This is the sixth session of my swords and sorcery style adventure with my two characters Tilly the Rogue from Jundarr and Moonwane the Cosmic Champion.
Already many strange things have happened to the duo. They have fallen foul of a haughty merchant. Been helped by a mysterious trader and his wife. Had a run in with a shadowy sorcerer. Now they are taking a child who has strangely turned into a young eldritch woman on a journey across the hundred seas on a ship with no crew to a place of safety that only a crystalline spirit butterfly seems to know the location of. Last thing that happened was they have picked up a pirate captain who was abandoned by his crew on a remote island.
And there is a winged black and white cat called Whiskers.
You can read the first session here https://solorpg.co.uk/through-sunken-lands-part-1-jundarr/ Character sheets for Tilly and Moonwane can be found there.
As I type this session I have no idea what will happen next or where the oracle will lead my characters, I would love you to find out with me and welcome you to read on.
Threads
Main Thread.
Who is the child, why is she in so much danger and where is the Butterfly Spirit leading them.
Secondary Threads.
Is the Shadowy Sorcerer following them?
Who gave Tilly the poisonous flowers and why?
Who are the trader and his wife who helped Tilly and what part if any will they continue to play.
Does the haughty merchant still have a part to play in all this, whatever this turns out to be.
Possible NPC’s
- Haughty Merchant (the PC’s have already had a run in with this one, has Intelligence 12).
- The Master Thief
- Petty Eldritch Noble
- Priest
- Trader and his wife (the PC’s have already encountered these two NPC’s)
- Shadowy Sorcerer (just because I like the sound of it)
- The Pirate Captain (called Anvarn)
- Foolish Adventurer
Possible Monsters
- Pirates
- Warriors of the Depths
- Kraken
- Waiter in the Depths
- Serpentine Horror
- Giant Sea Birds
- Sharks
- Sea Cat
Magic Items
The ship of ghosts. A small sailing ship that sails the high seas yet has no crew to sail it. It always seem to know where its passengers need to go to even if that is not the same place as they actually want to go to.
Tilly’s mirror of the cosmos smashed but it is possible that Tilly may unknowingly still have a piece of the mirror which would allow her to commune with one spirit from another realm once per day. Such conversations may only last for 15 minutes. The user must make an Intelligence check to contact a known spirit; failure means they will be talking to an unknown entity.
It is possible they may find an Eldritch Cloak.
A large mantle of gossamer silk, this dark cloak sometimes seems to shift colors subtly. The wearer receives a +2 bonus to saves versus spell, a +1 to Charisma checks with nobles of all types, and is never struck by falling rain.
Scene 10 – Back on the Hundred Seas
intervention points at 1.
Oracle Question. Is everything as expected? No.
I roll on the TWENE (Table when everything not as expected) table and get ‘reduce major elements’.
I decided to their sea voyage is a major element and I look for the nearest place from theit location at the islands known as the Dogs. Looking at the map of the Hundred Seas, I work out a long thin island off the land of Allonia is the nearest place and will be their destination,
Using the rules for sea travel in Through Sunken Lands rules book I check to see if there is an encounter. This is a short journey and the ship seems to know what its doing. I get a ‘safe journey’.
With Anvarn the pirate captain safely on board, the little ship heads back in to the open seas. It continues in a North Westerly direction for a further four nights. The weather is fine, although getting colder as the ship goes further north. Moon and Anvarn sleep nights on deck, giving Tilly and the young Eldritch woman the privacy of the cabin. Whiskers the little winged cat sleeps in the crows nest whilst the spirit butterfly stays at the front of the ship, seemingly guiding the way.
The sea journey remains uneventful. On the 5th day land is spotted. The ship is making for an large island which Anvarn recognises as one of the outer islands of the ‘Slavers Empire of Allonia’. Neither Tilly, Moon or Anvarn are happy to be headed towards the land of the black helmeted warrior nation but it seems they have little choice in the matter.
Oracle Question. Is the ship making towards a town? No, but…
Random verbs, confess, peep, remember.
The ship is at first making towards a small town on the coast but then changes course and sails several miles further east along the coast line to a place where the shore gives way to a forest. The top of a tower can just be made out, peeping above the trees.
The ship docks by an old rotting wooden jetty. The gang plank appears between the ship and the jetty. The spirit butterfly hovers over the jetty and gives the appearance of beckoning the party to follow and the ship too feels like it is forcing the party to leave it. There is little choice but to follow the spirit.
The eldritch girl looks over the side of the ship and says to Moonwane that she feels she has been here before, but cannot remember when or why.
Tilly is the first to cross from the ship to the jetty. She places a bolt in both of her hand crossbows, ready to fire them if she has to. The Jetty is stronger that it first looked but Tilly suggests they go over it one at a time, just to be on the safe side. Anvarn the pirate follows Tilly, then the Eldritch girl, finally Moonwane with Whiskers curled round his neck. Anvarn confesses he has an ill feeling about being here and turns to return to the ship but in the short time it has taken to go from the ship to land the little ship has already make its way out to sea. There is no going back.
Scene 11 – The tower in the forest.
Intervention points still at 1
Is everything as expected? Yes, but…
The spirit butterfly leads them along an old abandoned and overgrown path into the forest. The forest is alive, the trees are tall, leafy and splendid but there is no noise, Anvarn points out that it is all too quiet.
After a brief walk they see where the spirit is leading them. A few yards ahead is a ruined tower.
