The Old Lands - Session 13 - 6/30/2025
🪨 Session 13 – “The Egg & The Echo”
Date: 6/23/2025
Location: The seas and coastline of the Glass Coast.
DM: Collin Ritzinger
Players: Dillon (Grim), Emily (Stevia), Matt (Oberyn), Tony (Tim Patty)
📜 Session Recap
The party ventured across the volatile volcanic terrain of the Glass Coast, led by their faithful guide Scrambles and narrowly avoiding natural disasters through clever skill checks. Upon reaching a ritual site, Uncle Dino attempted to sever Oberyn’s soul from the corrupted obsidian egg, triggering a catastrophic blast that left Oberyn dead. Desperate to bring him back, the party prepared an ambush on Skiffler, a mutated green dragon, crafting a deadly explosive and infiltrating the lair to rescue hostages and set the trap. The resulting battle was chaotic and cinematic—complete with an elephant summoned from a wand—culminating in Skiffler’s defeat and Oberyn’s resurrection. With new treasure in hand and their bond stronger than ever, the party now turns its eyes downward, preparing to descend into the Underdark. First, however, they must deal with the encroaching swarm of glass gators.
Initial Journey and Skill Challenge
The party set out through the volcanic wasteland surrounding the Glass Coast, guided primarily by Scrambles, their trustworthy and glassy-skinned gator companion. The treacherous volcanic terrain was rife with hazards, requiring careful navigation through fields of geysers, shifting gravity anomalies, and unpredictable magma flows. Grim led the party, expertly handling Scrambles, who sniffed out safe routes with remarkable sensitivity to the ley lines that permeated the region. His adept animal handling provided crucial initial successes, putting the group at ease.
Stevia’s sharp eyes proved essential as she spotted a geyser moments before it erupted, saving Scrambles from harm and allowing the party to evade potential catastrophe. Oberyn relied on his keen understanding of nature, instructing everyone to avoid staring at the sky to prevent disorientation from the Crownlight Resonance overhead. Tim Patty, although typically prone to humorous distractions, displayed surprising magical insight. By deciphering the gravitational anomalies, he helped the party predict and counterbalance sudden shifts in gravity.
As their journey continued, Grim once again proved invaluable, identifying safe passages and expertly avoiding a massive sinkhole that nearly swallowed the party whole. Finally, Stevia guided the group towards an ancient ritual crater—an ideal location for Uncle Dino’s planned ritual. The team arrived safely, overcoming numerous challenges through exceptional coordination and skillful navigation, ready to confront the next phase of their quest.
Scrambles guides the party inland - towards the Underdark and his swarms homeland
Uncle Dino's Ritual and Egg Unbinding
At the ritual crater, Uncle Dino prepared an intricate ceremony aimed at severing Oberyn’s soul connection from the obsidian egg—a dangerous and potent artifact linked to Renji’s chaotic influence. Dino explained that the egg was drawing power directly from Oberyn, fueled by his Beherit sword, the Tooth of the Laughing Prophet. The ritual required the collective effort of the party to stabilize Dino’s fragile state of mind and magical energies.
As Dino’s chanting intensified, Oberyn bravely entered the circle, entrusting his fate to the eccentric priest. Grim, understanding the critical need for stability, provided medical assistance, keeping Dino upright and focused despite the intense magical backlash. Tim Patty masterfully performed an inspiring ballad, grounding Dino through memories and music, while Stevia’s reassuring presence bolstered the group's morale.
Despite their efforts, the ritual culminated in a catastrophic release of energy. The egg violently exploded, severing Oberyn’s connection but leaving him fatally wounded, his body literally blasted apart. Dino, exhausted and panic-stricken, declared Oberyn beyond conventional resurrection. Refusing defeat, Dino and Gianni "No-Shoes" Feretti quickly devised a new plan: they needed a worthy sacrifice to reactivate and complete the ritual to restore Oberyn’s soul.
A beherit made crater from the Nigredo Age that served as the ritual location for Oberyn’s egg
Dragon Ambush Preparation
Determined to save Oberyn, the party swiftly prepared an ambush targeting Skiffler, a powerful, mutated green dragon. Dino provided critical information through an intense divination ritual, revealing the dragon’s lair location—the ominous Somber Teeth Caverns—and the dragon’s dangerous psychic and deceptive capabilities. Grim stealthily scouted ahead, confirming the lair was temporarily unoccupied and providing a crucial window for action.
The team rapidly assembled a devastating explosive device using Grim’s alchemical expertise, stevia’s magical components, and resources gathered from the Stormbreaker. Tim Patty’s strategic insight enhanced the explosive’s potency, crafting a trap that promised massive destructive potential. The group then carefully infiltrated the dragon's lair, where Tim Patty, displaying remarkable bravery, rescued two terrified hostages from Skiffler’s collection, narrowly avoiding detection.
Skiffler is an adult green dragon descended from the Ancient Green Dragon, Astaroth, and mutated from the Crownlight Auras.
Final Confrontation with Skiffler
The ambush was initiated spectacularly, with Grim igniting the explosive device using a well-aimed pistol shot. The ensuing blast devastated Skiffler, severely wounding and enraging the formidable dragon. As combat erupted, Tim Patty’s Wand of Wonder unpredictably summoned an enraged elephant into the chaos, which charged and gored the dragon, further destabilizing its defenses.
