Chapter 7

The Heart of a Wolf

Bereft of her draconic power Nira was consumed by the power of the Astral Orb and became an aberrant abomination, growing tentacles and doing battle with her companions inside the orb. Upon her defeat she was reborn as a Lunar Sorcerer using the collapsed moon within the orb as the source of her power, but not before Wrenn Lingenhall was bitten and cursed with lycanthropy. The party blipped back to Selunius's lair, which was empty save signs of bloody struggle so they fled on the Treasure Barge back to Arnesport where they learned that Erastus Wyndhoek, a newly minted Paladin of Selunius had been raised to a seat on the Council of Pirate Lords by decree of the dragon against the will of the council members. After getting their fortunes told by Madame Mystica and learning how to break the curse the party set off to hunt the Prime Werewolf, an elf named Sulumor who Aired Helelar had freed from Selunius's cult. With the help of Moolissa, a contract hunter from the Mercane Agency, they tracked and killed Sulumor, taking the Heart of the Prime Werewolf. Meanwhile Erastus attended his first council meeting where the weakened council argued about how to handle the blockade set up by The Dealer around Arnesport. He made the acquaintance of a young captain named Taln Wolfheart who had a daring plan to destroy the Dealer's ship from within. The party's ship, the Sea Bastion, was finally repaired and outfitted for Spelljamming. Not satisfied with their purchased magical goods and weapons, Nira stole an Arcane Magnifier for the ship, which caused them to be attacked by Cap'n Flameskull's crew and Haus Wexler's automatons. They took refuge in Taln's headquarters, the Sapling of Yggdrasil, where they saw evidence of the Black Saints and felt the pull of The Beastlands. After exploring the tree and chasing a suspicious man named Worms through a portal they rested and squeezed the pirate crew for intel. They saw an opportunity to prove their combat prowess to Taln in a bloodsport where Wrenn was able to harness control of their lycanthrope form and gain permanent control over their transformation by consuming the Heart of the Prime Werewolf.

Session 38

Ship's Log 1 (Arnesport Sunrise)

Nira's form began to bulge and writhe as it transformed, her chains breaking as tentacles sprouted from her back and she chanted in Deep Speech with a voice that was not her own
The Astral Orb hovered right above her, spinning faster and faster as she drew power from it and became an Eldritch Aberrant version of herself
As people tried to grab her suddenly everyone nearby was sucked into the orb including the party, Erastus Wyndhoek, Anihala, Algarjax, and two of Selunius's werewolf guards
A fight ensued on the broken chunks of the moon that splintered across the void in the orb, Nira using her new powers to lash out with tentacles, summon aberrations, and deal tremendous psychic damage to the party with her screams
The werewolves continued in their bloodlust to attack the party, Wrenn Lingenhall dealt with them but only after being bitten and cursed with lycanthropy themself
As Nira was about to kill Cock he blasted her with his gun, sending her spinning backwards through space where a random stray bullet that had been whizzing around in the orb struck her and sent her into the crevasses of the fractured moon
A moment later there was a radiant burst of light from the moon as it began to reform violently, chunks of rock spinning around and crashing into the surface as gravity pulled the pieces together and formed a new, whole moon once more
Nira the Lunar Sorceress was reborn, stronger and with this new moon in the orb as her source of Lunar power, she rejected the eldritch power that had taken hold and managed to bind it into a crystalline shard that empowered her spells
Everyone was ejected from the orb except Nira and back into Selunius's lair, a few hours had passed and there was no sign of the dragon nor her cultists
Back in the main chamber a grisly scene was laid out before the party: blood and viscera smeared over the walls and floor, countless cultist bodies torn apart by fangs and claws with bloody tracks leading out the door and into the lunar wastes
Wrenn Lingenhall and Cock looted the cultists for armor and money, but as they boarded the ship Wrenn entered the moonlight and began to transform into a werewolf, bloodlust filling their eyes as they lunged for their friends in a frenzy
Rip subdued them and they were wrapped in a blanket to be hidden from the moonlight where they returned to gnomish form
The group crossed the lunar wastes back to Arnesport without trouble, but wondering what had become of Nira in the orb

Session 39

Ship's Log 2 (Arnesport Morning)

