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Chapter 1 - Session 3

Convergence at the Crow's Nest and the Cellar's Secret

Events and Actions

The session began with the player characters (PCs) scattered through The Crow's Nest tavern, each unable to see or interact with the others despite being in the same room. This shifted once those who donned their mysterious Medallions began to perceive a shared reality, allowing them to finally meet and compare notes.

Much of the early conversation centered on their individual, yet eerily similar, experiences in the tavern's cellar: each had found a Medallion on the same skeleton in a hidden alcove and fought off rats there. They discovered the Medallions were invisible to anyone not wearing one, and difficult to remove — attempts typically left the wearer distracted and unable to follow through. Wearing a Medallion, it seemed, was the key to seeing and being seen by the others. Riu and Knick Nab, comparing notes, realized they had each scrawled messages to the other in rat blood on the cellar floor at the time, each convinced he was corresponding with a ghost.

Several PCs, including Knick Nab, Werner De Rendal, and Mani, reported to Burlyman the innkeeper about dealing with the rats in the cellar and patching the hole they seemed to be coming from. Each gave a slightly different account of events, adding to the general confusion, and matters were not helped by Riu's pet squid, Squidly III, which he had carried up from the cellar in its jar: it kept vanishing from and reappearing on the bar without anyone admitting to moving it, until Riu himself was identified as the culprit. Werner also collected two flasks of the glowing green water from the cellar. While fetching flour and salt for bread, Noddy learned from Burlyman's wife of a former helper named Stefan who used to handle such cellar work but had vanished some time before; a look at the skeleton — a man in his forties or fifties — ruled out any connection to him.

Cosimo, noting the bricked-up archway mentioned in previous cellar explorations, struck a deal with Burlyman: he would find out what lay beyond it in exchange for splitting whatever profit was found there. Setting out with coin Burlyman provided, he reached the gate between Low Town and High Town undecided on which way to go, when an old woman happened by driving a cart loaded with jingling tinker's wares; she sold him exactly the chisel, hammer, and small trowel he needed for 23 silver, and he returned to the tavern with the tools.

The group, now able to see and coordinate with each other, took a moment to properly size each other up for the first time — Knick Nab, gaunt but striking, with radiant golden hair tucked beneath a battered hat worn over a bandana; Cosimo in a dusty tradesman's apron and guild vest, his hands weathered and lightly scarred from years on building sites; Riu in fine burgundy noble's clothes and unusually high riding boots, a mark of real privilege since horses are prized and mostly reserved for the military and nobility; Noddy in threadbare, shoeless castoffs; Werner pale and richly dressed with his hair braided in cornrows; and Mani in a plumed hat and boots badly scuffed from a recent mishap. With introductions made, they turned to investigate the archway together. Before breaking through, they tested the strange glowing water seeping from the wall by dipping a torch into it — it did not ignite, ruling out at least one danger.

Cosimo, judging the brickwork to be some fifty to seventy years old from its mortar, noted that the wall's rough, unfinished face on the cellar side suggested it had been laid from within the hidden chamber rather than from the cellar — whoever sealed it had done so from the inside. He then skillfully dismantled the blockage; the final push collapsed the upper section of brick inward, crushing several rats beneath it and revealing the chamber beyond — its stone pillars rising to a surprisingly lofty ceiling, and a pair of unlit golden braziers standing amid scattered iron pokers and other fire tools. On the inside face of the sealed archway, Cosimo alone could make out lines of script written in Divinity, though in the rush of the moment he couldn't recall what they said. Inside, they found a number of rats still very much alive, including one exceptionally large specimen.

A fierce battle ensued. Knick Nab fought with an improvised giant wooden spoon grabbed from the kitchen, and Werner drew one of the room's iron pokers before setting it aside for lack of skill with it. Noddy grabbed a cleaver but fumbled badly, winding himself and sidelining him from the fight; he and Knick Nab later broke off together to fetch flammable alcohol as a possible weapon against the large rat, though the fight was over before they returned. Mani was gravely wounded when the large rat lunged for his throat — its tail catching in his belt at the last instant turned what should have been a fatal bite into a glancing one — and he spent Coins of Fate to mitigate the worst of the damage (two, per the recap in C01S04; only one was recorded at the time). The party worked together, with Werner eventually grappling the large rat, allowing Cosimo to deliver the killing blow. The remaining smaller rats then fled. After the combat, Werner successfully tended to Mani's significant injuries.

In a parallel series of events, Knick Nab interacted with Randolph the Chronicler, who was seated in the tavern's common room recording the strange occurrences in a private journal, his script old-fashioned and elaborately embellished. When Knick Nab pressed to see what was written, Randolph refused — private writings, he said, meant eventually for the archivists to shelve in a library, not for casual reading — but relented enough to read a passage aloud, and it matched what had just passed between them with an unsettling, word-for-word precision. Knick Nab shared details about the Medallion and the body, which Randolph noted with interest, mentioning that another young visitor had come to him with similar questions about an hour earlier. Asked whether he knew anything of serpents or fantastical creatures, Randolph admitted it wasn't his specialty but mentioned a friend, Manfred, an archivist who studied such matters. Searching afterward for the other visitor Randolph had mentioned, Knick Nab found a part of the cellar the party hadn't yet explored — a lightly-worked natural cavern holding about ten cots, evidently a communal sleeping area — but found no one there. Later, Knick Nab attempted to ascend the stairs to the tavern's upper floor, fighting an unseen magical resistance like wading through honey across several exhausting attempts before conceding. The innkeeper, watching from below, remarked that the same thing happens to him. The mysterious lady on the landing politely but firmly turned Knick Nab back, telling him entry upstairs was by invitation only from "the mistress," and promising to relay his request once she awoke.

