Session 4, Arc I
Crossroads Chaos
Played 10 July 2025 Watch the session
The party continued their journey along the Bronze Track toward Easthills, encountering various wildlife including squirrels, birds, and a lone wolf during their travels. As they progressed, the terrain shifted from green grassy areas to the dry landscape of the upper Mediata Savannah. Despite some navigation difficulties that added extra time to their journey, they eventually arrived at the bustling Delilao Crossroads, where all four routes of the Bronze Track converged into a temporary marketplace filled with colorful market stalls and merchant wagons.
At the crossroads, Yomidrogo sought out a book repair service and found Alara's Epistle and Emporium, a cozy purple tent run by an elderly elf named Alara. She agreed to repair his damaged medicine book for 10 gold pieces and offered various scrolls for sale, including a valuable Alter Self scroll for 275 gold. After consulting with his companions, the party decided to sell their Arcane Lock scroll to Alara for 300 gold pieces, providing them with much-needed funds for their adventures.
While browsing Alara's shop, Yomidrogo researched historical texts and found a book by Herro Adlen from the Ximian Empire period that mentioned plans to remove elves from forests. Bones searched for information about tieflings and necromancy, finding some relevant mentions in various historical texts. However, when Yomidrogo attempted to negotiate for the expensive Alter Self scroll, he impulsively cast a sleep spell on Alara, accidentally knocking out both the shopkeeper and Bones in the process.
Panicking over their unconscious friend and the sleeping shopkeeper, the party decided to rob Alara's shop, stealing back their Arcane Lock scroll, a Healing Word scroll, and other valuable items. When a customer entered the shop, they successfully deceived her by pretending to be employees, even leaving a fake note to explain Alara's absence. They managed to escape the shop without being caught, though their criminal activities were just beginning.
The party then visited Emmeg's Osseous Ornaments, a disturbing bone shop run by an orc named Emmeg who became unnaturally interested in Bones' skeleton body. When Emmeg offered hundreds of gold pieces for Bones' actual bones and became increasingly threatening, Yomidrogo cast another sleep spell to protect his friend. This caused another commotion when a customer discovered the unconscious shopkeeper, leading to the arrival of guards who began investigating the disturbances.
Two guards led the party away from the crossroads to a secluded forest area, where they revealed themselves to be corrupt officials demanding bribes. When the party refused to pay, one guard stabbed Bones with a dagger, triggering a violent confrontation. The ensuing battle saw Bones transform into an oxen, Kailyn kill one guard with a frostbite spell, and Yomidrogo brutally execute the other with a fire bolt before crushing his skull underfoot. They looted the dead guards' uniforms and gold before fleeing the scene.
Using his acting skills, Yomidrogo successfully impersonated the mayor of Easthills to deceive a remaining guard at the crossroads, convincing him that no threats were present in the area. The party then visited Pippa's Wandering Wagon, where Yomidrogo's violin performance earned them a discount on maps of Easthills and Port Wolifer for 35 gold pieces. Despite considering expensive healing potions, they decided to save their money and prepare to leave the crossroads.
As night fell, the party began their journey toward Easthills, traveling through darkness with their repaired cart. During their travels, they spotted elven scouts watching them from a distance but continued without incident. Around 4 AM, their cart wheel broke, forcing them to stop and use mending spells to repair it. However, as they worked on the repairs, four elven scouts emerged from the darkness and began firing arrows at them.
The ambush caught the party off guard, with one arrow striking Fe in the knee while the others missed their targets. Kailyn attempted to fight back with frostbite and eldritch blast spells but struggled with the darkness affecting her aim. In a desperate move, Yomidrogo cast his sleep spell once more, rolling an impressive amount of magical energy that successfully knocked out two of the four attacking scouts. With their enemies reduced and their cart repaired, the party prepared to flee into the night as the remaining scouts gave chase, ending their eventful and crime-filled day at the Delilao Crossroads with yet another dangerous encounter.
Journey to Delio Crossroads
The party travels along the Bronze Track toward Easthills, encountering wildlife and difficult terrain before arriving at the bustling Delio Crossroads marketplace.
- Party continues traveling along the Bronze Track toward Easthills
- They spot various wildlife including squirrels, birds, and a lone wolf in the distance
- Party makes survival checks - most succeed but one natural 1 causes slight delay
- Terrain becomes more arid as they enter the upper Mediata Savannah
- They arrive at Delio Crossroads, a temporary marketplace where four Bronze Track routes converge
- Party sees the Wandering Wagon and various market stalls with colorful roofs
Alara's Epistle and Emporium
Yomidrogo visits a book and scroll shop run by an elderly elf named Alara to get a damaged medicine book repaired and considers selling an arcane lock scroll.