Upon docking in Arnesport Erastus Wyndhoek was verbally assaulted by a guard at the dock who called him a traitor and said Selunius had visited the city to inform them that he was now her champion and to put him on the council to speak for her
Aired Helelar picked the guard's pocket as he left, got his gloves, gold, and a wedding band, which Rip returned
They went to see Madame Mystica, a fortune teller and diviner who Erastus said could help with Wrenn Lingenhall's lycanthropy
They bribed their way past the line and Erastus had a brief encounter with and angry dragonborn who said he had served under Erastus's command and to meet him at the Happy Beholder to settle the score
They met with Madame Mystica and asked about breaking the werewolf curse, she read the fates and said Wrenn's "sire" was the Prime Werewolf himself, the original and most powerful werewolf
The curse could only be broken by killing their sire or by destroying an item close to his heart and using the ashes to feed a Remove Curse spell
He lives out in the lunar wastes and is a terrifying ancient werewolf hermit
Wrenn saw through Madame Mystica's illusion so she could talk plainly with them without the theatrics
Rip and Aired had their fortunes read
- Aired drew Jester and Void, which foretold him failing and making terible mistakes from stupid decisions from being drunk, but he would die happy
- Rip drew Gem and Void, which foretold how he might die from keeping a jealous secret, but Rip rejected this fortune
They went to Buti's Beautiful Booty, a huge magical item emporium in a massive ship in the market where Cock and Wrenn bought a Spell Storing Ring, a Wild Magic Ring, and a pair of Glorious Holes and traded in their cursed Ring of Cold Resistance
They went back to the ship to see Void who told them the repairs to the ship would be done in one day and that he sold off the Psurlon's books to pay for the repairs and had 250GP left over for them
They planned to set off in search of the Prime Werewolf to cure Wrenn, starting with the Mercane Agency for possibly bounty hunters and brothels for werewolves in disguise
Erastus was fired from his job as captain of the Treasure Barge and was summoned to see the nobles of Arnesport for his involvement with the dragon

Session 40

Ship's Log 2 (Arnesport Morning)

The party without Erastus Wyndhoek went to The Bilge where they found a pristine building marked as The Mercane Agency of Arnesport
Spoke to a bespectacled gnome in a very open, clean, and sparsely decorated lobby area
He offered them entry into the agency as workers or contract labor, though they tried to use Erastus's name to sweeten the deal
Sealed the contract with a gigantic Mercane who said he would remember them
Paid 400gp for the Werewolf Extermination Package which came with silver swords and the help of a minotaur hunter named Moolissa
Borrowed the Treasure Barge with Anihala and Algarjax and set out for 4 hours across the lunar wastes following Moolissa's directions
Arrived at a cave with lots of footprints indicating traffic in and out, some armored some slippered, evidence of Selunius's cult
Lots of signs around the cave mouth warned of danger and to turn back or else "the beast" might hurt you
In a cavernous room with hovering tiles over a deep pit the party traced out words in the glyphs to cross safely, just in time as the ceiling of the cave collapsed
On the other side of the cavern Nira found a threadbare sheep doll, when she touched it a faint ghostly voice of an elf girl started talking
She said she couldn't remember her name but told them the story of how her father was a shepherd who obsessed over protecting his flock from wolves in the forest, but one day her druidic powers awoke and he shot her in wild shape
She said that her mother had cursed her father but he was just trying to atone for his mistake
Later the party found a locket with a picture of Sulumor and the ghost girl in his den
Just then Sulumor returned from hunting the lunar wastes and he initially thanked them for freeing him from Selunius's cult, but then things got tense when he saw they were holding the sheep doll and locket
He took the doll back, unable to perceive the ghost of his daughter, but as he walked away Wrenn Lingenhall raised their holy symbol and channeled to Destroy Undead, which made the girl's spirit visible to Sulumor as she shrieked and dissipated as the doll turned to ash in his hands
Enraged and tortured by this loss Sulumor lost control, taking the form of the Prime Werewolf and howling to summon a pack to attack the party
They fought desperately and were able to kill Sulumor with Moolissa's help, and Wrenn cut out his heart to cure their own curse

Session 41

Ship's Log 2-3 (Arnesport Morning)

