Roster
Present
Coastal Encounters and Secrets
Date: May 27, 2026 — Session 10
Summary
The party sailed north through the night, hugging the coastline with lookouts at the bow. Killer whales surfaced nearby and moved on unbothered. Then, roughly seventeen mounted figures appeared out of the dark — riders atop seahorses, moving with the quiet intelligence of people who know exactly where they are. The party doused the boat’s lights and held their breath. The riders passed. Bimmie tried fishing without bait as a test of optimism. A small, deeply unattractive saltwater fish disagreed with the premise, took the bare hook, and was promptly replaced by better catch.
A large shark began circling at dawn. The party steered close to shore until it lost interest. By the time they reached Elsher’s Height — an ancient watchtower settlement with a tent market at the docks — multiple ships were converging on the same harbour. One of them lowered its blue-and-gold kraken flag as it entered port.
Barrish Stormwrap was waiting. He invited the party aboard his ship, had his cook prepare the shark steaks they’d brought, and served strong ale that tasted exactly like the kind you get in Eastguard. During the visit, a man walked into the captain’s quarters without knocking — finely dressed, pinstriped, pencil moustache. He introduced himself as Davriel Cane, explained he was disembarking at the next stop to acquire an ancient rare object, and stated his ultimate destination was Silvanesti. The captain nodded. No one pressed for details.
Sir Jangle Merrigold spent the visit examining the Bronze Book recovered from Itzan Klertal and managed to decipher one page clearly enough to read an inscription signed by Sir Corwin Ashford, Knight Of The Sword: “Mercy is not the end of suffering. Mercy is the hand offered during suffering.” A second page held a faint pictograph — crescent moon, upright feather, humanoid figure — that nobody could interpret.
The party left the folding boat at Elsher’s Height and began the overland march toward Westguard. They encountered two kobolds who panicked and hid. Then, with a crack of displaced air, a figure in red robes appeared directly in front of Brynnan, looked him in the eyes, and handed him a rolled parchment.
A summons. The Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth. One fortnight to present himself for the Test.
The party checked their map. Wayreth was not close. They agreed to reach Eastguard first and deal with the timing from there.
At the kender village of Littleshire — a five-way crossroads surrounded by low-crop farmland — Bimmie went in alone with minimal gear, got directions from a local kender, and the party skirted the settlement. Camp that night was halfway to Westguard. Bimmie cooked shark steaks with peppers and carrots over a roadside fire.
During the night watch, boots. Rhythmic, disciplined. A column of roughly twenty soldiers in blue armour emerged from the grass and turned onto the road — led by a woman in polished blue plate bearing a dragon emblem, eagle-eyed and straight-backed. The party moved off the road and held still. The column passed without stopping. Later, someone heard rustling in the camp bushes. At dawn, a large snake was discovered in residence. Sir Jangle Merrigold sang at it until it retreated.
Short
A night sail past seahorse-mounted riders, a shark circled and lost, breakfast with Barrish Stormwrap at Elsher’s Height, and a mysterious collector named Davriel Cane bound for Silvanesti. Sir Jangle Merrigold translated enough of the Bronze Book to find a Solamnic knight’s inscription about mercy. Then overland: a Red-Robed Mage of High Sorcery appeared from nowhere and handed Brynnan a summons to Wayreth with a fortnight’s deadline. A column of blue-armoured soldiers marched past camp in the night. A large snake was evicted from the bushes at dawn by music.
Classic
Last we left off, the ruins of Itzan Klertal were behind them and the north was ahead. This session was the exhale after the dive — a night sail, a pleasant meal with a pirate captain, a first translation of the Bronze Book, and then three consecutive problems arriving overland: a magic summons, a military column that may be the edge of a war, and a snake that had more confidence than it had any right to.
Brynnan now has a fortnight to reach the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth, and the party has twenty soldiers in blue armour somewhere behind them on the road to Eastguard. Whatever is coming from the north, it is already walking.
Snarky
The party sailed past intelligent seahorse-riders by turning off their lights and hoping. It worked. A shark circled the boat until they moved closer to shore, which is apparently the nautical equivalent of crossing to the other side of the street. Barrish Stormwrap fed them breakfast and let a mysterious collector in a pinstripe suit use his captain’s quarters. The Bronze Book yielded one interpretable page about mercy and a drawing nobody understands.
Then a wizard appeared from nowhere, handed Brynnan a strongly-worded letter about sitting a very important exam in two weeks, and vanished. A column of soldiers marched past camp. A snake had moved into the bushes. Sir Jangle Merrigold sang at the snake. The snake left. Nobody sang at the soldiers.
Limerick
The seahorse-riders passed in the night, The party sat quiet and killed all the light. A shark gave a look, They steered for a nook, And Stormwrap served breakfast at light!
A man in a suit mentioned Silvanesti, And Jangle read mercy from bronze — not bad, see? Then a wizard appeared, Left Brynnan afeared — “Report to the Tower.” Now where is his key?
Memorable Moments
A Red-Robed Mage of High Sorcery materialises on the road in front of Brynnan with a crack of displaced air, looks him in the eyes, and hands him a summons.
Official. Formal. No room to argue. The Test awaits in Wayreth, and the clock is already running.
