Here I am again back with another Hill Cantons recap! This session was actually played more than two months ago, so expect a big combination-recap coming up soon. Happy reading!
Characters
- Lasryn Thunderhammer - Level 5 Cleric
- Frankopan Vladislav - Level 4 Psychonaut
- Natalie Bukowski (new) - Level 4 Monk
Followers
- Stephen (new) - Man-at-arms
- Katja (new) - Man-at-arms
- Alexei (new) - Man-at-arms
- Nosewise - Old but loyal dog
- Tom - Trained Badger
Action Report
Following their previous adventures in the Glittering Tower, Lasryn and Frankopan say adieu to Luka as he rows off eastwards headed for the port of Bystrica. There he will spend some time contemplating the adventures thus far and scribe some new spells. Figuring that two persons are not enough to continue exploring the dungeons, the other two head back to Kugelberg where they hope to recruit some additional travelers.
Once they arrive they are met by Natalie Bukowski; a monk traveling the cantons in search of herself, abandoned by her former party for her infectiously positive disposition. The three companions decide to then spend the rest of the day having a picnic before heading off towards the northerly town of Muth the next day to look for hirelings.
During their rest in the old smith's barn the characters uncover a strange golden chariot, but decide to question Jaromir about it in the morning. Going back to sleep, both Lasryn and Frankopan each have a strange dream...
Lasryn finds herself standing on one of the dunes around the Glittering Tower, looking out across the sea towards the misty isles beyond. The surrounding night sky is suddenly broken by a speck of light going across the sky, clearly seen by Lasryn to be a golden chariot pulled by chargers with burning manes. As the chariot passes over the isles the mists are briefly parted and a paradisiacal green and forested place can be seen before the chariot zooms past and clouding the sky in darkness.
Frankopan's dreams take him to a featureless plain, stood face to face with what seems a perfect copy of himself. He hears a phrase and as if possessed proceeds to attack his lookalike, slashing him until he dies.
The next morning the party confront Jaromir about the chariot in the barn but get nothing but reflections in answer. Eventually Jaromir leaves to fetch firewood with Frankopan following close behind him. When the two are alone the smith grabs Frankopan by the shoulders, telling him he has had prophetic dreams - a shadow is approaching, and it comes to claim the lives of the group.
The suitably shaken party say their goodbyes and leave for the north. During their two days of travel nothing eventful happens aside from happening upon a group of rooster-headed bards. The two groups have a pleasant conversation, though nothing ultimately comes of it.
Arriving in Muth the characters are dismayed to find the town to be incredibly run down. Tall rickety and mildewed wooden buildings shield dark alleyways where shady fish-eyed townsfolk furtively eye the party. The party stock up on supplies and hire three men-at-arms at the local tavern, one of the less run down buildings in the town. Frankopan procures a tall brimmed hat which along with his trenchcoat gives him a suitably mysterious appearance.
Exploring the town the seaside the party come across an "acropolis like" temple standing out like a sore thumb between the wooden townhouses on either side of it. Knocking on the temple doors, the party meet a strange looking priest of Dagon named brother Occhus. Conversing with the priest the party are offered a job; northward along the coast there is supposed to live a powerful magician by the name of Cetus the plangent who supposedly has taken a horn-like artifact holy to the Cult of Dagon. At the promise of great rewards the party buys a fishing boat, wanting to speed up their travel to the wizards tower.
Arriving at the island where the wizard is supposed to live, the party first stop by the nearby village of Imbrich. Speaking with the locals, the party find them to be friendly although visually similar to the fish-eyed inhabitants of Muth. Learning about a nearby group of beached whales the party decide to investigate.
The party are surprised to discover that one of the whales is strange hue of hot pink. They are able to have a rudimentary conversation by asking questions aloud and being able to read the whales mental response. Through this process it is discovered that this pink whale is in fact Cetus himself! The group learn of the location of the horn, the bottom of Cetus "undertower" but also that it is guarded by a monster which Frankopan only receives a brief mental image of. Before leaving Cetus to die (as is his wish) the party help push the other whales back into the sea and promise the wizard to lay to rest the spirit of his beloved dead wife.
GM Thoughts
After having a few character deaths this session ended up being focused on finding something to do whilst Luka's player has a vacation for about a month. In a sense this became a sort of "filler" session (perhaps set-up would be better?), where the characters didn't do much "adventuring" but instead did a lot of in-character roleplaying and spoke with a bunch of NPC's. As a GM this was highly enjoyable as I got to flex some of my acting muscles playing both the old smith and brother Occhus.
Narrating cryptic dreams is something I have done many times before, and I thought both dreams from this session went over quite well! The players were left pondering what these dreams meant, each having their own theories.
Since my players have never read any pulp fiction, the references to Dagon and this strange horn went totally over their heads. This I think is really cool! I was not aware how familiar with my players were with Lovecraft or 1980s fantasy films, but it turns out they barely are at all. Expect this game to feature a lot more evil sorcerers and unknowable horrors in the future.