Dragons of Stormwreck Isle 4
September 1, 2024 ◇ 11 min read
Last time, the party broke the curse turning the harpy’s victims into zombies and defeated the harpy. The coast is much safer now.
- Part 1: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle 1
- Part 2: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle 2
- Part 3: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle 3
- Part 4: You're here
- Part 5: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle 5
- Part 6: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle 6 (Final)
Resources (purchasing items using the links below is a great way to help me maintain this blog):
Preparing for the Chapter
Besker Duskwinter
Insightful, Skilled, Stubborn human Paladin
Assets: Empowered, Loyalist, Shield-bearer (2)
Edge: 1, Heart: 3, Iron: 2, Shadow: 1, Wits: 2
Health: 5, Spirit: 5, Momentum: 6
Nellandra Dalarandar
Powerful, Dependent, Selfish elf Wizard
Assets: Improviser, Slinger (2), Invoke
Edge: 2, Heart: 2, Iron: 1, Shadow: 1, Wits: 3
Health: 5, Spirit: 5, Momentum: 2, Essence: 3
Shared supply: 5
After resolving troubles with the zombies and Compass Rose, Tarak approached our party and asked for help. He used to visit the Seagrow Caves to acquire heart cap mushrooms from the myconids for his healing potions, but recently the myconids have installed a guardian at their caves, a fungus-covered octopus, that prevents him from entering. He would like to reestablish contact with the myconids, find out what happened to them, and have the party bring him back some heart cap mushrooms. He then gave them a sack of foul-smelling food scraps for the myconids as a gesture of friendship.
Swear an Iron Vow (Besker)
Vow: Reestablish contact with the myconids (dangerous).
Weak hit: 2 + 3 (heart) = 5 vs 7, 4. +1 momentum.
Possible milestones for Reestablish contact with the myconids quest:
- Journey to the Seagrow Caves
- Get past the spore guardian
- Discover why myconids isolated themselves
We don’t know anything else about what’s happening out there, so this should do for now.
Before they start their next journey, Nellandra wanted to replenish her magic essence at Bahamut’s temple.
Invoke: Face Danger (Nellandra)
Weak hit: 3 + 3 (wits) = 6 vs 3, 9. -2 spirit.
Nellandra's magic essence is currently at 6.
Endure Stress (Nellandra)
Strong hit: 5 + 5 (spirit) = 10 vs 3, 8. +1 momentum.
It was not as easy as the first time. It came at a price, but hopefully, it will be worth it.
Journey to Seagrow Caves
As per Tarak’s instructions, the party can reach the Seagrow Caves by traveling by boat or by foot along the coast.
Will they travel over land?
Ask the Oracle (Likely): 45, Yes.
Walking around the coast of the island is a little easier than rowing, so it was an easy choice.
Undertake a Journey (Nellandra)
Strong hit: 6 + 3 (spirit) = 9 vs 1, 6. You make good use of your resources: Mark progress.
Waypoint: Protected, Lush Bay/Fjord
Overland waypoint: Overland Details or Descriptor + Focus
Overland details: Crystal-clear water glimmers within a sinkhole
Progress 6/10
Undertake a Journey (Nellandra)
Weak hit: 6 + 3 (wits) = 9 vs 2, 10. -1 supply.
Waypoint: Dead, Forgotten Path
Overland waypoint: Overland Details or Descriptor + Focus
Overland details: Ladders or ropes lead to higher terrain
Progress 9/10
Reach Your Destination (Nellandra)
Journey to Seagrow Caves resolved. Weak hit: 9 vs 9, 8.
Action + theme: Uncover Fear.
Reach a Milestone: Reestablish contact with the myconids. Milestone: Journey to the Seagrow Caves.
Progress 2/10
The terrain was rough and the path challenging, but they managed to successfully reach their destination.
An opening gapes in the cliff face two hundred feet below you, like a mouth drinking in the crashing waves. Two natural stairways formed of stone columns offer ways down the cliffs.
