(S108) Leaving the Realm of D&D

The party flees the dragon graveyard, negotiates with a memory-eating tree for a cursed sword, and trades rare dragon remains with the eccentric wizard Merlin for passage back to their flying ship.

📝 Session Summary

The Wild Cards were called The Menagerie by some until they came up with the name The Wild Cards.

• Barlo: A grizzled tabaxi barbarian who has been doing some work for a network that one should be wary of.
• Bastion: An orphan human who spent his life studying magic and blades, even though his elder pushed him away from the sword. He replaced Reginald.
• Calliope: This bardic faun joined the party late when she needed to find help to save her homeland.
• Reginald: A leonin cleric who was off to show his family's royal background and would later find out there were secrets leading to him becoming a king.
• Sas: A tortle hermit was given an item of power and a quest.
• Shadow in the Snow: This tabaxi got a coin, and her curiosity set her on a path.

🎬 Scenes

• Scene 1: Barlo's Backstory — From The Bronze Canyon in Kampos. Gave up Tabaxi name, "Smiles". Help move people. On way to Eushia to help Black Road with a client. Currently on ship near Carrune.
• Scene 2: Bastion's Backstory — When Bastion Bladesinger was very young he lost both of his parents to a plague. He took care of himself as he taught himself how to use the rapier his father once wore. He lived in Dyrt and watched all of the great knights. He also had an interest in the ways of magic and he wished he could do both – use swords and excel in magic – like many elves he had heard about.
• Scene 3: Calliope's Backstory — Calliope was born into the nestled highlands of the Oraniad Mountains. The Skola Vale, wild and free, blessed by the gods and inhabited by whimsical Satyr and Faun. Deep within it among the lush valley, reside the Dawngreets, a long generational line of storytellers and lore keepers.
• Scene 4: Reginald's Backstory — He was born at home, a modest-sized mansion where his family lived a modest means – even though his father could never stop talking about how they were royalty and yet this was the only lands they currently possess. His childhood was generally a happy one full of several friends. He was an only child.
• Scene 5: Sas' Backstory — Sas was born on the continent of Oth'Mar – a content mostly inhabited by Tortles and is far to the south of the Carrune Isles.
• Scene 6: Shadow's Backstory — Deep in the snowy mountains high in the north, there lived a large group of Tabaxi, The Blinding Wild Clan.

📜 Missions & Quests

• Completed:
  • Established individual party origins and initial connections to the world of Dierde.
• Active / Discovered Threads:
  • Barlo's ties to the smuggling rings and the Black Road.
  • Bastion's mysterious past and fallout with Grognard.
  • Calliope's quest to save the Skola Vale.
  • Reginald's pursuit of his family's royal mint commission and claim in Neyer.
  • Sas's vision of the Cat Goddess Bast and journey to find her lost lands.
  • Shadow's golden coin and mystical calling from her clan shaman.

NPCs

S108: Leaving the Realm of D&D

Date: 2026-08-01

Short

After completing his work in the dragon graveyard and crafting a final magic quiver for Barlo, the Dungeon Master led the party away as hostile dragon spirits rose from the earth, with Sas's Silver Flame protecting the group as they fled. Along the forest trail, the party discovered a strange lone tree with a sword — Vaelen’s Spite — buried in its trunk and surrounded by headless skeletons. The tree, a sinister entity that consumed the skulls and memories of those who rested nearby, struck a bargain with the party: they would remove the painful sword, and it would spare them. After a creative effort involving a rope, Arktos, and one of Calliope's entertaining dances, the blade was pulled free. Beneath the tree's roots, the party also unearthed a crumbling satchel containing gold coins, a healing potion, and a brooch of shielding, while the grateful tree gifted Sas a vial of Marrow Sap — a powerful psychic substance distilled from consumed memories. That evening, the party settled at the Mage's Monocle tavern, where the Dungeon Master presented three paths home. They chose diplomacy with the legendary wizard Merlin, though not before Bastion suffered a brief but alarming wave of magical paranoia while identifying Vaelen’s Spite, and the party divided the rest of their loot.

