6 Ashmere 87 Infirmary report Part 1

Submitted by Tuzlyn Tene

Gar-Vik and Goldie brought Lort to the Infirmary where Os-Wiu and I had the students waiting. They had prepared Lort for questions from the students, but Lort was not bothered by the idea.

Fenris asked, “How long have you had the skin lesions?”

Lort answered, “More than 4 years.”

Viceth followed up with, “What is your pain level on a scale of 1-10?”

Lort winced slightly. “Today it’s a 7, but it’s normally higher. I believe that the nutritious food and comfortable bed lowered it a bit. Normally, I would put it at a 9.”

Melisende asked what the worst part of the disease is for him.

“I am starting to go blind,” Lort said. “Anyone from Dolenberg would tell you that this is the worst part. After you’re blind, it’s only a few years before you’ll die.”

Lort denied knowing the cause, and he shared that nothing they had tried eased the pain.

Gar-Vik explained what the living water is and why they will not use it internally for the students’ benefit. Lort had already agreed to let him daub it on a small area on one calf.

Almost immediately upon application, the flesh began to melt away, and Lort began to scream.

Goldie did an immediate lavage with holy water which stopped the process.

Gar-Vik asked Lort if they can try some wet bandages with holy water in one area and his purslane salve in another. He agreed. The sisters do the bandaging. “We’ll take a look at these after dinner, if you’ll come to my lab. Should they begin to ache or give you any pain, come immediately.”

Lort nodded.

Then Gar-Vik asked if he could take some of the diseased tissue for experimentation. “I should have done that instead of putting the living water on you. I’m sorry. We can avoid making another error like that if you’ll let us take some of your skin.”

Lort agreed, and I asked if I could do it. Gar-Vik readily agreed. I took some of the obviously diseased skin as well as some that still looked healthy. Once the samples were in separate dishes, I handed them off to Goldie, who took them to the lab to store within the preservation field.

“Fenris will culture those cells so that we can do unlimited experimentation with them even after you leave us later today,” Gar-Vik explained to Lort.

Os-Wiu cleared his throat. “I sent Fenris to Crasmere with the team today to purchase some items for an experiment we’re running. I’ll let him know when he gets back. If I may interrupt for the benefit of my students?”

I nodded.

“Class, you just saw something that may have surprised you. Gar-Vik made a mistake. That is not what I want you to focus on. It’s what came after the mistake that I want to point out. Can anyone tell me what I’m referring to.”

The class was silent. Lort cleared his throat.

“Yes, Lort, since my class is tongue-tied, could you please instruct them?”

“He had Goldie standing by to take care of the issue so that very little harm was done, and he apologized for the mistake. I appreciated both of those things. We’ve had do-gooders come to Dolenberg who made things worse. They left without doing either.”

“Thank you, Lort,” Os-Wiu said, doing a slight bow to the dwarf. “Class, if you learn nothing else here today, please learn this. Be prepared in case your plan backfires, and apologize for any harm done. This is how professionals operate.”

Gar-Vik then bowed to Os-Wiu and then turned to me and asked, “May I ask Lort a question without disturbing your class further?”

I agreed.

Gar-Vik asked, “Can you describe the process and feelings as skin goes from looking and feeling normal to being obviously diseased?”

Lort looked surprised. “No one has ever asked that before. It starts with an itching, but more painful. Like a burn and an itch at the same time. I don’t scratch it anymore because when it happened the first time I did, and I regretted it. The skin ripped off like, um… like a loose stocking almost. Like it wasn’t really attached to my body. And underneath was blood and clear fluid that poured out of me like primed pump. It was so painful that I fainted dead away. When I woke, my forge mate had bandaged it, and it had stopped running like that. But the bandage stuck and made it itch worse. I ripped it off, and that was worse still. I finally learned I had to soak them off instead of taking them off dry.”

The sisters winced at this, for they had seen adventurers who had made this same mistake with their burn dressings.

“So I don’t scratch anymore, no matter how bad the itch is. I have to wear gloves tied onto my hands at night, or I’ll scratch in my sleep. I’m sure you can guess, though, that once the burning itch starts, the skin will slough off on it’s own soon, because it’s already dead underneath.”

Gar-Vik then asked, “How long would you say on average between the start of the pain and the skin sloughing off.”

“Three days, sometimes less, sometimes more.”

“Is this what the other dwarves have told you happens with them as well?”

“Yes, it’s the same with all of us.”

“Thank you. Tuzlyn, I have finished my questions.”

Respectfully submitted,
Tuzlyn Tene

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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6 Ashmere 87 Staff Report: Encoder Lab

Submitted by Riel Willow

I went with Sgt. Stoklos to City Center. She left me alone in her office as arranged, so that I could encode the ledger showing House Leandow’s connection to the toxic chemicals on the Southside.

Once I was back at the guildhall, Bony and I went through what we bought at the Boundless Dream.

The first things we bought were small crystals. These will be perfect to use for passing just a few documents on to our allies. We parceled a few out to people like Lysandra, Sanja, and Joryn, but held most of them back for future needs.

We also bought a relic that is supposed to strengthen the lattice structure of any crystal. I am hoping that it will increase the distance our messages can travel. Although when I realized that I could send from the guildhall down to the Undercity, I thought perhaps we hadn’t needed that after all.

The rest of what we bought, we’ll need help to make work.

I bought a spell that I’m hoping Fenris can modify in order to make the crystals harder to break into. It would be like the stones we are using as keys for the tunnel, so it should be easy for him to do. Basically, if you tried to use it and entered the wrong number code too many times, it would be broken until Bony or I entered our code. Fenris was in the infirmary this morning observing the work with the dwarf from Dolenberg, so this will have to wait.

I also bought a potion that is supposed to repel attacks. It makes eyes sting so people can’t see. I thought Gar-Vik might be able to replicate it so that it will free up Molkyr to stay at the guildhall while I’m in the Undercity. It might even work against monsters. Gar-Vik was also in the infirmary this morning.

Bony bought a spell scroll that is supposed to counteract mental distress. He’s hoping that Boudiath could recode this as a V Poetry scroll so that it can help him, Rylah, and anyone else who has been through some trauma. Boudiath was offsite this morning, so we put that aside.

Molkyr bought a dog bed for Luca to have over at the Guardian Division. I believe that was delivered last night and the men were overjoyed to have Luca on guard with them.

Respectfully submitted,
Riel Willow

6 Ashmere 87 Status Update: Gadget Lab

Submitted by Zook Fizzlebang

During cross training, Os-Wiu came to Pirates Cove to watch a test of the flashbangs. We preferred the flashbangs in glass, but I had a secret weapon held back in case Os-Wiu nixed that one.

Before we started, he had us run through the ingredients. He was, as I had predicted, concerned about the glass containers creating a dangerous situation for our team mates. He agreed to test them, but not to apply for the license unless we could proof that the glass would not injure our team mates..

Then I pulled one out my secret flashbang. It’s made with unfired sun-dried clay mixed with straw fibers. They are sturdy enough to carry in a pouch, but crumble into harmless dirt and dust upon impact rather than turning into shrapnel. Os-Wiu said if these work, we should get rid of all the glass flashbangs. He wouldn’t consider them again.

