Session Recap
Session I
A group of heroes awake to find themselves bound and shackled in a Sovereign prison wagon, deep in the farthest reaches of The Wilds. As they regain consciousness, the four are flooded with visions of their last memories here in The Cut. After escaping and evading pursuit, they find the small town of Switchwickett and are taken in by a man named Oldrick and his ward Deborah.
Upon removing their chains, he reveals that they are each marked with the Sovereign Saint's seal - a winged gryphon burned into their left wrists. In exchange for more information, he asks for their help in rescuing his wife from the Red Hand, a group of reavers who took her captive. The heroes accept and journey to Briarheart, the Red Hand's last known camp. Upon arriving, they find the estate in ruins and hear strange noises emanating from a an old building at the far side of the camp.
KEY NPCS:
Stephen Scuttlebug Sr. - Steve’s Father (Deceased)
Genevieve - Steve Sr’s Assistant (Deceased)
Bubbie - Hugh’s Hound Companion (Deceased)
Deckard Primm - Hugh’s Academy Rival
Silent Sister - Strange masked warrior of the Faith Militant
Cypress Downe - Bird’s Mentor, leader of the Mist Stalkers (Deceased)
K - David’s Free Path contact
Barkeep Stu - Free path fence who betrayed David
Deborah - Guardian of Switchwickett and Free Path agent
Oldrick - Free Path figurehead and party’s savior (Deceased)
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Session II
The heroes infiltrate the compound of Briarheart under cover of darkness, where they discover cages filled with disfigured humanoids. Thinking on his feet, Hugh frees the creatures to use them to their advantage in a fight against the Red Hand reavers. Hearing screams and laughter from the homestead, the group pushes further into the compound.
They are attacked by a small blue Shrike, Identified by Bird as a member of The Shade Talons, who injures three of them before escaping into the dark forest. The heroes rescue Rose and stabilize her wounds, finding a mysterious note of correspondence with the Shrike homeland of Mistveil Keep. The party heads back to Switchwickett to find the town in ruins, engulfed in fire and blood.
KEY NPCS:
Pinky - Hummingkin Red Hand agent (Escaped)
Rose - Oldrick’s wife
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Session III
The township that once granted them refuge lies destroyed, its men, women and children slaughtered in the streets by an unknown enemy. Among the horror, the party finds their patron, Oldrick, hanging dead from the signpost just outside of town. Any secrets he may have had regarding their capture, now lost.
The party divides to investigate and discovers a few of the attackers now dead, slain by Deborahs hand. Beneath their black-hooded garb, they find a pressed metal amulet baring the symbol of Hargoff, the homeland of the Goff people. As a token of her gratitude for Rose’s safe return, Deborah gifts Steve one of Oldrick’s prized possessions, a unique obsidian pick. While exploring, David is suddenly overcome with a vision - a tall figure with an amputated left arm and massive cleaver at his side. The man locks eyes with David as a look of recognition washes over his face and he strikes out in a rage. As the vision abruptly ends, David finds the fabric of his shirt torn from the strange encounter.
The party bunks down for the evening in the stables before traveling north to the town of Miller’s Bend seeking aid for the barely-conscious Rose.
KEY NPCS:
“Master” - Cruel figure from David’s past as an enslaved person (Vision)
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Session IV
The party leaves Switchwickett for Miller's Bend with Rose, hoping to find medical care. Steve begins an impromptu musical session, bringing a moment of much-needed optimism.
Suddenly, an ambush by Red Hand reavers cuts through the momentary levity. The party fights back, taking on a familiar, short blue figure and a cloaked Goff woman. They defeat this new stranger and her Hummingkin counterpart, confirming that he is indeed from the Shade Talons, tying him yet again to Mistveil Keep. The woman's once-glowing, lantern-shaped bell loses its power upon her death. Upon inspection, a strange blue shard is found on the woman’s person. It reacts with the lantern she held, causing a blinding white light to envelop them.
They find themselves in an otherworldly, white void, stripped of their possessions and unable to move. A chorus of voices chant a prophecy in their heads:
“Boar. Beetle. Sparrow. Hound.”