The following morning, Venger and Kelek departed, and the group made their way to a coastal cliff beneath Merlin's impossibly floating, gold-trimmed castle. With the Dungeon Master warning that his strained history with Merlin would be a liability, Calliope took the lead — flying to the castle gates, leaving a chess piece as a calling card, and launching a firework display to announce herself. Merlin appeared, cradling a white rabbit, and was quickly charmed by Calliope's charisma. He teleported the rest of the party to his castle grounds and promptly banished the Dungeon Master back to the shore. Though Merlin dismissed the offer of Vaelen’s Spite outright, he was genuinely intrigued by Shadow's rare offering: a spike and tooth from a pollution crystal dragon, a creature he had never before encountered. Persuaded by the party's persistence and the novelty of the specimen, Merlin performed a sweeping dimensional ritual and sent the entire group hurtling back to their flying ship in Thornwinds. With the realm of Dungeons and Dragons behind them, the party set their course for Skola Vale, where the Archfey who had stolen Uni's unicorn horn was waiting to be found.

Summary

The Dungeon Master completed his work in the dragon graveyard, drawing the last wisps of ancient dragon essence from the earth to craft a final magic quiver for Barlo. The moment the quiver left his hands, the ground beneath the party began to stir. Bluish, glowing dragon spirits rose from the soil, their forms coiling and reaching outward with unmistakable hostility. The party wasted no time — they moved swiftly down the hillside path, and as the spirits clawed at them, Sas's inner Silver Flame surged protectively, sending a pulse of healing energy toward Hex Coda as the group broke free of the graveyard's bounds.

As the Dungeon Master led them down through the forest trail, it was Barlo and Shadow who spotted something strange just off the path — a plain longsword buried deep into the trunk of a lone tree, surrounded by a ring of ancient, headless skeletons. Shadow crept closer to investigate, noting the bones were old and beginning to be reclaimed by the earth, but not a single skull remained among them. Calliope reached out and touched the blade, and a wave of psychic energy crashed over her, flooding her mind with the sword's history. The weapon was called Vaelen’s Spite, once belonging to a knightly order, and it carried a dark reputation — a whispering voice that had driven every one of its owners to paranoia and madness.

Sas reached out to the tree itself, coaxing it into conversation, and what it revealed was deeply unsettling. The tree explained, with an almost casual air, that the skulls and memories of those who rested in its shade were simply the rent it required — the noise, fear, and ambition of mortal minds nourishing its roots. It admitted it had not seen another tree like itself in quite some time, and when Sas pressed it on the sword, the tree confessed it had been painful ever since an angry man had thrown it into the trunk and walked away. The party struck a careful bargain: they would remove the sword, and the tree would refrain from consuming them — provided, it clarified with unsettling practicality, that none of them decided to take a nap nearby.

Sas used her connection to nature to gently excavate the earth around the tree's roots, unearthing a rotting leather satchel that crumbled apart as it was pulled free. Inside were 140 oxidized gold coins, a waterlogged journal too damaged to read, a healing potion, and a beautifully preserved brooch that radiated protective magic — later identified as a brooch of shielding, capable of deflecting force and warding off magical missiles. Meanwhile, multiple members of the party attempted to wrench the sword free using conjured spectral hands, but the blade held fast. It took Shadow lashing a rope to the sword and hitching it to Arktos, while Calliope performed an elaborate dance to entertain the tree, before the great beast finally pulled Vaelen’s Spite free with a mighty heave. Grateful and apparently charmed by the performance, the tree offered Sas a vial of its sap — a potent substance called Marrow Sap, distilled from countless consumed memories, capable of granting knowledge or being weaponized as a psychic poison.

