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.
31st of Waxing Summer - 15th of Waning Summer, 1AL
Having received fairly clear evidence that his apprentice, Lykos, is in the hands of Zotzillaha, the vampire god of the underworld, Logan flies into a rage and has to be restrained to keep him from breaking everything in sight. However, in spite of this dire news, the group decides to wait the final 23 days until Patrick's birthday so he could honor his deal with Saul to wait for proper guidance - whatever that means. Besides, they feel they could use the time to prepare more for what is to come.
Over the next couple tendays, they prepare in the ways they can think of. Quib goes to Stor, asking him to find more help to fight the vampire. Stor says he'll try, but he doesn't think he'll be able to find anyone, especially since they are trying to keep the vampire's presence a secret. Besides, who, other than the 3rd Watch, is powerful enough to take on such a powerful creature?
Patrick takes a trip to the Temple of the Four to see if there are any helpful books that have been donated to their library. He is appalled to discover that no such donations have been made - partially because not many refugees brought books with them while fleeing the Somvidian Empire. So, he promptly goes home, gathers all the books he's already read, and donates them.
Extang continues with his magical experiments, but also turns his attention to the magical items he has been holding for the party, trying to figure out how to best use them. When he comes to a magical rod, he pauses. He doesn't fully understand it, beyond knowing that only a specific type of spellcaster can use it. Even though he isn't that type of spellcaster, he tries to attune to it anyway.
It doesn't work, but a shape shimmers into existence, towering over him. It has large, elaborate antlers above an human-like face that protrudes into a short snout with a dog-like nose. It has hooves for feet, and a furred lower-half, with a fluffy, almost squirrel-like tail. The fur fades to skin as it spreads up its muscular, four-armed torso. It introduces itself as Garamfollabarenhallastyxientropefma - or Styx, for short - and tells that he is a creature from the Feywild that has some sort of connection to the magical rod. Quib, who is off in a corner of the room, stops going through his stack of notes to stare in awe.
Half-terrified, but thinking that this powerful creature might be able to help in the struggle against Zotzillaha, Extang suggests a game where, if he answers a question correctly, Styx will answer a question of his. Styx is enthusiastic about the game, but insists upon the stakes being set in stone. He agrees to tell Extang what he knows about vampires if Extang can give a correct answer, but in exchange, if he cannot, Extang must give him his soul. Extang agrees.
Styx then asks a riddle: A lark can carry me, though a strong man might not - what am I? As Extang sets to pondering, Quib - fascinated by this, and seemingly unnoticed by this creature, begins idly playing his lute. Extang is struggling with the riddle, and his attention is drawn to the performing bird-creature. After a moment of staring thoughtfully at the strings being plucked on the lute, he blurts out, "A tune!"
Styx is delighted and impressed that Extang solved his riddle, and tells what he knows about vampires - though there is little more than the group has already learned. Quib wrights all of it down, then sneaks out the window to deliver the new information to Hargrom and the militia. Styx then offers Extang a deal, to grant him more magical power. After some thought, Extang agrees, and Styx says he'll have a contract drawn up and sent. The strange creature then flickers and blinks out of existence.
After delivering the information to Hargrom, Quib pays a brief visit to the wizard, Feryon, and asks about the Feywild, learning (after proving he isn't a vampire) that it is another dimension.
Patrick takes Logan to the shrine to Epesta, then they attempt to determine if Lykos has been turned into a vampire. They do this by sending him a magical message - telling him that they know the vampire has him and asking if he has been turned into one. The response is a gabbled one about the vampire having him and drinking his blood, but it is cut off by the limited length of the spell just as he's about to tell something he thinks the vampire is going to do. Patrick sends another spell, demanding the rest of the sentence, but the response is calm and confused about what he's talking about - as well as the irritation at the frequency of these spells being sent to him. This leads Patrick and Logan to believe - or at least hope - that Lykos is not yet a vampire, though he is likely under the vampire's influence.
