Grenak GoateaterDemon-skull seeker
Valen SilverpalmWandering protector
Mruno BarsBard, fugitive, public menace
ReeseOccult spellblade
Roland BlackstoneInfernal hunter
Krivahn the Verdant FangChampion and guardian of MireholmTranscript-supported reconstruction
What happened
The party arrives in Mireholm aboard Azrul's airship and seeks Krivahn the Verdant Fang for answers about the red crystals. Searle guides them through the swamp settlement to Krivahn's massive gator-skull hall.
Krivahn identifies the crystals as alien and corruptive, connects them to Towerheart's influence, and gives the party a map to Mireholm's sacred shrine. She warns them to treat the shrine and the swamp with respect.
The party immediately detours to the Last Gourd tavern. Mruno Bars gives the performance of his life and earns free drinks, and everyone gets drunk on Rootbrew's thirteen-percent special ale. They accept a quest to kill the “big snakes.”
In the swamp, they fight a three-headed serpent. Roland identifies its vulnerability to fire. Reese, Grenak, Valen, and Mruno contribute to the chaotic victory. The party burns the nearby hatchlings and returns with three serpent heads as trophies.
Mireholm and Searle
The party reaches Mireholm after the airship journey. A beastfolk guide named Searle greets them and leads them through the settlement's murky boardwalks.
The locals stare at the outsiders, while the party stares back. Searle directs them toward Krivahn's hall, a massive crocodilian skull that serves as a landmark and meeting place.
Krivahn the Verdant Fang
Krivahn appears as an enormous reptilian Champion and is displeased to be interrupted during her meditation. She immediately senses the red crystals and treats them as contamination rather than treasure.
Krivahn explains that the crystals are not from earth or sky. She senses Towerheart's influence in their magic and detects a connection to Roland Blackstone himself. The party does not yet understand the full nature of that connection.
Krivahn gives the party a map to Mireholm's sacred shrine. She warns them to show respect or become fertilizer. The party agrees to leave Sam the Skull aboard the airship rather than bring him into the swamp.
The Last Gourd
On the way to the shrine, the party sees a sign for the Last Gourd, home of Rootbrew Ale. Inside, they meet Brindle “Rootbrew,” a badgerfolk barkeep and brewer.
Mruno performs to pay for the drinks and completely owns the room. Brindle grants the party free rounds and a standing tab.
The party drinks Rootbrew's special ale, described as a thirteen-percent regret elixir. The group becomes increasingly intoxicated and less capable of making responsible decisions.
The big-snake quest
Brindle offers more free drinks if the party kills the large snakes in the swamp, carefully distinguishing them from the “pussy snakes.” The party accepts this as an official quest.
The group marches into the swamp singing about big snakes. Their chosen quest is motivated at least as much by free beer and the prospect of returning with trophies as by concern for Mireholm's safety.
“Kill the big snakes—not the pussy snakes.”
— Brindle
The three-headed serpent
The party encounters a three-headed serpent approximately the size of a carriage. Combat begins while much of the group is drunk.
Roland uses Hunter's Lore to identify the creature's vulnerability to fire. Reese teleports behind it and attacks with hex-enhanced strikes. Grenak rages and attacks with his axe. Valen initially stabs mud before recovering and contributing meaningful attacks. Mruno provides musical support and additional spellwork.
The serpent uses poison attacks and multiple bites. The party survives the creature's attacks and gradually brings it down. Grenak's final axe swing contributes to the decapitation, followed by Valen's finishing combination.
The group discovers approximately ten serpent hatchlings nearby. They burn the nest rather than leave the young creatures behind. Three adult heads are taken as trophies.
“Big snakes! Big snakes!”
— The party
Returning to the Last Gourd
The party returns to Mireholm carrying the serpent heads. The standing tab at the Last Gourd is now secure as long as the group continues killing large snakes when asked.
Krivahn's warning about the crystals remains the serious thread beneath the comedy. The party has a shrine map and a clear next destination, but it is not yet sober enough to approach the shrine responsibly.