Breaking the Chain

Breaking the Chain
Date	8/14/25
Storyteller	Tire
Tier	Master
Player Characters	Vliegen the Windborne, Holly Crown, Atticus, Rowyn Lloch, Carrion
Rewards	400 xp, Spellwatch, Sack of Hydra's Teeth, Wyrm Spindle, 5x valorous coins, 5160 gp
Result	Success, with casualty of the client
Author	Rowyn Lloch
Downtime	14

• Witness testimony: Breaking the Chain. Provided by Rowyn Lloch*

A group of us were hired to pay a visit to a homesteader about a week away from the city over an ecological disaster. Involved parties are myself, Sir Holly Crown, Vliegen the Windborne, Carrion, and Lictor Atticus of the Order of the Torrent. Mantella Bright-Eyed also showed up later on, but he was not there initially. On initial questioning, our client denied any sightings of an ecological disaster. It was here that we noticed exhibit A, a trail of carnage leading off into the nearby forest. Our client testified that the carnage was left there by a big green T-Rex that was making horrible noises, noises that he was not very good at recreating, and neither were any of us. He also reported the beast leaving behind massive footprints, and hearing the sounds of ghostly howling. Vliegen recalled these howling noises being reminiscent of Verdorites, a type of undead that is created from mass extinctions caused by the actions of a civilization, such as pollution. We also hear the crackling of electricity around. Holly Crown suggests that killing the T-Rex would likely free these spirits. When we see the beast, and after preparing with some spells, it gets really aggressive as we approach, while it's surrounded by ethereal spirits. I would like the record to know that it looked like a giant pickle. It was crackling with some sort of red energy that reminded me of the majesty and power of a dragon, and it also didn't like the electricity that Vliegen was strengthening our attacks with. After we kill it, the spirits surrounding it go into the rift in the sky, as had previously been witnessed with the incident involving the Ancient Mariner. Carrion then challenges us to a race back to the farm. I would like for the record to know that Atticus is, in fact, a rotten egg. It is also here that Mantella showed up and Holly Crown disappeared. Evidence points to the last one being there being the rotten egg, and if Holly Crown did not show up, then he was not there, which would not make him the rotten egg. When we go back to the farm to receive our payment, we immediately feel the effects of a consecration ritual, and we see some antlered creatures, swarms of bugs, and a severed head with wings who all attack us on sight. They do not go down without a fight, and when we take them down with no casualties on our end, we are able to enter the house, where a thick layer of dust had settled over the place, with only the footprints of the antlered creatures and another medium-sized creature where visible. We also noticed our client was deceased, having died of starvation over a long period of time, with coins over his eyes, and "your reward" being written with fresh blood on the wall. Evidence suggests that some sort of time effect may have been used here to speed up how fast the victim starved to death. Either way, this is most concerning, and we should be on the lookout for events such as this going forward. *End of testimony*