session 13

Who’s the Boss?¶

We found ourselves embroiled in an unexpected battle that unfolded within the dimly lit confines of the Blackened Barrel, a notorious den overseen by the local crimelord, Velik Nox. Our initial intent was to get our reward and negotiate additional time with the Astranomicon, but upon our arrival, we were thrust into the midst of a brewing coup. To our own surprise, we sided with Velik, standing against a formidable enemy force: five enforcers, two thugs, and their leader, a sorcerer named Pyrrhos Agni.

The tension escalated when Pyrrhos commanded one of Velik’s supposed lieutenants, Crox Kelryn, now revealed as a traitor, to assassinate Velik. As the battle cry was sounded we threw ourselves into the fray to protect Velik. Our intervention was timely; Stigs thwarted the attempted assassination by interposing himself between Velik and Crox. This provided Velik the opportunity to envelop the area in magical darkness. With his Devil’s Sight, Velik became a shadowy reaper, dealing death with his dagger and poison–his reputation as a ruthless criminal was clearly well-earned.

We employed every tactic at our disposal, focusing on the sorcerer Pyrrhos. We grappled him, hindered his spellcasting, and turned the tide of battle in our favor with a combination of strategic prowess and a bit of luck. It didn’t hurt that Velik’s other underlings (Savran and Tarsus) were on our side. The combat was lengthy, but together with Velik, we emerged victorious. The sole surviving enforcer, witnessing Pyrrhos’s defeat, laid down his arms in surrender, only for Velik to coldly execute him.

We tried to intervene as Velik prepared to deliver the final blow to the unconscious Pyrrhos, pleading for mercy, or at least more time to question Pyrrhos. However, Velik, unmoved by our appeals, executed Pyrrhos with a firebolt. Disgusted by this ruthless display, we were examining Pyrrhos’s body for clues—he had been the architect behind a series of heinous crimes, including human trafficking—when an unimaginable horror unfolded before our eyes.

As we watched, Pyrrhos’s corpse began to convulse violently. We backed away and watched, horrified, as Pyrrhos’s skull cracked and burst. From the wreckage of his skull emerged a gelatinous and wrinkled organ, its ichor-drenched mass a collection of knotty folds and dendritic tendrils. Sprouting spindly, tuberous legs as it shook off the remnants of Pyrrhos’s ruined skull, the nightmare began to skitter across the floor towards the bar’s exit.

The sight was so terrifying that several of us were momentarily stunned into a speechless paralysis. The rest of us rushed to stop the thing before it escaped from sight.