Welcome one and all! Today, we resume our story – from the smoke-choked ruins of Willowhaven to the pristine, lavender-scented gardens of Stonewall, the journey of our heroes has taken a jarring and mysterious turn. This update chronicles a session defined by narrow escapes, unsettling discoveries in the archives of a frantic magister, and the first true glimpses of a rot that threatens to unravel the borders of Esthia itself. Below, you will find the latest radio dispatch from Garrick Quillright of the Esthian Broadcasting Corporation, the full narrative account of the party’s arrival in the south, and a detailed look at the creation of our latest miniature, Garz.

Session 2 – The Journey Begins

The roar of the dragon and the glare of the wild magic faded from the party’s ears and eyes, only to be replaced by dazzling sunlight and the trilling of birdsong. Blinking against the sun’s rays, they found themselves in what appeared to be a lush walled garden. Casting their eyes about, they come face to face with a man in a large sun hat and gloves, crouching over beautifully tended gardenias. The man takes a moment to compose himself before standing, adjusting the straps on his overalls, and entering the large mansion house to which the garden belongs. 

Collecting themselves, the party immediately begin searching their surroundings. The idyllic scene of the garden was jarringly at odds with the destruction they had witnessed only moments before. Beneath a meticulously pruned hedgerow, Freja’s keen senses discover a small patch of mushrooms. These funghi were of a variety you would find anywhere in the country of Daewan, but the silvery-black slime that covered them spoke of something altogether more concerning: the sickness she had been sent by her circle to investigate. 

A polite cough turned her head to the elderly, well-dressed woman at the garden door who beckons them all inside with a warm smile on her lips. The party follow her into the beautifully appointed mansion house, along a corridor replete with expensive looking furniture and spotless tiled floors and into a small parlour set for tea. The lady gestures for the party to sit and introduces herself as Lady Billington. The party introduces themselves and provides an edited version of what they have been through to this point. Through the conversation, it is revealed that the party have landed in the city of Stonewall, roughly 3 days South of Willowhaven, and that the man they saw in the garden was Lady Billington’s butler, Niles, who promptly serves tea and refreshments.

During their repast, Nug’gg attempts to hide the totem, not ready to trust anyone with the knowledge and implications of its existence. However, Lady Billington surprises them when she asks if they are willing to reveal the source of the unsettling aura she can sense from them. She is not angered by the attempt to hide the totem, but asks for total honesty if they are to stay with her, and the party cautiously show her the totem and relay the whole story of what happened to them in Willowhaven. Upon hearing of the hardship the party has been through, Lady Billington offers to let them stay in her home while they determine what they will do now. Lady Billington suggests visiting Stonewall’s Mage, Drammedal, to have him analyse the artefact, but states they should return this evening for dinner. 

Finishing their tea, the party head out into the city and all but Nug’gg purchase new clothes to dress for dinner. Nug’gg  and Dwoin visit the Cliffside inn, where the Innkeeper recognises Nug’gg from his time working there in his youth. Over drinks, Nug’gg shares a tragic story of loss with the innkeeper, he mentions that a number of his friends recently died carrying out a rescue mission. Though the mission ultimately succeeded, this was a terrible loss for the young ranger. Dwoin, previously unaware of his new companion’s past, suggests seriously that they should talk later. In an attempt to avoid further revealing information he would rather remain unspoken, Nug’g turns the conversation to local gossip. The innkeeper tells them of an increase in bandit attacks to the East of the city, a rumour that is echoed later in the day by a dwarven blacksmith visited by Dwoin. 

Before returning for dinner, the party pay a visit to Magister Drammedal, a somewhat eccentric and excitable wizard. The door to his tower opened at their touch, and the party made their way inside only to be confronted by a scene of tropical splendour. Lush, verdant foliage covered the inside of the tower in a scene more akin to an island paradise than the inside of a stone edifice. Their eyes were drawn to the sight of a waterfall cascading in a lazy spiral from some undetermined point above them, as trills and clicks from foreign fauna brushed against their ears. Directly in front of them, a calm pool of clear water sat, gently lapping against a sandy shore. Intrigued, the party approached the pool, but upon passing an invisible barrier, a blaring klaxon rang out through the area, causing everyone to cover their ears in show.

Appearing at the top of the waterfall, a heavyset human in shimmering pink robes began scurrying down towards them, the waterfall disappearing to be replaced by stone steps as he went. By the time he reached the bottom, the tropical paradise had been replaced by a rather dowdy looking tower furnished with old desks and bookcases. The man introduces himself as Magister Drammedal, and anxiously insists the party turn over whatever they have in their possession that triggered his alarm. After some hesitation, they hand the totem over to him and explain how it came to be in their possession. Drammedal takes the totem to a nearby desk and, after fishing out some arcane tools, begins his examination. He determines that the artefact is in fact, an arcane anchor and contains a portion of the soul belonging to the dragon that attacked WIllowhaven. What’s more, the dragon will be able to sense the location of this totem, and is likely now on its way to Stonewall.

The mage stresses to them that they must leave immediately, so Stonewall will not share the same fate as WIllowhaven. What’s more, his examination reveals that the totem is made of some strange metal, twisted by some unfamiliar, arcane metallurgy and sealed by the presence of a particular rune. He points out a section of the tote where runes have been artistically blended into the design of the totem itself, and Dwoin immediately recognises the rune as an inverted version of his own clan’s rune. 

