C1 Arc 0 Summary
General Summary
Our tale opens on the small village of Biggityburg, barely a wide spot in the road, located deep within the Wolfstooth Mountains of the Barony of Sendovia in the region known as the Ten Scepters.
In the taproom of Old Mill Road Inn, once an actual mill before the accompanying stream was diverted, sits a tall Shadar’kai dark elf named Daymon Hyde playing a strange instrument. With each strum of the strings, a sound not dissimilar from a scraping sarcophagus lid emanates from his dimly lit corner. Drawing concerned and then unhappy looks from the handful of patrons in the taproom, Daymon resolves to head outside to continue playing before nothing the continued deluge of rain and heads back inside.
Moments later, a human male enters the Old Mill Road Inn. Despite heavy scars all along the left side of his body which seem to render it partially paralyzed, his demeanor is anything but grumpy or gloomy. Rather, the optimism of Lazar Baciu is immediately apparent to any who meet him. Perhaps intrigued by such an oddly juxtaposed personality, Daymon and Lazar strike up a conversation.
Moments later, a pair of individuals enter in rapid succession. The first is a human male of average height, with a delicate, almost sunken featured face seeming at odds with his impressive physique. This individual, despite initially attempting to assume a cover identity before immediately being discovered and called out by the wily Daymon, gives his name as Everett Ballister. He wears no armor or weapons, and seeks to secure lodging for the next few nights.
Following shortly thereafter is another elven humanoid, but one which looks quite different from Daymon. His features are exaggeratedly fey, with an almost barklike skin, and giving the bearing of a seasoned hunter. He immediately begins questioning the inn’s proprietor, Boris, about a potential sighting of a werewolf, and introduces himself to the party as simply Teak.
Enjoying a round of drinks served by Boris’ daughter Sally, the party catches a glimpse outside of the Inn’s rain-spattered windows of a burly man suddenly lifted off of his feet with such force that he is literally removed from his boots. Rushing outside to investigate, the party sees no sign of the man except one of his boots. Searching around, they see nothing first, before noting a small invisible figure moving through the town, their form revealed slightly by the pouring rain and gathering puddles. Chasing it down and surrounding it, the invisibility is dropped to reveal a small imp wearing a bronze torque necklace.
The imp is evasive with his answers, indicating he cannot answer any of the party’s questions, but not attempting anything aggressive. Teak and Everett draw their weapons, wary of the evil bent of creatures native to the lower planes, but Lazar stays their hand, dropping to one knee to speak to the imp on his own level.
When the questioning continues to reveal no further details, the imp walks away and reactivates his invisibility. Led by Lazar, the party follows the imp, some to ensure no duplicity, some out of sheer curiosity. Suddenly, in the midst of answering one of Lazar’s questions, the invisible creature falls to the ground, shrieking in pain as the smell of burning flesh reaches the nostrils of the party. Acting on an impulse from Everett that magical compulsion may be in effect, Daymon unslings his strange instrument and casts remove curse on the creature’s white-hot torque, burning himself in the process, but ultimately breaking the spell. As Lazar heals both Daymon and the imp, who gives his name as Muck, the party eventually learns that he has been under the sway of a Devil.
This terrible creature, masquerading as a human being, lives in an old manor by the banks of Lake Carpain, north of Biggityburg. In addition to Muck, the Devil has a werewolf under his control, and is secretly building an army of reanimated beings using foul magic. The Imp also has a deck of magical cards, which he has been using to generally cause mischief - as he draws each card, nearby individuals suffer varying effects, both good and bad. Having a sense of when “good” cards would be drawn, Muck offers to come to the party when he feels like a good card might be drawn, as reward for freeing him from the Devil’s control.
Everett, as if recalling something, asks Muck if the Devil goes by the name Herr Doktor Purvuk (purr-vuck), which the Imp confirms. On the way back to the inn, Everett expresses concern that a creature which is so clearly labeled as categorically evil by texts he has studied does not appear to be evil at all. The party points out that texts might be wrong, a prospect which clearly bothers him.
Arriving back at the inn, the party sees a burly individual enter the inn, and demand answers from Boris as to the whereabouts of his brother Johan. Recognizing the name as the same individual which disappeared from the window, the party takes a keen interest in the conversation. However, the scene turns violent as the man, whom we learn is named Stefan, begins to rough up Boris. The party intervenes, before realizing that, despite his bulk, this man was no match for any of them.
