10/08/2025 – Gongaii Games – Silverhex Chronicles, Pt. 2

Summary

The road-worn company followed Ulyssia’s cryptic journal into the western River Kingdoms, where sparring glances between Eternal Warrior and the void-born Olin set a peculiar tone. Ashla climbed a hilltop pine and spotted a pale scar in the forest, guiding the group to a buried, egg-smooth black ovoid veined with unknown glyphs. A sequence of bold button presses cracked its hatch to reveal a blue-skinned, antennaed elf in a silver suit, long dead, with a strange bracelet and a pouch of unfamiliar silvery discs. When Olin slipped on the bracelet, a shimmering field rippled around him—just in time for Kellid hunters to emerge and claim the find as theirs.

The hilltop erupted. Eternal Warrior cut down the Kellid leader, Adder’s crackling blast dropped another, and Ashla’s mace drove the bowmen to flee. After gathering short bows, cold-weather furs, and the odd silvery coins, the crew made for Daggermark. There, Johan Vox at the Eight Legs shop bought a spider poison gland and egg-sac they harvested from a web-choked clearing—Ashla survived a bruising fall, and Olin’s cool telepathy knit her back together. Vox paid in gold, tinctures, and fire-flasks, then quietly warned that Ulyssia had angered the wrong people. The Vessels Between were already on her trail.

Racing to a riverside camp, Yohei confronted Ulyssia as she mended her boot, journal in hand and debts unpaid. Before words could settle, an elf with a barbed spear and a bare-chested pugilist burst from the brush, crying for the Vessels Between. Geddy went down early, Yohei dragged him back with a tincture, and Eternal Warrior felled the bruiser with a single brutal stroke. Ashla drenched the spearwoman in alchemist’s fire, who fled smoking to the river only to be felled by Adder’s final blast.

Breathing hard amid kicked coals and scattered gear, Ulyssia yielded her prize: Silver Hex, a runed silver sickle revered by river druids. In return, she promised a performance for the helpful innkeeper back in town and a place onstage beside Crowhead and the Black Void. The night ended in rowdy celebration, a triumphant booking…and, after an overzealous brawl, most of the band found themselves barred from the Restless Bear. Ulyssia’s debts lingered, but with Silver Hex in hand and enemies thinned, the road ahead felt briefly, defiantly clear.

OUTLINE:

Into the River Kingdoms, Journal in Hand

• The party followed Ulyssia’s journal of rubbings, angles, and maps into Kellid country.
• Ashla climbed a pine and spotted disturbed earth and downed trees, marking a likely impact site.
• Eternal Warrior and Olin’s uneasy, silent rivalry framed early camp scenes.

The Buried Ovoid and Kellid Standoff

• They unearthed a smooth black ovoid with alien glyphs; a bold sequence opened the hatch.
• Inside: a blue-skinned, antennaed elf, dead and strapped in, with a strange bracelet and silvery discs.
• Olin’s bracelet formed a rippling field; Kellid hunters claimed the find; Eternal Warrior slew their leader and the rest fled, leaving bows, furs, and gear.

Spiders’ Clearing and Daggermark Deals

• At a web-choked clearing, Ashla fell from the canopy retrieving an egg sac; Olin stabilized her.
• Adder and Yohei helped slay the spiders; they harvested a poison gland and sac.
• In Daggermark, Johan’s Vox at the Eight Legs bought the haul for coin, alchemist fire, and healing tinctures, warning the Vessels Between were pursuing Ulyssia.

Riverside Camp and the Vessels Between

• Yohei confronted Ulyssia about debts; assassins struck mid-conversation.
• A spear-wielding elf skewered Geddy; a pugilist dropped Adder; Yohei and Olin dragged both back from the brink.
• Eternal Warrior decapitated the bruiser; Ashla ignited the elf with alchemist’s fire; Adder finished her by the river.

Silver Hex, Songs, and a Brewing Storm

• Celebration soured into a tavern brawl, leaving most of the band barred from the Restless Bear as Ulyssia’s debts and assassin enmity lingered.
• Ulyssia surrendered Silver Hex, a rune-carved silver sickle sacred to local druids, to settle accounts.
• She promised a performance alongside Crowhead and the Black Void back in Daggermark.

NPCs:

• Bare-chested Pugilist, Vessels Between: A swaggering bruiser who felled allies with brutal punches until Eternal Warrior’s blade silenced him.
• Elf Spearwoman, Vessels Between: An elven assassin who led with a barbed spear and a battle cry, nearly finishing the job before alchemist’s fire and force ended her bid.
• Johan’s Vox: Proprietor of the Eight Legs shop in Daggermark, a hard haggler who deals in poisons and antidotes. He bought the spider haul and warned that the Vessels Between were after Ulyssia.
• Restless Bear Innkeeper: Cheerful and cautious publican who serves lidded tankards to dodge Daggermark’s poisons. Booked the band, then watched the celebration boil into a brawl that got most of them barred.
• Ulyssia: A half-orc bard of operatic pipes and questionable judgment, and Yohei’s on-again-off-again heartache. She left a debt trail and a journal of leads, then yielded Silver Hex to square things after the party saved her life. Now she wants a tambourine spot with the band.
• Zolgan the Miraculous: A hard-drinking gnome illusionist loudly claiming to be the world’s most powerful mage. More bravado than proof so far, but a tempting lead for arcane trade.