That evening, the party arrived in a small, hardworking village and settled in at the Mage's Monocle tavern, run by a lanky Goliath named Hardbear, where they shared a meal of stew and local ales. Over dinner, the Dungeon Master laid out three paths home: battle a many-eyed creature guarding a portal, navigate the treacherous and ever-shifting Slave Mines of Baramore, or attempt to negotiate with the legendary and notoriously difficult wizard Merlin, who kept a floating castle nearby. The party chose diplomacy. Later that night, Bastion performed a careful ritual to identify Vaelen’s Spite, and the moment the sword's nature was revealed to him, a wave of magical paranoia washed over his mind — his companions' faces twisted into something menacing and threatening. He quickly broke the curse's grip on himself, and the sword was wrapped up and tucked away. The group also sorted through the rest of their accumulated loot, with Barlo claiming a belt of frost giant strength and Bastion taking a ring of protection, before settling in for a watched night at Varla's family farm.

In the morning, Venger and Kelek bid the party farewell and departed to tend to their own affairs, leaving the group to follow the Dungeon Master toward the coast. Along the road, they passed two hunters locked in a heated argument with an owl perched on a branch — the bird speaking in plain Common, disputing the terms of some arrangement — and the party wisely chose not to get involved. They arrived at a beachside cliff where Merlin's extravagant, gold-trimmed castle floated impossibly in the sky above the water. The Dungeon Master warned them that his history with Merlin was strained, largely because Venger had once impersonated the wizard to deceive young adventurers, and that he would be of little help in the negotiations ahead.

Calliope borrowed a broom and flew across the water to the castle gates, where an invisible, mindless servant opened the door to receive her. With no way to communicate with the featureless creature, she pressed a glass queen chess piece into its grasp as a calling card, announced herself as Calliope of Skola Vale requesting an audience, and walked back out. She then launched a brilliant firework display into the sky outside the gates and waited. After ten minutes, a voice broke the silence — and Merlin himself appeared, an older gentleman in a gray cloak and pointed hat, cradling a white rabbit, demanding to know what she was doing on his property. Calliope's charm worked quickly, and Merlin snapped his fingers, teleporting the rest of the party from the beach directly to his castle grounds — then, with a casual wave of his hand, banished the Dungeon Master back to the shore before he could utter a word.

Merlin made no secret of his contempt for the Dungeon Master, and the party worked carefully to appeal to his ego and his curiosity. When they offered Vaelen’s Spite, he dismissed it immediately — he already knew its history of driving owners to madness and wanted nothing to do with it. It was Shadow's offer of something far rarer that finally caught his attention: a spike and a tooth harvested from a pollution crystal dragon, a creature Merlin admitted he had never encountered before. Intrigued by the unique specimen and persuaded by the party's persistence, the great wizard agreed to help. He led them into his castle's basement, performed a sweeping ritual, and sent the entire party hurtling across dimensions — depositing them back aboard their flying ship in Thornwinds. With the realm of Dungeons and Dragons behind them, the party set their sights on their next destination: Skola Vale, where the Archfey who had stolen the unicorn horn of Uni was waiting to be found.

Scenes

Escape from the Dragon Graveyard

The party receives their final upgraded weapons and a new magic item before fleeing the awakening spirits of the dragon graveyard.

• The Dungeon Master completes the final upgrades to the party's weapons, transforming them into powerful artifacts using dragon spirits.
• Barlo receives a newly fabricated quiver created from the essence of dragon spirits in the graveyard.
• Hostile bluish, glowing dragon spirits begin to manifest and rise from the ground to protect the graveyard.
• The party makes a hasty retreat from the graveyard, narrowly dodging the grasping reach of the spirits.
• Sas's internal Silver Flame unleashes a protective burst, shielding her from the spirits and sending a burst of healing energy to Hex Coda.
• The Dungeon Master leads the group down a hillside pathway toward a nearby village.

The Memory-Eating Tree

While traveling down the hill, the party discovers a sentient tree with a sword embedded in its trunk and a dark secret beneath its shade.