Thoroughly intimidated, he leaves the inn and crosses the street. Daymon pursues him, and is followed by the rest of the party, going once more into the rain. Tracking him to the newer, active mill, the party discovers the figure berating an employee about the innkeeper Boris’ complicity in his brother’s disappearance. Everett promises to return him if he is able, before Daymon pointedly tells the miller to treat his employees better.
Upon the party’s return to the Old Mill Inn, they were surprised to find that the crowd had grown substantially since they left, as now more than 40 people were crammed into the taproom.
In addition, a platform had been set up, upon which a visiting bard named Boyo had begun to set up for a musical performance, tuning a stringed instrument called a cittern. Nerves around the Inn seemed frayed, as whispers and rumors of a werewolf had set Biggityburg’s residents on edge. However, a “bard-off” between Boyo and Daymon, for at least a moment, took the villager’s minds away from their troubles.
Suddenly, the door opens. A blast of frigid air rolls through the tavern as a small metal figure stands in the door. In one hand is a shield emblazoned with a strange sigil, and in the other, a somewhat rusty metal mace. Striding up to Boris, a medallion flapping against its metal chest, the creature introduces itself as Galebark, though it goes by many other names, but seems to prefer GB.
Lazar and Everett, both seemingly intrigued by this automaton, make GB’s acquaintance. Lazar offers it a devastatingly sticky cinnamon roll, which GB politely attempts to eat (to hilarious effect). Everett, eyes shining with curiosity, examines the creature, and recalls from his studies that this being is likely from one of two distinct groups. The first are called the “Foundlings” - a lineage of creatures from another era, or even plane of existence, which seem to possess almost biological qualities. The others are called the Gargoyles of Dan Galad - artificial constructs which were made by the finest craftsmen and engineers of their age before they split away from a somewhat oppressive culture.
Up on stage, the bard Boyo sings a somber tune called the Weeping Werewolf. It is a song about a werewolf that terrorized a village in Sendovia. Though the villagers tried repeatedly to drive out the creature, they discovered that “no metal could cut his flesh, no mace could break his bone.” Late at night, the werewolf would assume a human form, bang on people’s doors, and begging to be let in. Mostly, the villagers kept their doors tightly shut and waited for the terror to pass. However, on occasion, someone’s will would buckle. Their compassion would overpower better judgment, and, as they opened their door to the pitiful, tear-soaked lamentations of this tortured soul, the mere sight of another soul would send the creature back into its lycanthropic form. Of the kind hearted villagers who opened their doors, the only trace that was ever found was spatters of blood amongst what remained of their devastated homes.
Lazar asks Teak about the werewolf, and if he knows of any vulnerabilities. Seeming to have considerable knowledge about Lycanthropy, the fey ranger spoke of a disease which spreads through saliva or blood. The curse also imbues its victims with preternatural resistances to non-magical weapons, though silvered weapons can be effective as well.
The night goes without issue. Teak wakes early the next morning to perform a kind of kata or series of martial forms. While in the midst of this exercise, a dwarf with two large hounds approaches and strikes up a conversation. He explains that the werewolf stalking the valley is named Vasily, and has been doing so for more than two centuries, arriving for about a week once every 10-12 years. When Teak mentions that the werewolf might be hunting a creature from the Feywild, the dwarf suggests that it doesn’t sound like a typical werewolf at all. Finally, the dwarf reveals that Vasily, who is, in reality, the very same Weeping Werewolf from Boyo’s tavern song, has a strong visceral reaction when he sees humanoids.
Later in the day, the party makes a trip over to Carter’s Nosebag, the other inn in town. While the Old Mill Inn at least somewhat resembles an Inn, Carter’s Nosebag looks more like a cross between a kennel, an inn, and some kind of quasi-military compound. The party is greeted by the dwarf that Teak spoke to earlier, as well as a twin brother. Both seemed to have an obvious kinship with the many massive war hounds that were lounging about in the yard.
While in the hound-infested courtyard of Carter’s Nosebag, the party sees a raven flying unsteadily through the air overhead, before hitting a branch and bouncing off a window. Its wing clearly injured, it hops over to Daymon, cocking its head this way and that and croaking out a series of cackling caws. To the party’s great surprise, it looks as though Daymon actually understood, and responded in kind.
The party gathers their supplies before departing. Lazar in particular returns to his room, returning with a set of full plate mail and a shiny battleaxe. Setting off to the north, toward Lake Carpain, they are on the road for several hours before a snarling, bristling form explodes from the tree canopy above, all teeth and claws and fur and spittle.
