Chapter 01: November the 8th
General Summary
And so, a new journey begins…
Our story begins on the lonely asteroid of the Rock of Bral. Once a haven for rebels, outcasts, and pirates, the city had long since twisted under the weight of wealth and corruption. The proud descendants of Bral’s founder were now little more than figurehead royalty, while the real power lay with underbarons, corrupt magistrates, and nobles who measured life in coin. The poor scraped by as adventurers fought over scraps of work, and the city thrummed with an uneasy mix of danger, opportunity, and chaos.
Recently, a golden age of spelljamming exploration has sparked to life. A Githyanki civil war has forced the once sprawling empire to abandon large swaths of its ancient territory. This has left thousands of systems and countless worlds free to explore... and plunder, and somehow everything is selling.
Wasabi, our tabaxi veteran of the Rock, started her day making her usual rounds, eventually stopping at the Rockrat Tavern. There, a job posting caught her eye: the scholar Elmandar sought a crew to track a pod of kindori to their fabled nesting grounds. The work was as good as any, and she signed on, making her way toward Elmandar’s Star Charts.
Meanwhile, Pyraxis Solana, a fire-genasi mercenary relatively fresh to Bral, scoured the streets and market stalls for work. Like Wasabi, he found Elmandar’s posting and began making his way toward the Star Charts, senses alert for opportunity and danger alike.
Elsewhere, Ward, a tortle archivist of earnest, even naive curiosity, seeking a library followed directions from some mischievous urchins and wandered into the sprawling caverns beneath Bral. There, accompanied by his familiar, a miniature giant space hamster named Miniature Giant Space Hamster, he decided to make the best of his situation and search the caves for reagents. As he ventured deeper and deeper he discovered a strange ritual site hosting a glowing portal. Just as he approached the portal a stranger stepped through.
Cronus Vermillion, an aasimar caught between strange visions of a secret order of vigilant knights, magic armor, and a battle with a monstrous foe, emerged from the portal into Bral. Finding himself confronted by a loquacious tortle theorist, Cronus quickly realized this was no ordinary city encounter. Together, Cronus and Ward examined the ritual site and its alien construction, discovering evidence of deliberate, non-humanoid design. Cronus shared his knowledge of the beholder that had attacked him, slain by the stranger whose armor he now wore. Intrigued, Ward suggested they join forces, his own goal to find the Library of the Spheres, and any answers it might hold, guiding the way.
On the streets, Ward and Cronus encountered Wasabi and Pyraxis. Hearing of their potential need for coin, the two Brallian professionals invited the newcomers for a drink at the Edge. Over a round of ale, introductions were made, stories exchanged, and a plan formed: the party would find the Library together, though Wasabi and Pyraxis were wary of its entry fee.
At the Library of the Spheres, their caution proved justified. The attending librarians demanded a hefty donation… until Cronus mentioned the name of the Watchers. Their tone shifted immediately, and the party was welcomed as if old, noble agents of a powerful organization.
Inside, Ward scoured the archives but found no mention of his late master, The One True Charle. He did, however, uncover references on kindori, noting Elmandar’s singular authorship of all of them. Cronus found scattered mentions of beholders and a world called H’Catha, where rival factions maintained a fragile truce around a mountain known as the Spindle.
Armed with what knowledge they could glean, the party sought out Elmandar at his Star Charts shop. There they found the elf, disheveled, excitable, and single-minded in his pursuit of the kindori. Piecing together his ramblings, the party learned that very little was known about these creatures, particularly the young and the old. For years, Elmandar had tracked pods through the Astral Sea, observing their erratic movements, until recently… when countless pods began converging. This could be the fabled nesting grounds — or at least a staging point for the journey there. The party agreed to join Elmandar aboard his borrowed Hammerhead ship, the Probe, the following morning.
That evening, the party visited the Happy Beholder, a tavern run by the boisterous and kind Large Luigi. Cronus, still wary after his previous encounter with a beholder, had to steel himself against old instincts. The night passed peacefully, and rooms were taken.
In the morning, the party found the Probe fully stocked and ready, manned by a colorful crew. Ward took first watch at the Spelljamming Helm, feeling a tingling awareness spread through him as he became attuned to the ship. Elmandar admitted to the party, reluctantly, that his navigational methods were unconventional: he did not know the exact destination, only patterns and waypoints traced through the Astral Sea that he hoped would guide his crew to a new, never before found system.
Ten days into their journey, the party endured the trials of shipboard life — successes, failures, and the constant demands of maintaining a Spelljammer. Eventually, they reached a system Elmandar called Kindorispace. At first, it appeared barren, but soon a scattering of asteroids revealed their true quarry: thousands of kindori, from venerable elders with scars older than nations to pregnant mothers protected by smaller, swift males.
