see him. He also told them about a Lizardfolk village in the area, and where he’d last encountered Hargulka.

His name was Munguk. He handed them a map of the Stolen Lands.

Kairos walked up with a bottle of water she’d flavored to taste like Blue Wolfberry wine. Munguk hugged her too. Then he helped build the raft, dragging tree trunks together with his bare hands while Djacques tied the logs, Leonardo rigged the sails, and Kairos bound it all together.

They made camp and invited Munguk to join them for the night.

Night Attack

Something hit the camp in the dark.

A flying creature—part tiger, part something worse—dove at Leonardo. Tail spikes slammed into him, pinning him to the ground. Djacques started singing. Haste wrapped around the party. Courageous Anthem followed.

Amiri hurled a javelin and screamed at the creature, rattling it. Leonardo wrenched himself free and called on his Ancestral Shields.

Then a second one appeared.

Kairos lashed out with Tangle Vine, snagging the first creature and dragging it to the ground. It crashed down hard—prone, immobilized, bruised from the fall. It struggled up and launched itself straight back into the sky.

Djacques engaged Hypercognition. Six Recall Knowledge checks in rapid succession. Manticores. Lion, dragon, and human fused into one thing. The tail quills could kill from range, and they preferred to fight from above. No obvious weaknesses or immunities.

Kairos tried Tangle Vine again. Missed. She handed her bolas to Leonardo. He took them, set his stance, and waited.

Amiri flung a grappling hook at the airborne manticore. No luck. One of the creatures swooped low—Leonardo reacted, whipping the bolas around its wings. Kairos closed the gap and Spellstruck it dead. She used Magus Analysis, recharged, and fired her Gauntlet Bow for good measure.

One down.

Leonardo recast Shield of the Spirits. The second manticore dove and grabbed Djacques right out of Weiß’s saddle. It climbed. Djacques hung in its grip, grappled.

Kairos tried Tangle Vine a third time. It connected but didn’t hold the creature down. She reached for her Wand of Force Barrage instead. The manticore bit down on Djacques. Leonardo’s Glimpse of Redemption flared—the creature ignored the divine warning and clawed at Djacques again.

The manticore shot upward. Amiri threw two more javelins after it. Kairos unleashed the Wand of Force Barrage—three full actions—then fired a Gauntlet Bow shot. Leonardo used Battle Medicine on Djacques.

The manticore came back in, tearing into Djacques, then turning on Kairos.

Kairos threw Ignition. The manticore caught fire and dropped. Its body fell straight down—onto Weiß and the unconscious, dying Djacques.

2 Rova 4710

Crossing the Candlemere

Not far from camp lay the Boggard village—frog people. Hannis Drelev had sent settlers into this region, but things had gone unstable. A civil war was brewing among the Boggards.

The party launched the raft that morning. Dense tangles of reeds choked the water, greenish scum floating on the still surface. It was hard to tell where the lake ended and the island began. A dilapidated pier jutted from the southern shore.

They tied off and stepped onto Candlemere.

The Shambler

Leonardo barely set foot on solid ground before something lunged from the undergrowth. A Shambler.

Kairos Spellstruck it. Leonardo raised Shield of the Spirits, then struck twice—chopping blows that tore the thing apart. Amiri brought her blade down on what was left.

The island stretched before them, quiet and heavy with the smell of rotting vegetation.

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Summary:

Major Events (1-2 Rova 4710):

• Traveled to the Candlemere coast
• Met Munguk, a Hill Giant rejected by Hargulka’s army
• Gained a map of the Stolen Lands from Munguk
• Built a raft with Munguk’s help
• Survived a night ambush by two Manticores
• Learned about the Boggard village and instability near Hannis Drelev’s settlers
• Sailed to Candlemere island
• Defeated a Shambler upon landing

Combat Highlights:

• Leonardo pinned by manticore tail spikes, freed himself
• Kairos used Tangle Vine to pull a manticore from the sky
• Djacques grabbed from Weiß’s saddle by the second manticore
• Kairos killed both manticores—Spellstrike on the first, Ignition on the second
• Dead manticore fell onto Weiß and the unconscious Djacques
• Leonardo chopped the Shambler apart in two strikes

Intelligence Gathered:

• Candlemere island is associated with Yogg-Sotath, patron of time and dimensional travel
• Cults of Yogg-Sotath sacrifice visitors on the island
• A tower stands at the island’s center, its origins lost to time
• Hargulka operates from a forgotten, collapsed keep
• Hargulka denied Munguk entry to his army
• A Lizardfolk village exists in the region
• Boggard civil war brewing near Hannis Drelev’s settlers

XP Gained:

• Befriending Munguk: 80 XP
• Island landing and Shambler: 60 XP
• Total: 140 XP
• Session total: 1835 XP → 1975 XP

Loot:

Found/Acquired:

• Map of the Stolen Lands (from Munguk)