GM: Ezra || Solia 12 || Dahlia 5Before taking this job, we knew the old Northlander tales of Joturr: a legendary serpent so vast it was said to have once stretched around the world. The stories claim Joturr devoured ships and churned the sea into storms so violent that the gods sank the city of Ithal to ensure the serpent was trapped and its power sealed away.
There is also a prophecy that one day the sea will swallow the world, and Joturr will return.
More recently, the pirate Kint Uazi, leader of the Dark Tide, is said to have sailed into Joturr’s Fury, the constant maelstrom where Ithal once stood. Uazi used an ancient orrery to guide the way and returned changed.
The settlement we arrived in was built around the ribcage of a dead leviathan, which is not something one sees every day. We were directed to the Kelp and Kraken, where we met Thalia Moonshadow and Erlan Fleetfoot. Captain Aurora was not with us at the time, though we could see the Cutlass in the bay.
Erlan was hunched over an intricate bronze orrery. It was etched with runes, moving with ticking gears, and carried abyssal magic strong enough that I could feel it. He had stolen it from Uazi. Erlan also had scars along his neck that looked too much like gills to ignore.
When I touched the orrery, I saw a flash of a city beneath the sea: a tall spire, coral, and a vast serpentine shadow coiling through it. Then I came back to myself.
Erlan told us the Dark Tide are not just pirates anymore. They are becoming something else. He and his sister joined for coin, not for whatever this has become. He said brine was forced down his throat until he changed, and that his sister “joined the chorus.” From what we gathered, the chorus is part of the transformation. Erlan stole the orrery to spite them and to stop them, but he believed they were coming for it.
Thalia believed the orrery, called the Tidewheel, was the key to navigating the storm. Her map was less a normal chart and more a living equation, tied to ley lines, stars, and safe passage through Joturr’s Fury. The problem is that Erlan may be the only one able to help unlock its secrets, because the knowledge is tied to what the Dark Tide did to him.
Then the seawater came in.
The town began flooding, and we had to get to the Cutlass. Thalia led us through a cliffside passage and onto a bone bridge in heavy mist. Ranged attacks were difficult in the conditions. We were attacked by a drowned assassin and other creatures, which we dealt with before pushing forward.
We also found a family stranded on crates in corrosive water with volatile bottles nearby. Shev saved them. Vincel used Mage Hand to retrieve one of the bottles, and I helped him with a bit of quick guidance at the right moment. That worked, somehow.
Shev then made us a bridge so we could keep moving toward the water and the Cutlass. In the distance, Captain Aurora was fighting something with serpentine tentacles. People were throwing themselves into the water. The Tidewheel sent out a beam of light that struck Thalia, and Erlan dropped to his knees as the transformation tried to take hold again. His veins turned black, his gill scars bubbled, and the Dark Tide knew where we were.
We had to stop Erlan’s transformation in stages. We only had one chance at each phase. Vincel used his sword to interfere with the spreading markings, and together we managed to keep Erlan from becoming whatever the brine was trying to make him.
After that, Yashir’s enormous snake carried us toward the docks. We still had too many problems at once: innocents needed saving, the Cutlass had to be reached, and someone needed to get the Tidewheel to the spire and lighthouse to place it in its slot. Yashir handled a great deal of that, and we eventually made it to the Cutlass.
I used nearly all of my spell resources, mostly keeping Shev alive. I am not saying this to be unkind, but it is not sustainable. He needs better defenses, better caution, or both. Preferably both.
We survived. We helped the Mistbourne move closer to their larger goal. Erlan lived, which matters because he may be the only person who can help them understand the Tidewheel without becoming part of the Dark Tide again.
That is all I have for now.
GM: 𝔍𝔞𝔡𝔢|Vincel¹⁷|Bisky⁸|Lief¹⁰Temoren Cairnwright - 26-27 Kythorn, 1502 DR
*Party: Sylk, Arlis, Sal, Temoren*
Our party was sent north toward the Nether Mountains on behalf of Nahaungloroth the Sky Surge, of the Blood of Morueme. His messenger, Hario, delivered the assignment through a sealed letter. The task was simple in wording: remove an infection from the Sky Surge’s territory and return with proof.
Hario was worth noting. His skin had a subtle scaled quality to it, not immediately obvious, but present. Given who he serves, I recorded it.
We traveled along the Delimbiyr River route. The map provided was poor. Trails were misplaced, markers were strange, and the land did not match the page in several important places. I corrected my copy as we went and began drafting a better version.
We passed near Glaurachyndaar. It is large, fortified, warded, and empty. Not empty in the ordinary ruin sense. Empty in the “someone made sure this place was sealed, protected, or abandoned for a reason” sense. I do not know enough to state more with certainty.
