Session Recap and Preparation#
The session began with an extensive recap of the previous episode’s events. The Taco Cat crew (Helisanna, Elspeth Cooper, Felonias Bru, Jasper Gaines, Detective Olivia Cooper, and Silas Fairbanks) had successfully completed a mission for the Twilight Company to investigate Johnny Travolta, who was selling out the organization. Their infiltration of his party led to Bru accidentally setting a butler’s coattails on fire, Silas pickpocketing a key, and the team acquiring evidence of Travolta’s betrayal.
Notably, Elspeth had flirted with a guard during the mission - a human woman with red hair in a ponytail wearing a tuxedo. The party received 600 gold total and increased reputation with the Twilight Company for their successful mission.
Elspeth’s Date: Between missions, Elspeth went on an after-work date with the guard at the Common Mug. Despite the awkwardness (as all of Elspeth’s romantic encounters tend to be), she successfully obtained the woman’s phone number. The guard lives in Milstrom and appears to have an obnoxious neck tattoo and nose piercing, leading to jokes about her being a “working girl” who might take Elspeth to Slipknot concerts.
Journey to the Wormhole#
The party prepared for Red’s (Thurnock Skyhammer’s) trials by establishing psychic links between Silas, Olivia, Red, and Bru, while taking a long rest to restore their abilities. As they approached the cavern entrance, Red cast Thaumaturgy to announce their presence with a booming “Hello!” that echoed through the tunnels and caused ominous rumbling throughout the cave system.
The cave entrance was carved by a mythical beast, with glowing glyphs marking where its scales had rubbed against the walls. These runes provided dim lighting throughout the tunnel system, and both Red and Olivia could feel ancestral power vibrating through the air.
The Pressure Plate Puzzle#
First Challenge: The party encountered their first trial - a series of five tiles with Goliath religious symbols arranged in a line across their path. Beyond the tiles lay a chasm that couldn’t be crossed without solving the puzzle.
Initial Attempts: Red’s initial investigation revealed the symbols were Goliath religious iconography, but he couldn’t decipher their meaning. When Olivia accidentally stepped on the third tile, it triggered a thunderous roar and a blast of force toward the ceiling. Bru’s superior perception (rolling a 20) revealed that the tiles increased in complexity from left to right, suggesting a sequence.
Trial and Error: The party systematically tested each tile using Red’s quarterstaff and Helisanna’s Eldritch Blast. Red took significant damage (44 force damage) when he was caught too close to tile four’s activation. Through careful experimentation, they discovered that the tiles needed to be held down simultaneously in a specific order.
Solution: After much deliberation and several painful mistakes, they realized the solution was elegantly simple - the tiles needed to be activated in numerical order: 1-2-3-4-5. When all five tiles were depressed simultaneously using rocks, a bridge of brilliant light formed across the chasm, allowing safe passage.
The Constellation Chamber#
Second Challenge: The party entered a large circular chamber containing a perfect black void in the center - darker than anything they could imagine. Around this void, 28 tiles were etched into the stone floor, while the walls displayed four movable tiles marked with dot patterns.
Investigation: Silas’s keen insight (rolling 18) revealed that the wall tiles followed a pattern. An Arcana check confirmed these were constellation patterns, though they appeared to be incorrectly oriented or arranged. Olivia’s investigative expertise (rolling 16) determined that the tiles were shaped to fit together in a specific configuration, with certain pieces clearly being “end pieces.”
Solution: Working as a team, the party rearranged and rotated the constellation tiles to form three recognizable star patterns:
- Orion the Hunter (the archer)
- Leo (the lion)
- Ursa Major (the great bear)
When properly aligned, the constellations glowed with connecting lines of light, activating the chamber and revealing the massive presence that had been watching them.
Encounter with Sol the Dragon#
The Revelation: As the chamber activated, what the party had initially mistaken for architectural beams revealed themselves to be the coiled body of an enormous dragon. Sol emerged - a magnificent creature with scales that radiated starlight like shards of the night sky, creating a dappled, celestial glow.
The Test: Sol questioned why they had disturbed his slumber, leading to Red being pushed forward (literally) by his companions to face the trial. When Sol asked the riddle “What burns in your heart?”, Red answered honestly that his greatest desire was to protect and care for other people, preventing them from coming to harm.
Approval: Sol approved of Red’s answer and revealed his role as a guardian of the trials. He explained that the black circle was a portal to the astral tree - a cosmic hub connecting many worlds across the universe. Despite the party’s concerns about being able to return, Sol assured them they could come back once Red proved himself worthy.
Journey Through the Astral Tree#
The Portal: Sol forced the entire party through the portal with a sweep of his tail. They emerged on a platform within a massive tree surrounded by a thick, star-speckled forest that seemed to blend swamp and cosmic void in a disorienting manner.
Sol’s Transformation: Sol reappeared in the form of an elderly, hunchbacked Goliath with a cane and raggedy clothes, though he maintained the same voice. When the party questioned this obvious shapeshifting, Sol played coy, insisting he was “a different person” named Sol, leading to Silas’s visible frustration.
The Ancestral Gift: Before beginning their descent, Sol presented Red with a tomahawk - a gift from his parents and part of his heritage as a Skyhammer. Red awkwardly accepted the weapon, admitting he had no experience with martial weapons.
The Endless Descent: The party spent literally all day walking down the spiral stairs within the massive tree. What began as an energetic jog quickly became an exhausting trudge as they realized the true scale of their descent.