Managing to defeat the werewolf after an intense battle, the party was surprised when the terrifying creature reverted to human form. In halting words, the frail old man, who gives his name as Vasily, cautions the party about the imp, Muck. Upon learning that Muck has been freed of the Doktor’s curse, Vasily is relieved, but still suggests caution as, “even with the curse removed, the imp is a wily individual”.
During this conversation, Teak’s reveals that his father is a soldier, from whom he inherited his storytelling tendencies. He speaks at length to the party about strange beasts from the Feywild, which he has been tracking for some time. These beasts have peculiar energy storage properties, and may hold the key to how Teak arrived on the material plane in the first place.
Vasily tells Teak that Herr Doktor has been seeking out these beasts for his own inscrutable purposes. But, more than that, he has constructed a creature, a monster, comprised of the parts of several different creatures. As a necro artificer, the Doktor has long searched for techniques to build creatures to serve him and his inscrutable purposes. However, the “Monster”, while much stronger than either constructed golems OR mind-controlled beings, was impossible to fully control. It seemed, at least to Vasily, that free will itself may have been a kind of blessing and a curse for the Doktor’s creation.
Vasily shows the party the path to Herr Doktor’s laboratory. After a short rest, the party returns.
Following a short rest, the party completes the final leg of the journey towards the Doktor’s lakeside manor. Once a proud estate, it is now coming apart at the seams. While it still has a roof, and is mostly intact, the exterior is faded and crumbling, and what was once a barn to the west has long since collapsed. The forest has encroached, and weeds stand waist high across the entirety of the property. A small, spring fed pond, sits off to the side.
Entering through the front door, the party encounters, and defeats, a pack of horrible creatures, vaguely dog-like, but stitched together from several different forms, including lions, Sendovian condors, and great cats of some type. Exploring further, they enter into a library, and meet a tiny 2 foot tall halfling, dressed as a doll, who introduces himself as Fig. Lured here by the Doktor, he is the sole remaining member of his carnival. The rest were… used… by the Doktor - spare parts for his profane experiments.
Finally, the party moves downstairs into the cellar, where they find a snake woman in a cell that Everett immediately takes an interest in, and the long-described 7 foot tall monster, strapped to a table in the center of the room.
In the taproom of Old Mill Road Inn, once an actual mill before the accompanying stream was diverted, sits a tall Shadar’kai dark elf named Daymon Hyde playing a strange instrument. With each strum of the strings, a sound not dissimilar from a scraping sarcophagus lid emanates from his dimly lit corner. Drawing concerned and then unhappy looks from the handful of patrons in the taproom, Daymon resolves to head outside to continue playing before nothing the continued deluge of rain and heads back inside.
Moments later, a human male enters the Old Mill Road Inn. Despite heavy scars all along the left side of his body which seem to render it partially paralyzed, his demeanor is anything but grumpy or gloomy. Rather, the optimism of Lazar Baciu is immediately apparent to any who meet him. Perhaps intrigued by such an oddly juxtaposed personality, Daymon and Lazar strike up a conversation.
Moments later, a pair of individuals enter in rapid succession. The first is a human male of average height, with a delicate, almost sunken featured face seeming at odds with his impressive physique. This individual, despite initially attempting to assume a cover identity before immediately being discovered and called out by the wily Daymon, gives his name as Everett Ballister. He wears no armor or weapons, and seeks to secure lodging for the next few nights.
Following shortly thereafter is another elven humanoid, but one which looks quite different from Daymon. His features are exaggeratedly fey, with an almost barklike skin, and giving the bearing of a seasoned hunter. He immediately begins questioning the inn’s proprietor, Boris, about a potential sighting of a werewolf, and introduces himself to the party as simply Teak.
Enjoying a round of drinks served by Boris’ daughter Sally, the party catches a glimpse outside of the Inn’s rain-spattered windows of a burly man suddenly lifted off of his feet with such force that he is literally removed from his boots. Rushing outside to investigate, the party sees no sign of the man except one of his boots. Searching around, they see nothing first, before noting a small invisible figure moving through the town, their form revealed slightly by the pouring rain and gathering puddles. Chasing it down and surrounding it, the invisibility is dropped to reveal a small imp wearing a bronze torque necklace.
