The Old Lands - Session 18 - 9/8/2025
“Shattered Hearts”
Campaign: The Old Lands
Date Played: 8/11/2025
Location: Ca’nip
Into the Cocoon
The party descended into the heart of Astaroth’s lair, a cavernous voidglass cocoon that pulsed with distortions of memory, gravity, and soul-binding magic. The chamber was littered with treasures and corpses—walls of scrolls, glowing swords whispering to be wielded, and petrified adventurers crystallized mid-struggle. Stevia’s keen perception revealed that something watched from inside the cocoon: not just Astaroth, but a chained figure wrapped in voidfire illusions.
It was here the adventurers first glimpsed Kalé’s Fragment, a gaunt figure with burning eyes, scarred visage, and the telltale arc of red-and-gold divine energy. His presence twisted the air, pulling at memories and identities. Basil was the first to feel the sting, losing a cherished childhood memory of his father’s workshop to the cocoon’s chains. Each crystal and sigil around the chamber threatened to strip away the party’s very names, binding them as Kalé once bound Astaroth himself.
The battlefield was perilous: voidglass shards that detonated like psychic grenades, gravity warps pulling combatants into crushing spirals, and sigils that lit up with the PCs’ names when touched—inviting dangerous bargains to shield themselves in exchange for identity.
Knight of Shadows
From the cocoon emerged Kalé’s Fragment, the Knight of Shadows, wielding the fury of a forgotten age. The battle opened with Basil summoning a giant centipede to gnaw through the voidglass, each bite spraying ichor and exposing new weaknesses. Grim marked the cocoon with Faithbreaker, blasting radiant force into its crystalline shell, while Oberyn waded forward with the Tooth of the Laughing Prophet, sword blazing with abyssal fire.
Stevia touched the cocoon directly, weathering a flood of psychic trauma—reliving her worst family fights all at once. Resisting the cocoon’s grasp, she turned pain into art, unleashing her unfinished Harrowing Ballad as a weapon. The song pierced Kalé’s mind, forcing his countless reflections to falter and stagger under the memory of his own broken oaths.
Meanwhile, Oberyn was struck by a spectral chain, dragged into a trial of loyalty echoing his clan’s doom. Though briefly restrained, he emerged empowered—resistant to all damage and ready to strike back with doubled radiant force. Basil fought off a second trial with sheer charisma, reclaiming a stolen memory of an old goblin friend, and hurling it back into Kalé’s Fragment as a psychic counterattack.
Shattering the Cocoon
As the cocoon cracked and burned, the battle reached its peak. Grim unleashed the Pitfall Spike of Faithbreaker, radiant force splintering the voidglass into red-hot shards. Stevia hurled sigil-crystals with mage hand into Kalé’s wounds, detonating explosions that rocked the chamber. Basil’s centipede burrowed like a worm through an apple, carving open fissures for spells to pour through.
Finally, Oberyn ignited the Tooth of the Laughing Prophet and cleaved into the cocoon with abyssal flame. The blade shattered Kalé’s crystallized form into a thousand shards. At that moment, the fragment’s soul was devoured into the blade, fusing Kalé’s tortured essence with the Prophet’s fiendish whisper. The cocoon exploded into silence.
But the fight’s end brought no peace. With Astaroth barreling closer, the cavern warped, and the adventurers scrambled to prepare for their deadliest negotiation yet.
A Bargain with Astaroth
When the ancient green dragon tore through the emerald gate, the adventurers gambled everything. Using the Aurora Memory Shard, Grim disguised an arrow with the shard bound to its head and loosed it from invisibility into the dragon’s chest. The shard rewove memory: instead of seeing intruders, Astaroth “remembered” that Ebrietas herself had sent the adventurers as allies.
Stevia, bruised from Astaroth’s tail, stepped forward on Ferdinand the Battle Goose to sell the lie: they were here to relieve him, to give him time for research. Though skeptical, Astaroth was swayed further when Oberyn channeled Kalé’s Fragment from his blade—Kalé’s voice breaking through long enough to convince his ancient friend that unbinding was possible.
At last, Stevia cast the miracle Karmic Undoing, severing Astaroth’s & Kalé’s chains to Ebrietas. The dragon howled in relief, silence filling his soul for the first time in tens of thousands of years. Kalé spoke for the first time in ages without complete madness. Both pledged their aid to the party, his fury now directed at Ebrietas. As a show of sincerity, Astaroth opened his hoard: scrolls of impossible power, divine relics, and treasures untouched since the First Age.
