The Shifting Tides Act 1
Session 08 – The Third Terrace
The party began by exploring the strange tavern that, now, looked just as weathered and ruined as every other building in the city. On the upper floors, they found a magically sealed room. Attempts to dig through the walls revealed the chamber was encased in iron. After casting Dispel Magic, the door unlocked, revealing a small room containing a magical hourglass.
It turned out to be a time-viewing device—some kind of chronomantic lens that showed glimpses of the past, though with very limited control over what moment you were actually seeing. Interesting, but not exactly precise.
From there, the party made their way to the third terrace. This level featured a large church, an administrative building, and a couple of granaries. In the church, they found a strange mirror that, when touched, revealed forgotten memories. No obvious signs of danger, but clearly magical and tied to the city's past.
The administration building had several hidden compartments—one filled with scrolls, another with a set of wands. The rest of the loot was mostly coin and other valuables. Useful, but not particularly revealing.
Aelar took time to attune to the hourglass and used it to peer into the past of a large archive room. The room had once been filled with ledgers and documentation, but by the time visible through the hourglass, it was seen to be cleared out long ago.
Continuing their sweep, the party investigated two large granary buildings. More booze was discovered, stashed and long forgotten. No surprise at this point—consistent with the town’s long-standing commitment to hiding alcohol in increasingly obscure places.
While scouting the area, they noticed smoke rising to the south. A familiar was sent to investigate and spotted a sizable goblin camp—about 40 to 50 individuals—gathered around a large pit fire near a cave entrance. It appeared to be a settlement, not a mobile group.
Rather than engage, the party chose to fall back north to the second terrace, where their horses and carriage had been left. They made camp there for the night.Session 07 – Same Old, Same Old
The party began by exploring the strange tavern that, now, looked just as weathered and ruined as every other building in the city. On the upper floors, they found a magically sealed room. Attempts to dig through the walls revealed the chamber was encased in iron. After casting Dispel Magic, the door unlocked, revealing a small room containing a magical hourglass.
It turned out to be a time-viewing device—some kind of chronomantic lens that showed glimpses of the past, though with very limited control over what moment you were actually seeing. Interesting, but not exactly precise.
From there, the party made their way to the third terrace. This level featured a large church, an administrative building, and a couple of granaries. In the church, they found a strange mirror that, when touched, revealed forgotten memories. No obvious signs of danger, but clearly magical and tied to the city's past.
The administration building had several hidden compartments—one filled with scrolls, another with a set of wands. The rest of the loot was mostly coin and other valuables. Useful, but not particularly revealing.
Aelar took time to attune to the hourglass and used it to peer into the past of a large archive room. The room had once been filled with ledgers and documentation, but by the time visible through the hourglass, it was seen to be cleared out long ago.
Continuing their sweep, the party investigated two large granary buildings. More booze was discovered, stashed and long forgotten. No surprise at this point—consistent with the town’s long-standing commitment to hiding alcohol in increasingly obscure places.
While scouting the area, they noticed smoke rising to the south. A familiar was sent to investigate and spotted a sizable goblin camp—about 40 to 50 individuals—gathered around a large pit fire near a cave entrance. It appeared to be a permanent settlement, not a mobile warband.
Rather than engage, the party chose to fall back north to the second terrace, where their horses and carriage had been left. They made camp there for the night.Session 06 – The Ruins of Gresmarc
The party spent half a day traveling to the ruined city of Gresmarc. Initial exploration began at a large barracks structure near the edge of the ruins. Inside, they found a stash of old alcohol. Connie, after taking a large drink, got very drunk and shortly wandered off alone. It was around this time that the group realized Gresmarc was far more than a few ruined buildings—it was a full urban settlement.
From aerial surveillance, the layout showed the majority of the city was made up of barracks and apartment-style structures. The party decided to investigate the most distinct buildings first.
While Connie moved off on her own, the rest of the group explored a large foundry. One section held the remains of eight blast furnaces. Another featured a massive capstan over an even larger flywheel, connected through a network of large iron axles, gears, and power hammers. The entire complex appeared to have been part of a single, interconnected industrial system.
Afterward, the party moved north and entered another large building. Exploration revealed various secrets and hidden spaces. The building contained mostly unassuming loot and a number of minor mysteries.