• Shadow in the Snow spots a simple longsword sticking out of a tree off the trail, surrounded by headless skeletons.
• Shadow investigates from about 20 feet away, noting the skeletons are very old with growth beginning to take hold, but no skulls are visible.
• Calliope uses a magical glove to touch the sword, experiencing a psychic backlash and visions of the blade's history — learning it is called Vaelen’s Spite, tied to a knightly order, and rumored to be cursed with a voice that drives its wielder to paranoia.
• Sas casts Speak with Plants to communicate with the tree, which reveals it consumes the memories and skulls of those who rest in its shade as 'rent.'
• The tree explains it finds the noise, fear, and ambition of mortal minds nourishing for its roots.
• Sas casts Detect Magic, revealing a faint abjuration aura buried beneath the roots.
• Sas uses the Mold Earth cantrip to delicately excavate the earth without harming the tree's roots, unearthing a rotting leather satchel.
• The satchel yields 140 oxidized gold coins, a waterlogged and unreadable journal, a potion, and a magical brooch — identified as a brooch of shielding.
• The party negotiates with the tree, offering to remove the painful sword in exchange for safety and permission to search for belongings left by its victims.
• Multiple party members cast Mage Hand simultaneously to try to pull the sword free, but it remains stuck.
• Shadow ties a rope to the sword and hitches it to Arktos while Calliope performs a distracting dance for the tree.
• Arktos successfully pulls the sword free from the trunk.
• The tree, grateful for the removal and entertained by the performance, allows Sas to collect some of its magical sap, called Marrow Sap.

Evening at the Mage's Monocle

The party arrives in a small village, settles in for the night, and discusses their options for returning home.

• The party reaches a small, hardworking village and arranges to stay at Varla's family farm.
• The group visits the Mage's Monocle tavern, managed by a Goliath named Hardbear, for dinner and drinks.
• The Dungeon Master presents three options for returning home: fighting a multi-eyed creature guarding a portal, negotiating with the wizard Merlin, or navigating the shifting slave mines of Baramore.
• The party decides to attempt a social approach by negotiating with Merlin in the morning.
• Bastion performs a ritual to identify the sword recovered from the tree, discovering it is Vaelen’s Spite — a plus-one longsword dealing extra necrotic damage to living targets.
• Upon identifying the sword, Bastion is overcome by magical paranoia, feeling as though his companions are menacing him, and casts Remove Curse on himself to clear his mind.
• The party identifies several other items, including a belt of frost giant strength, a ring of protection, and potions of speed.
• The group distributes the loot, with Barlo taking the belt of frost giant strength and Bastion taking the ring of protection.
• The party divides platinum and gold bars along with a collection of unmarked gold coins found during their travels.
• Venger and Kelek depart from the party, stating they have repairs and damages to attend to.

A Night at the Farmhouse

The party rests at Varla's family farmhouse, setting a watch through the night before preparing to seek out Merlin in the morning.

• The party settles into a guest house on Varla's family farm for the night.
• Barlo takes the first watch and hears an unusual owl sound outside but sees nothing upon further inspection.
• Bastion takes the second watch and hears a drunken villager singing a pirate shanty in the distance — nothing else of note occurs.
• In the morning, the Dungeon Master bids farewell to Venger and Kelek before regrouping with the party.

The Road to Merlin's Keep

The party travels toward the coast to find the wizard Merlin, encountering strange locals along the way before arriving at a beachside cliff overlooking a massive floating castle.

• Shadow purchases javelins from the small village before the party departs.
• On the road, the party passes two hunters armed with bows who are engaged in a heated argument with a talking owl perched on a branch, apparently over a disputed deal.
• The party reaches a beachside cliff overlooking a massive castle floating in the sky.
• The Dungeon Master explains his strained history with Merlin, noting that Venger had once impersonated Merlin to trick young adventurers, and warns the party he cannot assist with the negotiations.

Audience with the Wizard Merlin

Calliope flies to Merlin's floating castle to request an audience, eventually persuading the eccentric wizard to send the party home in exchange for rare dragon components.