We tested several of the clay version, and Os-Wiu was convinced that they are not dangerous although they are very loud.

“You’re going to annoy your teams, but that’s not my problem.” He approved them and doesn’t feel they need to be licensed by the City.

The flash bangs are on!

Respectfully submitted,
Zook Fizzlebang

Late addition per Niamh and Atlene: team leads must give permission for flashbang use on missions.

6 Ashmere 87 Acolyte’s Journal

Submitted by Acolyte Daylian for the Archive only

5 new sisters, 2 graduates, census 22.

Sister Joelina has been recalled to the Temple, and I will officially be the permanent head of this program.

Respectfully submitted,
Acolyte Daylian

6 Ashmere 87 Guild Business: Crasmere Dungeon

Submitted by JeOc

We were in a new area of the dungeon this time. It was moist, something dripping along the walls that was not water. The floors were slick with it, and we were sliding as we walked. When the bugbears chose to strike, they were wearing shoes that looked odd and they weren’t sliding around like we were. That’s when I realized that it was oil.

“It’s a trap,” I cried out, just as Tibby lost her footing and went skidding past me and into the bugbears. I saw a knife go into her side, followed by a loud screech.

She gave better than she got, though. Never count a halfing out of a fight. Of the 20 bugbears we killed, she counted 13 in her personal total.

Team

• Team Lead: JeOc

• Rogue Sige Blackthorn

• Dwarf Warrior Fendral Ironheart

• Cleric Tibby Applebloom

Monsters encountered

• Vermin

  • giant rats

• Minions

  • hairy goblins (bugbears)

• Bosses

  • Goblin leader

  • Chaos necromancer

Injuries suffered

• Tibby and Fendral were injured against the bugbears, but they were healed by one of the mushrooms included in the treasures.

Treasures recovered

• Ring of 3 Wishes (Tibby)

• Lifeforce Control scroll

• silver coated dagger (Tibby)

• mummified remains with burial goods

• and mushroom gatherers basket

Bounties and contracted payment collected

1013 gp in bounties earned, representing the removal of 13 giant rats, 20 hairy goblins (bugbears), goblin leader, and chaos necromancer. Payment has been secured and deposited with the steward.

Achievements

• Tibby achieved L4

Respectfully submitted,
JeOc

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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6 Ashmere 87 Staff Report: Archives

Submitted by Master Joryn Kestler

Now that I had uncovered the secret of the Foil, I asked Riel share that information with Maelis and Eldran via crystal. Riel said he’d be in that area later and would do it then. But then he got a twinkle in his eye, and said, “Why don’t I try it from here? Just to see, you know.” He was shocked that he was able to broadcast into the Undercity as well as across the North side to Eldran’s institute.

I made my way to the vault in the Undercity and began to work on the spinning toy they found at the Spire. As I examined it, I was surprised that a child’s toy could be so ugly. This made me anxious. I couldn’t believe that it was created as a child’s toy.

“Maelis, Can you take a look at this artifact the team brought back from the Spire? They labeled it a toy, but I suspect it has other uses.”

I noticed that Maelis was unusually wary of touching it. After examining it where it lay on my work table, she raised a finger and left for a moment, returning with an old book.

“I’ve been working on dating this document, and your artifact reminds me of this drawing. Here, take a look.”

She held it out for me to examine, and yes, the drawing definitely resembled the artifact. “What does the book say about it?”

“You won’t like this. It’s listed as a magical artifact that ends battles when you spin it. But we don’t know whether it does something different depending on which direction you spin it in.”

I coughed. “Let’s not spin it at all,” I said.

Maelis pulled out a cord and carefully tied it around the artifact so that it could not spin.

Once that was done, I examined it more closely and showed her a place where I thought that something small had broken off - something that would have kept it from spinning in the opposite direction and perhaps starting battles.

I looked again at the document. “What is your best guess as to when this was written?”

“Don’t quote me, but I’ve long suspected that Kefr Wab wrote this document and sent it to the Wizards Guild here. And if that’s true, that means this toy of yours has a high probability of ending battles by raising an army of the dead.”

“Definitely not a toy, then,” I said.

“No.”

I put it carefully into a box, labelled it as dangerous, and slid it to the back of the vault. “Is there any historical record, other than this document of course, of any kind of artifact that might raise the dead en masse?”

“You should ask Os-Wiu. If that information was anywhere, I think it would be in the archives of the Wizards Guild.”

I grimaced. There was something afoot at the guild. Os-Wiu seemed to be at the center of it and yet not included at the same time. I was unsure what Maelis would think but decided I’d ask about other options. “What about a possible Phantazari origin? Their Wizards Guild might be more willing to talk about this than our own.”

“Weren’t you just there?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.

“Yes, but I hadn’t looked at this… toy… then.”

“Try asking. They can only say no. But if you go back, I want to come along for the ride.”

I grinned. “That would be lovely.”

Respectfully submitted,
Master Joryn Kestler

6 Ashmere 87 Staff Report: Cartography

Submitted by Vess Jute

Mos-Datra came in to talk to me about the island. Because it wasn’t a sensitive topic, I took her out to lunch, although Mos-Datra told Nagiella upfront that she would be picking up the tab.

“It’s the least I can do. Your guild freed me from my abusive husband and got my skin back.”

I squirmed a little, feeling like my intention to show gratitude had been misinterpreted as begging for a meal.

“You’re uncomfortable,” she told me. “Don’t be. I have so much gold, and I can’t use it where I’m going. I’m giving it all to your guild after lunch. Let me enjoy a meal with a new friend who is interested in our island.”

Her eyes glittered with tears, and I suddenly realized what her freedom meant to her. I took her hand briefly across the table. “Thank you. I have few friends. I am delighted to know that you consider me as one.”

We enjoyed an ale while we waited for our meal, and I told Mos-Datra about the trip to Phantazar and the information that Santa had found in the Phantazari archives about moving islands.

“The Phantazaris should know,” she said. “There used to be islands that traveled back and forth between Phantazar and Sylvanara. We selkies would winter down there and then the island would bring us up here for the summer. Now the islands stay in the same general area.”

“Are the stories true, then? Are they animals?”

“Oh yes, they’re delightful creatures. They’re like whales but with a hard shell like turtles. We call them whurtles. I don’t know what their real name is. None of us speak their language.”

“Why do you think they aren’t moving as far anymore?”

Mos-Datra shrugged. “I think that they might just be getting old.”

“They don’t have offspring?”

“We’ve never seen any.”

“What do you think will happen if they die?”

“I don’t know. They’d probably sink to the sea floor like any other sea creature.”

I became very quiet, sitting in the grief of such a wonderful animal being lost to the world. Mos-Datra motioned to Nagiella to bring another round, which came along with our food while I was still pondering the strange story of the whurtle.

I was quiet for a bit as we ate. Then I had to ask. “Other than the selkies, does anyone spend time with the whurtle?” I asked.

“No. There’s a boat that often moors close to it, but no one ever swims from it.”

“Yes, The Kenos. We work her the captain sometimes. I… I think there’s someone you should meet if you’ve got time.” She nodded and I sent off a message to Niamh.