The cave is partially submerged, and before delving into it, I need to determine if the tide is low or high. Adventure's Tides table:
| Time | Tide |
|---|---|
| Midnight to sunrise | Low |
| Sunrise to noon | High |
| Noon to sunset | Low |
| Sunset to midnight | High |
According to the adventure, overland travel should take about two hours. Besker and Nellandra started their journey early in the morning, and now they have a few hours until the tide is low. Entering the submerged cave with its octopus guardian during low tide sounds like a more sensible option. They decided to wait and Make a Camp.
Make Camp
Weak hit: 1 + 4 (shared supply) = 5 vs 10, 2.
Besker: Focus: Take +1 momentum.
Nellandra: Relax: Take +1 spirit.
A few hours later, now with the sea at low tide, a five-foot-wide pathway was exposed along the base of the cliff, leading inside the tunnel.
Seagrow Caves
Multicolored fungus covers the walls of this tunnel, its bioluminescent glow filling the cavern with dim light. The surface of the water swirls with colorful, faintly glowing spores—perhaps reacting to the movement of something under the surface.
Both of them wanted to avoid conflict if possible, Besker to keep a friendly relationship with the myconids, and Nellandra to avoid getting mauled by a mushroom octopus. There’s no telling how the myconids would react to someone attacking their guardian.
Face Danger: Invoke (Nellandra)
Strong hit: 5 + 6 (essence) = 10 vs 5, 3. -1 essence. +1 momentum.
Reach a Milestone: Reestablish contact with the myconids. Milestone: Get past the spore guardian.
Progress 4/10
Nellandra cast a Conjure Perception spell, creating an illusion of a person swimming into the tunnel. Once they spotted movement, with tentacles flailing toward the illusion, they wasted no time and silently slipped past the guardian using the exposed walkway along the wall. Luckily, the guardian, occupied by the illusion, didn’t follow them once they had made some distance, and when the illusion was dispelled, it simply returned to guarding its post.
This fifty-foot-high cavern is a forest of multicolored fungi, ranging from tiny filaments to tree-sized mushrooms. A natural staircase of stone columns along the east wall leads up ten feet to a higher cave area in the north. Water burbles down from that upper cave and collects in a large pool. Two small mushroom-like people are working amid the mushrooms near the pond. A sickening smell, like sulfur, hangs in the air.
Some distance ahead, two mushroom sprouts were spreading something on the ground, paying no attention to the party for now.
As you advance into the cave, a sickly looking mushroom suddenly stirs to life. It extends long purple tendrils toward you and moves slowly across the cave floor on root-like tendrils.
The sprouts, alarmed by the sudden fungus movement, sprinted away up a nearby platform and disappeared from sight. The fungus’s tendrils looked dangerous, but its slow movement made them easy to dodge.
Enter the Fray (Besker)
Weak hit: 1 + 3 (heart) = 4 vs 3, 7. Prepare to act: Take initiative.
Enter the Fray (Nellandra)
Weak hit: 2 + 2 (heart) = 4 vs 4, 3. Prepare to act: Take initiative.
Challenge track (troublesome): Fight against Violent Fungus.
Progress: 0/10
Aid Your Ally (Besker)
Weak hit: 3 + 3 (heart) + 1 = 7 vs 8, 5. +1 momentum each (loyalist).
Besker moved into position, shielding Nellandra, making it easier for her to concentrate on offense.
Strike (Nellandra)
Miss: 2 + 2 (edge) = 4 vs 10, 10. Match event: Lose Time.
Pay the Price: -1 momentum. It forces you to act against your best intentions.
Before she could cast the spell, the fungus shot its tendrils, lashing at Besker’s shield. It had longer reach than they expected and caught them off guard. While repelling the attacks, another fungus, camouflaged among the other mushrooms, attacked them from behind.
Face Danger (Besker)
Weak hit: 6 + 2 (iron) + 1 = 9 vs 10, 8. -1 momentum.
Combat method: Aim.
Combat target: Strength.
Combat action: Reveal a surprising truth.
A glancing blow, the tendrils emanated a spine-chilling energy, sapping the victims’ strength.
Invoke: Face Danger (Nellandra)
Strong hit: 6 + 5 (custom) + 5 = 10 vs 1, 4. -1 essence. +1 momentum.