The eldritch girl give a sharp intake of breath, reaches out and grabs Moonwanes arm, “I have been here before, I am certain. I have been brought here for a reason, this tower must be important to me. I have to go inside”.
Moonwane takes his battleaxe in one hand and offering the girl his dagger says “it seems the spirit would agree with you, if it could speak. We don’t know whats in there though, best take my dagger in case you need it”.
The spirit butterfly moves to the entrance to the tower. Tilly turns to the the rest of the party and puts her fingers to her lips, “quiet, wait here, let me go and scout the entrance”.
Tilly attempts to sneak up to the door, she makes a dexterity roll to see if she is able to. With her stealth skill she needs to roll 16 or less and rolls a 6. success.
Oracle Question. Is there anything barring the entrance? No.
Tilly quietly sneaks up to the entrance where the spirit is still hovering. Where once there may have been a wooden door, now only rusty hinges remain, the door must have rotted away. She looks inside.
Oracle question. Is there anything inside the tower? No.
Tilly can see that this is the ground floor. There is enough light entering to see what is inside the room. It is empty, dank with a musty smell. She waves the others forward and steps inside. Anvarn enters next, his greatsword at the ready, followed by the girl and finally Moonwane.
Oracle question. are there any other exits from this room? Yes, but… (roll d4 -1 to see how many, 3).
There is a door in the wall to the left of the entrance. It is barred by a wooden door, Moonwane tries to open it.
Moon rolls against his strength to see if he can push or pull the door open. needing 15 or less he rolls 11, success.
Moonwane pushes the door and it drops off its hindges on to the ground. There is nothing behind the door, it just leads back into the forest.
A stone staircase on the far side of the room bends round the circular wall leading upwards to another floor and there is also a trap door in the ground which Anvarn attempts to open it but it is stuck fast.
Tilly makes another dexterity check, 10 this time, another success.
Tilly moves silently up the stair case and peeks into the second floor, it is another open room.
Oracle question. Is there anything in the second floor? No.
Till can see it is empty as well, there stairs lead on up to a third floor, she continues up with a little more confidence this time.
Oracle question. Is there anything in the third floor? Yes, but…
Random verbs, long, name, glow.
Tilly gives out a whistle. there in the middle of the room is a statue, its face like that of the eldritch girl, a long silk robe which shimmers and glows in the light adorns the statue and at the foot of the statue a word is inscribed but its written in a strange language which Tilly cannot read. She calls for the others to come up. When they get there they stop and stare at the statue.
Oracle Question. Can the eldritch girl read the words on the statue? No.
Oracle Question. Can Anvarn read the words on the statue? No, but…
Tilly points to the head of the statue, “that looks like you girl, can you read the inscription”?
The Eldritch girl shakes her head, the writing makes no sense to her. Anvarn looks as well, he recognises the symbols but not what it says “I am surprised you cannot read it girl, these are old eldritch symbols. I cannot read it though. That cloak, its eldritch in origin, was it put here for you”?
Moonwane takes the cloak and puts it on the girl.
Oracle Question, does the cloak fit the girl. Yes, and… (+1 intervention point, now at 2)
The cloak looks like it was made for the girl, it is perfect in every way, even the subtle shifting of its colours seem to match the girls eyes, hair even complexion, and as she puts it on the symbols at the foot of the statue reveal their meaning to her, “I can read what that says now, its a name, Karintha, its my name, I am called Karintha”.
There is nothing else on this floor, no exits except the stair they came up by, which the spirit butterfly suddenly appears at the top of. Moonwane spots it, “looks like we are done here and something seems keen for us to leave, time to go I think”.
Oracle question. Does anything happen on the way down? Yes, but…
Random verbs. flower, measure, file.
The stairs are only wide enough for them to go down in single file. Tilly leads the way, followed by Karintha, Moonwane and Anvarn making up the rear. As they approach the first floor, Tilly hears noises, she signals for the others to stop.
Tilly makes a dexterity check to see is she can move to the ground floor without being detected. With her stealth skill she needs 16 or less and rolls 6, success.
Oracle question. Is there anyone in the ground floor room? No, but…
The ground floor is empty but Tilly can see someone running into the forest. She rushes to the door, mentally measuring the distance between her and the fleeing person, she realises they are too far away to hit with her hand crossbows. Tilly goes back inside. The other are standing at the trap door which would lead underneath the tower. On top of the trap door is a bunch of flowers which Tilly recognises as being from the same poisonous plants as those she was given in Jundarr. She pick them up and throws them in the direction the fleeing person ran off in, “someone has just been in here and left those flowers, for me I think, but how they know I am here I…
Tilly turns around to find Karintha desperately trying to open the trap door, shouting “we must go down there, there must be more answers here as to who I am, we will find them down there”.
Oracle question. Can Karintha open the trap door? Yes.
Karintha gives one final tug at the trap door and it fly’s open. taken by surprise, she falls backwards but is caught by Anvarn. “well girl, I tried to open that earlier, it wouldn’t budge”.
They all look down the hole in the floor. Rotting wooden stairs lead down into darkness, there is a foul stench coming up from below. The spirit butterfly is by the door leading to the forest, it seems agitated and keen for the party to leave. Whisker the cat blinks and disappears. Before anyone can stop her, Karintha is back on her feet, out of Anvarns grasp and descending down into the darkness.
Next time, what lays under the tower.
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