Session II: A Heading

Encountering Sevanu Malek

The party at sea, they gathered together to assess the map of the islands and find out which way they would go next. During the conversation, Arves felt the strange spellbook at his side hum and vibrate to himself, and archaic, alien voices began to whisper in his mind, beckoning only him through the doors into the captain's quarters. When he passed through, everything suddenly went dark. In the snap of a finger, he was separated from his acquaintances, his ship, and every part of reality he thought he once knew.
The whole landscape around him was an alien waste, everything colored a dark unfamiliar purple that flowed in all directions. In front of Arves was a gargantuan, spherical, floating creature with hundreds of eyes plastered over its gooey skin that moved along its surface. The lower foundation it floated upon looked like a strange melted steel shaped in either the upper or lower halves of faceless corpses. Arves found every single one of its eyes locking onto him in this moment as it analyzed him, down to every single atom in his body.
Its name was Sevanu Malek, and Sevanu spoke to Arves. “What you hold is an extension of the All-Knowing’s power. There was one before you which carried this, and before him another, and then another. But, they became one with the All-Knowing, and what they had written, he absorbed; only he knows what was once printed upon them. The one before you gave this a name in the height of his servitude, the Qet’tarnomicon. And now, the All-Knowing’s eyes have fallen upon you, and your curious spirit, to fill out these pages anew with everything you learn.”
Arves had caught the attention of the eldritch god, Qet, also known as the All-Knowing, instructing him to take up this spellbook and carry on what those before him had done, to which Arves looked with much interest. Sevanu continued, saying, “Hear this, mortal. The All-Knowing offers to you this day a chance to sate that curiosity deep inside you in a way you could never have fathomed. On your return, you will find greater power embedded deep into the Qet’tarnomicon, a gift to you. Should you find it enjoyable, feeling a great yearning for more, your next step will lie deep within the watery city of Culloden, where the father of the one before you presides. But, be warned, mortal, for this gift comes at a cost. Stray from the foundation which he instructs, given in such a way to be comprehended by

mortal life, and you will suffer in ways much worse than you are about to.”
Pain wracked Arves' body as he was forced back into the captain's quarters, out of the realm he was once in. His body morphed and disfigured itself from Sevanu's power, and he was transformed into a gray pile of slithering ooze, a testament to what awaited Arves should he fail to obey. But, as a reward, inside the Qet'tarnomicon were scrolls, gifts Arves could put to use. After a while, he regained his original form and rejoined everyone after the ship had already set sail.

Sevanu Malek

Currently the reigning king over the Living Spire, there is only one entity Sevanu Malek, the Overthrower chooses to answer to, and that is Qet himself. He is ambitious and hopes to replace every other reigning domain in Shiq’Gith, until all that remains is his own. Should the opportunity present itself to overthrow Qet as well, Sevanu surely wouldn’t hesitate.
Sevanu shuns the material world and chafes at the idea of it, wishing a place so uniform to have never existed at all, but he is not above serving his master when Qet beckons him to aid a mortal in such a realm. Two of his greater servants, Baron Salgam and Lord Yall, serve him with the utmost loyalty. Yall acts as a trusted general, who fights the wars against the other domains in battles Sevanu would think too trivial.
As for the baron, he acts to complete the other menial tasks Sevanu wouldn’t want to be bothered with: the execution of specific people who are nuisances and hindrances to Sevanu like a fly floating around one’s head. He possesses the power and authority to call and summon them on a whim, if he so pleases.

To Manmoga

A ship to call their own, the party agreed upon its name. The New Management, spreading it wherever they would go. Afterward, they set sail for the coastal town of Manmoga, wanting to find a port, but not wanting to sail to Darkwater, the home of the Pirate Lord who had marooned them.

It was about a day of travel before they arrived at the docks. Along the way, they came under a heavy storm which they, and their kobold crew needed to work together to get through. The hull was mildly splintered and some of its ballistae were damaged, but they pulled through into clear skies.

Manmoga

Manmoga is a sizable gambling town, and everyone agrees its gambling king, Captain Rumkeg, is the one in charge. It is said he controls the town not only because of his wealth,

but because of his undefeated gambling streak that everyone fears.

Fireball Forge

A small magic blacksmith in town, the only one, it is run by the dwarf smith Daggon and his halfling apprentice Luke. He specializes in forging items, magical and not. Corellia requisitioned and haggled for a magical set of sentient climbing rope Daggon was confident he could pull off within three days. He promised an amount of coin back if they brought him back a good haul of Elderwood Berries, a special fruit that grows in the northern jungle of the island, valuable for its magical property that enhances the purifying energy of flames. Daggon also told Arves about a hermit living out northwest near a lake who might know things the vedalken would be interested in.