Understandably distressed, the party ask him for assistance and, after some consideration, Drammedal hands over some scrolls and a crystal compass that will point the way to the closest deposit of “Nullshard”, a rare type of naturally occurring crystal that, he assures, will be able to block the magical signature of the totem. Upon demonstrating how to use the compass, it points East. 

With the weight of the new information weighing heavily on their minds, the party return to take dinner with Lady Billington, during which, they inform her that they will be leaving in the morning in order to lead the dragon away, and to seek a means of blocking the totem’s magic. Lady Billington acknowledges the seriousness of their plight, and gives them the promise that there will always be somewhere for them to stay in  Stonewall.  

In the morning, the party head out of Stonewall’s East gate. After two hours of following the compass, they come upon a bridge over a wide river, blocked by a man who tries to extort a toll from them before letting them past. Dwoin, angered by this insult to honour and himself, charges the barricade as the man’s two accomplices emerge from beneath the bridge. The matter is quickly resolved when the party slay two of the men, choosing to keep the last alive to question. Nug’gg takes up the role of inquisitor, questioning one of the bandits and offering to heal and release him in exchange for information. The man says that bandits have occupied an old dwarven fort to the East, and that he and his companions had recently left the group to strike out by themselves. After receiving the information, Nug’gg viciously kills the man, shocking his companions and sowing seeds of doubt with regards to his intentions.

Further down the road, the party encounter a ransacked farmhouse. Upon investigating, they discover a man and his daughter locked in their cellar. It transpires that another group of bandits had come to the farm to try and extort him. He turned them away, but they returned, and in greater numbers, forcing him to hide while they looted his home. The party, moved by his story, generously provided the man with money and rations, assuring him the road to Stonewall was now clear, and telling him to seek the help of Lady Billington on arrival. 

After resting for the night in the farmhouse, the group travelled into the forest at the foot of a mountain. A short ways in, Nug’gg and Freja notice the animals in the area had become silent, and the party come across a natural glade. Within the glade, they find a ring of mushrooms, a faerie circle,  the space above it flickering and waving like the air above a hot surface. As they watch the space, a figure emerged from the space above the circle, humanoid, but green of skin and with leaves instead of hair, the front of its fine clothes bloody. He notices Freja and immediately stumbles towards her asking for help as four more figures emerge from the portal and charge the party. 

Garz identifies the assailants as fey, though fey that are acting far more aggressively than he would expect. The pixies giggle as they attack the party, using their magi to confuse Dwoin into attacking Nug’gg and viciously attacking the man asking for help despite the party’s attempts to protect him. Once the foe had been dispatched, Freja sees the injured man is also covered in the same black and silver film as the mushrooms both in Lady Billington’s garden and those of the faerie circle. With his dying breath, the man warns her that something has happened to Queen Oriana, and both the First World and his people are beginning to twist and warp in strange ways. Before he can elaborate further, and despite attempts by Freja to heal him, the light disappears from his eyes, and he dies.

Processing the ever more complicated situation they find themselves in, the party take time to heal and rest before checking their compass, and heading ever Eastward.

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Miniature Spotlight – Garz

To the common eye, metal is a cage for the world; to a scholar of the Forge, it is a vessel for the soul.

The diminutive metallurgical mage, Garz, is not quite as he appears in-universe. Working with the only Gnome mage mini I had a the time, it’s very possible Garz will see an upgrade as the campaign continues. The being said, I think this mini is really fun, and I love the effect that the magical swirl gives. I think this mini could also serve well for a magus player, as infusing their weapons with spells is a core element of their class.

Wizards in Pathfinder 2e

As a wizard, Garz can take advantage of the “Bonded Item” mechanic in Pathfinder 2nd Edition. Essentially, through their Arcane Bond, a Wizard can “Drain Bonded Item” once per day to instantly regain any spell they have already cast. This means that, where some casters have to be very precious while planning their spell slots, a Wizard essentially carries a “spare” of their most powerful utility or combat spell tucked away inside their staff, ring, or amulet. This makes them the ultimate tactical “prepared” casters, as they have a second chance to use the perfect tool for the job.

Painting Techniques

The Energy Swirl: The focal point of the mini is the arcing magical energy. This was achieved using a “wet-blending” technique.

1. Base: A deep, royal blue was applied to the entire swirl.
2. Highlighting: While the paint was still slightly tacky, a mid-tone lavender was blended into the higher ridges.
3. Final Polish: I’d recently acquired a bottle of pearlescent white from Turbo Dork and I’d been itching for an excuse to use it. What better than to drybrush some sparkle into the magical swirl?

The Robes: To contrast with the bright magic, Garz’s robes were painted with a mottled blue-grey.

• Stippling: I used a stippling method (dabbing with a small, frayed brush) to give the fabric a heavy, wool-like texture suitable for a travelling scholar.
• Shading: A heavy black wash (Nuln-style) was used in the deep recesses to make the vibrant blue highlights on the folds pop. This was combined with a light blue edge highlight because It’s easy for dark colours like this to muddy the finer detail on minis, and the highlight helps keep that distinction.

The Base: I imagined Garz out in the field searching for new and exciting metals to investigate

• Rocky Terrain: A deep ochre was highlighted with brighter yellows and covered with similarly covered rocks.
• Purple Flowers: Small tufts were added to echo the lavender in the magical swirl and provide a contrast to the yellow of the rocky ground.

If you’d like to see more of my minis, you can find me on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky by hitting the buttons below!