The imp is evasive with his answers, indicating he cannot answer any of the party’s questions, but not attempting anything aggressive. Teak and Everett draw their weapons, wary of the evil bent of creatures native to the lower planes, but Lazar stays their hand, dropping to one knee to speak to the imp on his own level.
When the questioning continues to reveal no further details, the imp walks away and reactivates his invisibility. Led by Lazar, the party follows the imp, some to ensure no duplicity, some out of sheer curiosity. Suddenly, in the midst of answering one of Lazar’s questions, the invisible creature falls to the ground, shrieking in pain as the smell of burning flesh reaches the nostrils of the party. Acting on an impulse from Everett that magical compulsion may be in effect, Daymon unslings his strange instrument and casts remove curse on the creature’s white-hot torque, burning himself in the process, but ultimately breaking the spell. As Lazar heals both Daymon and the imp, who gives his name as Muck, the party eventually learns that he has been under the sway of a Devil.
This terrible creature, masquerading as a human being, lives in an old manor by the banks of Lake Carpain, north of Biggityburg. In addition to Muck, the Devil has a werewolf under his control, and is secretly building an army of reanimated beings using foul magic. The Imp also has a deck of magical cards, which he has been using to generally cause mischief - as he draws each card, nearby individuals suffer varying effects, both good and bad. Having a sense of when “good” cards would be drawn, Muck offers to come to the party when he feels like a good card might be drawn, as reward for freeing him from the Devil’s control.
Everett, as if recalling something, asks Muck if the Devil goes by the name Herr Doktor Purvuk (purr-vuck), which the Imp confirms. On the way back to the inn, Everett expresses concern that a creature which is so clearly labeled as categorically evil by texts he has studied does not appear to be evil at all. The party points out that texts might be wrong, a prospect which clearly bothers him.
Arriving back at the inn, the party sees a burly individual enter the inn, and demand answers from Boris as to the whereabouts of his brother Johan. Recognizing the name as the same individual which disappeared from the window, the party takes a keen interest in the conversation. However, the scene turns violent as the man, whom we learn is named Stefan, begins to rough up Boris. The party intervenes, before realizing that, despite his bulk, this man was no match for any of them.
Thoroughly intimidated, he leaves the inn and crosses the street. Daymon pursues him, and is followed by the rest of the party, going once more into the rain. Tracking him to the newer, active mill, the party discovers the figure berating an employee about the innkeeper Boris’ complicity in his brother’s disappearance. Everett promises to return him if he is able, before Daymon pointedly tells the miller to treat his employees better.
Upon the party’s return to the Old Mill Inn, they were surprised to find that the crowd had grown substantially since they left, as now more than 40 people were crammed into the taproom.
In addition, a platform had been set up, upon which a visiting bard named Boyo had begun to set up for a musical performance, tuning a stringed instrument called a cittern. Nerves around the Inn seemed frayed, as whispers and rumors of a werewolf had set Biggityburg’s residents on edge. However, a “bard-off” between Boyo and Daymon, for at least a moment, took the villager’s minds away from their troubles.
Suddenly, the door opens. A blast of frigid air rolls through the tavern as a small metal figure stands in the door. In one hand is a shield emblazoned with a strange sigil, and in the other, a somewhat rusty metal mace. Striding up to Boris, a medallion flapping against its metal chest, the creature introduces itself as Galebark, though it goes by many other names, but seems to prefer GB.
Lazar and Everett, both seemingly intrigued by this automaton, make GB’s acquaintance. Lazar offers it a devastatingly sticky cinnamon roll, which GB politely attempts to eat (to hilarious effect). Everett, eyes shining with curiosity, examines the creature, and recalls from his studies that this being is likely from one of two distinct groups. The first are called the “Foundlings” - a lineage of creatures from another era, or even plane of existence, which seem to possess almost biological qualities. The others are called the Gargoyles of Dan Galad - artificial constructs which were made by the finest craftsmen and engineers of their age before they split away from a somewhat oppressive culture.
Up on stage, the bard Boyo sings a somber tune called the Weeping Werewolf. It is a song about a werewolf that terrorized a village in Sendovia. Though the villagers tried repeatedly to drive out the creature, they discovered that “no metal could cut his flesh, no mace could break his bone.” Late at night, the werewolf would assume a human form, bang on people’s doors, and begging to be let in. Mostly, the villagers kept their doors tightly shut and waited for the terror to pass. However, on occasion, someone’s will would buckle. Their compassion would overpower better judgment, and, as they opened their door to the pitiful, tear-soaked lamentations of this tortured soul, the mere sight of another soul would send the creature back into its lycanthropic form. Of the kind hearted villagers who opened their doors, the only trace that was ever found was spatters of blood amongst what remained of their devastated homes.
