Despite the release of Kingdom Hearts 3, my players managed to make it to the session. Bleary-eyed and excited about the video game, but as somebody who’s played such games for many decades, who was I to complain? Anyway, they showed up and we had adventures!
I know this follows my previous write-up a bit quickly, but as noted I’d fallen behind and need to catch up!
Narrative
They decided to head back to the Octopus’s Smile – again! – to try to question the proprietor. At this point, the hour had reached midnight as they made their way through the dark streets of Piskaro.
But dark, leathery winged creatures descended upon them and tried to abduct the Bard. After a short fight, they took some of the residue from the creatures (who had exploded into a sort of sooty smoke) and then continued to the tavern once more. The Bard decided that she’d seen these sorts of creatures before and recognized their necromantic energy because of something similar that had befallen her sister. The group decided that the Bard’s use of arcane magic earlier that day had drawn these creatures to her.
They made entry, then paid off local ne’er-do-wells who saw them picking the lock of the back entrance. In the cellar, the corpses were gone, but the stains on the floor remained. Perhaps these stains had something to do with the attack on the Bard on their way here? The Paladin and Bard continued to inspect the common room upstairs, when more nightwings assaulted them. Again, the group defeated them quickly but managed to hang onto one for a brief telepathic interrogation.
Why were they trying to take the Bard?
Pomenysh – the word for those touched by the fey, which sometimes manifests itself via unnaturally red hair, among other markers.
Why did they not try to take the Paladin, then, who also had red hair?
Greshnik – the word for those accursed and touched by creatures from another realm, whether celestial or fiendish.
Who sent them?
The Daughters of the Eel… and a vision of an abandoned lighthouse, but little specifics.
They finished off the monster and returned to rest. The Thief knew of several lighthouses in the area, including abandoned ones, and based on the description the Bard gave them from her brief telepathic link with the monster, narrowed it down to two.
The Paladin found a hireling who could take them to the two and perhaps provide more information, a young rake named Rudolpho. At the same time, the Thief and Fighter returned to Dr Ambrosina, a “plague doctor” who told them a bit about the residue from the nightwings. She told them that she used it for healing purposes, and in fact traded them a healing potion in payment. What’s she up to, I wonder?
Lessons Learned
Players can justify so many things if you listen to them and use their ideas as jumping-off points. And sometimes, just the name of something you read can provide all the inspiration needed to improvise. It doesn’t have to match the source material exactly – it just needs to fit the story that you are telling as a group.
Technoskald's Forge 