• Calliope borrows a broom to fly across the water to the gates of the extravagant, gold-trimmed floating castle.
• An invisible servant opens the door, and Calliope presents a glass queen chess piece as her calling card before walking away.
• Calliope sets off a pyrotechnic display outside the gates to further grab the wizard's attention.
• After waiting ten minutes, Merlin appears — an older gentleman in a gray cloak and long pointed hat, carrying a white rabbit — and questions her presence on his property.
• Calliope persuades Merlin to bring the rest of the party up, and he snaps his fingers, teleporting them from the beach to the castle grounds while simultaneously banishing the Dungeon Master back to the shore.
• Merlin expresses his contempt for the Dungeon Master, blaming him and Venger for past grievances.
• The party attempts to persuade Merlin to send them home, playing on his ego and his rivalry with the Dungeon Master.
• The party considers offering Vaelen’s Spite, but Merlin dismisses it, stating he is well aware of the sword's dark history of driving its owners insane.
• Shadow offers a spike and a tooth from a pollution crystal dragon — a specimen Merlin admits he has never seen before.
• Intrigued by the unique dragon remains, Merlin agrees to assist the party.
• The party decides to return to their ship in Thornwinds to resupply before heading to Skola Vale to intercept the Archfey who stole the unicorn horn.
• Merlin leads the party into his basement and performs a ritual that teleports them back to their flying ship, successfully exiting the realm of Dungeons and Dragons.

Memorable Moments

The party negotiates with a sentient, skull-eating tree, ultimately tying a rope to a cursed sword and hitching it to Arktos to yank it free while Calliope performs a distracting dance for the tree's entertainment.

A completely unexpected encounter that turned into an elaborate production involving an owlbear, a dance performance, and tree diplomacy.

"Their minds were cluttered with noise and fear and ambition. Those memories I found nourishing for my roots."
— The Sentient Tree

Casually explaining to Sas why it eats the skulls and memories of anyone who rests in its shade, as if it were perfectly reasonable.

"As long as you promise not to take a nap near me, I can definitely keep to the promise."
— The Sentient Tree

Clarifying the terms of its agreement not to eat the party — with a very reasonable caveat.

After identifying Vaelen’s Spite, Bastion is suddenly gripped by magical paranoia — his companions' faces twist into menacing expressions in his mind until he casts Remove Curse on himself to break free.

A tense moment that revealed just how dangerous the cursed sword truly is, even from a brief ritual identification.

Calliope flies to Merlin's pompous floating castle, hands a glass queen chess piece to an invisible servant as a calling card, then sets off fireworks outside the gate and waits ten minutes before Merlin finally appears.

An entirely improvised and absurd plan to get a legendary wizard's attention that somehow worked perfectly.

Merlin snaps his fingers, instantly teleporting the entire party from the beach to his castle grounds — then with a wave of his hand, banishes the Dungeon Master back to the shore before he can say a word.

A display of casual, overwhelming power that made clear Merlin operates on a completely different level than anyone the party has dealt with.

"I am well aware of that sword and how little it means to me. I know the story of how it has driven every owner insane."
— Merlin

Dismissing the party's offer of Vaelen’s Spite, revealing he already knew its dark history — hinting at the depth of his knowledge.

After offering rare pollution dragon remains — a specimen Merlin had never encountered — the legendary wizard agrees to send the party home, performing a ritual that teleports them across dimensions back to their flying ship.

The culmination of the party's social gambit, successfully convincing one of the most powerful wizards in the realm without a single fight.

NPCs

Dungeon Master

A powerful and enigmatic guide in this realm, possibly a form of the dragon god Bahamut. He upgraded the party's weapons using dragon spirits, led them to safety after the graveyard, presented them with options for returning home, and guided them to the coast — but was unceremoniously banished back to the beach by Merlin during negotiations.

Venger

The son of the Dungeon Master. He assisted in upgrading the party's weapons at the dragon graveyard and helped arrange lodging at Varla's farm, before departing in the morning with Kelek to attend to other matters. It was revealed he once impersonated Merlin to trick young adventurers, which is the source of Merlin's contempt for the Dungeon Master.

Kelek

An associate who traveled with the party and departed alongside Venger in the morning to attend to repairs and other travels.

Hex Coda

An automaton companion traveling with the party who received healing from Sas's Silver Flame during the escape from the dragon graveyard.

Arktos

Shadow's companion who was present during the retreat from the dragon graveyard and later provided the necessary strength to pull the cursed sword Vaelen’s Spite out of the sentient tree.