ITEMS:

• Alchemist’s Fire: Ceramic flasks that burst into clinging flame on air, the perfect answer to grease and malice.
• Barbed Spear: An assassin’s hooked spear, ugly and effective until fire and force said otherwise.
• Black Ovoid Capsule: A seamless, glyph-cut vessel with a single hinged plate. It yielded secrets, a shield-bracelet, and more questions.
• Geddy’s Bass-Lute: Low thunder in wood and string, the backbone of Crowhead and the Black Void’s sound.
• Great Axe: Kellid steel tall as a man, heavy in hand and heavier in consequence.
• Healing Tincture: Pearlescent pink draughts that pulled friends back from the brink when seconds mattered.
• Holdout Pistol: Yohei’s compact firearm that spoke smoke and iron at the river bend.
• Human Head Lantern: Yohei’s macabre light, a shriveled head fitted with wick and oil, equal parts illumination and intimidation.
• Kellid Furs: Blood-dark leathers and hides that pass at a distance for local garb and keep the cold at bay.
• Noqual Sky-metal Discs: Bright, silvery coins of strange sky-metal scavenged from the ovoid’s dead traveler. Unfamiliar mint, very familiar value.
• Shield Bracelet: A silver bracer with hidden stud that raised a shimmering field for a time before failing. Alien craft, short-lived salvation.
• Silver Hex: A rune-etched silver sickle of druidic reverence that bites deeper into cursed blood. Ulyssia surrendered it to settle accounts.
• Spider Poison Gland: A slick, green-tinged organ plucked from a slain spider, prized by poisoners and physicians with steady hands.

LOCATIONS:

• Daggermark: Polite on the surface, murderous beneath, home to poisoners, assassins, and anyone who minds their back. The band found coin, warnings, and a stage here.
• Eight Legs Shop: Johan’s Vox’s emporium of venoms, antidotes, and unsettling curios. A desiccated giant spider guards the door in theatrical menace.
• Meteorite Ovoid Site: A scarred hillside where scorched trunks and pale soil hid a black, glyph-cut capsule holding a dead, blue-skinned traveler.
• Restless Bear Inn: A raucous den of lidded tankards and quick tempers where Crowhead and the Black Void booked a triumphant return… until the brawl.
• River Kingdoms: A fractured maze of petty fiefs, free blades, and feuds where freedom is prized and prices are paid in blood. The company trekked its hills and borders in search of meteor metal and a missing bard.
• Spider Clearing: A web-thick glade strung with white silk and a pumpkin-sized egg sac. Blood, venom, and profit were all won beneath its boughs.
• Ulyssia’s Riverside Camp: A hilltop cave and fire ring by a river bend, where song turned to ambush as assassins struck.

FACTIONS:

• Daggermark Assassins’ Guild: Price-conscious killers whose polite streets hide a thousand vendettas. Buy two, hire six.
• Daggermark Poisoners’ Guild: Masters of venoms and antidotes, trading sips and cures on the same street corner.
• Kellids: Nomadic clans of herders and hunters who scavenge star-fall and guard their territory with spears and song. They do not forgive trespass lightly.
• Vessels Between: A ruthless, for-hire crew who ferry the living into death and back again only in story. They came for Ulyssia and left in blood.

QUESTS:

• Harvest Spider Eggs and Venom for Sale: Secure an egg sac and poison gland from the spider clearing and sell to a willing buyer in Daggermark.
• Investigate the Meteorite Site: Track Ulyssia’s calculations to the impact scar, reveal the buried ovoid, and learn what could be salvaged.
• Play the Restless Bear Double Bill: Return to the inn for the promised show with Crowhead and the Black Void… assuming the brawl ban can be smoothed over.
• Protect Ulyssia from the Vessels Between: Find her before the assassins do and keep her alive long enough to leave Daggermark’s reach.
• Secure the Relic Silver Hex: Confirm the relic’s recovery and decide who should bear it into the wilds.
• Settle Ulyssia’s Debts: Untangle the bard’s obligation to Daggermark’s deadly economy before more blades arrive.

PLAYER CHARACTERS

• Adder: A shabti kineticist and former street tea vendor whose power gathers in humming, fractal patterns before he unleashes it. Practical and sharp-tongued, he fights from mid-line range and isn’t shy about taunting foes between blasts. He insists he didn’t ask for help even when dragged back from the brink.
• Ashla: An aasimar fighter and ex-guard who favors mace and shortbow, skeptical of sorcery and steady in a scrum. She is the first up a tree or into a shield wall, though she took a nasty fall in the spider grove. Her grit and quick thinking turned a spearwoman into a torch with alchemist’s fire.
• Eternal Warrior: A crow-headed Tengu fighter driven by a vendetta against magic after a curse made him what he is. He keeps a meticulous journal on every mage he meets and answers threats with ruthless steel. Despite the fury, he is fiercely protective of his companions and quick to seize the front line.
• Geddy: A human bard and former road warden with a bass-lute and a highwayman’s sense for trouble. He can turn a tavern with a riff, or turn a confrontation with a sharp word, and volunteers for front-of-house and front-line in equal measure. He is already half of a local legend: Crowhead and the Black Void.
• Olin: An astomoi wizard, a living shadow who speaks directly into minds with an echoing reverb. Strange and clinical about flesh, he nevertheless mends it with cool competence and probes mysteries others shy from. Curiosity draws him to artifacts, and a brief shield shimmer saved more than dignity.
• Yohei: A charming kitsune rake with a pistol and a silver tongue, keeping his shapeshifting and devotion to Stiletto Jack very quiet. He shepherds the group through cities and lies with equal ease, and in battle he juggles smoke, steel, and crucial tinctures. Ulyssia is his very complicated ex.