Arrival at Lakeshore Vale#
First Impressions: The party finally reached a lakeside village built on multiple tiers with wooden structures connected by boardwalks. The settlement appeared to be populated by beings from various worlds who had arrived through the astral tree’s portal network.
Callum the Warforged: Their first encounter was with Callum, a somewhat rusty warforged guard who welcomed them to Lakeshore Vale while strictly prohibiting “roughhousing.” Despite claiming to have had a great day, Callum’s responses suggested he was easily irritated and had strong opinions about the village residents.
Village Gossip: Callum provided extensive gossip about the villagers:
- Finnick: A large fisherman who feeds much of the town
- Thalos: A blacksmith whom Callum considered “very rude”
- Rowan and Illa: Two residents caught in a mutual but unspoken romantic attraction
- Elder Brian: An elderly village leader
Meeting the Locals#
Finnick the Fisherman: The party found Finnick, a tubby halfling, napping while fishing. He successfully caught a large tuna with his backup fishing rod, revealing that his prized fishing rod had been stolen approximately a month ago. He suspected Tanner of the theft but didn’t want to “cast blame” (a fishing pun that Bru appreciated). When agitated, Finnick developed a pronounced Chicago accent and became defensive about his livelihood.
Bru’s Explosive Innovation: In a moment that would have lasting consequences, Bru introduced Finnick to fishing with dynamite. The first explosive was “on the house,” but subsequent ones would cost five gold each. This led to multiple explosions in the lake and many dead fish floating to the surface.
Elder Brian: The party found the supposed village leader digging through trash, searching for driftwood. Brian explained that he performed “prophecy rituals” using driftwood that supposedly predicted who would arrive in the village next. He claimed these rituals had successfully predicted the arrival of Callum and Illa, though he admitted one time it predicted no one would come.
The Driftwood Debacle#
The Quest: Elder Brian desperately needed driftwood for his prophecy ritual, despite the fact that driftwood was readily available on the nearby beach. His inability to locate it himself suggested either incompetence or some other limitation.
Bru’s Stealth Mission: Using psychic communication with Silas, Bru stealthily retrieved driftwood from the beach while Finnick was distracted by his new explosive fishing techniques. However, confusion arose when Finnick warned against giving the driftwood to “Silas” (meaning Elder Brian shouldn’t be given the driftwood), but Bru misunderstood this as Finnick opposing the elder.
Power Dynamics: In a bizarre turn of events, Elder Brian declared that by bringing him the driftwood, Bru had proven his trustworthiness and could now be considered the “elder” or even “ruler” of the village. This led to Bru jokingly ordering Brian to fight Finnick to the death, much to Red and Silas’s horror.
Olivia’s Intervention: Growing increasingly frustrated with the circular conversations and apparent incompetence of the villagers, Olivia grabbed the driftwood from Elder Brian and threw it back into the water, pointing out that it would simply drift back to shore naturally.
Brewing Tensions and Mysteries#
The Trial’s Purpose: Throughout these interactions, it became clear that Red’s trial involved helping the people of Lakeshore Vale, though the specific requirements remained unclear. The party began identifying several potential quests:
- Recovering Finnick’s stolen fishing rod from Tanner
- Resolving the unspoken romance between Rowan and Illa
- Dealing with Thomas, who supposedly won’t do her chores
- Managing Elder Brian’s driftwood obsession
- Understanding Callum’s role as an unreliable narrator
Village Dynamics: The party began to suspect that Callum, their initial source of information, might be providing inverted or false information about the other villagers. Thalos the “rude” blacksmith had actually been friendly when they passed, and many of Callum’s other assessments seemed questionable.
Explosive Consequences: The session ended with yet another explosion echoing across the lake as Bru’s fishing innovations continued to reshape the local ecosystem, while Silas contemplated whether to stab Bru or himself to end the madness.
Key Character Developments#
Red/Thurnock: Demonstrated genuine heroic instincts in answering Sol’s riddle about what burns in his heart, showing his desire to protect others. However, he also showed concerning pragmatism in suggesting they could sacrifice BoxBox (Elspeth’s robot companion) for puzzle-solving.
Bru: Found his element in the chaotic village environment, quickly adapting to become “elder” and introducing destructive fishing techniques. His ability to navigate the village’s bizarre social dynamics suggested he might be more at home here than anywhere else.
Silas: Grew increasingly frustrated with the circular conversations and apparent incompetence surrounding them, showing his preference for efficiency and logic over the village’s nonsensical approach to problem-solving.
Elspeth: Continued developing her romantic subplot with her new girlfriend while maintaining her practical approach to challenges.
Olivia: Demonstrated her detective background by asking pointed questions and eventually taking direct action to resolve the driftwood situation when diplomatic approaches failed.
Helisanna: Provided reliable magical support and combat capabilities while observing the unfolding chaos with characteristic detachment.
Session Themes and Implications#
This session showcased the classic D&D theme of heroes being pulled into local problems that seem trivial but reveal deeper community dynamics. The village of Lakeshore Vale appears to be a testing ground where Red must demonstrate leadership and problem-solving skills, though whether the villagers’ problems are genuine or manufactured for the trial remains unclear.
The introduction of explosive fishing techniques, romantic subplots, missing property, and village politics suggests the party will need to balance multiple ongoing quests while navigating a community where reliable information is scarce and everyone seems to have their own agenda.
The session ended on a cliffhanger with continuing explosions and mounting frustration, setting up future sessions focused on resolving the village’s numerous interconnected problems while uncovering the true nature of Red’s trials.