Loot & Rewards
| Item / Reward | Type | Rarity | Requires Attunement | Description & Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50,000 GP | Currency | — | No | Found in Astaroth’s hoard, divided between two Bags of Holding. |
| Bags of Holding (x2) | Wondrous Item | Uncommon | No | Each holds up to 500 lbs./64 cu. ft.; always weighs 15 lbs. |
| Beherit (x3) | Wondrous Item | Legendary | Varies | Divine-grade catalysts used for high rituals and artifacts (per Kol rules). |
| Godseye | Artifact | Artifact | Varies | Kalé’s shattered heart; greater than beherits/ciphers; campaign-critical power source. |
| Echo-Jewel of Valor | Wondrous Item (Dwarven Song-Jewel) | Uncommon | Yes |
|
| Shattercoil Gauntlets | Wondrous Item | Very Rare | Yes |
Forged in Delvahrum, still humming with fractured energy.
|
| Obsidian Rosary of Retribution | Wondrous Item | Uncommon | Yes |
|
| Scroll of Wish | Scroll | Artifact | No | As per Wish; used to release Baddak and grant Basil’s four wishes. |
| Scroll of Weird | Scroll | Very Rare | No | Casts Weird (fear + psychic damage over time; Con save negates). |
| Boon: Fire Resistance | Boon (Party & Crew) | — | No | Permanent fire resistance for all PCs and the entire Stormbreaker crew. |
Echo-Jewel of Valor
Wondrous Item (Dwarven Song-Jewel), Uncommon (requires attunement)
A thumb-sized facet of harmonized stone, cut to resonate with ancient dwarven battle hymns.
- Bonus Action — Rally the Blade: Allies within 30 ft. gain +1d4 to attack rolls for 1 minute.
- Drawback — Fading Chorus: When the effect ends, the user must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom save or suffer 1 level of exhaustion.
Lore: Forged as a memory-keystone from Delvahrum’s choirs, each jewel traps a fragment of a victory song. Drawing on it risks burning that memory into the bearer’s soul.
Shattercoil Gauntlets
Wondrous Item, Very Rare (requires attunement)
Forged in Delvahrum, these heavy steel gauntlets are wrapped in broken arcane coils that still hum with fractured energy.
- Bonus: +2 Strength saving throws; advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks.
- Once per Long Rest: Slam the ground to cast Shatter centered on you (DC 16).
- Curse: On a natural 1 attack roll, the gauntlets backfire — you take thunder damage equal to your level.
Lore: Crafted by dwarves of Delvahrum to weaponize fractured Source, the gauntlets carry both great might and dangerous instability.
Obsidian Rosary of Retribution
Wondrous Item, Uncommon (requires attunement)
A string of volcanic glass prayer-beads, warm to the touch and faintly whispering the balances of debt and mercy.
- Karmic Plea: While praying with the rosary, you may reroll a failed death saving throw.
- Curse — Tithe of Pain: Whenever you succeed on a death saving throw, a nearby ally takes 1d6 necrotic damage as karmic balance.
Lore: Favored by Black Church confessors who walk battlefields, these beads tally debts paid in breath and blood—never letting victory arrive without its price.
Basil’s Four Wishes
With a freed dragon-god at his side, Basil used a Wish scroll to open his bottled relic and release Baddak, an ancient Dragonborn hero. Baddak, in gratitude, offered Basil four wishes:
Memories Restored – Basil regained all memories stolen by Ebrietas, increasing his Sanity Score to 12.
Golden Thread of Fate – Revealed the true path through the dungeon, highlighting every room of importance and avoiding unnecessary risks with no rewards. *Note: still possible to fail on random encounter rolls. within designed encounters, but DM promises no sole standing random encounters.
A Mascot – The adventurers gained an avatar of Nursaryx, a baby dragon turtle who became their spirit companion and campaign mascot of Oog (who would become “The Dreamer”) in the previous campaign. Nursaryx returns to help the Dreamer, Ceslida, and the Black Church restore balance to Kol. Without it, the Dreamer will be stuck in an eternal nightmare.
Permanent Fire Resistance – Granted to all PCs and the Stormbreaker’s crew, binding them against one of the world’s most dangerous elements.
Trivia & Quotes
Tim Patty’s Wand of Wonder stunned him mid-battle, during which he hallucinated himself charging through the cocoon on Ferdinand, instantly winning the fight—only to snap back catatonic.
When Stevia tried to bluff Astaroth and failed, he tail-slapped her for 28 damage against the wall. Think twice before lying to an ancient dragon with a +18 modifier to insight.
Grim stacked every advantage possible on his Aurora Shard arrow: invisibility, Bardic Inspiration, heroic inspiration, and luck. He hit on the first roll.
Oberyn momentarily carried Kalé’s Fragment within the Tooth of the Laughing Prophet. This was a dangerous union of two mad souls before a wish spell was used to restore Kalé.
Trivia & Quotes
Ferdinand told Stevia, “You’re like the mother I never had but always wanted,” moments before walking into the painting.
Grim on hugging Oberyn: “It’s not your fault.” — followed by Stevia’s deadpan, “You think he knows his sword doesn’t have ears?”
The Faithbreaker’s design features a serpent coiled around an egg, a homage to Ahriman’s fall and a clever way to seal the beherit within the gun.
The party successfully bypassed all seven scent glyphs without triggering a single trap.
Stevia’s roast that landed the final persuasion success: “Your divine frenzy? We call it a midlife crisis with better pyrotechnics.”