After parting from Hario, we entered the mountain territory and found a ravine. The first fight was against swarms of stirges and giant scorpions. I was swarmed early and repeatedly stung, but stayed functional enough to heal, support, and place Faerie Fire where it would help the others.
Farther in, we found a cave with poisonous dragon-like creatures and wyverns. The fight was dangerous, but controlled. Salviron’s magic helped keep it from becoming much worse, and I focused on keeping Sylk and Arlis standing where I could.
We completed the work, collected proof, and signaled the Sky Surge as instructed. Payment was received. It was light for the amount of venom, blood loss, mountain travel, and recorder music involved.
I did get a better map out of it.
P.S. Fetch was disabled near the start of the first fight by friendly fire from Salviron. This is not a complaint, only a note for accuracy. He can be repaired. I have the tools.
~Temoren Cairnwright~
Temoren Cairnwright - Adventure Notes
Tarsakh, 1502 DR
Another month in the Syndicate, and I am starting to feel… established. Not settled. That would be dangerous. But established.
The most notable development: Fetch.
I have refined the Homunculus Servant spell enough to properly bring him into his own. He is no longer just something I built—he is a companion. Capable, responsive, and far more useful than most people would expect from something his size. He now wears the tricorn hat from the Goat Mayor (long story), which allows him to understand everyone. He still speaks through me, which is probably for the best. One of us should sound coherent.
I have continued sparring with others in the Syndicate and have improved significantly in how I manage my tools and wand together. There is a balance to it—positioning, timing, knowing when to act and when to let others take the lead. I am getting better at it.
My cobbler skills proved unexpectedly critical during travel through the Ice Spires. Long distances, harsh conditions, and not a single member of the party suffered exhaustion from poor footing or damaged boots. I will say this plainly: good boots save lives. People underestimate that.
I have also learned to scribe spell scrolls. I can produce them quickly now, though I would not yet call the process refined. There is still inconsistency in the work. That will improve.
The roads between Loudwater and Shining Falls have proven increasingly dangerous. During one patrol, we recovered a young boy named Milo from some displacer beasts. They were not acting out of malice... just hunger. The situation itself was… unclear. Milo claimed his friends abandoned him. His father claimed he had none. The truth is likely somewhere in between, and not a comfortable one. Either way, the boy is alive. That is enough for now.
The Syndicate continues to grow. New faces arrive regularly, which means new skills, new variables, and new risks. The kobolds remain as they are. Thrax is still… Thrax.
As for me, my atlas work continues to develop. The connections are stronger. More reliable. I am beginning to see how it could scale beyond small groups.
There is still a great deal I want to build.
I am looking forward to whatever comes next.
It has been a little over a month since I signed up with the Glassfang Syndicate back on the 25th of Hammer. I expected travel, contracts, and the occasional interesting problem. So far, it has delivered exactly that.
Our patrol toward Shining Falls was the most serious work yet. Goblins riding worgs had been harassing travelers along the runoff. We managed to deal with most of them, though not without some close calls. Bri went down hard at one point, but Solia and I managed to coordinate getting her back up while I worked to keep Jax from doing the same. I also discovered that keeping myself mobile is sometimes the best way to keep everyone else alive. Somewhere in the middle of all that I apparently sprouted radiant wings. I have no explanation for this yet, but they were helpful.
There have been quieter moments too. I have made a little coin in Shining Falls selling some of my maps and doing cobbler work for the halflings in town. Boots wear out quickly around here, and it turns out people are happy to pay someone who can fix them properly.
I have also been sparring regularly and getting stronger. Strong enough now to fully maintain my homunculus servant, Fetch. He has technically been with me all along, but he is considerably more capable now. Being short has its logistical challenges. Fetch solves many of them.
Not everything has been smooth among the Syndicate members. Solia and Thompson have had a bit of a rift after a hag apparently tried to bargain with Solia to break his heart in exchange for removing her feelings entirely. I told Thompson what happened. I am still not sure if that was the correct choice, but those two seem incapable of simply talking to each other like reasonable people.
Aside from that, everyone has been good company. New faces seem to arrive every day. The kobolds remain enthusiastically kobold. Thrax is still Thrax, though Na’ima insists he is not a proper orc since he apparently cannot speak their language. Na’ima herself is a fascinating person and I suspect I will learn quite a bit from her.
All things considered, the Syndicate has been exactly what I hoped it would be: a place where capable people gather and interesting work finds them.
Here’s to more adventures… and hopefully a few treasures along the way. I am still very glad I signed that contract.