The 14th of Waning Summer finally arrives, bringing with it Epesta's holy day, the Feast of the Sun and Sea, and Patrick's eighteenth birthday. Patrick wakes up to find a coin inside the book he fell asleep reading. It is platinum with a golden symbol of Epesta on it. He takes it to Saul, asking if he's the one who put it there, but Saul has never seen it before - and he freaks out a little at the idea that someone snuck into Patrick's room and begins talking about boarding up the window.
Figuring that Stor is the only other person he knows that might have snuck the coin into his room, Patrick goes to see him - and Stor explains that, ever since getting to this land, everyone in the 3rd Watch seems to have mysteriously received one of these coins on their birthday, and they grant a one-time magical effect. Patrick takes some time with his coin, and discovers that once he uses it, it will make him better at everything he attempts until the next occurrence of a full moon.
Everyone who is interested heads out a network of rafts in the bay where Epesta worshipers are celebrating the Feast of the Sun and Sea. Afterwards, Patrick heads to the shine to Epesta alone, where he waits the rest of the day for the guidance Saul told him he would receive. But nothing happens. Frustrated, Patrick returns home and goes to bed.
That night, he dreams he is on a beach, under a sunny sky, and there's a dolphin out in the water - swimming back and forth between him on the shore and the open ocean. Patrick hesitates, then enters the water, swimming out after the dolphin. He finds himself on an island with a towering statue of a winged woman. The robes she is wearing are fastened with a broach bearing the symbol of Epesta. On the base of the statue, in the language of celestials - which Patrick doesn't understand how he understands - is a name: Yaella.
Patrick kneels and prays before the statue. When he opens his eyes, he is no longer kneeling, but standing at the helm of a ship. Beside him is a pedestal holding a compass. The needle of the compass looks like the same woman as the statue. As he watches, it turns, so he turns the wheel to follow it's directions. After some time of following the compass, Patrick finds that his ship has been run aground. There is a jungle ahead of him, so he enters it. It gets darker and darker in the jungle, until he finds a blood-red mist hanging in the air ahead of him. The mist opens a fanged mouth, then explodes into brilliant sunlight - and Patrick wakes up.
Patrick immediately goes to Saul and tells him of his dream. They both believe this was the guidance he was supposed to be receiving. Patrick believes it means he is supposed to kill the vampire, and he's surprised when Saul doesn't object. Saul explains that he doesn't like the idea, but Patrick is eighteen now and has someone else to guide him. The two have an emotional goodbye, with Patrick asking Saul to give his love to his parents if he doesn't survive - and if his parents are ever seen again. Still, he hesitates before leaving, suddenly nervous. Now that he isn't being forbidden from going, he isn't sure he wants to go - so Saul helpfully tells him he can't go and demands that he goes to his room. Patrick obstinately refuses to go to his room, and storms out of the house - pausing to tell Saul that he loves him just as Saul wishes him luck and tells him to be safe.
Regrouping with the rest of the 3rd Watch, Patrick also shares his dream with them - which engenders a small amount of irritation that they were waiting around for his guidance just to be told to do what they were going to do anyway. Yet, they know it is time to set out - but Quib requests that they accompany him down to the Explorers' Guild headquarters in the tavern before leaving. There he hands his large stack of notes to Stor, telling him to give them to a trustworthy wizard if he doesn't return.
Quib then uses his magic to show the group his last moments with the half-orc wizard who had been his master. In it, the wizard explains that the notes are his life's work as a research wizard, and he's sending them off with Quib because he believes the Somvidian Empire is after them. There is then a pounding at the door, announcing the arrival of the Somvidian army, and Quibs master teleports him away - to Krorheart, where the Noble's Lark is clearly visible in the harbor.
The image memory fades, and Stor promises Quib he'll take very good care of the notes. However, certain members of the 3rd Watch are eyeing those notes covetously...
And that's where this game session came to an end. Find out what happens next week as the 3rd Watch set out to hunt Zotzillaha in Episode 51.
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