The Sentient Tree

A predatory plant that feeds on the memories and skulls of creatures that sleep in its shade, claiming them as 'rent.' It spoke with Sas, requested the removal of a painful sword from its trunk, and rewarded the party with Marrow Sap after Arktos pulled the sword free and Calliope entertained it with a dance.

Hardbear

A skinny Goliath and the proprietor of the Mage's Monocle tavern who served food and drink to the party.

Varla

A local girl whose family farm provided lodging for the party during their stay in the village.

The Talking Owl

A bird perched on a branch near the road that argued in Common with two hunters over a disputed deal, observed by the party as they passed.

Merlin

A famous wizard of great renown wearing a gray cloak, long beard, and a long pointed hat, carrying a white rabbit. He is eccentric, pompous, and holds deep contempt for the Dungeon Master due to Venger's past impersonation of him. He was persuaded to send the party home after being offered rare pollution dragon components — a specimen he had never seen before.

Locations

Dragon Graveyard

A sacred and dangerous burial ground for dragons where the party's weapons were upgraded into artifacts. Bluish, glowing dragon spirits protect the grounds and began manifesting aggressively as the party departed.

Forest Trail

A path through a forest leading down from the dragon graveyard where the party encountered a sentient, memory-eating tree surrounded by headless skeletons.

Mage's Monocle

A local tavern in a small, hardworking village managed by a skinny Goliath named Hardbear. It serves Moonbeam Beer, Ranger Red Ale, and stew. The party gathered here for supper and to identify their magical items.

Varla's Family Farm

A hardworking family's farm featuring a long, barn-like guest house where the party arranged to stay the night.

Slave Mines of Baramore

A notorious, constantly shifting underground cavern mentioned by the Dungeon Master as one of three potential routes back to the party's home world.

Merlin's Floating Castle

An extravagant and pompous castle suspended in the sky above a beachside cliff, featuring obnoxious gold trim and maintained by invisible servants. The party visited to negotiate passage home, and Merlin performed a teleportation ritual in his basement to send them back to their ship.

Items

Artifact Weapons

Originally created at Oakhaven Refuge and previously upgraded in Eberron, these weapons were finalized in the dragon graveyard using dragon spirits drawn out by the Dungeon Master, transforming them into powerful artifacts.

Barlo's Quiver

A magic quiver fabricated by the Dungeon Master using the essence of dragon spirits in the graveyard, given to Barlo as his chosen reward.

Vaelen’s Spite

A simple-looking longsword found embedded in a sentient tree. It was once tied to a knightly order but is cursed — it carries a voice that causes intense paranoia and distrust in its wielder. It deals extra necrotic damage to living targets. Touching it unleashed a psychic backlash, and briefly identifying it caused Bastion to suffer magical paranoia toward his companions.

Brooch of Shielding

A magical brooch found buried in a rotting satchel beneath the memory-eating tree. It requires attunement and provides the wearer with resistance to force damage and immunity to damage from magic missile spells.

Marrow Sap

A thick, maple-flavored sap with a licorice aftertaste, harvested from the sentient memory-eating tree as a reward for removing the sword and entertaining it. When consumed, it grants proficiency in history, religion, or a chosen language for one hour. It can also be used as a contact poison that deals psychic damage and causes memory fuzziness, imposing disadvantage on intelligence-based and concentration checks for one minute.

Oxidized Gold Coins

A collection of 140 plain, unminted gold coins found in a rotting satchel buried beneath the memory-eating tree. They have developed a green tint from being buried for a long time, similar to the simple, unmarked coins found elsewhere in this realm.

Waterlogged Journal

A journal found in the rotting satchel beneath the memory-eating tree. The paper had fallen apart from moisture and could not be read.

Greater Healing Potion

A potion found in the rotting satchel unearthed from beneath the memory-eating tree.

Potions of Speed

Two glowing magical potions found among the party's collected loot. When drunk, they grant the effects of haste — doubled speed, a bonus to AC, advantage on dexterity saves, and an additional action — for one minute without requiring concentration, followed by a round of exhaustion.

Belt of Frost Giant Strength

A powerful belt found among the party's loot that imbues the wearer with the immense physical strength of a frost giant. Barlo attuned to it during the night watch.

