Game summary for September 1, 2026, Chronoshift: Spelljammer campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game 1st Edition, 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), Ursay (Mongrelfolk Slayer played by Paul Potter), and Vulkanthos (Nephilim Paladin/Sorcerer/Dragon Disciple/Eldritch Knight played by John Osborne). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.
The whole building shuddered. Not from the fighting—or not just from the fighting. Something below was deliberate about it, rhythmic, as though the building itself were being used as a weapon. The floor buckled and popped. A section of catwalk tore free overhead and crashed somewhere behind them. Through gaps opening in the floorboards, they could see the dark water beneath the pier, closer than they would have liked.
The Brine Knives still on their feet were not running. They were laughing. Jumping, actually. Some of them were jumping, adding their weight to whatever was happening below, riding the chaos as though they had been born in it. Maybe they had.
Then he emerged from the shadows at the far end of the loft, and the room seemed to reorganize itself around him the way rooms did around certain kinds of men. Big. Not just tall—wide and heavy, with the kind of build that came from decades of physical labor and absolutely no interest in restraint. He carried a greatclub over one shoulder that was roughly the size of a small tree, wrapped in twisted metal wire that caught the lamplight in unsettling ways. Something was stuck in the barbs. They chose not to look too closely.
He was whistling. He stopped when he saw them, tilted his head as though they were mildly interesting, and grinned with every tooth he had. “Which of you pricks is the leader?”
He swung the club from his shoulder and rested it against the floor. The building groaned beneath the impact. “Come on. Don’t be shy. Lucille and I just want to have a conversation.”
Around him, the Brine Knives howled with anticipation and closed the gap.
Ursay fired arrows at the man, the Bilgewater King, and swatted several out of the air before others landed true. The King then charged Callum and hit him with Lucille! Before he could gloat much, however, Helg cast hold person. Surprisingly, the Bilgewater King froze in place! The team rallied and brought a deadly fight to the Brine Knives. They tried to put up a resistance, but Polaris had his footing under him and engaged. Several attempted grapples, but Khan cast liberating command and shut down those fantasies. The group focused their main attacks on the paralyzed Bilgewater King hoping to kill him before he could shake off the effects of the spell. Hekera stepped up and did just that. Within seconds of the battle beginning, it was over. The remaining Brine Knives’ morale broke, and they fled. Some charged out the door while others jumped down into the water. Ursay shot down the runners while Callum, polymorphed into a water elemental, and Hekera dove after the swimmers and dragged one survivor back.
The group searched the loft and found a good amount of silver trade bars as well as the crates stolen from Neris. They dragged all the bodies out onto the street as a warning to others and took the crates to Neris. She was delighted to have her property returned and gave the team a small fortune in magical items in reward.
The group then went to check in with Thessal Murvak who was very pleased with the work they had done. She considered their debt paid and offered to employ them again if they ever came through again in the future. The group then went to meet with Rathan Brangus.
Rathun Brangus was pleased with the party’s efforts to uncover the source and reason for the disappearances. Their information confirmed the Upright Men had been behind it all and gave Rathun the proof he needed to put pressure back on them.
He had been busy as well, gathering information for them. He leaned in and began to speak. “The tablet fragment you seek was indeed here in Kristophan until recently. It was in the possession of Hiram, a merchant and owner of Hiram’s Bookshop. It had been in his family for several years, but no one could make sense of it. According to Hiram, he sold it to a wizard of the Order of Black Robes about three weeks ago. The wizard, and the tablet locked inside a black stone chest, set sail for the continent of Ansalon aboard The Destiny. The ship was sunk several days out of port, destroyed by sahuagin. There were only two survivors, who were picked up by another merchant vessel heading toward Kristophan. The tablet either went down with the ship to the bottom of the sea or was taken as spoils by the sea devils.”
Brangus paused to let all this wonderful news sink in. He slid a nautical map across the table and continued. “If this tablet is important to you, I have found some resources that may help. Here is a map showing where the ship went down. The wreck would be at quite a depth, so temporary magic like potions and spells would be frightfully inadequate—not just for breathing, but for the pressure. Here, on this island in the Spine of Taladas, dwells an eccentric foreign gnomish wizard named Kwalish. He is an inventor, a powerful spellcaster, and an expert in ocean exploration. He sells magical devices that they say can walk along the bottom of the sea. Perhaps you could bargain with Kwalish to gain the use of his incredible devices and reach the wreck. You could use temporary magic to leave them and explore, while still having a secure base from which to survive the unforgiving depths.”
The party thanked Brangus and went back to Neris to see what she could tell them about sahuagin and Kwalish. She told them what her people knew of the sharkmen and their fearsome reputation. Looking at the map, she warned them the location was dangerously close to sahuagin territory and also near Dargonesti realms. Neris was able to reveal the primary dangers of the ocean would not only be drowning but the combination of frigid cold and overwhelming pressure. She sold them some more of her magical items, including numerous magical black pearls. These function like potions, but in the ocean you cannot drink liquid from containers. The pearls are swallowed and dissolve, releasing their magic. The black pearls she provided allow water breathing and pressure resistance. She reminded them several times they will need cold resistance too. She was amazed they were going to see Kwalish, whom she held in high regard. Neris encouraged them to get all the ocean survival magic from him they could for their journey. When asked about weaknesses of the sahuagin, she mentioned as deep abyss dwellers, they don’t like bright lights.
