STATIC 14: The Bastion of Wolves
General Summary
Wherein The Interdimensional Blinkerton Detective Agency meets a long-sought sibling and navigates various articulations of gloom
After initial introductions, it was clear that the next task that lay before our heroes was to figure out just exactly where they were. Fritz, despite wandering in this forest for a while, had little understanding of what, exactly, the "deal" was with this place. Other than it is very dark, very crowded, and seems preternaturally gloomy (which is saying something, considering that Fritz Himmelswander spent a good chuck of time wandering the Nesting Gloom).
Despite this, Fritz seemed to somehow how where to go next, so our heroes set out to see about doing whatever needs to be done to get back to New Carydam. The first thing, apparently, that needed to be done was to fight a centipede made entirely out of ogre--a ogrepede. During this combat, it was made clear that Fritz was more than just an 18 year old young man. He also had the spirit of bone, horn, and husk contained within him as he completely transformed into a being of stalwart violence. And a good thing, too, for this fight demanded just that. Apparently Fritz carries within him an entity known as Tyrant, which sometimes comes over him in times of great need and stress. The fight done, it was time to wander deeper into this forest.
A Deep Wood of Shadow and Fog
Meeting Fritz, whom the Blinkertons immediately identified as the brother of Corinna Himmelswander was strange, mostly because Corinna herself was nowhere to be found. It seems that, once again, our heroes have been Displaced to other areas of existence. Annoying!After initial introductions, it was clear that the next task that lay before our heroes was to figure out just exactly where they were. Fritz, despite wandering in this forest for a while, had little understanding of what, exactly, the "deal" was with this place. Other than it is very dark, very crowded, and seems preternaturally gloomy (which is saying something, considering that Fritz Himmelswander spent a good chuck of time wandering the Nesting Gloom).
Despite this, Fritz seemed to somehow how where to go next, so our heroes set out to see about doing whatever needs to be done to get back to New Carydam. The first thing, apparently, that needed to be done was to fight a centipede made entirely out of ogre--a ogrepede. During this combat, it was made clear that Fritz was more than just an 18 year old young man. He also had the spirit of bone, horn, and husk contained within him as he completely transformed into a being of stalwart violence. And a good thing, too, for this fight demanded just that. Apparently Fritz carries within him an entity known as Tyrant, which sometimes comes over him in times of great need and stress. The fight done, it was time to wander deeper into this forest.
The Bastion of Wolves
Eventually, the Blinkertons came upon a scholar deep in his own research about this eerie place. He introduced himself as Ackurth Breakflare, formerly of Ukeme in the Soulless Expanse, and now investigating the nature of this land called Dhib’ma’qulm. At least now they know what to call it. The translation of that name to common, The Bastion of Wolves, was more alarming. Ackurth offered them hospitality, sharing a warm fire and a pot of beans. In turn, our heroes shared what they knew of The Displacement, and Hypatia compared notes with the scholar. Soon, though, it was time to venture on, so Ackurth bid the Blinkies farewell and headed off to make more observations about this place. That left our adventurers to wander deeper into the Bastion. And there, they found some wolves. Or, rather, they found a chunk of meat left out as an offering for the wolves and then the wolves found them. Regardless, a brutal fight occurred, with these wolves spitting just a whole heck of a lot of acid as they bit and tore into our gumshoes. The skein of fate wove them well once again, however, as Brassjaw (see STATIC 4: Eyeball Catapults & Talking Skeletons) showed up and started blasting the wolves. His appearance helped turn the tide and saw the Blinkertons victorious, but tired. So, so tired. It was then decided to make camp for tonight and visit with their interdimensional bounty hunting acquaintance.And That's Where We Left It
We'll see that rest looks like for the Blinkertons during our next session.Varied & Sundry Details
- Conversations with over beans with Ackurth revealed a further emphasis that there might be something to this whole "connection" thing with the Displacement. This seems particularly relevant as the Blinkertons found their way to Fritz, the brother of Corinna, in their Displacement.
- It appears that Ackurth's home island of Ukeme, while nice enough, is adrift in something called the Soulless Expanse, which seems to be a "dead ocean" full of undead things. Ackurth strongly suggested that this is a location our detectives may not want to visit.
- Our heroes managed to sneak past a confrontation between Ratfolk and Lizardfolk in the woods. It seems they were fighting over some glowing mushrooms. But why? And who are these forest dwellers?
- Brassjaw did a little tinkering with his former weapon and enabled Hypatia to now select fire damage as an available option. Nice!
Character(s) interacted with
- Ackurth Breakflare--scholar of Dhib'ma'qulm, formerly of the isle Ukeme in the Soulless Expanse
- Brassjaw--interdimensional bounty hunter
Report Date
22 Jan 2023
Primary Location
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