- Yomidrogo finds Alara's shop after searching for a library or book repair service
- He enters the purple tent filled with books, scrolls, and writing materials
- Alara, an elderly elf with silver hair and blue eyes, offers to repair his damaged medicine book for 10 gold
- Yomidrogo leaves the book for repair, which will take about 2 hours
- He discovers Alara sells various books, scrolls, and writing materials
- Yomidrogo considers selling his arcane lock scroll and goes to consult with his friends outside
Negotiating the Arcane Lock Scroll
The party debates whether to sell their Arcane Lock scroll to Alara for healing supplies and gold.
- Party discusses selling the Arcane Lock scroll for healing potions
- Alara offers 250-350 gold for the scroll
- Party debates keeping it as a memento vs selling for much-needed funds
- They ultimately decide to sell it for 300 gold pieces
- Alara deducts 10 gold for fixing Yomidrogo's medicine book, leaving them with 290 gold
Research and Shopping at Alara's Shop
Party members browse books and scrolls while Yomidrogo searches for information about the Nujlem Massacre.
- Yomidrogo searches for books about the Nujlem Massacre
- Bones looks for tiefling-related books and necromancy texts
- Yomidrogo finds a historical book mentioning plans to remove elves from forests
- The book was written by Herro Adlen during the Ximian Empire period
- Yomidrogo purchases the historical book for 22 gold
- Bones finds books mentioning necromancy but not specifically about it
The Sleep Spell Heist
Yomidrogo attempts to charm Alara for a better deal but ends up casting sleep on her instead, leading to robbery.
- Yomidrogo tries to negotiate for Alara's most valuable scroll (Alter Self)
- Alara offers the Alter Self scroll for 275 gold as a 'friend price'
- Yomidrogo casts Sleep on Alara, knocking her unconscious
- Bones also falls asleep due to the spell's area of effect
- The party panics and decides to rob the unconscious shopkeeper
- They steal the Arcane Lock scroll back, a Healing Word scroll, and other items
- A customer enters the shop, forcing them to pretend to be employees
- They successfully deceive the customer and leave a fake note explaining the situation
The Bone Shop Encounter
The party enters Emmeg's Osseous Ornaments, a bone shop run by an orc named Emmeg who becomes increasingly interested in Bones' skeleton body.
- The party enters a grey tent filled with skulls and bones
- They meet Emmeg, an orc shopkeeper who runs the bone shop
- Emmeg shows them various bone items including a tabaxi bone for 10 gold pieces
- Emmeg becomes fixated on Bones' skeleton body and offers 200-300 gold pieces for his bones
- Yomidrogo casts sleep on Emmeg to protect Bones from the creepy shopkeeper
- A customer enters the shop and screams upon seeing the unconscious Emmeg
- The party quickly loots some items including skulls and bones before fleeing
- Guards arrive to investigate the disturbance at the bone shop
Corrupt Guards Confrontation
The party is confronted by corrupt guards who demand bribes and attack when refused.
- Two guards approach the party after the bone shop incident
- The guards lead the party away from the crossroads to a secluded area
- The guards demand bribes and threaten the party with knives
- One guard stabs Bones when he refuses to comply
- Combat ensues with the party fighting the corrupt guards
- Yomidrogo casts witch bolt and creates a troll illusion to cause chaos
- Bones wild shapes into an oxen during the fight
- Kailyn kills one guard with frostbite, Yomidrogo kills the other with firebolt
- The party loots the dead guards, finding 2 gold pieces and guard uniforms
- They strip the guards' outfits for potential disguises
Deception and Escape
The party uses deception and illusion magic to avoid further trouble with authorities.
- Yomidrogo impersonates the mayor of Easthills to deceive a remaining guard
- Party visits Pippa's wagon shop and buys maps for 35 gold
- Party decides to leave the crossroads and travel to Easthills at night
- Yomidrogo creates a minor illusion of a troll to distract guards
- Party successfully escapes the crossroads area
The Wandering Wagon
The party visits Pippa's colorful wagon shop to purchase maps and consider healing potions.
- Party enters Pippa's wagon shop called 'the wandering wagon'
- Pippa offers healing potions for 40 gold pieces each and maps of various regions
- Yomidrogo performs music on his violin to negotiate a better price
- The party successfully negotiates to buy maps of Easthills and Port Wolifer for 35 gold total
- They decide against buying the expensive healing potions
Night Journey to Easthills
The party begins traveling at night toward Easthills, encountering elven scouts and a broken cart wheel.
