Session 442 - The Karkanos

The Story So Far

Ash - An expert in the occult and a skilled monster hunter. Ash uses his talents and budding alchemical expertise to battle what people fear most for a price.

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Ryobi - A monk of the embattled Order of the Warriors of Mameka. Ryobi is given an important mission: retrieve the holy blades containing the souls of his brother knights, which were lost in the recent Rethemi civil war.

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They are joined by Vinzent, a bard with a morbid demeanor and a haunted past.

This is the continuation of Session 439 - The Giant and the Troll.

26^th of Peonu (Spring) 729TR

The heroes plan to slay the mighty three-headed sea serpent, the Karkanos, a powerful Aegesir that resides in a bay between the Erzinsan and Gazentel Islands. Using the Horn of Tarcines, they plan to summon the epic monster and slay it. They have enlisted the help of the brutal giant Tuktec.

Location: On a small island South of Gazentel in the Karjeria Islands.

Part 1 – The Horn of Tarcines

The trio and the giant Tuktec prepare their ambush. They position themselves on a cliff overlooking the bay and move large rocks to build a barrier wall. Tuktec collects big stones as projectiles, and Ash prepares elixirs to protect himself and Ryobi from the Kankankos’s fire breath and venom bites.

Vinzent quaffs a potion to boost his fortitude and blows the legendary Horn of Tarcines. It sounds with a massive blast; Vinzent is caught up in the moment and feels his life force fueling the powerful magic burst. He nearly dies outright but is left severely weakened. Dark clouds quickly gather, and three small elemental storms form. The spiteful elementals discharge lightning bursts at the stunned group, but they are soon dispersed. The exhausted Vinzent falls back and notices something enormous emerging from the gloom, the mighty Karkanos.

Part 2 – The Karkanos

Emerging from the stormy sea, the Karkanos appears. It is over 100 feet long, snake-like, with three heads. It hisses and spits a blob of boiling oil at the heroes, which explodes, severely scalding them. Fortunately, Ash’s Fire Resistance Elixirs work and lessen the worst of the damage. Then, with a surprising burst of speed, the Aegesir lunges onto the beach, where Ash lobbs more bombs, further enraging the brute.

The heroes, 50 ft up a cliff face, throw projectiles, but the monster moves its long body up and along the cliff, climbing, then rears up, facing them directly. Its three enormous heads are just a dozen feet from the startled heroes and begin biting.

Tuktec the giant is badly hurt. Ash studies the Aegesir and believes it to be vulnerable to spirit damage; using his expertise in occult esoterica, he imbues his weapons with this characteristic. He then shares this knowledge with Ryobi. Then the Karkanos breathes out another ball of oil, which explodes around the heroes, burning them all. Only Vinzent’s emergency healing keeps them from falling.

Ash unleashes the last of his bombs, imbued with his esoterica, which badly blacken the hard, scaly hide of the mighty beast, creating weak points. Nonetheless, it once again unleashes a deadly flurry of attacks that nearly bites off Ryobi’s arm, but the warrior monk responds, cutting deep wounds with his holy sword. Vinzent is busy in this battle, at the rear, offering inspiring songs and emergency healing. The mighty Agesirs has been weakened by the magic of the Horn of Tarcines and is not fighting at full strength. The valiant heroes' strikes cause massive injuries. The tide turns, and the battle shifts in the heroes' favor. In desperation, the Karkanos unleashes another mighty ball of fire, but the Ash and Ryobi dodge; however, Tukec is severely burned but fights on. Ash delivers the killing blow, striking deep into the monster's chest and severing several vertebrae. The enormous snake-like corpse collapses, crashing down the cliff face, convulsing and then dying.

Location: City-state of Trikal in the Karjeria Islands.

Part 3 – Aftermath

As planned, the heroes harvest the Agesir’s poisonous venom and as many of its teeth as they can scavenge. The exuberant Tutket, the self-proclaimed mighty conqueror, takes some scaled skin for clothing and, after thanking the heroes for assisting him in killing the beast, returns to his clan on Yashain, World of the Gods.

Tryfon, art by Magic Studios

They later learn that Tryfon el Frangatos drank the venom and gained the ability to see the future. With the oracular abilities gained, he quickly guides his family to power before he dies minutes later.

Over the next six months, the heroes learn that this nearly destitute Frangatos Clan has prospered. A series of astute investments quickly turns their finances around, making the family incredibly wealthy. Favorable government and religious appointments add security, along with several strategically arranged marriages. The Frangatos Clan is now a major force on Horitar Island.

Created Content

Nothing this week.

Related Reports

Nothing this week.

Player Characters

Ryobi - Human - L15 Monk

Background - Temple Guard.

Archetypes - Barbarian/Fighter.

Ash - Human - L15 Thaumaturge

Background - Weaponcrafter.

Archetypes - Alchemist/Vestige Hunter.

NPC Companion

Vinzent - Human - L15 Bard

Background - Cursed.

Archetypes - Blessed/Disciple of Thalia.

Next Session

Session 446 – Religious Machinations.