Charlatan's Corner

Charlatan's Corner is the kit and kaboodle of Manmoga, its town center, its den where the iconic gambling happens day and night, from games of Liar's Dice, to drinking contests, to the island's favorite game, Crosshair. Vox approached a dwarf named Thunger who had just beaten an orc in a drinking contest and challenged him, betting an astounding five gold pieces! Vox vomited and fell over drunk by the third round of drinks, but before the boisterous dwarf could collect his winnings, Arves swiped the money with a spectral hand and managed to frame a goblin as the culprit when the dwarf saw his money gone. The goblin was looted and thrown into the muddy streets, and the party went on with their business.

A Debt to Pay

After exploring the town a bit, the party returned to their ship and hired some help to repair it over the day. But, they saw a hobgoblin talking to Scurvy up on the top deck, dressed in a long coat, a tricorn hat, and a magic musket holstered on his back. He was Gavvard "List" Tallhound, a Deadeye for the infamous bounty hunter guild, the Silver Rounds Guild.
As it turned out, Scurvy's former crew which had gotten marooned from a storm had taken out a bounty with the guild to hunt a pirate named Ann "Hex" Tawny. But, when a crew takes out a bounty with the guild, they either collect it, or the guild collects the crew and keelhauls them. Scurvy was the last one left and so was still responsible for it and threatened with such a fate.
Vox, being a dimwitted kobold immediately moved to attack the Deadeye, but the bounty hunter's musket was drawn in an instant and a fireball erupted from it which scorched Vox entirely, deterring anyone else from messing with List. Though a tense situation, after Scurvy offered the entire bounty reward of ten-thousand gold pieces to the party, Corellia convinced List to hold off, giving everyone ten days to see the bounty done. He left after telling everyone Hex had last been heard terrorizing the coastal town of Looter's Cove.

The Silver Rounds Guild

The infamous bounty hunter guild of the Silver Piece Islands, it is headquartered in Darkwater and sees some of the highest payouts among any other profession. Those who join start out at the rank of Lackey and slowly work their way up to Mariner, Tracker, Hunter, and finally the most fear-enducing title of them all, Deadeye. As most folk say, "A Deadeye be a Deadeye for a reason." Members are often spotted by the tricorn hats they wear upon their heads.
Bounties in this guild are paid in, and their hunters take them on. Outsiders can also do this, though it is not nearly as common, since a bounty taken is a bounty completed, or else... Most of the time, it's the bounty hunters with the guts and the skill to see it through.

The Hermit Near Yverno

The party left town late in the same day, heading northwest into Jankor's Garden in search of the hermit and the berries Daggon had told everyone about. On their way, they were ambushed deep inside the jungle as tribesmen from the Hydre Nenar appeared. The leader of the group spoke from authority, making it clear outsiders were not welcome in their lands, but once again Corellia took the heat off after convincing the pack they were only here to do some foraging and explore. Taking them at their word, the tribesmen pulled away, the leader even telling Arves where the village could be found after expressing interest in learning about the customs surrounding the worship of their goddess, Hwesta.
Arves and Vox paid the mountain village of Yverno a visit, being granted entry into its main temple where they spoke with its priestess for a while on the nature of Hwesta worship and their belief she was a water elemental. Meanwhile, Corellia and Zephyrion scavenged the jungle, coming across a drove of Elderwood Berries and the lake where the hermit presided. Arves and Vox rejoined them not soon after.
They found out the hermit, an elf named Tyllavanus, was a scribe based on the parchment, ink, and myriad of spell components deep inside his simple abode. Though irritated at first, he grew fond of Arves' similar wizardry and, being convinced, pooled their expertise together for some hours, and fashioned a spell scroll of detect magic for Arves to keep! Having that and the berries they had come for, Tyllavanus bid them goodbye, and the party returned to Manmoga just before midnight struck.
To be continued...

No Level Up

Report Date
February 17th, 2024
In-Game Start Date
Eadriscus 10th, 1301 AC
In-Game End Date
Eadriscus 12th, 1301 AC

Player Characters

Zephyrion Skyblade - An owlin fighter.
Vox - A hill dwarf emerald kobold barbarian.
Corellia Emberfin - A tiefling-triton fighter.
Arves - A vedalkin scribe wizard.

Non-Player Characters

Ferris "Scurvy" Bort - A human spores druid retainer.
Tyllavanus - A human scribe artisan.