Session 04 – Bird Eater Tower
The mountain path split at a fork—one road curved east around the range, the other climbed westward. Neither route offered an obvious advantage, and the party chose the western ascent. The trail narrowed as it wound upward along the edge of the mountain, eventually revealing a ruined watchtower perched above the pass. Its walls were cracked, the first floor was opened and found to be quiet.
The party explored cautiously. The lower level was empty. Stairs to the second floor had collapsed, but the group improvised a way up. They cleared the second floor and pressed on. At the top, inside a crumbling turret, they encountered a mimic—unusual, even among its kind. It spoke and offered no threat. Its manner was calm but alien. It claimed to be born of chaos, but stable. When asked its name, it asked for the meaning of the word “name.” When explained that it’s what defines someone, it proudly called itself “Bird-Eater.”
Conversation was brief and odd. As a gesture of goodwill, Bird-Eater gave the party three ancient coins from the Kingdom of Caldarra. Each one was in perfect condition, untouched by time. The coins raised more questions than answers, but the party accepted them. They made camp in the tower.
That night, Bird-Eater attempted to steal rations and was caught by Jack. A mild confrontation followed. The mimic backed off, only to return again and again throughout the night, pestering each watch. By the final shift, Slick took a different approach. He spotted an owl in the woods and fired from the turret window. He couldn’t descend normally, so he leapt from the second story and crossed the clearing.
The owl was gone. In its place was a chaos scale—iridescent, glassy, and near identical to the wyvern’s, but smaller. There was no blood, no feathers, no trace of the owl’s body. Slick returned with the scale and finished his watch. Bird-Eater retreated to its turret and did not return.
The next day, travel resumed. The new scale was added to the collection. When held near the originals, both began to vibrate at an unnatural frequency—high, invisible, and sustained.
The road narrowed again before spilling into a dead basin—flat miles of brittle grass and skeletal brush. The only break in the horizon was a shadowed cut between two mountain shoulders. The party made camp. During final watch, Slick spotted a figure in the dark—too far to make out clearly, but unnaturally large. It moved with erratic pacing: leaps, twitches, bursts of motion with no clear direction. As dawn neared, a group of rabbits tore through the camp, sprinting from the same direction.
Slick roused the others. Weapons were drawn. The shape was still distant, but closing.Session 05 – A Brush with Chaos
The party’s rest was interrupted by Slick seeing strange movement near camp. Slick roused everyone just before sunrise. Jack investigated, but the trail vanished—only to reappear near camp. Meanwhile, the rest of the group spotted a young chaos wyvern—kin to the alpha they had slain before. Smaller, it was drawn past the camp but didn’t attack. It locked eyes with Aelar, who carried the elder wyvern’s scales, through the opaque nature of the Tiny Hut. Then it wandered off.
The creature began shadowing them at a distance—watching but never engaging. On the first night, Aelar tried to lure it closer with food. It observed but didn’t approach. On the second night, it ventured closer. When Aelar revealed one of the elder’s scales, the young wyvern reacted—drawn to the scale. It nudged Aelar, then presented him with a rabbit, its own offering, before vanishing again.
The third night brought wolves. The party handled them easily, but the wyvern was spotted again afterward, silent and possibly protective. As the terrain shifted to a narrow crag-path and opened into a new valley, the wyvern became bolder. It dragged a deer into view of the camp—a clear gift—but remained skittish when approached.
Near distant, ancient ruins, it returned again. Alaric fed it. Aelar, sensing an opportunity, invited it within the space where Leomund’s Tiny Hut would be cast. When he activated the spell, the wyvern was trapped inside but didn’t panic—only paced the dome’s edges. Eventually, it curled around the chaos scale and lay still, humming with energy.
During fourth watch, Jack offered it whiskey. The wyvern was not amused—hissing, sneezing, and knocking the bowl aside. The noise startled it. When the spell was dismissed, it fled at terrifying speed.
The next day, the ruins loomed. The wyvern didn’t return—but its absence felt temporary.Session 02 – Bandits, Barns, and Brutes
The party's engagement with the bandits outside the village was loud—loud enough to draw attention, though it didn’t quite reach the manor. One of the fleeing bandits eventually informed those inside that a fight had broken out, prompting Lockjaw and his companion to head out and engage. The party slew them, and the remaining bandits fled in fear.
Hesel, captured during the previous encounter, remained alive and under guard. No further interrogation had been conducted.