While the party was off trying to cure Wrenn Lingenhall's lycanthropy, Erastus Wyndhoek was summoned to the Council of Pirate Lords to discuss the fact that the dragon had forced his elevation to council member
He was treated as a pariah as he walked hrough the city to The Bridge where he was begrudgingly admitted to the opulent tBowsprit, the council's headquarters
Inside he was treated with derision for not having a ship but being elevated to the Council through Selunius's influence, especially from Lord Tarly Wyndhoek
The Council of Pirate Lords was seated around a table, each with their own unique throne, but three members were conspicuously absent, all having fell victim to The Dealer recently (Haus Wexler, Sticky-Fingers McGee, and Deadeye Hollins)
The council discussed how to Deal with The Dealer, with each captain putting forward a proposal to consider before disbanding at an impasse
- Amber Arnes wanted to slip past the blockade to call for allies to help
- Lord Tarly Wyndhoek wanted to listen to the Dealer's demands to try to reason with him
- Cap'n Flameskull as an unhinged pyromaniac wanted to engage in a full frontal assault on the Dealer's fleet
- Taln Wolfheart wanted to try a daring mission to pretend to be captured and then dismantle the Dealer's flagship from within
Erastus was told to secure a ship before the next council meeting to be considered a captain, and also to bring his own seat to represent himself on the council
Afterwards Taln caught up with Erastus and tried to cut him in on a plan to rob Haus Wexler's estate before he could awaken a new clone after his body was destroyed by the Dealer
The plan was to steal a cask of fancy liquor from Wexler's personal supply, but Erastus turned him down
Meanwhile the party returned from Sulumor's lair to Arnesport where they parted ways with Moolissa, Anihala, and Algarjax
Long Rest at the ship
Repairs were complete on their ship, which they christened Sea Bastion
Went to Arnesport Armaments to outfit their new ship with weapons, Erastus and Aired Helelar talked the shopkeep into a deal on a Ballista and special ammunition
Nira disguised herself as an employee and managed to steal an Arcane Magnifier, an extremely expensive (and large) piece of equipment, she got it outside with the party's help and disguised it as a crate of cabbages with an illusion

Session 42

Ship's Log 3 (Arnesport Morning)

Nira was wheeling the stolen Arcane Magnifier (disguised as a cabbage cart) through the Arnesport streets as the party followed behind, noticing a mechanical gargoyle fly off from the top of the store as they left
Ahead the path was blocked by a crowd forming around two dueling skeleton pirates, and a patrol of more skeletons were closing in on the party from behind
A veiled woman ran up to Nira and asked for her help getting away from the ruckus, directing the party down an alley then suddenly diving for the stolen goods
Aired Helelar puncher her and the head popped off revealing another skeleton as the patrol caught up to an engaged Erastus Wyndhoek
A fight broke out and as each skeleton was destroyed its skull would come to life possessed by Cap'n Flameskull and explode in a Fireball
They dealt with the skeletons and Aired prevented Cap'n Flameskull from escaping by crushing the last skull with a well-aimed parting shot
They fled through the alleys to the docks but just as they saw the Sea Bastion in sight a massive mechanical scorpion ship landed ahead of them and attacked with brutal artillery fire
Half the party boarded the ship to take out the crew while the rest rushed the stolen weapon towards their own ship to get it airborne
Cock took the helm and after failing to ram the enemy ship it returned fire with a devastating hotshot blast from its cannon
After killing the last mechanical crewmember on deck they could see that everyone in the area was watching the fight so Cock used Skywrite to say "The Dragon is Coming" as a distraction
This prompted mass hysteria as a stampede ensued in the streets and ships began launching half-crewed only to be obliterated when they reached The Dealer's impenetrable blockade
With the stolen Arcane Magnifier aboard Aired and Wrenn Lingenhall went belowdeck on the scorpion ship to try to commandeer the vessel in the chaos

Session 43

Ship's Log 3 (Arnesport Morning)