- The party decides to travel through the night to reach Easthills
- They spot elven scouts watching them from a distance during their journey
- Around 4am, one of their cart wheels breaks and needs repair
- Bones and Fe use mending spells to fix the broken wheel
- Elven scouts attack the party with arrows as they're repairing the cart
Ambush by Elven Scouts
The party is attacked by four elven scouts while repairing their cart and fights back.
- Four elven scouts fire arrows at the party, hitting Fe in the knee
- Kailyn attempts to fight back with frostbite and eldritch blast but misses
- Yomidrogo casts sleep spell, successfully putting two of the four scouts to sleep
- The remaining two scouts continue attacking, with one attempting to flee
- The session ends with the party preparing to escape in their repaired cart as the scouts give chase
Alara
An elderly elf shopkeeper with long silver hair and bright blue eyes who runs Alara's Epistle and Emporium. She specializes in books, scrolls, and writing materials, and offers book repair services. She is knowledgeable about various texts and spell scrolls, offering to repair Yomidrogo's damaged medicine book for 10 gold pieces. She becomes the victim of the party's sleep spell and robbery, though she's unaware of the theft when she wakes up.
Half-elf Customer
A shorter half-elf woman who regularly visits Alara's shop to borrow historical books, particularly a series about the Zilaphelian Zoma conflict. She knows Alara through her father who runs a tavern in Lyikdia. She unknowingly helps cover for the party's crime by providing an alibi when they pretend to be shop employees.
Emmeg
A full orc who runs Emmeg's Osseous Ornaments, a bone shop at the Delio Crossroads. He's enthusiastic about bones and becomes disturbingly interested in Bones' skeleton body, offering hundreds of gold pieces for his bones. He has a creepy demeanor and seems willing to harm people for their bones. He has a puppet called Mr. Squiggles made from a rat skull.
Corrupt Guards
Two human guards who initially appear to be investigating the disturbance at the bone shop but reveal themselves to be corrupt, demanding bribes from the party. They led the party to a secluded area and threatened them with knives, turning violent when refused. Both were killed in the ensuing fight - one by Kailyn's frostbite spell, the other brutally executed by Yomidrogo's fire bolt and boot.
Pippa
A halfling woman with rosy cheeks, curly brown hair, and twinkling green eyes who runs the Wandering Wagon shop. She sells healing potions for 40 gold pieces each and maps of various regions. She was charmed by Yomidrogo's musical performance and agreed to sell maps at a reduced price.
Elven Scouts
Four elven rangers with bows who were keeping watch along the road to Easthills. They initially watched the party from a distance off the road, then later ambushed them while they were repairing their cart, firing arrows and pursuing them when they fled. Two were put to sleep by Yomidrogo's magic.
Guard at Crossroads
A guard patrolling the Delio Crossroads who was successfully deceived by Yomidrogo impersonating the mayor of Easthills. The guard reported no dangerous enemies in the area and walked away after the interaction.
Delwen
A person who reported the party to the guards and was told to wait during the confrontation but fled when the fighting began.
Bronze Track
The main road system connecting various towns and cities. The party traveled along this track from their previous location toward Easthills, passing through changing terrain from green grassy areas to dry savannah.
Deliao Crossroads
A bustling temporary marketplace where all four routes of the Bronze Track converge. Features various market stalls, tents, and merchant wagons spread across a decent radius. Has a wooden signpost showing directions to Easthills, Arakcadia, and Port Wolifer. It's a busy place with merchants and travelers, but has no permanent buildings - everything can be torn down in a day.
Alara's Epistle and Emporium
A cozy purple tent shop in a quiet corner of the crossroads. Filled with books, scrolls, writing materials, and the scent of parchment and ink. Features velvet decorations throughout and serves as both a bookshop and repair service.
Emmeg's Osseous Ornaments
A grey tent filled with skulls, bones, and various bone ornaments. The shop has a musky smell with some incense burning in the corner that doesn't do much to enhance the atmosphere. It's run by an orc named Emmeg who sells bone items, dice, and focuses made from bones.
Forest clearing near Delio Crossroads
A secluded area with light forest near a river where the corrupt guards led the party to rob them. It's isolated from the main crossroads and provides cover for illicit activities. Later used as a camping spot for rest.
Pippa's Wandering Wagon
A large colorful wagon converted into a shop, decorated with trinkets and baubles that clink in the wind. Run by a halfling woman named Pippa, it sells healing potions and maps of the local area.
Road to Easthills
The bronze track leading from Delio Crossroads toward Easthills. The terrain becomes more difficult at night, with elven scouts positioned to watch travelers. The area has some forest cover where ambushes can occur.