Nellandra attempted to break free from being flanked by the two mushrooms. With a short chant and a gesture, she generated a blast of radiant energy, pushing away both attackers, and the party moved away to avoid flanking, watching out for other hidden threats around them.
Strike (Nellandra)
Combat method: Hold.
Combat target: Weapon.
Spell intent: Conjure.
Spell essence: Fire.
Miss: 5 + 1 (iron) = 6 vs 7, 8. -1 health.
Emboldened by the last surge of power, she summoned a fiery greataxe and swung it at the fungus in a heavy vertical arc, missing it by an inch. The impact of the strike threw her off balance just long enough for the fungus to retaliate.
Endure Harm (Nellandra)
Strong hit: 2 + 4 (health) = 6 vs 4, 3. Embrace the pain: Take +1 momentum.
She let out a cry of pain and angry frustration, dispelled the weapon, and managed to roll away from danger.
Face Danger (Besker)
Weak hit: 3 + 3 (heart) + 1 = 7 vs 9, 5. -1 health.
Endure Harm (Besker)
Weak hit: 2 + 4 (health) = 6 vs 5, 7.
Besker moved in to block the fungus's flinging tendrils, its chilling hits mostly absorbed by his armor.
Strike: Hold them back (Nellandra)
Weak hit: 4 + 1 (edge) = 5 vs 6, 2. Retain initiative, inflict 1 harm.
Fight against Violent Fungus
Progress: 3/10
Strike: Hold them back (Nellandra)
Strong hit: 6 + 2 (edge) = 8 vs 7, 1. +1 harm. Retain initiative, inflict 1 harm.
Fight against Violent Fungus
Progress: 9/10
Fight against Violent Fungus resolved. Strong hit: 9 vs 5, 2.
Nellandra flung two bolts of radiant energy. The first one knocked it down, leaving a large, blackened, burned scar where it struck. The second bolt burned it completely, its tendrils flailing uncontrollably before shrinking and curling.
Clash (Besker)
Weak hit: 4 + 2 (iron) = 6 vs 2, 8. -1 health.
Fight against Violent Fungus 2
Progress: 6/10
Endure Harm (Besker)
Weak hit: 4 + 3 (health) = 7 vs 3, 9.
Besker charged at the remaining opponent. He clashed with the tentacled mushroom and slashed at it, putting faith in his shield to protect him from most of the blows until he could bring the enemy down.
Strike: Hold them back (Nellandra)
Combat method: Force.
Combat target: Defense.
Weak hit: 4 + 1 (iron) = 5 vs 7, 2. Retain initiative, inflict 1 harm.
Fight against Violent Fungus 2
Progress: 9/10
Fight against Violent Fungus 2 resolved. Weak hit: 9 vs 9, 3. It's worse than you thought: Endure Harm. -1 health.
Endure Harm (Nellandra)
Miss: 2 + 3 (health) = 5 vs 6, 10. -1 momentum.
Unable to properly aim with Besker in her line of sight, she opted for a different approach and used Besker as a catalyst for her spell. She chanted an incantation and placed a hand on his back, charging him with pure force. With the next hit of a tendril, the charged force discharged in retaliation and shattered the fungus's spongy body.
Exhausted, they both slumped to the ground, catching their breath. The enemy had proven more challenging than they had anticipated.
Reach a Milestone: Reestablish contact with the myconids. Milestone: Get rid of the violent fungus.
Progress 6/10
All around them, mushrooms and growths of various kinds populated the cave floor and walls. Above them, myconids and the sprouts who had fled before the battle watched carefully.
Do they notice the sickness plaguing the cave's fungi?
Ask the Oracle (50%): 32, No.
Once they stood up, they both heard a voice in their heads, the myconids communicating telepathically, thanking them for dealing with the violent fungus that had recently become a nuisance. The myconids asked why they had come and warned them it was dangerous. The colony was sick, and intruders were not welcome. Besker and Nellandra explained their quest and offered the package provided by Tarak. In return for the gift, the myconids agreed to escort them around the caves, but until the sickness was cured, no more outsiders would be allowed.