During the fight, Aelar’s group located the three individuals they were tasked with rescuing. They were hiding in a nearby smokehouse—an elven druid, a dwarven barbarian, and a halfling sorcerer. None were injured. They were freed without resistance. Their initial behavior was cautious but cooperative. Their background and intentions remained unclear.
The surviving villagers fled south under Talon’s escort.
Once the village was cleared of bandits, the party buried the corpses. Lockjaw, his guard, and all the fallen bandits were interred in shallow graves outside town, in the woods. The effort was methodical—meant to prevent complications with locals and erase signs of the battle.
Talon commended the party on a job well done. He gave them a Bag of Holding containing basic provisions and offered them a new job: travel to Genth, retrieve a package, and deliver it to Redlin. Payment was promised at five thousand gold upon delivery. Hesel was taken by Talon and his associates. Levi’s interest in the prisoner, if any, was not disclosed.
Session 03 – Carriages and Mountains
The party returned to Kolderfall to acquire a carriage. Initial inquiries with the local carpenter revealed a six-month backlog on orders. The request was dismissed without deference—no exceptions made for adventurers or mission-critical needs. The party was directed to Balen, an old half-elf stablemaster operating on the outskirts.
Negotiations with Balen began at five hundred gold and escalated quickly. He was openly distrustful of adventurers and unwilling to haggle. Failed persuasion attempts hardened his stance. Final price landed at eight hundred and fifty gold. The party paid in full and secured the carriage.
With the new carriage tied to their travel plans, the party made preparations for scroll crafting during downtime. Travel began immediately along a lesser-known southern route through the mountains, chosen specifically to shorten the journey.
Two weeks passed without incident. By then, the party had crossed roughly 490 miles—an average of thirty-five miles per day. Genth remained over 1,600 miles away.
Approaching the mountain edge, the party encountered a skirmish between local rangers and a creature identified as a Chaos Wyvern. The wyvern’s body was translucent, rainbow-scaled, and hollow—its interior a dark, starless void. The rangers shouted warnings before being cut down mid-sentence. Three were killed instantly. Two remained alive when the party engaged.
Despite the creature already being bloodied, the fight was difficult. The remaining rangers were killed in the process. The party managed to bring the creature down.
Upon death, the wyvern’s body unraveled—folding inward like fabric pulled loose. It collapsed into nothing, leaving behind seven scales. Most shattered during looting. A few brittle fragments were recovered—glasslike and likely valueless, though arcane energy was faintly present.
The ranger corpses were stripped of useful gear, but no identification, notes, or satchels were found. No sign of a nearby camp. Their presence, uniforms aside, was entirely contextless. No one knows who sent them or what they were doing there.
Session 01 – The Beginning of the Rabbit Hole
Each member of the party was summoned by a curious letter. They traveled to the city of Kolderfall, where they were directed to the tavern known as The Broken Dagger. Inside, they were ushered into a back room to meet the individual responsible for the letters—an elf named Levi Lexington.
He informed them of a problem he needed resolved: bandits had waylaid his friends in the nearby village of Ardenshire. He offered 500 gold up front for the task. The party agreed, collected their payment, and retired for the evening.
The next morning’s departure was delayed slightly when Aelar and Faye went shopping for additional supplies, pushing back Talon’s intended early start.
The party was provided with horses, saddles, and basic travel gear. They departed alongside Talon, Talia, and Varenthil. Talia scouted ahead. Travel to the village was uneventful and aligned with Levi’s timeline.
Upon reaching the outskirts, the party used Aelar’s crow familiar to scout ahead. Patrol routes and bandit numbers near the perimeter were loosely confirmed. Entry through the main road went unchallenged, with only scattered patrols visible in the open.
The party spent the night outside the village, planning to infiltrate and create a distraction the following morning.
Combat began almost immediately. The first encounter was a group of eight bandits—standard gear, poorly coordinated. A second group of four followed shortly after. The staggered fights allowed the party’s frontliners to avoid being overwhelmed. Both groups were neutralized. All party members remained standing.
One brute surrendered during the skirmish. He identified himself as Hesel and was taken prisoner. Several other bandits fled in every direction.
With most of the town assumed cleared, the party took stock of the remaining threats. The barn, thought to house contain the villagers, now stood unguarded. There had been no contact from the manor.