After the meal, they went over to the Southside to meet Prasha at a seaside pub. I told him the whole story and asked Prasha if he could try to see if there was something wrong with the whurtle.

Prasha considered me for a long while before he nodded.

Then he turned to Mos-Datra. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m on leave tomorrow,” he said. “Nothing would give me more joy than to meet your whurtle.”

Respectfully submitted,
Vess Jute

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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6 Ashmere 87 The Academy of Balance

Submitted by Boudiath Moonshadow

Boudiath tells her students the disappointing news about the danger of eating anything treated with the living water.

“Gar-Vik says that we don’t have to pull the plants, but we shouldn’t water them with it again. It’s ok to use it to get the grass started. The first rain will dilute its effects.”

Upon arrival at the Drowned Plain we found that the herbs were down to a normal growth rate now as is the tree. The grass, however, was continuing to spread and I suspect that it will cover the plains now on its own. Unless something odd is noted on future dungeon trips to Mirehold, we have finished our work with The Drowned Plains.

Santa then took us to the Deeproot Logging camp. Foreman Gann seemed distracted but he was willing to talk with me for a few minutes while the students acquainted themselves with the site.

“I’m mostly interesting in sustainability, Miss Boudiath.”

“Just Boudiath will be fine,” I replied.

“Very well. I’ve just never… well, I’ll be honest. Druids don’t tend to like me. The logging industry, I mean.”

“I’m sorry that’s been your experience. A well-trained druid should be very interested in your forest’s ecosystem and helping you with your goal of sustainability. I hope that my students and I can change your impression of us.”

The man tried to smile. He really did. His mouth had just forgotten how it was done. No matter. He felt freer to talk now. “This owlbear thing, well, it has me wondering if you can help me with the animals as well. It killed many of them, and I know they are important to the forest.”

I’m sure he was more concerned about his lost cattle than squirrels and birds, but I decided to skip past that. “One of our primary concerns will be to help you maintain a healthy habitat for non-threatening forest creatures as well as flora that will not interfere with your operations. I do have to warn you, however, that we cannot prevent monsters from moving in. You may want to consider a contract with the guild for emergency services.”

Now it was his turn to skip past what I had said. “I was thinking 1 day a week? You could come out and advise me on issues and monitor the forest?”

I allowed the emergency services recommendation to slide for now, and we agreed that I would bring the initiates every Skyreach starting next week.

“This is a free service, but it would be more effective if we could eat lunch here with your men. It would allow them to ask questions and learn more about the forest in an informal environment. Are you willing to feed us and allow this informal training?”

A grimace passed across his face like a storm cloud on an otherwise sunny day. But then he said, “Yes, that is fair.”

“It will be mutually beneficial, Foreman.”

“So you say.”

“So I promise.”

We shook hands, and I promised to bring out a contract for him to sign next week.

Respectfully submitted,
Boudiath Moonshadow

6 Ashmere 87 Staff Report: Alchemist

Submitted by Gar-Vik Ashworth with Goldie Bloom

Before breakfast we took a moment to look through what Goldie bought at the Boundless Dream.

At my request, she had obtained:

• Fennel

• Ashwagandha (winter cherry)

• Cayenne

I was most excited about the winter cherry. I thought it might help Buddi to quit his reliance on cookies and cinnamon to control his mood, while improving his focus.

This was where I planned to start. Today I harvested some of its seeds for the garden and then began the process of drying it.

Goldie had also bought some baical skullcap to work on for a potion for Rylah, but she shared some with me when I told her that it could potentially cure skin issues.

She had bought a white quartz meditation sphere with a stand for Rylah as well. When Boenra saw it, she said he had bought one for himself, which I’m sure will make Boudiath happy.

Finally, Goldie bought some Corydalis to use in the potion for Rylah. She does not yet have the alchemical knowledge to fully take advantage of these substances, so I assigned her some reading. I’ll go over the basic concepts with her before she gets started.

You will find a report of what I did with Tuzlyn as we examined Lort under her report.

Respectfully submitted,
Gar-Vik Ashworth

6 Ashmere 87 Cleric Lab

Submitted by Rubria Heartshine

I met with the other clerics to go over the prophetic dream I had last night.

“In the dream, I was pushing a blue eel toward a yellow fungus. It was difficult. The eel kept trying to escape. I have no idea what it means, but that same image repeated itself over and over again in the dream.”

Verlane had an idea and invited Marta into the meeting. “Marta, is there anything you know about fish and fungi, either blue or yellow.”

“You should be talking to Boudiath or Gar-Vik. All I know is that there is a blue eel that is delicious, but if it’s mixed with a certain mushroom -- that would be yellow, right? -- it becomes poisonous.”

We were able to verify this information with Gar-Vik, who was too busy with our guest from Dolenberg to ask what it was about. We passed the information on to Niamh.

Respectfully submitted,
Rubria Heartshine

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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6 Ashmere 87 Steward’s report

Submitted by Niamh Celeste

Environmental Report

• Weather: 39 to 56, strong breeze out of the east, clear sky

• Moons: Selenar waxing crescent fading; Vaelith waning gibbous rising

• Astrology: nothing of note

Consumables Report

• 12 healing bandages

• 7 d3 healing potions

• 103 enchanted amulets

• 112 catalyst bandages

• 72 full life healing potions

• 18 freeze balls

• 12 freeze arrows

• 3 aegis draughts

• 10 catalyst aegis amulets

• 8 L3 anti-poison potions

• 39 blessing scrolls

• 49 cipher stones

• 43 curative kelp

• 96 healing rations

• 4 disperse vermin scrolls

• 48 holy waters

• 101 psychic papers

• 87 sleep spell scrolls

• 22 V Poetry scrolls

• 85 purslane salves

• 1 Deep Delver kit

• 7 enchanted crystals

Training Report

• Alchemist

  • L2 Bony

  • L2 Viceth
    

• Druid

  • L1 Jareth
    

• Herbalist

  • L1 Tibby

  • L2 Marta
    

• Fighter

  • L2 Anazeli

  • L2 Boenra

  • L2 Perry

  • L2 Rylah

  • L2 Kerren

  • L2 Jaxen
    

• Rogue

  • L9 Sige

Summary

• We received a contract from the City Watch to conduct the investigation of the tool shortage. That team will have priority scheduling for the contract.

Additional reports to be attached as they are turned in:

• Owner, Staff, and Member Breakfast Meeting Summary

• Academy of Balance Report / Druid Lab

• Staff Report: Alchemist

• Staff Report: Archivist

• Staff Report: Cartographer

• Staff Report: Cleric Lab

• Staff Report: Encoder Lab

• Staff Report: Infirmary / Institute of Applied Algorithmic Complexities

• Status Update: Gadget Lab

• Guardian Division Report

• Staff Report: Interguild Relations — Scribes & Clerks Guild

• Status Update: Crasmere Dungeon Team

• Staff Report: Linguist

• Staff Report: Magic Lab

• Staff Report:Outreach Archivist

• Prasha’s Diary

• Status Update: The Roadrunners

• Rumor Team 1

• Rumor Team 2

• Sewer Team 1

• Sewer Team 2

• Status Update: Sul-Ja

• Staff Report: Travel Team

• Bounty Division Report

• The Guild in the News

Respectfully submitted,
Niamh Celeste

6 Ashmere 87 Status Update: Irredeemable NEED TO KNOW

Submitted by Atlene Swiftsword

We will discuss when and how to involve apprentices at the 10 Ashmere Council meeting. Please come ready to share your ideas.

