Session 4 | The Ruins of Fallowbrae

The party’s journey to the ruins of Fallowbrae begins with a morning discovery of their raided food supplies, prompting Arvin to hunt, where he encounters a mysterious large paw prints in the area. After regrouping, the group prepare to continue forward to Fallowbrae.

While on the road, Henry shares a bit more of the history of the ruined town of Fallowbrae and its castle, now only shadows of their former splendor. Crows overhead ominously mutter words like "fate", "sealed" and "king." The caravan suffers a setback when a wheel breaks, spilling all of Henry's supplies. Alaric and Arvin find a strange little beeping device with three buttons, when pressed it mentions "Spell Copy Ability". But Alaric quickly throws it back in with Henry's stuff, so he didn't notice they found it.

Exploring Fallowbrae, they find signs of conflict but no human remains, only abandoned armor and cannons. Alaric’s instincts suggest caution, and they leave their horses to scout ahead. Discovering a pristine banner marked with unknown symbols and a chalice with a crystal gemstone, Inside an old tavern, they find a bust with a gemstone that, when pressed, revealed a cryptic message hinting at an ancient king.

“From whispers of fate, a crown was won,
Shadows of power, all undone.
A name that holds both rise and regret,
Speak it now, lest all forget.
Seven letters mark this fateful soul,
The word of a king, to claim the whole.”

At a vine-covered blacksmith shop, they find a mysterious anvil that sharpens weapons magically. Reaching the castle, they use Henry’s floating disc spell as a makeshift bridge. Owl bear tracks lead them to a courtyard and throne room where they spot a lone owl bear guarding an egg. They hesitate to engage directly, debating a stealthy approach...

Part 5 | The Castle

As the group prepare to complete their objective, a confrontation with the Owlbear escalated into a fierce battle. The owlbear brutally attacks the group, as Ginny hears it yelling and calling for its mate to arrive. The chaos worses as the Owlbear's mate joins the fray, launching a savage assault on Arvin while grappling Ginny and Alaric.

Even with Arvin’s clever strikes and Alaric’s searing fire chains, the Dire Owlbear's resilience proved staggering. During the battle, Alaric experienced a moment of surreal power that defied reason.

Grappled and battered by the relentless creature, his strength began to fail, and defeat seemed inevitable. In desperation, he grasped the strange 20-sided die gifted to him by Ramarhika and cast it into the chaos. The moment it landed, time seemed to shudder. Alaric’s body convulsed as reality rewound around him—his wounds sealing, the creature’s blows reversing, and the seconds ticking backward in a dizzying blur.

He felt a wave of nausea as his body restored itself, yet his mind fractured under the strain, leaving the moments before the rewind as blank as a void. When the sensation passed, he stood whole and unscathed, but with a haunting awareness that the die's power had intervened in a way both profound and deeply unsettling.

Through coordinated effort, Arvin delivered precision strikes to the dazed owlbear, and Alaric targeted the glowing gemstone embedded in the creature’s neck. The combined assault finally brought the two Owlbears down.

Upon inspecting the jewelry it wore, the group discovered markings similar to those on Alaric’s armor. However, when Alaric touched the artifact, he experienced a piercing headache and heard unintelligible whispers. From these, he could only discern the words “Off” and “Beast.”

As the group tried to recuperate, they heard a yell from Henry who was being attacked by the Hyenakin and the Hyena they've encountered before. Despite its fearsome attacks, the group struck back with precision. Arvin’s skillful strikes, Ginny’s radiant attacks and Henry's newly awakened fire blasts, weakened the Hyenakin, with Alaric landed the killing blow.

After their battles, the group made camp near a ruined castle. While exploring the surrounding area, they found towers filled with ancient human remains and evidence of lingering magical activity. A owlbear egg, warm and weeks away from hatching, was discovered in a nest. Recognizing its fragility, Ginny enlisted the foxes to help keep it warm. Henry uncovers that the armor the Owlbears wore had some kind of healing properties, which explains how the Owlbears were so resilient.

While the others setup camp for the night, Henry sets the pylons in place around the ruins, their faint hum growing as he activates each one. The air shimmered as a bluish veil formed, encasing the area in a protective barrier. With Henry signing the document which would ensure that their job is complete!

The next morning after clearing up camp, Alaric, Ginny, and Arvin prepare for the travel back. Despite that the group asked if he needed anyone to 'check up' on him. Henry dismisses their concerns, that he has enough supplies and that with the barrier up and running he'll be safe to do his research. And as the trio departed, the barrier shimmered behind them, leaving Henry alone with the secrets of Fallowbrae.

On their way back, the group meet two travelers who were also making their way to the Voidbreaker camp, named Belinda Vanderlee, and her adoptive nephew Charon Vanderlee.
Their carriage's wheel had broken, and the group offer their assistance to bring them to the group.

When they arrive at the camp, it's in complete disarray. Non-wolffolk Voidbreakers were being dismissed due to funding cuts and the belief that their efforts were no longer necessary. The announcement led to protests, fracturing many of the packs and leaving them uncertain about their futures, and severely angering many like Riven Cedarthorn, Ruby of Howlstead, Felix Fabulous and Gerricko of Everdrum.

Wanting answers, the group confront their exemplar Kane, only to find out that he was in a discussion with Victoria Vulperian, newly appointed councilmember of Sevenfold.

Victoria explains that Henry had stolen the arcane pylons, forged documents, killing a Eureka's Gem scholar, hiding his body inside an experimental bag of holding and stashing it away. Despite lingering disagreements, the group accepted a mission to apprehend him, setting their sights on unraveling his connection to the mysteries of Fallowbrae...