Ring of Protection

A magical ring found among the party's loot that provides a plus one bonus to AC and a plus one bonus to constitution saves. It does not require attunement but offers slightly weaker benefits than a standard ring of protection. Bastion took it.

Platinum Bars

Unmarked bars of precious platinum found among the party's collected treasure, each worth 500 gold pieces. The party divided them among themselves.

Gold Bars

Unmarked bars of gold found among the party's collected treasure, each worth 50 gold pieces. The party divided them among themselves.

Glass Queen Chess Piece

A delicate glass trinket Calliope had been carrying as a starting character trinket. She used it as a formal calling card, handing it to Merlin's invisible servant to request an audience with the wizard.

Wand of Pyrotechnics

A magical wand used by Calliope to launch a firework display outside Merlin's castle gates to further attract the wizard's attention.

Magical Broom

A flying broom lent to Calliope to fly across the water to the gates of Merlin's floating castle.

Pollution Dragon Spike

A rare crystalline spike taken from a pollution dragon, offered to Merlin as a unique specimen for his magical research. Merlin examined it with an identify-like spell and admitted he had never seen anything like it, which ultimately convinced him to help the party.

Pollution Dragon Tooth

A tooth harvested from a pollution dragon, offered alongside the spike to Merlin as an additional specimen for his research.

Spells

Speak with Plants

Cast by Sas to open a dialogue with the sentient memory-eating tree, allowing the party to negotiate for their safety, learn about the tree's habits, and arrange the removal of the sword.

Detect Magic

Cast by Bastion to reveal magical auras in the area around the tree, detecting the sword's magic and a faint abjuration aura buried beneath the roots.

Mold Earth

Used by Sas to delicately excavate a rotting satchel from the earth near the tree's roots without causing damage, guided by her connection to nature.

Mage Hand

Cast simultaneously by multiple party members to create spectral hands in an attempt to pull the sword from the tree — the combined effort was not enough to dislodge it. Later used by Calliope to create a giant spectral thumbs-up to signal her success to the party from Merlin's castle gates.

Identify

Cast as a ritual by Bastion to discern the properties and names of magical items collected during the session, including the cursed sword Vaelen’s Spite, the belt of frost giant strength, the ring of protection, and the potions. Also cast by Merlin in his own unique style to analyze the pollution dragon spike.

Remove Curse

Cast by Bastion on himself after identifying Vaelen’s Spite caused him to suffer magical paranoia, making his companions appear menacing. The spell successfully cleared his mind.

Invisible Servant

A spell used by Merlin to create a mindless, shapeless, nearly invisible force that acted as a doorman for his floating castle, opening the door and accepting Calliope's chess piece calling card.

Teleportation Ritual

A powerful ritual performed by Merlin in his castle basement to transport the entire party from the realm of Dungeons and Dragons back to their flying ship in Thornwinds.

Notes

Items taken:

barlo: Quiver of Elhona
Bastion: Winged boots
calliope: wand of magic missiles
sas: quiver of elhona
shadow: figure of the raven

At the tree loot: 140 gold coins, no stamps and has green oxidation potion of greater healing (identified) brooch of shielding (identified, bastion) decrepit journal (unreadable, with bastion)

identified from lizardpeople:

ring, belt, 2 ptions of speed

Bastion felt the curse... freed himself... put in bag...

Went to ship...

Classic

Last we left off, our party found themselves deep within a dragon graveyard, where the Dungeon Master completed his final work — drawing the last remnants of ancient draconic essence from the earth to forge a magic quiver for Barlo. But the moment the quiver left his hands, the graveyard stirred to life. Glowing, bluish dragon spirits clawed their way from the soil, coiling and reaching with unmistakable hunger. The party fled down the hillside, and as the spirits grasped at them, Sas's inner Silver Flame surged forth, sending a pulse of healing light toward Hex Coda as the group broke free of the graveyard's cursed bounds.