A few other notes:

• Niamh and Guienne are the coordinators for all teams and as such they are assigned to no team.

• Due to the amount of public traffic we have in the main guildhall, please do as much of this work through Guienne’s office as possible for the time being.

• Bony and Riel are assigned to teams, but will handle all the documentation we generate regardless of the team requiring assistance.

• We are trying to leave Bounty Division out of Project Irredeemable as much as possible as they are our most public facing division. Barty and Krik are on teams and will be responsible for keeping us aware of whatever we need to know that happens there.

• We have also excluded Archives and Cartography because the work they do will contribute to our efforts. We want them unencumbered with our daily plans. This is not being kept secret from them, but we want their focus to be on the work. In this sense, they were the first Project Irredeemable team we formed.

• It is essential that no acolyte or sister in the Guardian Division become aware of this project. Their feeling of safety is paramount. When they time comes, the Temple will take them back.

• Os-Wiu will be working with the encoding team to create “bubble rocks” that will reinforce and strengthen existing wards against eavesdropping, but it remains important that as much caution be exercised as possible at all times.

• Your team leads will be calling you into meetings in the next few days to begin to create a plan. If you are on an investigative team that is connected to a team that you are not on, please make an effort to liaise with the team that intersects with your investigation.

• As you liaise with community members, consider whether any of them would be a good ally in our cause. Do not approach them. Write a memo with your recommendation to your team leads.

Any questions? See your team lead. Thank you for all your hard work.

Respectfully submitted,
Atlene Swiftsword

6 Ashmere 87 Owner, Staff, and Member Breakfast Meeting

Submitted by Niamh Celeste

Disclaimer: These meetings are meant to be informal, so there is no set agenda. We’re just talking over breakfast. Any decisions made here will be preliminary and will need to be approved at the next weekly council meeting.

Anya stopped in quickly because Sgt. Stoklos was coming in today. Boudiath asked her if she got any feedback from team who tried the living water against undead.

“Sorry, Boudiath, it had no effect.”

Gar-Vik added to her dismay. “Plants watered by it are not safe for consumption. If you have anything wrong in your body, it accelerates it just like it did the growth on the plants. We don’t know how long that lasts. Perhaps you could use it in the initial planting and then replace with plain water. After a month, I’d be happy to test again.”

Gar-Vik indicated that he was going to try the living water on the dwarf from Dolenburg despite this. “It seems to work on living things, just not dead things. And this would be external use. I’ve explained the issues to Lort. We’ll do a small patch on his calf to see what happens and watch it for several days.”

Tuzlyn asked Gar-Vik to come in while the Institute students were working with Lort. “You can try it there. It will be good for them to see as much of the process of our investigation as possible.”

Joryn wandered in and let us know that Suhail was downstairs. “He wants to join the guild, and he’s already taken the oath.”

Suhail was invited up for the breakfast meeting and introduced to everyone. He announced that he’s going to work with an archivist at the Scribes and Clerks Guild on continuing to learn Phantazari.

Gar-Vik offered him some books to read for practice. “They’re technical manuals, but you may still find them useful. Come down to my lab after breakfast and I’ll dig them out for you. I might have some lighter reading at home.”

I brought up Buddi’s exile from the Pirates Cove. Santa shared his opinion. “Even though he’s a member here, Buddi will always need supervision, and the gnomes shouldn’t be expected to do that. We should plan to have him here at the guildhall permanently.”

Marta apologized for making him too many snickerdoodles. “It’s not your fault, Marta. It’s just how he is. But in the future, no more than 2 a day. He can’t handle the cinnamon.”

Atlene asked about his clockwork toys. Santa said, “They are a hazard, aren’t they? You can restrict them to his room. He needs rules and boundaries. I can help, but Niamh and everyone, you should feel free to act like parents and discipline him. Ignore any whining.”

From my notes, I pointed out that someone has to tell the Thieves Guild that they aren’t breaking their member out of the City Watch dungeon. Lysandra said she would do it.

Rubria announce that she has had another dream. She will work with the other clerics on it today.

Tuzlyn told us that Melisende shows a lot of promise. “She could become a magic forensic leech and be in high demand.”

Os-Wiu said, “She would probably enjoy that work. Feel free to broach the subject with her. She’s quick with the classwork. She could probably continue to most of her morning with you even after the rest of the class has finished their infirmary stint.”

Os-Wiu said he would be going with the gnomes to Pirates Cove to test their new flashbangs this afternoon. “They’re using some kind of unfired clay as the container,” he said, “and that seems to have some promise in terms of safety.”

Boudiath said that the Academy students were going back to the Drowned Plains today to check on their experiment.

Atlene asked when they planned to start going to Deeproot. Santa said they could do a stopover today so that Boudiath could talk to the foreman and see the area. Boudiath agreed.

I announced that I had 2 potential clerics coming in to interview today. Gabriel Glyn L3 and Clair Simms L1, both referred by Bounty Division.

I also announced that Darelle was going to take on a rumor patrol today. “She’s going with Vigdis who can get her back her quickly if there are any problems.”

Darelle protested that she was completely healed and didn’t need coddling. Tuzlyn gave her the side eye. “I’m not saying you aren’t, but we want to be sure you’re safe.”

Lysandra said she would be visiting the Healers and Physicians Guild today and asked Tuzlyn if she had any tips for her.

“Kel-Na, their Master Apothecary & Toxinologist, was one of my students. She’s good people. You’ll probably meet with the Guildmaster, Joi Splat, however, and she is by the book. She’ll be offended that they weren’t your first stop. Do not engage with her on that topic. Stay 100% future focused and it should go well. She may have some needs we can fulfill for her. Offer the discount on monster parts upfront.”

I announced, “Mos-Datra will be coming in to talk to Vess about the moving island today before she leaves Windgrest for good.”

Hammy said he still has no one who wants to go on his special mission. Atlene suggested that he put it on the job board in Bounty Division, perhaps some freelancers would go. Darelle said she would help him do the posting.

Respectfully submitted,
Niamh Celeste

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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THE SYLVANARA GAZETTE
NEW ADVENTURERS GUILD SECURES SEWER MANDATE

WINDGREST 3 Emberwane 87 The Silver Spire Adventurers Guild (SSAG), comprised primarily of veterans from the famous Silver Spire campaign, has successfully petitioned for the restoration of the long-dormant Adventurers Guild license.

In a private ceremony held at the High Magistrate’s Annex, Guild President Atlene Swiftsword presented the Spire’s official charter, outlining a mission focuses on civic integration and the disciplined application of martial skill. The City approved the charter under a General Adventuring License.

The Guild’s first official contract is a multi-month contract to perform sewer sweeps. The Guild has also finalized the purchase of the historic guild property just off the River Port, known for its fluctuating occupancy. The Guild Steward, Niamh Celeste, indicated that the building will undergo significant renovations to include state-of-the-art training facilities, laboratories, and libraries.

