Session 03 Recap – Delerium Hunt

The party set out from Emberwood Village on their first true expedition into the ruins of Drakkenheim. Their goal was simple: prove they could survive the Outer City and return with delerium.

A Curious Discovery at Eventide Manor

Before leaving town, curiosity led the group to investigate the ruined Eventide Manor, a burned-out husk of what was once a lavish estate.

Using the doll Witch Hazel, the party discovered a hidden passage leading into the manor’s cellar. Inside they found a looted root cellar that seemed thoroughly picked clean—until Tough Luck’s tremorsense revealed something unusual within one wall.

When he investigated further, the wall exploded in a sudden magical blast, knocking several members of the party to the ground. The explosion revealed the wall had been hiding an illusion.

Behind it lay a large teleportation circle, etched with arcane sigils. Footprints around the circle suggested that someone had been using it recently.

Uncertain what dangers might still lurk there, the party chose not to tamper with the circle and instead withdrew to rest.

During this rest, Six fell into a strange dream involving a hammer striking an anvil, a vision that left an unsettling impression.

Doc Skizzet’s Research

While the rest of the party prepared to venture into the ruins, Doc Skizzet chose to remain behind in Emberwood Village.

The apothecary had become fascinated with the strange hide harvested from the corrupted creature they fought on the road to Drakkenheim. Convinced that the contamination might reveal something important about the nature of delerium, he set up a small laboratory in his room to study the material more closely.

When the party stopped by before departing, Skizzet was already deep in his work, surrounded by vials, reagents, and hastily scribbled notes.

Without even looking up, he waved them away.

“Go, go. Bring back more samples,” he muttered.
“Preferably intact.”

Promising to return with whatever they could recover from the ruins, the party left the doctor to his experiments and set out for the Outer City.

A Superstitious Tradition

As the party departed Emberwood, they were stopped by Emma Crowe, who shared a local superstition: if adventurers pass the corpse of a dead horse on the road into Drakkenheim, it is good luck to kick it.

Most of the party obliged.
Augustine, however, instructed Tough Luck to kick it on his behalf.

Entering the Ruins

The journey into the Outer City quickly grew eerie.

The haze thickened, the air smelled faintly of ozone, and the silence of the ruined streets weighed heavily on the party as they searched for signs of delerium.

Eventually they discovered a shattered intersection pocked with craters that glowed with faint purple light.

But they were not alone.

The Lost Ones

The wind suddenly stopped.

From the mist, twisted figures emerged—humanoids whose bodies were corrupted by delerium crystal growths. These Delerium Dregs lurched forward in a horrifying assault.

The battle quickly became desperate. While the shambling creatures swarmed the party, a more intelligent horror—the Eldritch Dreg—remained hidden among the rubble, striking from afar with blasts of psychic energy.

After a brutal struggle, the party managed to destroy the creatures, though several members were badly injured. Augustine in particular, had been knocked unconscious. Perhaps he should have kicked the horse himself?

Harvesting the Corruption

From the defeated monsters the party managed to harvest several unusual components:

• Uncommon Animus
• Uncommon Blood
• Uncommon Hair
• Uncommon Bone
• Common Bone

These strange reagents may prove valuable for crafting or arcane study.

Extracting the Delerium

With the area finally secured, the party began extracting the glowing crystals from the craters.

Through careful work—particularly by Six, who showed impressive skill—they managed to recover five delerium fragments, a substantial prize for their first expedition.

With the valuable crystals secured, the group began their return journey to Emberwood.

Street Justice

Not far from the cratered street, the party heard shouting and laughter echoing through the ruins.

Turning the corner, they discovered several members of the Queen’s Men harassing a pair of strange pilgrims clad in soot-stained robes. The pilgrims spoke reverently of a mysterious faith called the Followers of the Falling Fire, treating a shard of delerium as a sacred relic.

The party attempted to intimidate the criminals, but negotiations failed.

A fight broke out.

The group quickly defeated the gang’s leader—who appeared to belong to a crew known as Spades and Clubs—and the remaining thugs fled into the ruins.

The rescued pilgrims spoke the name Lucretia Mathias with reverence before continuing deeper into Drakkenheim.

Word of this confrontation will almost certainly spread.

Return to Emberwood

Back in Emberwood Village, the party debated what to do with their hard-earned delerium.

Knowing that the fragments were worth a great deal, they ultimately decided to honor their arrangement with River of the Amethyst Academy.

Meeting her at The Red Lion, they presented the recovered crystals and shared what they had learned from the expedition.

River appeared impressed by both the quality of the extraction and the fact that the party had survived their first encounter with the horrors of the ruins.

She purchased the delerium for 700 gold pieces and even used her magic to cleanse Rustar and Six of contamination they had suffered during the expedition.

Before leaving, River offered a simple observation:

“Many enter the ruins. Few return with anything other than scars.
The city changes those who survive it. You would be wise to embrace that change.”

A Word of Caution

As the transaction concluded, River’s tone shifted slightly.

She closed her ledger and looked up at the group, her voice lowering just enough that the surrounding tables could not overhear.

“Discretion is of the utmost importance when working with the Amethyst Academy.”

Her gaze lingered for a moment longer than expected.

“Curiosity is a valuable trait in the ruins… but it can also be dangerous.”

River tapped a gloved finger lightly on the table.

“For example, discovering something unusual beneath an abandoned manor.”

She did not elaborate.

She did not need to.

After a brief pause, River simply closed her folio and continued the transaction as if nothing unusual had been said.

Growing Stronger

Having survived their first delerium hunt and proven themselves capable of navigating the dangers of Drakkenheim, the party has grown stronger from the experience.

The party advances to Level 3.

Rumors Spreading in Emberwood

Emberwood Village thrives on gossip. The morning before setting out for the ruins, stories began circulating almost immediately. Some are flattering. Others… less so.

About Tough Luck

Among the Queen’s Men, there’s a rumor that the dwarf is a retard.

About Rustar

Looks tough, but apparently got knocked the fuck out.

About Six

There’s a kid running around who looks half-homeless. Folks say he’ll probably be the next town drunk. Nobody seems to know his name.

About Augustine

His rendition of Old MacDonald will bring you to tears.

About Drakzen

That dragonborn seems to have money. Gold scales, spending coin, hiring work… is he a mark?

As with all rumors in Emberwood, it’s impossible to know which ones will stick.

Looking Ahead – Session 4

With coin in their purses and their first successful delerium hunt behind them, the party has begun to attract attention in Emberwood Village.

Surviving the ruins once may be luck.

Doing it twice means something else.

Word of their expedition—and their confrontation with the Queen’s Men—has already begun to circulate among the factions operating around the village.

One name has come up more than once:

Ansom Lang, a lieutenant of the Hooded Lanterns.

The Lanterns claim to fight for the restoration of Drakkenheim and the return of lawful order to the ruined city. If the party seeks reliable work—or answers about the deeper dangers lurking within the city walls—Ansom may have both.

For now, the ruins wait.

And Emberwood Village is watching.