Their path through the forest brought them to a strange and unsettling discovery — a longsword buried deep into the trunk of a lone tree, surrounded by a ring of ancient, headless skeletons. The blade was called Vaelen’s Spite, a weapon with a dark and whispering history of driving its owners to paranoia and madness. The tree itself proved to be something far more sinister than it appeared — a patient, ancient thing that fed on the skulls and memories of those who rested in its shade. Through careful negotiation, a rope, a bear named Arktos, and one very enthusiastic dance performance from Calliope, the party managed to pull the sword free and walk away with a crumbling satchel of treasure, a brooch of shielding, and a vial of the tree's Marrow Sap — distilled from countless consumed memories.

That evening, the party settled into the Mage's Monocle tavern and weighed their options for the journey home. They chose diplomacy, electing to seek passage through the floating castle of the legendary wizard Merlin. After Calliope's charm and a brilliant firework display won them an audience, the great wizard — contemptuous of the Dungeon Master but intrigued by the party's offering of a pollution crystal dragon's spike and tooth — agreed to help. With a sweeping ritual performed in his castle's basement, Merlin hurled the party across dimensions and deposited them safely back aboard their flying ship in Thornwinds. Now, with the realm of Dungeons and Dragons behind them, the party sets their sights on Skola Vale — and the Archfey who stole the unicorn horn of Uni.

Snarky

Last time, our party robbed a dragon graveyard, got chased by glowing ghost dragons, and then immediately stopped to make friends with a tree that eats people's skulls for rent — because apparently "let's just keep moving" is not a concept this group is familiar with. They yanked a cursed, madness-inducing sword out of said skull-tree using a bear and a rope, which is honestly the most competent plan they've had in weeks, and Bastion nearly lost his mind identifying it later that night, which: fair, honestly, same.

Then they flew up to a floating wizard castle, Calliope handed an invisible mindless servant a chess piece as a business card, set off fireworks, and somehow charmed the most famously difficult wizard in the realm into blasting them all home across dimensions — after he immediately yeeted the Dungeon Master off his property without letting him say a single word, which is the most relatable thing anyone has done this entire campaign. They're back on their ship. They're heading to Skola Vale. The Archfey who stole Uni's horn has no idea what's coming, and neither, frankly, does this party.

Middle English

Hearke well, ye souls of wandering kind,
Who tread where dragon spirits wind;
The Dungeon Master's worke was done,
A quiver wrought beneath the sun,
And from the earth, the dead untwined.

The glowing spirits clawed and cried,
As down the hillside path they hied;
The Silver Flame in Sas did burn,
And healing light did swift return,
Till free of cursed ground they'd ride.

A sword in tree-flesh, buried deep,
With headless bones in endless sleep;
Vaelen’s Spite, a whispering blade,
That drove its masters, man and maid,
To madness dark they could not keep.

The tree spoke soft of skulls and rent,
Of memories consumed and spent;
With rope and bear the sword came free,
And Calliope danced with such glee,
The ancient thing seemed well content.

Then Merlin, proud in castle high,
Who floats his towers in the sky,
Was charmed by fireworks' brilliant art,
And dragon-bone did win his heart —
He sent them home with one great cry.

Limerick

The quiver was made, then the dead rose to fight,
Blue dragon-ghosts clawing with fury and spite.
The Silver Flame burned,
And the party soon learned:
Don't linger in graveyards — just run for your life!

A sword in a tree with no skulls to be found,
Old Vaelen’s Spite humming a maddening sound.
They hitched it to Arktos,
While Calliope danced cross
The roots, and the blade was wrenched free from the ground!

The tree ate your memories, skulls were its rent,
But offered its Marrow Sap, oddly content.
A brooch and some coin,
A potion to join —
Not bad for a detour nobody had meant!

Poor Bastion identified the cursed blade that night,
His companions turned monstrous and twisted in sight.
He shook off the spell,
Wrapped the sword up real well,
And nobody slept with that thing in plain sight!

Then Calliope charmed the great Merlin with flair,
A chess piece, some fireworks, and dragon-parts rare.
He banished their guide,
Then flung them inside
A portal — they're home, with a Skola Vale snare!

Exported from GMAssistant on 2026-08-16