THE SYLVANARA GAZETTE
THE SPIRE HIRES ITS FIRST APPRENTICES

WINDGREST 4 Emberwane 87 The Silver Spire Adventurers Guild (SSAG) accepted its first five apprentices: Sige Blackthorn, and a group of four using the highly unorthodox aliases of Santa Claus, Rudolph the Crimson, Buddi du Elf, and Kristina Kringle.

These recruits will undergo a rigorous residency learning combat, teamwork, and problem solving. The Guild provides room, board, and a weekly salary of 5 g.p.These apprentices are already being deployed in sewer sweeps.

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I started with 8 adventurers and the steward, my alter ego, Niamh Celeste. The adventurers had stat blocks; Niamh did not. Anyone with a stat block was a PC; anyone else was an NPC. That’s how my brain understood it as a novice gamer.

As game play has moved forward and the number of characters has multiplied, I incorporated more “staff” characters into the guild. These currently range from minor characters such as stable boy and inventory specialists to professionals such as archivists and alchemists. Some of these characters are independently active in pursuing the guild’s goals, so that even without a stat block, they are functioning as PCs rather than NPCs. I am still working on how I want to give them skills and attributes in a way that makes their gameplay less arbitrary. In the meantime, however, they’ve been upgraded to PC in my brain, and so we’ll talk about them in today’s article on adventure logs.

The wonderful thing about Mythic and the various options and forms it offers is its flexibility. The primary reason I use the Lists and Logs forms is to prevent what I call “hanging threads.” These are promises I made to the reader but left unfulfilled because I forgot. Oops! Early in the Silver Spire I had a lot of hanging threads, so I implemented the Lists and Logs to keep myself honest. It was a lot of work to do that after the game was underway, so if you are considering writing a serial like this, start these at the beginning.

I have customized the Mythic Lists and Logs forms for two basic uses.

The first is a fairly standard adventure log, which I use for investigations. Below you see the current thread and character lists for the new tool shortage investigation. The thread list and character list are still short as it is still in initial stages. This will build out and then contract as the investigation moves along.

The second tab for this log summarizes the actions taken in the investigation with the date and chaos factor.

I try to keep this journal brief, with longer notes in my personal wiki. The point of this journal is to make finding the complete notes in the wiki easier by grounding it in time and to track the chaos factor.

You’ll note that I have not adjusted the chaos factor up or down on this log yet. That’s fairly standard for how I play. Unless there is a significant movement toward (or away from) a resolution of a thread, I find it more useful to keep the chaos factor where it stood at the beginning of the scene.

The second type of adventure log I keep is a character specific adventure log. I use these for those independent “staff” characters or departments. This is where I had most of the hanging threads. Here you see the Lists tab for the Alchemy Lab.

If you follow the serial, you’ll notice that the investigation of toxic chemicals on the Southside is absent. That has become a major investigation, so I spun that off into its own log, moving the Lists and Journal items to that log. This made tracking a chaos factor for the investigation easier than it had been when it was mixed in with all the other lab experiments.

The investigation into why the dwarves of Dolenberg develop a skin condition that eventually renders them blind and kills them has also been spun off into its own log.

Below are the recent entries in the Journal tab for the Alchemy tab. I advanced the chaos factor from 5 to 4 when they successfully identified the toxic chemicals on the Southside after an autopsy on a stillborn baby. That’s also when I moved that investigation to its own log. I wouldn’t change it for minor advancements that I would expect a high level alchemist to handle in the normal day-to-day function of a lab, but getting a lead in the Southside case was a big deal. Gar-Vik will have to do something extraordinary for me to move it again. Goldie, his apprentice, has started her own experiments in the lab as of 7 Ashworth, so she will now have her own chaos factor, which I’ll adjust more frequently as she is an apprentice and still learning. I will color code that for ease of reference.

There is one staff member who is extremely complicated to track, and that’s Lysandra, the busiest character in the game/story. As readers of the Spire know, she is the Inter-Guild Liaison, so she is all over the city, liaising with everyone, not just guilds but also media outlets, government officials, and other factions. A single adventure log will not do for her. Oh no. She is special, so she has a multi-tab spreadsheet with a tab for everyone she meets with. The chaos factors are specific to that tab.

Below you can see how I’ve combined the lists and the journal into one tab. Even doing that, Lysandra’s SS is unwieldy. The image shows the list and log for her visit to the Cartographers Guild—one of the rare failures the dice has dealt her. She hasn’t been back, but she’ll go again once Sloane De Witt eats some crow. Even so, the Chaos factor for that meeting will be a 6 due to this failure.

Before I start into the next section, I want to repeat what I said earlier in this article: The wonderful thing about Mythic and the various options and forms it offers is its flexibility.

Because I am comfortable in the world of the Silver Spire and with its characters, I rarely stray beyond the Fate Chart, Chaos Factor, Lists, and Logs for the Silver Spire. It’s all I need to get my inner writer geared up.

That changed when I started playing a homebrew weird west steampunk story I call The Case Files of Ma Tinker. The case files are entirely driven by rumors, gossip, and a bit of naughty eavesdropping by Ma Tinker, your friendly innkeeper/mad scientist in Copper City, AZ, Anno Domini 1866.

I keep just one spreadsheet for this game. I roll on a d6 x d100 table of my own making to come up with meanings for the rumors, gossip, and overheard conversations. This is much like the meanings tables that Mythic offers, though not as targeted. The complication: most times, I’m rolling on the table with almost no context.

For example, I rolled NOTCHED FAITH POISON as an overheard conversation between two stagecoach passengers. What does that mean? We don’t know anything about those passengers, so I don’t know. To find out more, I could roll on either the Threads list to see which thread those words refer to or the Characters list to see whether it applies to a character in my setting.

I chose to roll on the Threads list and got a result of NEW THREAD. Drat. No help. Now I have a thread titled NOTCHED FAITH POISON, and I still don’t have a context.

Trying to find out more, I rolled on the Characters list, and again, I came up with a result of NEW. Since Copper City is in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the dangerous Scorpion Barrens where stagecoaches are sometimes eaten whole by dust leviathans, new characters can only arrive by stage, but even if the stage makes it through, passengers are rare. So Ma must keep collecting rumors, gossip, and conversations to help me figure out what is happening.

The Case Files Lists look like this:

It generally only takes me a session or two to get a clue that works for me. Sometimes a new thread like this will fold into an existing thread (even though that wasn’t the dice’s intention for this example). Sometimes it becomes a defined thread of its own.

My ADHD brain loves allowing things to evolve, by the way. It’s like putting together a puzzle without knowing what it will look like when it’s done. I fully expect that many people would find this way of doing things irritating, but this is how I play.

As I write this, I’m heading into the third game day for NOTCHED FAITH POISON, and I’ve collected nine additional words describing this thread. I should be able to discern the context this game day, but if I can’t, I’ll try another roll on the Threads list hoping to resolve the muddle.

I don’t keep the Case File Adventure Logs in a spreadsheet. These will become short stories when they resolve rather than a serial, so I put them directly into my writing app, PenPoint. I’ll save that discussion for another Behind the Scenes post.