The session concluded with the party having secured the hidden chamber and dealt with the immediate rat threat, but with many questions remaining about The Medallions, the hidden chamber's purpose, and the strange events at The Crow's Nest.

NPCs & Creatures

  • Burlyman: The innkeeper of The Crow's Nest. Appeared confused by the PCs' overlapping accounts, and admitted that the stairway's resistance to the upper floor happens to him too.
  • Burlyman's wife: The innkeeper's wife, worked in the kitchen. Also seemed perplexed by events.
  • Randolph the Chronicler: A Chronicler who has taken up residence at The Crow's Nest, encountered by Knick Nab recording the strange events in a private journal.
  • Manfred: A friend of Randolph's, mentioned but not met — an archivist who specializes in serpents and fantastical creatures.
  • Stefan: A former helper of Burlyman and his wife who used to handle cellar work, mentioned as having vanished some time before. Examining the skeleton in the hidden chamber — a man in his forties or fifties — ruled out any connection to him.
  • Mysterious Lady: An elegantly dressed woman on the upper landing of The Crow's Nest who prevented Knick Nab from going upstairs.
  • The mysterious old woman: An old woman driving a cart loaded with jingling tinker's wares, encountered by Cosimo at the gate between Low Town and High Town; sold him a chisel, hammer, and small trowel for 23 silver.
  • Rats: Several encountered in the cellar and the hidden chamber, including a very large rat.
  • Pocket: Noddy's pet seagull, which made a brief appearance.
  • Squidly III: Riu's pet squid, kept in a jar and carried up from the cellar. Became a running source of confusion in the tavern after it repeatedly went missing and reappeared.

Locations

  • The Crow's Nest: The primary location, a tavern in The Capitol. Events took place in the common room, the cellar (including a lightly-worked natural cavern serving as a communal sleeping area, holding about ten cots), and a newly discovered hidden chamber connected to the cellar — a worked-stone space with a wooden floor, stone pillars rising to a surprisingly lofty ceiling, and a pair of unlit golden braziers surrounded by iron pokers and other metal fire tools.
  • The road between Low Town and High Town: Where Cosimo, on his way to buy tools, instead encountered an old woman selling tools from a cart.

Conflicts

  • PCs vs. Rats: Breaking through the archway crushed several rats when the top section of brick collapsed inward; the group then fought the survivors in the hidden chamber, several using improvised weapons — Knick Nab wielded a giant wooden spoon grabbed from the kitchen, then threw two knives into the fray, a kitchen knife that nicked the large rat followed by an already-bent blade that glanced harmlessly off one of the smaller ones.
    • Mani was severely injured when the large rat lunged for his throat (multiple hits, bleeding, stunned), only narrowly deflected when its tail snagged in his belt; he spent two Coins of Fate to reduce the severity (per the recap in C01S04, one of which the GM later returned). Werner later stopped his bleeding.
    • Cosimo killed one small rat and the large rat, the latter after Werner grappled and knocked it down.
    • Werner killed one small rat.
  • Knick Nab vs. Upstairs Resistance: Knick Nab's repeated attempts to force his way up the stairs to the upper floor of The Crow's Nest were met with a thick, honey-like magical resistance and verbal denial by the Mysterious Lady, leaving him exhausted before he conceded.

Learnings and Discussions

  • The Medallions:
    • They are magical items found on a skeleton in the cellar.
    • Multiple PCs found seemingly identical Medallions on the same corpse, despite searching at different "times" or in different perceived realities.
    • Wearing a Medallion appears to allow PCs to see and interact with others who are also wearing one.
    • The Medallions are invisible to those not wearing one (e.g., Randolph, Burlyman).
    • They are difficult to remove; attempts often result in the wearer becoming distracted and failing to take it off.
    • The Medallions have slightly different markings (a line at different positions, like on a clock face).
  • Coins of Fate: These are player-held meta-currency that can influence in-game events, as demonstrated when Mani spent two to lessen a severe injury.
  • The Crow's Nest Cellar: Contains a hidden chamber behind a bricked-up archway. This chamber was the source of the rats. Cosimo judged the brickwork to be some fifty to seventy years old, and its mortar — rough and unfinished on the cellar-facing side — suggested it had been laid from within the chamber rather than from the cellar, meaning whoever sealed it did so from the inside. Writings in "Divinity" script were noted on the inside of the bricked wall, legible only to Cosimo, who couldn't recall their content in the rush of the moment. The strange glowing water seeping through the wall was tested with a torch and found not to be flammable.
  • Strange Occurrences: The PCs experienced fragmented realities or timelines, with individuals or small groups initially isolated before converging. The exact nature of this phenomenon remains unknown. Comparing notes on the rats they'd each killed, the group's tally came up one corpse short of accounted-for kills, raising the uneasy possibility that someone else had also been down in the cellar unseen.
  • Upstairs of The Crow's Nest: Access is restricted and requires an invitation from "the mistress." Even Burlyman claimed the same resistance happens to him.
  • Randolph the Chronicler: Is aware of and documenting the unusual events, and has a friend, Manfred, who may know more about strange creatures.

Items Gained

  • Werner De Rendal: Two flasks of glowing green water (from the cellar).
  • Noddy: A dagger, grabbed from the kitchen before heading back down to the cellar (unfamiliar with its use, he held it awkwardly by the blade).
  • Cosimo: A chisel, hammer, and small trowel (purchased from the mysterious old woman for 23 silver).

Items Lost

  • Mani: Two Coins of Fate (spent to mitigate injury; one was returned to him by the GM in C01S04).
  • Knick Nab: Two knives (a kitchen knife and an already-bent blade, both thrown in combat and lost).