Temoren Cairnwright
Artrificer Cartographer
GM: VeeFiled by: Temoren Cairnwright
Apologies for any misspellings
We were met by Wum Burdun, one of the local frontier scout leaders, along with Scövja Thurfurst, whose son had been taken. The problem was not just the kidnapping, but where it happened. Their people cannot cross into the Coldwood without breaking treaty, and since the Blood Riders had apparently decided giant children count as fair game, we were hired as the neutral solution.
King Heartwich wants peace kept if at all possible, because rampaging giants tend to complicate diplomacy. We were offered 1,000 gold and given five days before the giants stopped waiting and started responding.
Scövja told us her son, Burleigh, vanished after a fight near the edge of the mountains and the Coldwood. When she returned home, she found dead humans and horses and believed her son had taken several of them down before being captured. Their own scouts had been searching for days with no results.
At the camp in the Ice Spires, we found two dead humans and one dead horse, drag marks into the woods, and clear signs the Blood Riders had been there. The corpses were branded with a giant rune meaning death. Solia found a frozen finger with a ring, and nearby was a massive axe buried under fresh snow marked Ligia over a family crest. It was clear only two giants had been at the camp, but they had fought off more than ten humans and horses before Burleigh was taken.
At the Shining River, we found another dead body wedged between rocks. Solia spotted an ambush waiting across the river, and Yashir noticed a shimmer coming off the corpse. We determined he had been killed by a humanoid weapon through the chest, and we recovered an amulet with the initials E.T., worth around 200 gold.
After making camp, we found the Blood Riders’ holding site. Burleigh was chained in a cage, and Solia handled the rescue beautifully. She talked a horse into causing a distraction with promises of apples, picked three locks, and got the boy out without raising a full alarm. Very clean work.
On the way back, we were intercepted by a Blood Rider Captain and her group. I cast Faerie Fire and lit her and her horse up like a set of trail markers. The rest of the party made quick work of them after that. Solia landed the finishing shot on the captain, and while it was admittedly brutal, it was also extremely effective. Burleigh joined in by throwing rocks, and giant children throw rocks with frankly alarming force.
We returned Burleigh safely to Scövja Thurfurst and Wum Burdun, both of whom were very grateful that we were able to resolve the matter without technically breaking treaty, despite the Blood Riders having started the problem in the first place.
As for the team: Fetch went down on the first day, but I repaired him the next morning. Shev hit hard and took excellent advantage of targets once I had them lit up. Solia was exceptional throughout with stealth, lockpicking, animal handling, and ranged attacks. Her bow remains deeply concerning in the best possible way. Yashir fought bravely and did a good job pulling enemy attention, though he did go down once and required repeated healing after throwing himself into the middle of multiple enemies. Effective, yes. Advisable, less so. I would gently recommend remembering the rest of us are here to help keep him alive.
Overall, the patrol was a success. Burleigh was recovered, the treaty remains intact enough for politics, and no giant retaliation was triggered. That is about as clean an ending as we were likely to get.
GM: Ezra || Solia 12 || Dahlia 5Filed By: Temoren Cairnwright
Patrol Title: Goat Mayor
DM: Ezra
Location: Basht, Moonsea
Temoren, Shev, Sylthas, Bri, Yashir
Local Contact: Dagobert Valder
Local Goat Guide: Ladeaux
We arrived in Basht during their annual Goat Mayor Election festival. The town square was decorated with bunting and hawthorn hedges, and the current “Mayor,” a brown goat named Snowball, sat in a pen wearing a tricorn hat adorned with flowers and drinking beer from a bowl.
Snowball disappeared shortly after our arrival.
At the pen:
A trail of carrot chips led to a hawthorn thicket, where we found a young girl, Emma, who admitted she accidentally let Snowball out. She indicated he fled toward the forest.
Town leadership then revealed the truth:
For generations, a Fey entity demanded an annual male child as sacrifice. Later, through negotiation by Robin Goodman, the offering shifted to adult men, and eventually to the ceremonial “Goat Mayor.” If no offering is delivered, the town faces destruction.
With guidance from Ledu and a charm provided by Livie Alfera to resist Fey glamour, we entered the woods.
Encounters included:
We eventually entered a springlike glade hidden within the winter forest. Present were satyrs, a dryad, and Snowball.
They required participation in their festivities before conversation. We complied. They confirmed:
They provided us with a substitute brown goat identical to Snowball.
Notably: the goat spoke.
While wearing the tricorn hat, the goat spoke fluently and with personality. When the hat was removed, it ceased speaking entirely and reverted to normal goat behavior. The hat functioned as a magical conduit, likely a comprehension enchantment layered with vocal translation.
This was… deeply unsettling.
We delivered the goat to the forest’s edge as instructed.
An unseen Fey presence declared us late. Nearby, a man trapped inside a glass jar identified himself as Robin Goodman. The Fey announced the arrangement would end and sacrifice would revert to a child if displeased.