As it echoes through their chests, they begin to see visions of their past deeds - the first lives they took here in The Cut. As the vision fades, they plummet back to earth and land back in their bodies, on the Kings Road. With renewed vigor and new skills, they discuss their plan for Deb to take Rose to a healer and for the party to travel north to find "the Unstinkable" at Miller’s Bend.
KEY NPCS:
Pinky - Hummingkin Red Hand Lieutenant (Deceased)
Ringer - Goff Red Hand Lieutenant (Deceased)
Mysterious Voice - Disembodied voice chanting in the party’s minds (Unknown)
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Session V
The group arrives at Miller's Bend, a bustling trade hub in The Wilds. As they pass by the slum docks, they witness a poor fisherman being denied entry and accosted by guards. Suddenly, a massive explosion from the Grand Bulwarkin the far north causes havoc and confusion in the rural town. In the ensuing chaos, the party kills the Baron’s guards, gaining the trust of the poor fishermen who dispose of their bodies with a nod. They split into two groups, one collecting bounties and the other investigating the Sovereign cathedral.
The latter party discovers settlers swarming the church grounds in some sort of sacrificial ceremony. The former collects a bounty from Baron Payne, who, in a shocking twist, presents a warrant for their arrest. After a tense moment, he offers a deal in exchange for their freedom and the party agrees to solve recent disappearances in Miller's Bend. The sound of heavy crossbows can be heard retreating from overhead and they soon realize they have been being watched and have no real choice in the matter after all.
On their way through the empty moonlit streets, the party saves a young woman from a brutal attacker only to discover that she has turned into some sort of horrific, toothed monster. After dispatching her with the swing of an axe, hundreds of small black slugs pour from her body, seeking the nearby water of the Fingers. Steve captures one of the creatures, believing it may be connected to the city's recent disappearances.
Gathering their wits, the party arrives at The Unsinkable, a makeshift tavern constructed from a beached old warship, where they are to meet with Deb. They speak to the bartender, Lou, about strange occurrences in the town, sharing drink and gossip. Suddenly a mysterious figure intervenes and reveals herself to be Sage, Deb’s contact here in Miller’s Bend. She questions them briefly before inviting them to her quarters. Sage explains the nature of the Sovereign marks on their wrists and reveals Stephen's father was in fact a Free Path revolutionary. She offers the party a place to stay for the night, promising more answers in the light of a new day.
KEY NPCS:
Tobin - Foreign Pilgrim from Oldmorrow (Saved)
Baron’s Men - Town guards roughing up pilgrims (Deceased)
Baron Payne - Leader of Miller’s Bend (Allied)
Sage - Owner of the Unsinkable and spymaster of the Free Path (Allied)
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Session VI
The players awoke in The Unsinkable, where Sage outlined their primary goal - to journey north and rid themselves of the Sovereign mark on their wrists.
Side objectives were also offered: stabilizing Miller's Bend, aiding Mistveil Keep's Shrike, and helping Hargoff's Goff tribes. Opting to start with Miller's Bend, they entered the city's underground aqueducts to search for the missing townsfolk.
Upon reaching The Fingers, the waterway outlets pouring from the mills, the grateful foreign pilgrims from the previous day hailed them as heroes, dubbing them "Divinus Quattor" and presenting gifts.
Venturing further into the dark aqueducts, they reached a chamber emanating an eerie green glow. Tragically, they found the missing villagers' bodies scattered about. The group was suddenly set upon by swarms of monstrous leeches and infected humanoids. Amid a fierce battle, a terrifying mass of leeches emerged from a hooded figure, and a hidden throng of villagers emerged as traitorous thralls. Dispatching the leader and her minions, the group emerged victorious.
With the mystery resolved and the threat vanquished, safety returned to Miller's Bend. Investigating the glowing chamber's center, they uncovered the source - a crystalline obelisk affixed with Sovereign fixtures. Strewn, dead about the chamber were a score of the Baron’s men. As they attempted to remove the obelisk, disaster struck. Steve's blow shattered the fragile structure, releasing an explosion of fragments and fading its glow to darkness. The obelisk's enigma was shattered along with it, leaving the party to contemplate the consequences of their actions in the depths below.
KEY NPCS:
Tobin - Foreign Pilgrim from Oldmorrow (Betrayal - Deceased)
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