Their success was short-lived. A school of scavvers attacked the vulnerable, scattering the kindori into the Astral Sea. The party defended them valiantly, firing ballistae and mangonel, but the creatures fled, forcing the Probe into a desperate chase. For days, the party pursued the pod… until fate intervened.
Out of nowhere, a derelict Squid Ship impossibly exploded into the void, blossoming in flames, and a red flare signaling a survivor. Boarding the wreck, Elmandar wasted no time in dousing the fires, acting with the haste of a seasoned adventurer. Inside the ship’s spelljammer’s quarters the party discovered a dying man, a man that Ward found familiar, though he failed to place him. Cronus rushed to heal him, but his wounds were unnatural, resisting all magic. As he gasped his last breath, his final whispered words were urgent, desperate:
“Don’t… let them… find it… burn the ship…”
In his hand, he clutched a silver orb and a note — the note encoded in a mysterious cypher. On his forearm was a tattoo: the same sigil borne on Cronus’ armor.
Further exploration into the cargo hold of the ship revealed barrels of blackpowder and a monstrous creature: a xaryxian elf’s corpse, mangled and twisted from the inside-out, veins and tendons thrashing like living tendrils. The creature’s muscles breaking its own bones to create weapons out of its arms, and shattering its ribs to make space for its lungs to expand and produce fleshy spores to fill the hold. The creature leapt at Elmandar and he fought as though reliving decades of old adventures, shouting a final command to the party:
“Find Estriss! Take the ship! Run!”
Pyraxis used his powers to tip over and prime blackpowder barrels; the party leapt back to the Probe just in time. Elmandar cast a massive fireball, obliterating the Squid Ship and, hopefully, its abomination.
Onboard the Probe, the party examined the silver orb and the enciphered note. Incredibly, though the rest of the note was encoded, it was clearly addressed to “Estriss”; the very same “Estriss” that Elmandar directed the party to find. Attempts to interact with the orb failed — until Ward, while attuned to the Helm, touched it. Silver light filled the room, projecting an impossible map of the Probe, nearby wildspace systems, and a pulsing red path tracing out into the void. When Ward focused on Estriss, the projection shifted — abruptly landing on the Rock of Bral.
The stage is set. Elmandar is gone. The crew has lost its benefactor. A Watcher has died to protect this orb, and likely others died to find it. And now, a mystery greater than any the party expected to face points them back to the center of the universe.
Who is Estriss? What is this silver orb? What horrors begot the monster aboard the derelict ship, the Void? Who are the Watchers and what role do they play in all this? And what will the party find out amongst these astral wakes?
The adventure continues.
Our story begins on the lonely asteroid of the Rock of Bral. Once a haven for rebels, outcasts, and pirates, the city had long since twisted under the weight of wealth and corruption. The proud descendants of Bral’s founder were now little more than figurehead royalty, while the real power lay with underbarons, corrupt magistrates, and nobles who measured life in coin. The poor scraped by as adventurers fought over scraps of work, and the city thrummed with an uneasy mix of danger, opportunity, and chaos.
Recently, a golden age of spelljamming exploration has sparked to life. A Githyanki civil war has forced the once sprawling empire to abandon large swaths of its ancient territory. This has left thousands of systems and countless worlds free to explore... and plunder, and somehow everything is selling.
Wasabi, our tabaxi veteran of the Rock, started her day making her usual rounds, eventually stopping at the Rockrat Tavern. There, a job posting caught her eye: the scholar Elmandar sought a crew to track a pod of kindori to their fabled nesting grounds. The work was as good as any, and she signed on, making her way toward Elmandar’s Star Charts.
Meanwhile, Pyraxis Solana, a fire-genasi mercenary relatively fresh to Bral, scoured the streets and market stalls for work. Like Wasabi, he found Elmandar’s posting and began making his way toward the Star Charts, senses alert for opportunity and danger alike.
Elsewhere, Ward, a tortle archivist of earnest, even naive curiosity, seeking a library followed directions from some mischievous urchins and wandered into the sprawling caverns beneath Bral. There, accompanied by his familiar, a miniature giant space hamster named Miniature Giant Space Hamster, he decided to make the best of his situation and search the caves for reagents. As he ventured deeper and deeper he discovered a strange ritual site hosting a glowing portal. Just as he approached the portal a stranger stepped through.
Cronus Vermillion, an aasimar caught between strange visions of a secret order of vigilant knights, magic armor, and a battle with a monstrous foe, emerged from the portal into Bral. Finding himself confronted by a loquacious tortle theorist, Cronus quickly realized this was no ordinary city encounter. Together, Cronus and Ward examined the ritual site and its alien construction, discovering evidence of deliberate, non-humanoid design. Cronus shared his knowledge of the beholder that had attacked him, slain by the stranger whose armor he now wore. Intrigued, Ward suggested they join forces, his own goal to find the Library of the Spheres, and any answers it might hold, guiding the way.