A game of Fidgel (Fairy Chess) was proposed, with a puzzle in place of a full match.
Terms:
Sylthas cleared the board decisively.
The Fey honored the bargain:
Yashir uncorked the jar. Bri identified the imprisonment as a Fairy curse. Robin Goodman was freed.
Basht’s cheerful festival concealed a centuries-old Fey bargain. Through strategy rather than sacrifice, the contract was ended.
Also, for record-keeping purposes:
The goat spoke.
It stopped speaking when the hat came off.
I would like that noted clearly in case I ever begin to doubt my own memory.
Filed,
Temoren Cairnwright
GM: VeeField Report
Filed By: Temoren Cairnwright
Affiliation: Glassfang Syndicate
Subject: Veradda Stoor Cache Investigation
Location: Black Road to Parnast, Base of the Greypeak Mountains
Objective
We were commissioned by the famed treasure hunter Veradda Stoor to investigate five rumored treasure caches. Our instructions were to travel the Black Road toward Parnast and meet her at a designated clearing at the base of the Greypeak Mountains. From there, we were to begin locating the first of the caches.
Purpose stated: recovery and exploration.
Purpose implied: evaluation of our capability.
During travel along the Black Road we observed:
The rune markings appeared deliberate rather than ancient. No immediate arcane resonance was detected at distance.
Upon arrival at the clearing at the base of the Greypeak Mountains, Veradda Stoor was not present. Instead, we located a letter addressed to us.
The letter indicated:
We elected to investigate the southernmost cave first.
Initial Conditions
Combat Notes
We encountered:
Upon arcane observation and post-combat analysis, I determined the following:
This suggests an external caster or lingering enchantment within the cave system. The origin of the spell remains undetermined.
Within the area we discovered a small bear.
Cairn remains stable and cooperative but will require monitoring to prevent dominance disputes.
We expected treasure.
We found a test.
And perhaps a shrinking problem.
Respectfully submitted,
*Temoren Cairnwright - Cartographer, Artificer, Reluctant Goblin-Exterminator*
GM: TorgnarlyPatrol Report: Shining Falls Runoff
Filed by: Temoren Cairnwright
Party: Bri, Yashir, Solia, Jax, Temoren
We traveled out toward Shining Falls and received our assignment: reports of travelers not returning, tied to a group of goblins mounted on worgs. I had only heard of worgs before. I will not be making that mistake again. The threat was active, aggressive, and required immediate removal from the runoff area. We cleared them out… to a point. We reduced the menace and broke their control of the area, but the cost was high and we came close to losing multiple members of the patrol.
Bri went down hard. Hard enough that the situation could have become a collapse if Solia and I hadn’t coordinated quickly. Even surrounded by teeth and blades, Bri’s refusal to stay down is notable. Once she was brought back up, she continued to press forward like the ground had only interrupted her briefly.
To keep others standing, I needed to stay standing myself. I realized quickly that mobility was my best defense, and I used it to reposition out of danger, create distance for crossbow fire, and still provide support. I was able to blink out of immediate threat, keep pressure on the goblins with my crossbow, cast faerie fire, and send healing where it was needed, including to Jax and Yashir.
During the engagement I manifested what can only be described as angelic wings. I am not a religious person and I have no interest in pretending I understand the source of it. For my purposes, they were guiding wings: they kept me alive long enough to keep others alive. Jax apparently thought I was leaving him to die when I moved away. I was not. Someone had to remain functional to keep the rest of us from falling apart, and I had the tools to do it. I gave Jax my two healing potions afterward. If nothing else, it should help him feel better about being earthbound and mortal.
This patrol was harrowing. If Thrax did not fully scrutinize the danger level of the assignment, I recommend that be corrected going forward. That said, it did strengthen something important: my resolve that I am on the right path with my studies. My atlas work is only going to improve, and when it does, it will improve the odds for everyone around me.
Solia lost her companion during this. I believe it is a setback, not an ending. The bond she had with that creature was rare, and Solia herself is steadier and stronger than she seems to believe in the moment.
Yashir fought valiantly. While he was positioned farther from the rest of the group, he kept enemies occupied and drew attention that could have turned on the patrol. That matters. It deserves acknowledgment.
Bri is a powerhouse. Her sword work was impressive, and I am glad she did not bring that full intensity into our sparring session. I believe the outcome would have been different. She also made a sound, strategic call in taking one goblin prisoner, which may prove useful depending on what they know and who they answer to.
Jax and I… may have bonded. I nearly let him die, didn’t, and he asked for help up while fully aware I could not physically move him. It was, in its own way, reassuring.
I don’t know what the next assignment will look like after Shining Falls, but I know this: we have work to do, and the Glassfang Syndicate will be ready for it.