Finally, I’ve made the choice to leave most threads open, even though I may have “resolved” them in the traditional Mythic way of thinking about threads. I made that choice because even though the Dust Cult was defeated in their attempt to take control of the ley lines crossing under Ma’s inn, the ley lines are still there. The Dust Cult or some other nefarious group will be back to try again. It will always be an active thread, no matter how many times Ma manages to defeat those who would try to steal her power source.

I hope this article helped you understand how you can customize the Mythic GME Lists and Logs to fit your game and your style of play.

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5 Ashmere 87 Roadrunners

Submitted by Garrus Blackiron

Today we came to the hills that we have been seeing in the distance for some time. We were grateful to be past the area with the acid pits. Serena was scouting ahead, looking for traps, hazards, and ambushes. The rest of us were struggling along on loose scree on steep hillsides. Down was worse then up. At the base of one hill, we found Serena waiting for us outside an adit.

I asked, “Is it a mine?”

“I didn’t want to go in alone. Eliza, can you come with me for a short exploratory look while the Garrus and Finn guard the entrance?”

Finn and I chatted in low tones as we waited for them to come back.

Serena came out, shaking her head. “The pathway is pretty level as far as we went, but then there’s a steep stairway down. No way to tell how far it goes. No sign of mining tools or conveyances. I think it’s a dungeon.”

I looked at Finn, who was grimacing. Turning back to Serena, I said, “I don’t want to spend a lot of time in dungeons, but let’s go have a look at, say, 3 rooms? We can get a better idea. The Guild can send a team if they want to have a go at it.”

And so we went in and down. The first level down we came to had bricked off entrances. So did the second.

Finally on the third level, we could explore. From what we could see by lantern light, the level went far into the distance. It made us all nervous.

I said, “Just one room. I don’t like how far down we had to climb. It’s a long way up if we have to flee, and we don’t want to rile up any powerful monsters by going too deep.” I was met with enthusiastic agreement.

In the first room, we came upon abyssal brownies, vicious little vermin. But they were amenable to bribes, so we handed over 20 gp to each of them, 140 total, and they left. We had to hope they wouldn’t notify other monsters we were here. They had promised not to, but brownies are notorious liars. We searched the room and found only a Blessed Horseshoe, which we gave to Finn. The we started the long climb back up to the surface.

After 150 steps, I was gasping for breath and said, “Maybe next time, I’ll specify how many steps we’ll agree to climb.”

Finn, predictably, said, “I vote for zero.” My lungs silently agreed with him.

We continued up. At the top, we let Serena step through the doorway first, and she was immediately set upon by a pack of wolves.

The rest of us burst out of the adit and the melee was on. Eliza and Finn were injured in the initial onslaught, but we killed them easily after that.

Finn healed their wounds without issue. Serena took the heads for bounties then cleaned the carcass of the healthiest looking wolf to make stew and more jerky. We found some shitake mushrooms and wild onions to make the stew more palatable.

We hiked up to some high ground (despite my aching joints) and built our fire there to make camp. Despite the healing spell, Finn was looking pretty tired from the climb out of the dungeon and barely made it up to the camp. In the end, Eliza helped him finish the climb.

Respectfully submitted,
Garrus Blackiron

CITY WATCH UNCOVERS WIDESPREAD TOOL SHORTAGE
Formal Investigation Launched

SYLVANARA 5 Ashmere 87 — Thanks to diligent monitoring by City Watch, municipal authorities have detected a city-wide shortage in essential working implements, fixtures, and trade supplies. The Watch leadership acted with commendable speed, immediately mobilizing investigative units to isolate the root of the problem.

“Where lesser institutions might have overlooked the early warning signs, the Watch’s decisive intervention ensures that the issue can be handles before our economy suffers lasting harm,” stated a representative from the Magistracy.

While private contractors have been engaged to assist in minor roles, leadership of the investigation remains in the hands of the Watch. The Noble houses have expressed confidence that the prompt launch of this inquiry will swiftly uncover the perpetrators.

Attached note from Sergeant Myla Stoklos: This is not the story I gave them. Many apologies.

ACADEMY OF BALANCE LAUNCHES
BOLD INITIATIVE IN DROWNED PLAINS

WINDGREST 5 Ashmere 87 — In what may prove to be the most economically significant ecological undertaking of the decade, scholars and practitioners from the esteemed Academy of Balance have announced a project to restore life and fertility to the magic-blighted region known as the Drowned Plains.

Once written off as an unusable expanse of waterlogged marsh, the Drowned Plains have long choked land-based transit and limited agricultural yields across an area critical to the growth of Windgrest.

For the merchants, growers, and trade syndicates of Windgrest, the implications of this venture are clear. Converting even a fraction of the blighted land into arable soil would dramatically increase regional grain and livestock output, stabilizing local food markets. At the same time, safer overland trade corridors would lower freight overhead.

“A true Druid does not simply manage the resources we have, but cultivates and reclaims what was lost,” noted Boudiath Moonshadow, Head of the Academy. “While merchants are enthusiastic about the benefits this offers, we offer this service to heal the land and restore its natural state.”

Regardless of your point of view, the Merchant Council believes this is another promising step toward regional growth and renewal.

DEATH’S SEPULCHRE SHOCKER!
SINISTER SHADOWS IN SUBTERRANEAN SLUMS!

SOUTHSIDE, WINDGREST 5 Ashmere 87— Beware and behold, bold Southsiders! While the snooty north city swells sip their sherry, a dark dread is stirring in the South! Whispers from our alleyways confirm the spine-chilling secret: DEATH’S SEPULCHRE IS STIRRING AGAIN! What foul phantoms fester there?

Do not let their creepy crypt-crawlers catch you cowering in the dark! Keep your trusty torches trimmed and your heavy hammers handy! The silver-tongued Spire and the sluggish City Watch won’t save you when the dead start dancing!

Hauteria is watching the wicked web unwind. The truth will not stay buried in the crypts! STAND STRONG, SOUTHSIDE!

Overheard at the Boundless Dream: Brother Aimery has allegedly been disinherited, and banished to a remote monastery. If you have any information on his whereabouts, leave word for BG5 at the usual drop. Coin for verified truth on this or any noble chicanery.

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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5 Ashmere 87 Guild Business: Project Irredeemable NEED TO KNOW

Compiled by Niamh Celeste

Part 1: Sabine

After the rumor patrol, I was still feeling itchy, so I went to the Temple of Nehalennia and asked to talk to the Dreamwarden about the dream I’d had a few days ago.

“I dreamed about a proud people who were struggling for freedom, but they were pursued and ultimately they perished.”

The Dreamwarden studied me for several minutes, and then said, “I will come back to the guildhall with you. I must talk to Atlene.”

Part 2: Atlene

Once I was alone in the conference room with her, Elira said, “Tell me about the hearing you had recently.”

“I appreciate your concern, but that was confidential owner / officer business.”

“One of the Sanctuary House graduates came to tell me about her part it in. Don’t worry, she did not disclose what the hearing entailed, who was involved, or the decision. She only told me what she herself said to the group. I have listened to Sabine’s dream, and I believe the two things are related. And so I ask, as a friend of the guild, for the details. They will never leave this room.”