Davriel Cane walks into the captain’s quarters mid-visit, introduces himself, announces he is going to Silvanesti to acquire an ancient rare object, and waits for no one’s opinion on the matter.
Whatever he’s after, he clearly already knows exactly where it is.
Sir Jangle Merrigold reads the first intelligible inscription from the Bronze Book — a Solamnic Knight’s line about mercy carved into a volume recovered from a sunken city.
“Mercy is not the end of suffering. Mercy is the hand offered during suffering.” — Sir Corwin Ashford, Knight of the Sword
Old words, written in a book that came from under the sea. Someone meant for these to survive.
A column of ~20 soldiers in blue armour marches through the camp at night, led by a dragon-emblemed commander. The party holds still and lets them pass.
They didn’t stop. They didn’t search. They were already going somewhere, and wherever that is, it is north of here.
Scenes
Night Sail
The party navigates the coast in darkness with unwanted company.
- Killer whales surfaced and moved on.
- Roughly seventeen mounted riders on seahorses appeared — intelligent sea folk.
- The party doused the boat’s lights and held course. The riders passed.
- Bimmie attempted to fish without bait. A small, unappealing fish disagreed with the experiment.
- A large shark circled at dawn. The party steered close to shore until it left.
Elsher’s Height
A watchtower settlement becomes a morning of diplomacy and discovery.
- Multiple ships converged on the docks, including Barrish Stormwrap’s vessel.
- Stormwrap’s ship lowered its kraken flag on entering port.
- The party was invited aboard; shark steaks prepared, strong ale served.
- Davriel Cane entered the captain’s quarters, named himself, announced his destination (Silvanesti) and purpose (an ancient rare object), and waited for a response that never came.
- Sir Jangle Merrigold translated a page of the Bronze Book: an inscription by Sir Corwin Ashford, Knight Of The Sword.
- The party left the folding boat here and began the overland march.
The Summons
A wizard arrives. A deadline begins.
- Two kobolds panicked and hid at first sight of the party. Left alone.
- A Red-Robed Mage of High Sorcery appeared with a loud crack directly in front of Brynnan.
- He handed over a rolled parchment: report to the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth within a fortnight to take the Test.
- The party checked their map. Wayreth is far. Decision: reach Eastguard first.
Littleshire
A kender village at a five-way crossroads.
- The village sits at a five-way road split surrounded by low farmland.
- Bimmie entered alone with minimal gear.
- A local kender gave verbal directions that required physical demonstration to actually convey.
- The party skirted the settlement and continued southeast.
Night Camp and Blue Armour
Something large moves through the dark toward Eastguard.
- Camp made off the roadside, halfway to Westguard.
- Bimmie cooked shark steaks with peppers and carrots.
- During the watch: ~20 soldiers in blue armour crossed the grass and turned onto the road.
- Led by a woman in polished blue plate bearing a dragon emblem — eagle-eyed, composed.
- The party moved off the road and held still. The column passed.
- Later: rustling in the bushes. At dawn, a large snake was found inside.
- Sir Jangle Merrigold sang at the snake until it retreated.
NPCs
Barrish Stormwrap
Captain of the blue-and-gold kraken-flagged vessel. Hosted the party aboard, fed them well, and offered practical intelligence about the coast — the mounted sea riders generally leave ships alone, and there is a thirty-foot shark near the southern ruins of Itzan Klertal.
Davriel Cane
A finely dressed collector who used Barrish Stormwrap’s captain’s quarters as though he owned them. High-collared black suit, regal purple accents, pencil moustache. He is heading to Silvanesti to acquire an ancient rare object. He did not explain what, or how he knows where to find it.
Red-Robed Mage of High Sorcery
Appeared on the open road with a crack of displaced air, delivered Brynnan’s summons by hand, and left. Nothing about the interaction suggested this was optional.
Sir Corwin Ashford, Knight of the Sword
Known only through the Bronze Book. A Solamnic Knight of the Sword whose inscription survived the Cataclysm on brass plates at the bottom of the sea: “Mercy is not the end of suffering. Mercy is the hand offered during suffering.”
Locations
Elsher’s Height
An ancient watchtower on the coast with a tent market at the docks. Multiple ships pass through. Barrish Stormwrap keeps it as a regular stop.
Littleshire
A small kender village at a five-way crossroads on the flat coastal plain between Elsher’s Height and Westguard. Low farmland surrounds it. The directions given here require demonstration rather than explanation.
Flat Coastal Plain
The overland route between Elsher’s Height and Westguard. Flat enough that a column of soldiers becomes visible from a fair distance. Not flat enough that a large snake can’t hide in the roadside bushes.
Items
Bronze Book
One page now translated. The inscription of Sir Corwin Ashford, Knight Of The Sword is readable. The rest of the script remains unknown. A pictograph — crescent moon, upright feather, humanoid figure — appears on a second page.
Summons to Wayreth
A rolled parchment delivered by a Red-Robed Mage of High Sorcery. Brynnan is ordered to present himself at the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth within a fortnight to take the Test. The clock is running.
Cap of Underwater Breathing
Command words confirmed during the overland march: “going down under” activates the breathing bubble; “coming up for air” dismisses it.