Mediata Savannah
The upper part of the middle Mediata Savannah that the party enters during their journey, characterized by dry grass and flatter terrain surrounded by hills on either side.
Damaged Medicine Book
A heavily damaged and rotten book that Yomidrogo found previously. He brought it to Alara for repair, who agreed to restore it somewhat for 10 gold pieces over about 2 hours, though she noted it couldn't be fully restored due to the extensive damage.
The Orb
A magical artifact that the party carries with them. During this session, there was discussion about who currently has possession of it, with it being determined that one of the party members is carrying it.
Arcane Lock Scroll
A valuable magical scroll that allows the caster to lock any door, window, or opening with a password. Can only be suppressed by a knock spell. Originally sold to Alara for 300 gold, then stolen back during the heist. Worth significant value as a second-level spell scroll.
Alter Self Scroll
A powerful second-level spell scroll that allows the user to transform their appearance, grow natural weapons, or breathe underwater for an hour. Alara offered it for 275 gold as a 'friend price' but the party was unable to locate it during their robbery.
Healing Word Scroll
A first-level healing spell scroll that was stolen from Alara's shop during the heist. Provides minor healing magic for the party who desperately needed healing options.
Historical Book by Herro Adlen
An old, vintage book written during the Ximian Empire period that mentions plans to extradite elves from forests to make way for new land. Contains historical accounts and rumors about forcing elves to submit to modern ways. Purchased by Yomidrogo for 22 gold pieces.
Tabaxi Bone
A large, thick bone that Emmeg claimed came from a tabaxi (cat creature) from the upper north. Bones purchased it for 10 gold pieces, though the circumstances of how the tabaxi died were unclear.
Bone Focus
A magical focus made from bone that allows the user to focus magical energies. Emmeg was selling it for 100 platinum pieces, claiming it would enhance spellcasting abilities.
Talking Skull
A skull that Bones grabbed from Emmeg's shop that had previously spoken to him. He took it during the robbery of the bone shop, though it remained silent afterward.
Guard Uniforms
Clothing taken from the two corrupt guards after killing them. The uniforms have some blood stains and tears but are mostly intact and could potentially be used as disguises.
Guard Daggers
Weapons used by the corrupt guards to threaten and attack the party. One was recovered after the battle - the same dagger that was used to stab Bones during the robbery attempt.
Maps of Easthills and Port Wolifer
Detailed maps of the Easthills region and Port Wolifer purchased from Pippa for 35 gold pieces after Yomidrogo's musical performance earned them a discount. These maps will help the party navigate the areas around these important locations.
Violin
Yomidrogo's musical instrument that he used to perform for Pippa, helping to negotiate a better price for the maps. His skillful performance impressed the shopkeeper and secured a discount.
Sleep
A spell cast multiple times by Yomidrogo during the session. First cast on Alara with a 20-foot radius, rolling 24 hit points worth of effect to knock out both the shopkeeper and Bones. Later cast on Emmeg the orc to protect Bones from his disturbing interest. Finally cast during the elven scout ambush, rolling an impressive 33 hit points worth of effect and successfully putting two of the four attackers to sleep.
Witch Bolt
Cast by Yomidrogo during the fight with the corrupt guards, firing an electrical attack that dealt 5 points of lightning damage to one of the guards. The spell creates a sustained electrical connection between caster and target, but the connection was broken when the target died.
Fire Bolt
Used by Yomidrogo to deliver the killing blow to one of the corrupt guards, dealing 13 points of fire damage. The bolt hit the guard's knee, sending flesh flying, then coursed through his body to his head, causing him to fall to his knees before dying.
Frostbite
Cast by Kailyn during the guard fight, dealing 5 points of cold damage that penetrated one guard's flesh and bones, causing him to collapse with his dagger falling from his grasp. Also attempted during the scout ambush but missed due to disadvantage from darkness.
Wild Shape
Used by Bones to transform into an oxen during the fight with the corrupt guards, gaining 15 hit points in his new form and the ability to charge and gore attack his enemies.
Minor Illusion
Cast by Yomidrogo to create the image and sounds of a massive troll, causing chaos and distraction among the guards and civilians at the crossroads to help the party escape.
Invisibility
Cast by Yomidrogo multiple times - once to become invisible during the chaos at the bone shop, allowing him to move unseen and create diversions, and again to follow the guards unseen when they led the party away from the crossroads.
Mending
Cast by both Bones and Fe simultaneously to repair the broken cart wheel during their night journey to Easthills. The spell successfully fixed the wheel, allowing them to continue their travels.
Eldritch Blast
Attempted by Kailyn during the scout ambush, but like her frostbite spell, this attack also missed due to the challenging combat conditions and disadvantage from darkness.