Skiffler retaliated viciously, employing powerful psychic and magical attacks, but the party remained strategically positioned. Gianni, assuming leadership after Oberyn’s temporary demise, expertly directed cannon fire and maintained pressure on the dragon. Despite setbacks, including Tim’s brief self-inflicted stun via the wand’s unpredictable magic, the combined might of the party ultimately overcame Skiffler’s formidable resistance.
The climactic moment belonged to Gianni, whose precise archery delivered the final blow, sending the dragon plummeting to the earth, defeated and lifeless. The team emerged victorious, battered but triumphant, having achieved their objective and avenged Oberyn.
Dinner, Rewards, and Glass Gators
With Skiffler’s death, Uncle Dino swiftly resumed his ritual, successfully resurrecting Oberyn and fully severing any lingering ties between Oberyn’s soul and the egg. The dragon’s corpse yielded substantial treasures, including valuable materials like Voidglass Shards and a substantial hoard of gold. Grim expertly harvested the dragon, providing materials for crafting and future enhancements.
The party celebrated with a sumptuous meal prepared from Skiffler’s remains, creating the delicacy "Crownlight Smoked Dragon Lobe with Voidglass Sugar Crackle," which granted enhanced vision and psychic resistance. Uncle Dino guided the group to their next path, preparing them for their descent into the Underdark.
Rested and newly empowered, the adventurers readied themselves for their journey into the dark, subterranean realms beneath Kol. Suddenly during breakfast, Scrambles begins to act agitated and growls. Grim quickly deduces that a swarm of glass gators are approaching fast. With Oberyn restored, bonds strengthened, and new loot secured, they stood ready to defend themselves.
Crownlight Smoked Dragon Lobe with Voidglass Sugar Crackle - A rich, dangerous delicacy prepared from the mutated organ clusters of a Crownlight-Touched Green Dragon, served on volcanic slate and garnished with dew-jellied sea moss.
🍽️ Recipe Interlude: Crownlight-Smoked Dragon Lobe with Voidglass Sugar Crackle
Instructor: Senji Izganda, Black Church Culinary-Psychomancer
Apprentice: Oberyn Stoneveil
Location: Charred crater rim of the Emerald Hollows, post-dragonkill
Dish Summary
Once a tyrant of the Emerald Hollows, the green dragon known as Skiffler had its organs warped by Crownlight resonance—a psionic radiation emitted by the voidglass veins riddling the coast. Its spite gland, in particular, had begun pulsing with unstable Source energy and psychic venom. Senji saw a rare opportunity. With his guidance and Oberyn’s skill, they extracted and converted the gland into a delicacy—biting, bitter, but cleansed into something strangely sacred.
The result was a dish known in Black Church feast-chants as Crownlight-Smoked Dragon Lobe with Voidglass Sugar Crackle: a carefully butchered gland, flame-smoked without salt to avoid igniting Crownlight strands, and then sealed in a hard glaze made from molten voidglass. The final plating hums softly when warm and is said to harmonize with the eater’s nervous system if consumed while listening to it breathe.
Ingredients
- Crownlight-Spite Gland: Bitter, gel-textured organ with a basil-meets-copper tang
- Voidglass Sugar Crystals: Shards reduced into a thin caramel glaze
- Blue-Shell Mireclams: Used for brine reduction
- Twilight Brackenleaf: Neutralizes lightborne toxins
- Volcanic Slate Plate: Continues the resonance post-cooking
- Jellymoss Pearls: Dew-condensed from Exclusion Zone fog
Preparation Steps (as told by Senji)
- Butchering the Gland:
“Wear shadow goggles and gloves. The gland mourns its host. Slice with an obsidian knife and let it sigh first—don’t rush grief.”
Submerge the organ in saltless flame to denature Crownlight strands without ignition. - Glazing:
Melt voidglass shards in a triple-forged pan. Drizzle the molten syrup over the lobe while it cools, forming a crackling shell that suppresses its psychic residue. The shell hums faintly—never interrupt it. - Plating:
Serve on volcanic slate. As it warms, the lobe emits harmonic pulses. Garnish with raw twilight brackenleaf and jellymoss pearls—one bitter, one sweet. Listen while eating.
Chef’s Note
“There’s two kinds of bitterness in this world—dragon spite and false friendship. I’ll feed you the first, and warn you ‘bout the second.”
🍽️ Magical Effects (Optional Rules)
- If eaten raw: DC 16 Constitution Save or suffer a random madness effect for 1 hour.
- If properly prepared: Gain resistance to psychic damage for 1 hour and darkvision is enhanced by 60 feet for 8 hours.
- On a critical failure: The eater believes the dragon is still alive inside their mind and can hear their thoughts. They may not be wrong.
- Warning: Consuming the yolk in its entirety is not just risky—it may awaken something cosmically wrong within the eater.
🗨️ Quotable Quotes
“The egg is gone... but your soul isn't clean, Oberyn. Just unshackled.”— Uncle Dino
“Don’t worry, I’ve cooked worse than dragon gland. Once made soup from a screamer eel’s resentment.”— Senji Izganda
“I’ll talk to the hostages. My face is the least terrifying thing in this cavern.”— Tim Patty
“Grim. Steady your hands. We’re crafting a trap, not a tomb.”— Stevia Nox
“There’s two kinds of bitterness in this world—dragon spite and false friendship. I’ll feed you the first, and warn you ‘bout the second.”— Senji Izganda
“Next time I get resurrected, I expect a drink waiting. And less ash in my beard.”— Oberyn Stoneveil
“The elephant stays. He’s part of the crew now.”— Gianni “No-Shoes” Feretti