On the streets, Ward and Cronus encountered Wasabi and Pyraxis. Hearing of their potential need for coin, the two Brallian professionals invited the newcomers for a drink at the Edge. Over a round of ale, introductions were made, stories exchanged, and a plan formed: the party would find the Library together, though Wasabi and Pyraxis were wary of its entry fee.
At the Library of the Spheres, their caution proved justified. The attending librarians demanded a hefty donation… until Cronus mentioned the name of the Watchers. Their tone shifted immediately, and the party was welcomed as if old, noble agents of a powerful organization.
Inside, Ward scoured the archives but found no mention of his late master, The One True Charle. He did, however, uncover references on kindori, noting Elmandar’s singular authorship of all of them. Cronus found scattered mentions of beholders and a world called H’Catha, where rival factions maintained a fragile truce around a mountain known as the Spindle.
Armed with what knowledge they could glean, the party sought out Elmandar at his Star Charts shop. There they found the elf, disheveled, excitable, and single-minded in his pursuit of the kindori. Piecing together his ramblings, the party learned that very little was known about these creatures, particularly the young and the old. For years, Elmandar had tracked pods through the Astral Sea, observing their erratic movements, until recently… when countless pods began converging. This could be the fabled nesting grounds — or at least a staging point for the journey there. The party agreed to join Elmandar aboard his borrowed Hammerhead ship, the Probe, the following morning.
That evening, the party visited the Happy Beholder, a tavern run by the boisterous and kind Large Luigi. Cronus, still wary after his previous encounter with a beholder, had to steel himself against old instincts. The night passed peacefully, and rooms were taken.
In the morning, the party found the Probe fully stocked and ready, manned by a colorful crew. Ward took first watch at the Spelljamming Helm, feeling a tingling awareness spread through him as he became attuned to the ship. Elmandar admitted to the party, reluctantly, that his navigational methods were unconventional: he did not know the exact destination, only patterns and waypoints traced through the Astral Sea that he hoped would guide his crew to a new, never before found system.
Ten days into their journey, the party endured the trials of shipboard life — successes, failures, and the constant demands of maintaining a Spelljammer. Eventually, they reached a system Elmandar called Kindorispace. At first, it appeared barren, but soon a scattering of asteroids revealed their true quarry: thousands of kindori, from venerable elders with scars older than nations to pregnant mothers protected by smaller, swift males.
Their success was short-lived. A school of scavvers attacked the vulnerable, scattering the kindori into the Astral Sea. The party defended them valiantly, firing ballistae and mangonel, but the creatures fled, forcing the Probe into a desperate chase. For days, the party pursued the pod… until fate intervened.
Out of nowhere, a derelict Squid Ship impossibly exploded into the void, blossoming in flames, and a red flare signaling a survivor. Boarding the wreck, Elmandar wasted no time in dousing the fires, acting with the haste of a seasoned adventurer. Inside the ship’s spelljammer’s quarters the party discovered a dying man, a man that Ward found familiar, though he failed to place him. Cronus rushed to heal him, but his wounds were unnatural, resisting all magic. As he gasped his last breath, his final whispered words were urgent, desperate:
“Don’t… let them… find it… burn the ship…”
In his hand, he clutched a silver orb and a note — the note encoded in a mysterious cypher. On his forearm was a tattoo: the same sigil borne on Cronus’ armor.
Further exploration into the cargo hold of the ship revealed barrels of blackpowder and a monstrous creature: a xaryxian elf’s corpse, mangled and twisted from the inside-out, veins and tendons thrashing like living tendrils. The creature’s muscles breaking its own bones to create weapons out of its arms, and shattering its ribs to make space for its lungs to expand and produce fleshy spores to fill the hold. The creature leapt at Elmandar and he fought as though reliving decades of old adventures, shouting a final command to the party:
“Find Estriss! Take the ship! Run!”
Pyraxis used his powers to tip over and prime blackpowder barrels; the party leapt back to the Probe just in time. Elmandar cast a massive fireball, obliterating the Squid Ship and, hopefully, its abomination.
Onboard the Probe, the party examined the silver orb and the enciphered note. Incredibly, though the rest of the note was encoded, it was clearly addressed to “Estriss”; the very same “Estriss” that Elmandar directed the party to find. Attempts to interact with the orb failed — until Ward, while attuned to the Helm, touched it. Silver light filled the room, projecting an impossible map of the Probe, nearby wildspace systems, and a pulsing red path tracing out into the void. When Ward focused on Estriss, the projection shifted — abruptly landing on the Rock of Bral.
The stage is set. Elmandar is gone. The crew has lost its benefactor. A Watcher has died to protect this orb, and likely others died to find it. And now, a mystery greater than any the party expected to face points them back to the center of the universe.
Who is Estriss? What is this silver orb? What horrors begot the monster aboard the derelict ship, the Void? Who are the Watchers and what role do they play in all this? And what will the party find out amongst these astral wakes?
The adventure continues.
Report Date
01 Nov 2025
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