I considered carefully. I have never been one to follow gods or listen to their priestesses, but this woman has been an ally. I decided to trust her, and shared the details.

“Ah!” she said. “I see now why Damaris said what she did, and you should know that she is right. This is exactly the meaning of Sabine’s dream. Unless you are willing to risk everything, you will lose everything.”

I was startled and wanted to reply, but she went on.

“There is no guarantee that taking the risk will work. That future is in flux until you begin to take steps. But not taking the risk will end in the death of this guild and many of the people you love. Death could claim even you, Atlene Swiftsword.”

She sat as still as a lake on a day when no breeze dares disturb it while I processed what she had said. My soul hurt for my people. It hurt for the students and staff, innocents in this business. And yes, it hurt for me and for the other offworlders. We had lost everything in coming here, everything, that is, except hope that someday we could find our way home again. Now this woman was telling me that we may die here. I didn’t like it, but there didn’t seem to be a choice.

I was still lost in my thoughts when Elira stirred and said, “I am willing to come back to talk to the officers and owners. You are at a critical juncture. A more informed decision should be made.”

I took a deep breath. “I can get them here now, if you can stay.” She tipped her head to me.

Within a few minutes, the group was gathered again in the council room, and the Dreamwarden repeated what she told me, finishing with, “I am not condoning what Os-Wiu did. He did not follow your protocol, probably aware that his action would not be approved. But as a group you all need to decide if you can move past that and move forward to deal with the issues confronting our world.”

Darelle was concerned about the safety of the apprentices.

Elira lifted her hands and crossed them over her heart in a gesture of recognition of Darelle’s great love for her people. “Whether they know what you are doing or not, they will still be at risk. I would advise you to continue training them as you do now and vet them individually before bringing them into full membership and participation in your work. But do not wait long. If one of the Houses decides to burn down your guild, they will not separate out those who acted against them from those who did not. The same is true of the students. If you are concerned, you can move the students and apprentices out of Windgrest, but they will never be out of reach of the nobility.”

There was dead silence. I spoke into it, “Kai, would you please get Os-Wiu and Boudiath. They should be part of this decision.”

Once they joined us, I saw in Os-Wiu’s eyes the fear that we had reconsidered his crime. I did not delay in calming him and then igniting a new fear in his breast. “Os-Wiu, this group owes you an apology based on what the Dreamwarden has just told us. Having said that, in the future, you will follow protocol if you want to take action against a noble house. There will be no further unilateral actions. Is that understood?”

“Yes.”

“We are debating the wisdom of moving the students out of Windgrest before we begin a serious campaign against the nobles. We want your input. Boudiath, you could move your students to Deeproot. They would be happy to have you there. Os-Wiu, I know you just got your observatory, but Islebury would give you access to theirs along with access to their library. They could use some wizards in the area.”

Os-Wiu had already considered this. “With respect, all the noble houses have retreats there. They would have no official power, but if they wanted to kill us there, they could.”

Faelina spoke up. “There is the original Spire.”

Os-Wiu laughed. “No, thank you. I’ll keep my students here. You’ll need us.”

Boudiath nodded. “I’ll do the same. The Conclave will assist us if necessary.”

Elira stood. “I will let you all start to do some serious planning. You’ve established yourselves as a force to be reckoned with in Windgrest. You’ve gained allies, and you’ve made a significant change in city government. You’ll need to do much more in order to avoid Sabine’s dream coming true. Do not tarry.”

The group watched her go, and I watched them trying to come to grips with our situation. I cleared my throat. “It’s time to involve the members. I think we can pass over what happened with Os-Wiu and frame what happens now as taking advantage of unique circumstances. Os-Wiu, please have Fenris come as well. He was staff, and unless you tell me otherwise, he’s staff again. He can go to classes or take tests, but I want him here as staff. Can the two of you get along?

“We’ve already made our peace, thank you. He’s a good man, and I truly regret that I betrayed his trust. I have made my amends, and he has been kind enough to forgive me. I’ll get him.”

Kai asked, “What about other staff?”

“Let’s be circumspect,” I said. “Tuzlyn will need to know. Lysandra, Barty as our tie to the Undercity, Elvyn, Gar-Vik, Goldie, Molkyr, and Riel. Let’s give everyone else a few more days of happiness until we get underway. Then we may have to give people a choice to leave if they want to be safe.”

Once we had pulled in the named staff and confronted them with the situation, we began to talk strategy. After going around in circles for a good amount of time, Lysandra finally spoke up, “We’re thinking about this all wrong. If we attack the houses one at a time, we will eventually end up with a King or Queen. That person will become untouchable and all powerful. We must take them all down at the same time. I think we should have teams, each focused on one house. Then, when the plans are in place, we act in unison.”

The suggestion was debated and agreed on. We formed teams and held a members only meeting later in the evening to assign additional members to each working group. A few apprentices who had become students were placed on the teams in recognition that they would have become members by this time if not for the interruption in their training. The one exception was Rylah, who Boudiath did not feel was recovered from the encounter with the Cyclopean Thunderbeast and Isseh’s death enough to be involved.

Current Project Irredeemable Teams:

Team Leandow (Windgrest military and City Watch)

1. Co-Team Lead -- Kaelen Kai, Guild Quartermaster

2. Co-Team Lead -- Akira Quicktread

3. Gar-Vik

4. Prasha Centense

5. Mad Hamish

6. JeOc

7. Sabine Leduc

8. Zook Fizzlebang

9. Viceth Greenspirit

Team Ravissiel (Religion)

1. Co-Team Lead -- Elowen Dawnbringer, Owner and Guild Treasurer

2. Co-Team Lead -- Selth Seafoam

3. Boudiath Moonshadow

4. Goldie Bloom

5. Rubria Heartshine

6. Finkin Havenbrace

7. Verlane Healhands

8. Amira Stolkoff

9. Vala Swiftbow

Team Matmaiwl (Economy)

1. Co-Team Lead -- Faelina Sablefoot, Owner

2. Co-Team Lead -- Boenra Nelja, Owner

3. Tuzlyn Tene

4. Barty Gribbs

5. Sige Blackthorn

6. Durgan Flintbreaker

7. Perry Meadowlight

8. Merrick Hale

9. Krik the Keen

Team Nothiem (Education)

1. Co-Team Lead --Elvyn Thorngrit, Sr. Investigator and Trainer

2. Co-Team Lead -- Darelle Cloudheart, Owner

3. Molkyr

4. Riel Willow

5. Kerren Vale

6. Corbin Kettlebright

7. Georg Frost

8. Buddi du Elf

9. Lira Denholm

Team Alizac (Magic)

1. Co-Team Lead -- Atlene Swiftsword, Owner and Guild President

2. Co-Team Lead -- Lysandra Paeff

3. Fenris Spirewick

4. Os-Wiu

5. Ken Sato

6. Vigdis Rune

7. Santa Claus

8. Rudolf the Crimson

9. Tar-Jel

Late note from Niamh: In the surprise of this meeting, we had completely forgotten about Joelina. We needn’t have worried. She was recalled by Dreamwarden Elira in the night. Acolyte Daylian would be our permanent liaison. How long the Guardian Division will remain open is unknown.