Still in the midst of city-wide chaos and a ship-to-ship battle the party continued to try to take down the rest of the mechanical crew inside the scorpion ship
The captain quickly downed Wrenn Lingenhall and Aired Helelar helped them flee just as a new ship approached from above, dropping off four beastial pirate berserkers and a strange red gas that drove everyone into a rage
Fighting the urge to rage the party surrendered to this new force and the crew set about commandeering the ship in the name of their captain Taln Wolfheart
Taln himself was piloting the ship above and offered them a chance to join him at his treetop fortress, the Sapling of Yggdrasil, to lay low from the heat of stealing from Haus Wexler's shop
As they followed Taln's ship, Cock used his powers to see through the hull of the ship to peek at the cask of liquid they had stolen from Wexler's estate
They landed on a wide branch of a massive tree where they were met by Taln and an entourage of beastial pirate attendants, he invited them to feast with his crew and asked Erastus Wyndhoek to join him at the Captains' Table
Inside the massive interior of the tree they immediately felt a primal hunger awaken within, a hunger they hadn't felt since their trip to The Beastlands, they soon also noticed animal features returning to their faces
The Heart of the Prime Werewolf in Wrenn's bag began faintly beating, getting stronger as they moved into the heart of the tree
Cock gambled with a pirate and learned about Taln's secret plan to board The Dealer's flagship to take it down from the inside with the help of some special liquor they stole from Wexler
Nira and Aired explored the tree and spoke to a pirate who claimed to be part of Taln's original crew back in Faerun, he told them the story of how Taln got his start in Arnesport and how they grey the great tree fortress
None of the pirates seemed to know about any connection to The Beastlands but they also said there were off-limits areas for captains only
Wrenn was unsettled by the beating heart and returned it to the ship with Void for safekeeping, while there they used the ash of Sulumor's daughter's doll as a component of Remove Curse to cure their lycanthropy

Session 44

Ship's Log 3 (Arnesport Morning)

Erastus Wyndhoek followed Taln Wolfheart to the Canopy of the Sapling of Yggdrasil where many high-ranking pirate captains were socializing
They discussed how they plan to use the stolen liquor to sneak aboard The Dealer's flagship
Taln was eventually pulled away by a shifty, foul-smelling man with mushrooms growing up the side of his face named Worms
Erastus wandered over to a dangerous-looking loner captain at the edge of the room who introduced himself as Thunivel, Taln's "fixer"
He mentioned that Taln had heard the Dealer had a powerful magical artifact that might be able to be turned against him if they could steal it, but that Thunivel wouldn't be going on this mission as it "wasn't his style"
Nira and Aired Helelar were unable to talk their way into the Canopy, so Nira cast Clairvoyance to evesdrop on the captains' conversations
She overheard Worms telling Thunivel that "the girl is being a problem" and "disrupting our operations," which she connected to Trisfina and The Vile Hunt
She also glimpsed that Thunivel was carrying two pistols in underarm holsters that matched the one Cock carried
The party regrouped and were joined by Void, then talked with more of the feasting pirates to get information about the tree (the Canopy is for captains only, there's a bloodsport match going on soon, the hotsprings at the base can heal you, and never go into the catacombs)
They went down to the hotsprings for a short rest that gave them the benefits of a long rest from the magical rejuvenation
Void caught Worms sneaking down into the catacombs and followed along with Pointy
Lost track of him at a three-way intersection, followed the smell of rot and decay and caught a glimpse of Worms as he disappeared into an inky black portal, but they were attacked by undead limbs grasping from the walls of the tunnel
Void sensed another portal in the direction of the stream feeding the hotsprings
Now rested they went to check out the bloodsport, which turned out to be a brawl between warriors who had taken on beastial forms by eating animal hearts in a bid to make their new powers permanent by drinking from a stream that was flowing from behind a bole of bark in the tree wall
Taln was goading new challengers to join the fray, saying that those who proved themselves here would be chosen to go on a special mission soon, which the party figured might be related to the Dealer
Wrenn Lingenhall challenged an owlbear-form barbarian to a duel alongside Erastus and Aired
They took a bloody bite of the beating heart of the prime werewolf and transformed into a werewolf with bone ridges and extra powerful fangs and claws
While the brawl took place Void and Rip used the distraction as cover to sneak into the backstage area where the stream was flowing from where they found a green portal to The Beastlands
Void stepped through into The Beastlands near a clear cut section of forest and a fort bearing the symbol of The Vile Hunt, they were immediately shot with a green and white fletched arrow; the same kind Trisfina was known to use
Wrenn barely managed to win the fight and drank from the stream to make the power permanent, allowing them to transform into a controlled lycanthrope form at will
Taln congratulated them and invited the victorious combatants to join him for a mission briefing