The Voyage of Discovery

The Voyage of Discovery is the first major arc of the first full campaign set in Talluv. It refers to all the events occurring in sessions held up to and including November 6, 2021, in which the clues leading towards the Cult of the Dead God achieved a critical mass, and the party began finding an overarching purpose to their wandering adventurous ways.

The Voyage of Discovery begins with the first adventure of the campaign as Doran, Felidar, Nimloth, and Volluv traveled to aid Truly Brightriver with exterminating a boar infestation from his farmland. In further service to the halflings of Farvenlagen, the party, not yet joined by Bruenor and Kallibree, defended Farvenlagen from marauding bandits, pursued the bandits to the nearby Isle of Caves, and returned some of the stolen property. In the process, they discovered that local patron Ray Northwoods was trafficking Black Honey, an illicit and controlled hallucinogenic substance. Wanting nothing more to do with him, but wanting to avoid violence, they took the penitent halfling bandit Runt with them, feigning to follow Ray's request to execute troublesome honey supplier Icehide.

During the party's journey to Johana, they were encountered by menacing Icehide pirates, whom they repulsed and executed. Having obtained possession of a newer ship outfitted with a grappling-ballista, they sold the old boat to a local dealer, and registered the captured vessel as The Scorched Leaf with the local privateering guild. While on land at Johana, they answered local job postings for the eviction of invasive ogres, and rehomed their orphaned offspring with local eccentric Meesrot, whom they assisted with healing his "family" of giant rats.

Having exhausted profitable employment options in the main port, they made good their word to former captee Volluv to return him to his home village of Esterlane, which they found deserted. At Volluv's recommendation, they investigated a cave in the basement of one of the abandoned buildings, and had their first encounter with cultists of the Dead God (though their affiliation was unknown to the party at the time) in one of their space-defying Crypts. Separated by a cave-in, Doran, Felidar, and Nimloth made their escape via one exit, while Bruenor, Kallybree, and Zuria exited via another. These exits, though close to one another in the underground crypt maze, were on opposite sides of the airland of Johana. Bruenor, Kallibree, and Zuria were ejected into the village of Westview, and had to purchase land transport back to Johana.

Doran, Felidar, and Nimloth made their exit through the passage by which they had made entrance. When they arrived back with their ship-bound crew, they learned from Volluv that Runt had been stabbed by the mischievous creature Ri-Ri-Ri, whom the party had considered to be at least neutral towards them. Felidar swore at once that Ri-Ri-Ri would be destroyed if he were ever rediscovered, and Nimloth took it upon herself to assure Runt's future safety. Prior to leaving the now abandoned port of Esterlane, the party was met briefly by Icehide privateers flying a flag of parley. They learned that Johana, once an Icehide enclave, had suddenly fallen under Elvish rule, and that Icehide-authorized privateers were now a wanted group, some of whom had decided to flee to the legendary pirate-controlled port called Haven. The party declined to follow along, and instead disposed of their Icehide insignia.

Once the two halves of the party were reunited, they decided to take profitable work as Empire-authorized bounty hunters. To avoid dealing directly with elves, Felidar insisted Doran should masquerade as the captain of the vessel during negotiations. The party was sent first to investigate rumors of a menacing orc warband in the continent of Ormsgirk in the airland-grouping of Albiorix. While en route, the party encountered on the winds of chance a merfolk woman named Hafme. She explained that her people were sick, and the water-speakers had sent her to seek help. Subsequent discussion revealed that, most likely, the party would find the ingredients needed for the healing of the water-people in the very ruins they planned to investigate for orc presence.

While in the port of Linn, Felidar heard report of brutal, crew-killing pirates in the waters nearby, and promised the local sailors that a day of reckoning was coming to those pirates, when the hammer of Thurgo would smash their vessels into pieces. The party's investigations into the orc warbands revealed that the rumors of orcs were greatly exaggerated, and fueled by illusory magic being used as a shield by a cultist of the The Dead God. After defeating a defensive force of small dragon-like creatures with the help of a local bird-man, the party roundly defeated a mask-wearing cultist. Before leaving the ruins, the party scavenged the cultist's mask, a magical orb, some eye-pieces, and numerous red crystals after the description Hafme provided.

The party re-boarded their vessel and set out to Votten, the deep-sea home of the water-people, with Hafme as their guide. Shortly before reaching the surface over the water-people's city, the crew was attacked by a dragon-whelp, which ignited the surface of the deck during their brief fight. After subduing the monster, Felidar forged chains to bind him until he could be questioned under magical compulsion. They learned that the whelp's name was Charir, and that he was under orders from his mother, a larger dragon. The party offered him refuge and freedom, if he would prefer not to go back, and he agreed.

Under the influence of Hafme provided water-breathing herbs, the party entered Votten, and administered the healing powers of the red crystals by way of seismic heat. As the magical crystals healed the people, the crew were hailed as heroes, earning the party the favor of the water speakers, and Felidar the adoration of Hafme. Leaving with their gifts, the party decided to return to Farvenlagen to handle Ray Northwoods' black honey operation, feeling unready to head to take on the pirate Haven, and ignorant of its location in any case.

On returning to Farvenlagen, they learned that Ember Brightriver had already done in Ray's operation, and turned him to mending his ways. Ray 's confession that he had lost his own mask on the Isle of Caves after the party left Farvenlagen led the party to return to the Isle of Caves, which had become overrun with large arachnids. The party passed by and slaughtered there way through several spiders of various sizes, until they met a monstrosity, a fusion of an elf and a spider, wearing Ray's mask. They destroyed it, and received ominous warnings from a being calling itself "the Gown" which used the dead monster's mouth to speak to them. They retreated from the isle and returned to Farvenlagen, where they deliberated over the evidence they had found, suggesting a race-spanning, empire-spanning cult seeking to resurrect "the Dead God." With a new purpose to investigate and, if within their ability, thwart this Cult, the party ventured into a new arc together.