Session 32, Arc IV

Shadows Follow the Shipwrecked

Played 22 December 2025 Watch the session

The party awoke to a horrifying discovery—several members found their skin beginning to melt away, revealing bone beneath as a skeletal curse took hold. Bones, already a skeleton, remained unaffected and seemed almost amused by the others' panic. The urgency of reaching Droshdech became paramount, as Curly had mentioned a cleric there who might cure their affliction. But before they could focus on their own survival, another matter demanded attention: the cursed staff they had acquired from the magic shop.

Bones revealed that his patron had taught him a spell to control the malevolent entity within the staff, claiming it would prevent the influence from worsening. Yomidrogo and Arri expressed deep skepticism, demanding to know the name of this mysterious patron and more details about the spell's nature. After examining the incantation, Yomidrogo determined it seemed legitimate, containing elements of evocation and transmutation magic, though the party remained divided on whether to trust Bones with such a dangerous artifact.

The debate grew heated as they discussed various storage options—Bones' pocket dimension, the bag of holding, or even hiding it at the bottom of the ocean. In a shocking moment, Kailyn suddenly grabbed the staff and leaped off the ship into the water, attempting to swim to the ocean floor to bury it. Arri immediately dove in after her, magically enhanced to swim at incredible speed, while Yomidrogo transformed into a shark to join the pursuit.

A chaotic underwater chase ensued, with telepathic arguments flying between the party members about the staff's safety. Arri grappled Kailyn and briefly seized the staff, but Kailyn created illusory duplicates of herself to confuse her pursuers. Eventually, Arri delivered a stunning blow that incapacitated Kailyn underwater. In a disturbing revelation, Kailyn discovered she could no longer breathe underwater despite being a water genasi, and water began filling her lungs as she struggled helplessly.

The shark-formed Yomidrogo and Arri brought the spluttering Kailyn back to the surface, where she gasped for air and confronted the party about their actions. She had been trying to protect them by hiding the staff, she insisted, but the others argued she should have communicated her plan. After further debate, they agreed to store the staff in the bag of holding temporarily, postponing any decision about Bones' spell until after they found a cure for their curse.

As they continued sailing toward Droshdech, Kailyn spotted a small boat adrift about three hundred meters away. Through her telescope, she observed three people aboard who appeared dead or unconscious, looking pale and slumped over. Beyond that, about a kilometer distant, a large shipwreck sat on the rocks with its hull split down the middle. Despite their deteriorating condition, the party decided to investigate these mysterious vessels.

Yomidrogo flew on his broom to the small boat, finding three dead merchants with no visible wounds except for bleeding noses. The sparse lifeboat contained no food or water, only a few coins and a merchant symbol. Using one of his grave flower potions, Yomidrogo spoke with one of the corpses, learning they had died yesterday from a "shadow" entity that had wiped their minds. The revelation sent chills through the party as they considered what might still lurk nearby.

Meanwhile, Cyrran flew on Campbell to investigate the larger shipwreck, finding it to be a massive merchant vessel that should have carried a crew of at least forty. The ship had been traveling from Goulcrest to Stonerane but was far off its intended route. On the second deck, Cyrran found a map showing the vessel's journey and alternate routes, but discovered no bodies—an unsettling absence given the ship's size. The party decided to approach with their main vessel, positioning it within cannon range in case of danger.

When the party landed on the shipwreck's unstable top deck, the wood immediately gave way beneath them. They crashed through the first deck, then the second, finally landing in the pitch-black bottom hold. Arri quickly created light, revealing crates, papers, scattered clothes, and a disturbing green glow in the distance. As they looked closer, they saw a grotesque creature—dark-skinned and hunchbacked, with long fingernails and an alien appearance, draped in human flesh.

The creature had slits for eyes, an indented nose, and a mouth that hung down to its chest. As it opened its jaw impossibly wide, an eye fell out, and it unleashed a wave of psychic energy that struck Bones. Combat erupted in the confined space as the party realized they faced something truly horrifying. Yomidrogo unleashed lightning, Arri summoned spiritual weapons, and Bones cursed the creature with dark magic.

The battle intensified when the creature turned to reveal cocoons behind it—grotesque sacs containing emulsified human remains. It ripped open one cocoon and inhaled the goo inside, growing larger as a human leg protruded from another cocoon. The party realized with horror that this entity consumed people, turning them into liquid sustenance. The creature's attacks knocked Arri unconscious, but Dexter quickly revived her with a healing potion.

Yomidrogo enhanced Arri and Bones with powerful magic that increased their speed and capabilities. Kailyn summoned a storm of ice and hail that created treacherous terrain around the creature. Bones bathed it in radiant moonlight, which seemed to cause it significant pain. The creature proved resistant to many forms of damage, but the party adapted their tactics, focusing on radiant and elemental attacks.

In the climactic moment, Arri shoved the creature back into the moonbeam's light and delivered a devastating punch. The radiant energy consumed the creature's shadowy form, causing it to explode into nothing but a pile of human bones and eyes. As the party caught their breath, they discovered three more cocoons and piles of clothes representing the creature's previous victims. In a corner, they found three unconscious, naked individuals who had been the creature's next intended meals.

The party thoroughly looted the shipwreck, finding fifteen hundred gold coins, weapons, ammunition, spices, fabrics, and various magical items. They discovered a water-damaged letter addressed to a contact in Kaxia, mentioning "goods procured from the rangers" and signed with "May Auril guide you through the dark to light." The cargo and documents suggested the ship, named The Grave Mantle, had connections to the Veurim Empire and was transporting weapons and possibly people.

Yomidrogo secretly filled a jar with the creature's goo and later consumed it, experiencing intense sickness but managing to keep it down. The party decided to take the three unconscious survivors as prisoners, gagging and binding them to prevent any potential threat. They noted that all three had blood dripping from their mouths and appeared to be two dark-skinned elves and one half-elf with tiefling features. With their loot secured and prisoners in tow, the party clambered off the unstable shipwreck and returned to their vessel, ready to continue their urgent journey to Droshdech before their curse consumed them entirely.