Game summary for March 10, 2026, Chronoshift: Spelljammer campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Callum Spellhardt (Human Sorcerer played by Parker Harmon), Hekera Nephera Mawhesk Vyk’sebekenka (Sebek-ka Fighter played by Preston Harmon), Helg Ingvar (Aasimar Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Polaris Helmsmeade (Dwarf Templar played by Peyton Harmon), and Ursay (Mongrelfolk Slayer played by Paul Potter). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.
As The Shooting Star slipped in on the warm, salt-heavy wind, Dullstrand rose ahead like a mural painted over something darker: a thin strip of sunlit town wedged between a towering rocky escarpment and an impossibly blue sea. Palms swayed lazily above blinding white beaches, and somewhere inland the constant hush of water could be heard – ribbons of streams tumbling down from the heights, glittering in the light. Out beyond the harbor mouth, the horizon was cluttered with low islands and atolls, and the water broke in strange places – reefs and sandy shoals like ribs just beneath the surface.
Closer in, the docks were busy and watchful. Fisherfolk and porters paused to stare at their rigging and unfamiliar lines. A few hard-faced sailors leaned on pilings with the casual posture of men who had seen “privateers” come and go under letters of marque, and who knew the difference between honest trade and “resupply.” Dullstrand felt like paradise that had learned to survive: friendly enough to take their coin, independent enough to ask no questions – and dangerous enough that someone, somewhere, was already deciding what they were worth.
Helg settled docking fees with the harbor master, and the team gave the crew shore leave in shifts. The team went out and bought several new magical items and prepared for their trip. Most of the party went carousing. Helg broke even on his evening while Callum had a successful night and came back up 360 gold pieces.
Ursay’s evening was a bit more hectic. He went to the Splintered Keel tavern and ended up in a backroom card game. One of the other players, Ilva “Redwake” Sorn, accused Ursay of cheating, which may or may not have been true. However, Ursay very cleverly worked the room and embarrassed and ridiculed Ilva causing even some of his own crew to laugh at him. Furious, Ilva started a brawl and Ursay slipped out. He grabbed a pouch he thought was filled with the gambling money. Instead, it contained some bribe money and a ledger belonging to Brother Mikal Varro documenting some of his blackmailing and illicit dealings. Both rushed out to find Ursay and ran into each other. After some shouting and plotting, they decided to join forces to track down this interloper and make him pay! Meanwhile, Ursay ran into a fixer and fence, Sella Quill. Sella was willing to buy the ledger which meant Ursay came out even on the night. He slipped back to the ship to hide.
While Ursay was making enemies and contacts, Polaris ended up in the same tavern. A bored bard tried to get a rise out of the crowd by singing a song about a dwarf afraid of the sea. Offended, Polaris stood up walked to the stage and demanded a tankard, a hammer, and something made of iron. The sailors handed him a full tankard and hammer, and some wiseass grabbed the anvil from the smith next door. Polaris planted his boots on the tavern table, hammer in hand. He began a dwarven forge chant striking perfect rhythm on the anvil. He struck the anvil and sang an ancient dwarven working song. The tavern fell silent and sailors soon began stamping their feet to the beat. The bartender pounded the keg with a ladle. Some dockworkers took hooks and chains and rattled them like tambourines. Before long the entire tavern had become an impromptu dwarven forge orchestra. The chant ended as Polaris slammed the hammer so hard it cracked the anvil’s edge and drained the tankard in one gulp. The crowd exploded. Talk began immediately as the tale spread through the city. Polaris become a legend in an instant.
The party decided Ursay’s contact Sella might be able to help with a purchase. They negotiated a purchase of a cargo barge for less than half price if they asked no questions and left town tonight. They went back to The Shooting Star and saw a bunch of men rowing a boat towing a barge in a hurry. They tied it up to the ship and urged the party to leave. The crew cast off under the cover of darkness as they heard shouting from another dock yelling about a missing cargo barge! They glanced back and Ilva Sorn was going into a rage because someone stole his barge! The team quickly fled into the night and flew off into space.
They were about ten days out of port on Oerth, heading toward the sphere’s edge. They still had over two months of travel ahead of them. They came out of spelljamming speed in proximity to a pair of purple squid ships. The vessels sat motionless beside one another with their air envelopes overlapping. A crewman raised semaphore flags and signaled in their direction. The man signaled they were peaceful merchants and encouraged them to approach and converse.
The ships were armed, though not heavily so. Both were painted deep purple. The names Stormbringer and Speed King were emblazoned in silver lettering along their hulls. Matching flags flew from each vessel, a silver meadow beneath a starry sky. The ships appeared intact with no visible damage, and their crews were alert but not overtly hostile. The captains stood on deck and had clearly been discussing something before the party’s approach. The captain aboard the Stormbringer was a middle-aged dwarf with salt-and-pepper hair and beard. He stood proudly, and they suspected he had a military background. A well-kept cutlass or sabre hung at his side. On the deck of the Speed King stood a middle-aged woman with pointed ears. The party suspected she was either an elf or a half-elf. She looked comfortable on her ship, though there were no obvious signs of military experience. She too carried a curved blade at her hip. The crews were a mix of races and genders, including humans, half-elves, dwarves, hadozee, and halflings.
Talking with the dwarven captain, they learned there was a third squid ship, the Recompense. The crew mutinied and killed the officers. The other ships tried to retake the ship and were repulsed. They believe the helmsman had been slain because the ship is adrift. The party hired on for 19 silver ingots to retake the ship, capture or kill the crew, and recover the cargo. The merchants led them to the abandoned vessel.
The Recompense sat silent in space, hanging against a tapestry of glittering stars. There was no movement on the exposed decks, yet there were no signs of distress. The ship appeared intact, though there was no sign of the crew. Its flag still flew.