Lazar asks Teak about the werewolf, and if he knows of any vulnerabilities. Seeming to have considerable knowledge about Lycanthropy, the fey ranger spoke of a disease which spreads through saliva or blood. The curse also imbues its victims with preternatural resistances to non-magical weapons, though silvered weapons can be effective as well.
The night goes without issue. Teak wakes early the next morning to perform a kind of kata or series of martial forms. While in the midst of this exercise, a dwarf with two large hounds approaches and strikes up a conversation. He explains that the werewolf stalking the valley is named Vasily, and has been doing so for more than two centuries, arriving for about a week once every 10-12 years. When Teak mentions that the werewolf might be hunting a creature from the Feywild, the dwarf suggests that it doesn’t sound like a typical werewolf at all. Finally, the dwarf reveals that Vasily, who is, in reality, the very same Weeping Werewolf from Boyo’s tavern song, has a strong visceral reaction when he sees humanoids.
Later in the day, the party makes a trip over to Carter’s Nosebag, the other inn in town. While the Old Mill Inn at least somewhat resembles an Inn, Carter’s Nosebag looks more like a cross between a kennel, an inn, and some kind of quasi-military compound. The party is greeted by the dwarf that Teak spoke to earlier, as well as a twin brother. Both seemed to have an obvious kinship with the many massive war hounds that were lounging about in the yard.
While in the hound-infested courtyard of Carter’s Nosebag, the party sees a raven flying unsteadily through the air overhead, before hitting a branch and bouncing off a window. Its wing clearly injured, it hops over to Daymon, cocking its head this way and that and croaking out a series of cackling caws. To the party’s great surprise, it looks as though Daymon actually understood, and responded in kind.
The party gathers their supplies before departing. Lazar in particular returns to his room, returning with a set of full plate mail and a shiny battleaxe. Setting off to the north, toward Lake Carpain, they are on the road for several hours before a snarling, bristling form explodes from the tree canopy above, all teeth and claws and fur and spittle.
Managing to defeat the werewolf after an intense battle, the party was surprised when the terrifying creature reverted to human form. In halting words, the frail old man, who gives his name as Vasily, cautions the party about the imp, Muck. Upon learning that Muck has been freed of the Doktor’s curse, Vasily is relieved, but still suggests caution as, “even with the curse removed, the imp is a wily individual”.
During this conversation, Teak’s reveals that his father is a soldier, from whom he inherited his storytelling tendencies. He speaks at length to the party about strange beasts from the Feywild, which he has been tracking for some time. These beasts have peculiar energy storage properties, and may hold the key to how Teak arrived on the material plane in the first place.
Vasily tells Teak that Herr Doktor has been seeking out these beasts for his own inscrutable purposes. But, more than that, he has constructed a creature, a monster, comprised of the parts of several different creatures. As a necro artificer, the Doktor has long searched for techniques to build creatures to serve him and his inscrutable purposes. However, the “Monster”, while much stronger than either constructed golems OR mind-controlled beings, was impossible to fully control. It seemed, at least to Vasily, that free will itself may have been a kind of blessing and a curse for the Doktor’s creation.
Vasily shows the party the path to Herr Doktor’s laboratory. After a short rest, the party returns.
Following a short rest, the party completes the final leg of the journey towards the Doktor’s lakeside manor. Once a proud estate, it is now coming apart at the seams. While it still has a roof, and is mostly intact, the exterior is faded and crumbling, and what was once a barn to the west has long since collapsed. The forest has encroached, and weeds stand waist high across the entirety of the property. A small, spring fed pond, sits off to the side.
Entering through the front door, the party encounters, and defeats, a pack of horrible creatures, vaguely dog-like, but stitched together from several different forms, including lions, Sendovian condors, and great cats of some type. Exploring further, they enter into a library, and meet a tiny 2 foot tall halfling, dressed as a doll, who introduces himself as Fig. Lured here by the Doktor, he is the sole remaining member of his carnival. The rest were… used… by the Doktor - spare parts for his profane experiments.
Finally, the party moves downstairs into the cellar, where they find a snake woman in a cell that Everett immediately takes an interest in, and the long-described 7 foot tall monster, strapped to a table in the center of the room.
Report Date
31 May 2025
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