The Erovast Codex

2026.08.18#

Summary#

Azrith was absent this session—handled in-fiction the same way as his prior disappearance: he slipped out in the night on unstated business (“probably sniffing rocks or picking flowers,” per Cassian), expected back before the next bout. He did not appear on-page.

With a day and a half before the party’s Menagerie bout, Odine Dunmere pushed to investigate House Godrin directly to learn why they want Jevon. The party first went to finally take up Duke Tristan Blackwood’s invitation at Clover Hill. His attendant led them past two guards to the Duke, boots up on his desk, smoking an emberleaf cigar. After dismissing his guards for privacy, Blackwood asked each PC’s origin: Aldric confirmed he once served House Troth, a minor vassal house of House Wulfhelm, before leaving “the seaside” to see the world; Cassian confirmed House Fortescue has been a Wulfhelm vassal for roughly 60 years—which visibly surprised Blackwood, who said he’s never once heard Wulfhelm acknowledge Fortescue as a vassal despite “running in a lot of circles,” a discrepancy Cassian deflected (“there are few who remember us fondly”); and Odine haltingly explained she is “from beyond the Vale” (evasively; she denied to Blackwood that her homeland was in the Vale), seeking a way to save her homeland from a crop-killing blight. Blackwood supplied the word himself—“a blight, yes?”—and confirmed the blight has begun spreading into the Crownlands themselves, not just the Thornwood Vale. Source: Transcript.

Blackwood then laid out the tournament’s real political stakes. House Godrin and House Wulfhelm have traded control of the Thornwood Vale between them for nearly a decade via the King’s Tourney (Wulfhelm currently holds the deed, from last year’s win); House Corwyn believes the Vale conceals a secret that could unite the lesser houses against Godrin and Wulfhelm, and has sought it for nearly a century but cannot act without holding the Vale’s title. Per Blackwood: “Godrin believes this year’s tournament already belongs to them. Wolfhelm believes their strength and status entitles them to it. Corwyn believes they are clever enough to understand everyone else’s game.” He personally would relish seeing all three great houses lose this year—unprecedented in a century of the tournament. He warned the party that House Godrin has been unusually active lately, “asking a lot of questions” and “sticking their noses in shady corners”—there are rumors they’ve been kidnapping children. Blackwood revealed that as a young competitor himself, he once personally discovered House Godrin abducting hedge mages, and wonders what “frightened one of the most powerful arcane families in the Crownlands badly enough to resort to kidnapping.” He framed the party’s edge plainly: “Nobody owns you… I wouldn’t claim to own you, of course. Never confuse the two.” He handed Cassian a sealed intelligence note—names and locations tied to House Godrin’s camp activity—and advised investigating at night. He gave Cassian a second emberleaf cigar as a parting gift. Source: Transcript.

At the Ragged Flagon, Rory confirmed the party’s Menagerie opponent: Kardis Wulfhelm, prince and heir of House Wulfhelm, one of the best (if not the best) swordsmen in his house. At Holt’s registration board this was confirmed publicly, along with word that both camps have been unusually busy scouting each other. Reviewing Blackwood’s note together, Aldric (playing at illiteracy) pointed blindly at the page and landed—apparently by accident—on its key location: the Messenger Tent at White Feather Tor. The party scouted the tor from a distance: the front gate is heavily guarded (4–5 knights, high walls—the worst approach), but Odine’s Perception check (natural 20) found a sheer cliffside on another face of the hill that could be climbed at night to get in unseen. The infiltration itself was deferred; the party returned to the Ragged Flagon first for the evening’s entertainment. Source: Transcript.

That entertainment was the King’s Cup, Rory’s weekly drinking tournament: escalating DC Constitution saves against ~18 other contestants, two consecutive failures (or one natural 1) costing a level of exhaustion. Cassian sponsored Odine and Aldric into the field. Odine held her own for two rounds, rigged a side bet against her own success (Deception 14), then failed out at exhaustion level 2, vomiting and bowing out. Aldric did not stop. He fought through repeated exhaustion, burned his Heroic Inspiration reroll to survive the frost-giant liqueur round, and came down to a final head-to-head against an unnamed dwarf. On the last, unnamed mystery shot—“King’s Mistake”—both drinkers failed their save. The dwarf died on the spot (“meeting his ancestors… a hero’s death,” refusing to concede for his clan’s name). Aldric survived but was driven to exhaustion level 6, functionally incapacitated. He was declared champion of the King’s Cup: 90 gold pieces and an oversized ornate brass drinking mug. Cassian collected a separate 5 gp side bet from Rory for backing Aldric (Persuasion 18). Source: Transcript.

With Aldric barely able to move and Odine also queasy, the party carried him out—Odine vomiting again in the effort, then reflexively casting Spare the Dying on him out of panic after his final failed save (he was never actually at 0 HP). Cassian’s Medicine check (15) confirmed the standard cure is 6 nights of long rest, cut to 3 with daily clerical care or 2 with multiple treatments a day, or a rare restorative concoction costing 2,000–4,000 gp. The session ended with the party heading back to Clover Hill to find Renny Blackwood, hoping he knows of a cleric who can help before tomorrow’s bout against Kardis Wulfhelm—and before the planned nighttime infiltration of White Feather Tor. Source: Transcript.

Open Threads#

  • Aldric: exhaustion level 6, functionally incapacitated. Needs clerical care (Greater Restoration) or several nights of rest before the Menagerie bout against Kardis Wulfhelm.
  • Odine: exhaustion level 2 from the King’s Cup, comparatively minor.
  • White Feather Tor infiltration: scouted, not yet attempted. A nighttime cliffside climb is the identified route to the Messenger Tent.
  • Duke Blackwood’s intelligence note: in Cassian’s possession, names/locations tied to House Godrin—not yet fully acted on beyond identifying the Messenger Tent.
  • Why House Wulfhelm doesn’t acknowledge House Fortescue as a vassal: Blackwood’s suspicion is unresolved; Cassian is visibly hiding something here.
  • Why House Godrin attacks travelers on the road: raised directly by Odine to Blackwood; he doesn’t know either and wants to compare notes once the party learns more.
  • Renny Blackwood: the party is en route to find him for cleric help; not resolved on-page.
  • The Menagerie bout against Kardis Wulfhelm is scheduled for the next day; the party has no tactical plan yet.
  • Odine’s rigged 20 gp side bet against her own success was set up but its payout was never shown.

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