Colonial Caerdia: Lark's Landing is a story being told through a 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign I'm running at a local hobby shop called the Devil's Bench. If you aren't familiar with this ongoing story, you can follow this link to Once Upon a Tabletop on YouTube to hear the start of it or read the brief summary I wrote when I switched from video to blog.
You can find the previous episode here.
19th of Waning Spring - 31st of Waxing Summer, 1AL
So, the 3rd Watch have returned home to Port Noble, the vampire left behind for now. Patrick, having sent a magical message to his guardian, Saul, has been instructed to come home right away, as there is something he doesn't understand. He makes the painstaking decision to return home, but first informs the rest of the 3rd Watch, in case he turns up dead tomorrow.
He returns home and is welcomed with a hug by Saul, who then reminds him of how important he is, as a god-touched child. Saul insists that it's too dangerous for Patrick to be out adventuring - if he were to fall under the wrong influences, it could be disastrous for the world. Patrick insists that it's better than being cooped up in the house forever, but Saul surprises him by saying that he just needs to wait until he's eighteen - which is in a couple of months. Apparently, when he's eighteen, he'll receive the proper sort of guidance - though even Saul doesn't seem to know what this may be. Patrick grudgingly agrees to wait for his birthday, on the condition that Saul acquires a new book for him.
So, the group decide to spend some time enjoying the comforts of home. Fiaeorri checks in with Gregor, hoping for more information on defeating vampires, but learns nothing new. However, Gregor does show her some impressive blueprints for a fortified mansion for the future new home of the True Daughters of Pagslas. Fiaeorri then spends the rest of her time alternating between training Ruby and continuing to learn the draconic language.
T'Zaric continues his indentured work, and also works to spread rumors that he is willing to do anything for a bit of gold - though this only appears to catch the attention of some militia members, who begin keeping a closer watch on him. Extang turns his attentions to trying to find a way to repair the magic mirror that allows the viewer to view portions of the past of a creature or object - which he admits to the group he broke by using it on a god. Quib works on composing a song loosely based on the story Extang told him about the gold dragon he'd used the mirror on, then spends tome studying his former master's notes.
Early on, there is a concern brought to the group by Logan, because his apprentice, Lykos, is missing. Patrick quickly solves the issue by sending a magical message to Lykos, to which he gets the reply that everything is fine - he's out on patrol and should be back within a couple tendays. This satisfies everyone for the time being, but a couple tendays go by and Lykos still hasn't turned up. Another series of messages establish that he's lost, but he's fine.
Time goes on, and still he doesn't return. The group try to figure out who he went on patrol with, and find that neither the Militia or the Explorers' Guild sent him out. They ask Lykos who he is on patrol with, and he gives them names of the militia members he is out with - but Hargrom doesn't have people by those names in the militia. In fact, asking around town, no one has heard of them.
Now the 3rd Watch are worried that Lykos has been kidnapped, but they don't want to tell him because he might get alarmed and tip off his captors. Instead, they send him instructions on which direction to travel to find his way home, to which he replies that he's fine and says he doesn't need them to keep checking up on him. Patrick and Quib then pool their money and post a reward at the Explorer's Guild for the recovery of Lykos, as Saul is unwilling to let Patrick back out of his deal to stay home until his birthday - so they go back to waiting, keeping tabs on Lykos through Patrick's sending spell much to the boy's irritation.
On the 3rd of Waxing Summer, Fiaeorri wakes up to find her the birthday coin she was expecting to get, having seen her companions receive them. However, she's a bit confused, because the expressionless mask on the coin is not connected to her goddess, Pagslas, though she's not certain whatever else it means. However, it will temporarily improve her abilities, so she tucks it away for later use. She then heads out to arrange with Hammer to help Gregor construct his mansion - though more funds are required before the work can actually start. Hammer, having promised a favor to each of his former companions, agrees.
On the 31st of Waxing Summer, Hargrom summons the 3rd Watch to inform them that he'd found a militia member who had seen Lykos leaving Port Noble with a tall man wearing jade armor. The 3rd Watch recognize the description as that of the vampire, and horror dawns on them as they realize what has happened to Lykos. They tell Hargrom about the vampire, and he becomes very concerned - as there have been reports of other people disappearing as well. He chastises them for not telling him about the vampire sooner, and starts making preparations to add additional protections on the town at night.
Extang and Quib visit Feryon in the hopes that the wizard will know something about vampires. Feryon doesn't know anything, though he expresses great fear because vampires can turn other people into vampires - which is news to the 3rd Watch, and it sheds a new light on why people have been going missing.
They want to head out to rescue Lykos and slay the vampire, but it's still 24 days before Patrick's birthday. While contemplating what to do next, they realize that since Patrick can send magical messages to anyone he's familiar with, he can use it to contact the vampire. Plans begin being made for magically trash-talking their nemesis, but they can't figure out what is best to say. They settle for asking a simple question that they have been wondering about. They ask the vampire his name.
They receive an amused reply in response: "Hello, Bright Eyes. I am Zotzilaha, the vampire god of the underworld. Your friends are delicious."
And that brought an end to this game session. We reconvene in the New Year to discover what our heroes will do in Episode 50.
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