This cave reeks of rot, and the floor is covered with decaying vegetation. Three small mushroom-folk are working amid the filth. In the southwest corner of the cave, a bulbous object the size of a cart clings to the wall and ceiling, glistening like a glob of jelly.
Moving into the next chamber, one myconid spread the contents of Tarak's package onto the compost field. Other myconids worked nearby, gathering fertilizer and distributing it to other areas.
Are they able to identyfie what the glob is?
Ask the Oracle (50%): 35, No.
Investigate closer?
Ask the Oracle (Unlikely): 60, No. Better keep away.
Keeping a distance from the suspicious jelly glob, they moved deeper into the cave complex.
Six clusters of giant mushrooms are arranged in a rough circle around this cavern. Several human-sized mushroom folk stand in a circle in the center of the cave. The smell of sulfur is stronger here.
Noticing the foul smell, they asked where it was coming from. The myconids pointed to the next chamber, glowing slightly with an orange light. It had always been like this, but never so strong. The light was too intense for the myconids to approach. Near the cave's entrance, the smell was nearly unbearable.
The air in this cave is choked with thick smoke that assaults your nostrils with a pungent odor of brimstone. Strange, flickering orange light illuminates the smoke. This area is free of fungal growth; instead, crystals grow from the rock. To your right, a large cluster of purple crystals juts from the stone. On the far wall, a glowing orange crystal wedged into a fissure in the cave wall seems to be the source of the light. Streaks of soot trace a path along the cave walls between the purple crystals and the fissure.
Gather Information (Nellandra)
Weak hit: 3 + 3 (wits) = 6 vs 4, 8. +1 momentum.
Action: Threaten.
Theme: Community.
Combat action: Reveal a surprising truth.
Combat method: Abort.
Combat target: Protection.
That orange crystal must have been blocking the natural vents through which the poisonous gas used to escape. There was also another group of fume drakes nesting near it. Nellandra furrowed her brows, she had had enough of fume drakes. And it smelled horrible. Definitely not going in there.
Reach a Milestone: Reestablish contact with the myconids. Milestone: Discover why myconids isolated themselves.
Progress 8/10
Without another word, she began casting a spell. Between the palms of her hands, a ball of frost slowly formed, pulsing with a white-blue light. She took aim and rolled the ball across the cavern floor, leaving a frosty path behind. Immediately afterward, she turned away, said "Run," and bolted toward the room with the myconids. Besker, after a moment of hesitation, joined her. Shortly after, they heard the sound of hundreds of icicles shattering against the walls, a cold misty fog enshrouding the cavern with the orange crystal.
Nellandra passed the myconids and crouched at a safe distance, observing. Besker halted near the myconids, unsure what to expect. From the misty, cold fog, fume drakes emerged - hissing, hurt, and angry - followed by a burning snake. Alarmed, the myconids rushed to defend their sprouts, and both monsters and mushroom people clashed in battle. Besker joined the fray, but even though the myconids were sickened, they had an overwhelming numerical advantage and quickly dispatched the monstrosities.
Reach a Milestone: Reestablish contact with the myconids. Milestone: Clear the natural vents in the caves.
Progress 10/10
Nellandra joined the others and communicated with the myconids, telling them that their problems were solved and the gas should dissipate shortly. She then moved toward the now empty cavern, filled with natural light, the frosty fog nearly gone.
Scattered on the ground lay the remains of the orange crystal, mixed with several pieces of black obsidian. Nellandra examined one of the black pieces, and with Besker's help, began collecting every one she could find.
Fulfill Your Vow
Reestablish contact with the myconids resolved. Weak hit: 10 vs 10, 9. +1 exp each.
Action: Search.
Theme: Vengeance.
Once they were done, she suggested they return to the sanctuary, their work here was finished, and Tarak could handle the rest. Besker didn’t protest. After the fight with the Violent Fungus, he had had enough mushroom encounters for one day.
Under their feet, a barely noticeable tremor could be felt, if one paid enough attention. A sign of volcanic activity caused by events long past.