Respectfully submitted,
Niamh Celeste

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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5 Ashmere 87 Sewer sweep / apprentice training report Team 2

Submitted by Akira Quicktread

“Fire and ice!” I heard Torvin scream. Turning, I saw a wall of ghouls moving toward us, and behind them, the distinctive evil visage of a Chaos Overlord. It was laughing as Torvin, who looked tiny before them, made a mad dash at them, war hammer raised.

Damn barbarians and their bloodlust. Too late to stop him in time for us to get off a volley with our ranged weapons now. We’re all going to die here in the stinkin’ sewers, I thought. “Georg! Spells! Now!”

“On it, Kirq!”

If we got out of here, I was going to have to talk to Georg about that nickname. But first, we had to survive…

Team

• Team Lead: Rogue Akira Quicktread

• Probationary Wizard Georg Frost

• Probationary Cleric Verlane Healhands

• Apprentice Barbarian Torvin Bjornson

Sector covered: 5 in The Port’s Maw (The Docks and Waterfront)

• Overview: This sector is the final destination for most of the city’s waste and is focused entirely on directing effluent into the harbor or the open sea.

• Structure: A massive, flat network of wide, sluggish channels leading to a few huge, brick-lined outfalls near the water level. Due to its proximity to the water table, this sector is prone to tidal flooding.

• Drainage Type: Sluggish, thick effluent where the majority of the city’s untreated sewage settles before being pushed out by tide or storm. The air is thick with methane and rot.

• Hazard/Use: This is the most physically dangerous section. The constant slow flow creates deep, shifting sludge (making movement difficult), and the high humidity and darkness are perfect for monsters that feed on waste and deep-cover criminal hideouts.

Monsters encountered

• Vermin

  • cave bats

• Minions

  • goblins

  • minor demon

  • ghouls

  • cave goblins

• Bosses

  • Chaos overlord

Injuries suffered

• Entire team injured against the Chaos Overlord and his minions, the ghouls.

Treasures recovered

• 224 gp

• Book of the Exile, which appears to be a diary. It contains a map fragment of a small outpost near an unidentified lake. (For the archivists)

• Phoenix mushroom

• high elven bag

• magic dagger (given to Georg)

Bounties and contracted payment collected

933 gp in bounties earned, representing the removal of 9 goblins, 10 cave bats, Chaos Overlord, 1 minor demon, 10 ghouls, and 6 cave goblins. Payment has been secured and deposited with the steward.

Achievements

• Torvin achieved L6

Respectfully submitted,
Akira Quicktread

5 Ashwell 87 Sewer sweep / apprentice training report Team 3

Submitted by JeOc

Buddi was whining again. I could hear him behind me, like the buzzing of a fly. Sometimes I wanted to swat him, like the humans swat flies. But as a team lead, Niamh has told me that I must set an example. I turned to ask him politely to stop. Instead I stopped.

Buddi was held by the throat up against a wall by a flesh golem. Buddi wasn’t whining. He was trying to scream. Couldn’t blame him really. He looked like he could be uncomfortable. I readied my war hammer.

The flesh golem saw me and grinned an unholy grin. He tossed Buddi aside like a piece of trash and waded through the sewage toward me.

I was aware that Ken and Amira were firing spells at it, but they weren’t landing. It would be up to me to handle this… what is is Buddi calls things like this? Assholes? Well, then, it would be up to me to handle this asshole, whatever that means. I flashed my eyes to let it know it was time to die. It flashed its eyes back at me. The fight was on, golem v. golem. But I had an edge. My body was mithral.

Team

• Team Lead: Warrior JeOc

• Rogue Buddi du Elf

• Wizard Ken Sato

• Probationary Wizard Amira Stolkoff

Sector covered: 20 in The Arch-Vault

• Overview: This sector lies directly beneath the oldest, wealthiest, and most religiously significant parts of Windgrest: the Noble Quarter, the Grand Temple District, and the Guildhall Row.

• Structure of the sewers in this area: This is the oldest and best-maintained section—massive, vaulted tunnels built from carefully cut stone. It has high ceilings, wide walkways, and a relatively strong, fast flow of water, powered by water diverted from the River Sanae to keep it clean.

• Drainage Type: Mostly storm runoff and outflow from public baths, elite residences, and municipal offices. Human waste is often sent to deep cesspits, making the air here surprisingly less noxious than other sectors.

• Additional Notes: It is likely used by smugglers and assassins due to its navigable size and numerous secret connections to Guild banks, Noble houses, and the City Council chambers.

Monsters encountered

• Minions

  • Crocodile men

  • Corsair

• Bosses

  • Flesh golem

  • Chimaera

Injuries suffered

• Everyone injured against the flesh golem.

Treasures recovered

• 123 gp

• Balm of Fire Resistance (Amira)

• Anthology of Geographic Research (given to Master Kestler on return to guildhall)

Bounties and contracted payment collected

519 gp in bounties earned, representing the removal of 1 Flesh golem, 1 Chimaera, 3 crocodile men, 1 corsair. Payment has been secured and deposited with the steward.

Achievements

• Amira achieved L6

Respectfully submitted,

JeOc

5 Ashmere 87 Bounty Division Daily Income Report

Submitted by Anya Stoutbrew and Willem Finch

Bounties
Total Bounty Paid: 2471 gold
Guild Share:              247 gold

Sales
Daily Sales              1317 gold

Note: Please come and welcome our new inventory specialist, Trey Pax.

Respectfully submitted,
Anya Stoutbrew and Willem Finch

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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5 Ashmere 87 Sewer sweep / apprentice training report Team 1

Submitted by Elvyn Thorngrit

Team

• Team Lead: Warrior Elvyn Thorngrit

• Rogue Selth Seafoam

• Cleric Elowen Dawnbringer

• Warrior Atlene Swiftsword

Sector covered: 6 in The Arch-Vault

• Overview: This sector lies directly beneath the oldest, wealthiest, and most religiously significant parts of Windgrest: the Noble Quarter, the Grand Temple District, and the Guildhall Row.

• Structure of the sewers in this area: This is the oldest and best-maintained section—massive, vaulted tunnels built from carefully cut stone. It has high ceilings, wide walkways, and a relatively strong, fast flow of water, powered by water diverted from the River Sanae to keep it clean.

• Drainage Type: Mostly storm runoff and outflow from public baths, elite residences, and municipal offices. Human waste is often sent to deep cesspits, making the air here surprisingly less noxious than other sectors.

• Additional Notes: It is likely used by smugglers and assassins due to its navigable size and numerous secret connections to Guild banks, Noble houses, and the City Council chambers.

We went directly to the room where Atlene had killed Hookjaw without encountering any monsters or other teams. Selth had the door open in a trice, checked for traps, and we entered, nailing the door shut behind us so as not to be surprised as we searched.

A reminder of the stakes:

• We were looking for Mos-Datra’s selkie skin so that she could get her life back.

• We were looking for clues that could lead us to whoever broke Hookjaw out of the brig.

• We were looking for the King’s Armory, possibly legendary repository of the equipment of King Rolandre’s personal guard.

Selth immediately began searching the room for hidden doors. We knew which wall it had to be on from the map. He found it quickly.

“I see why we didn’t notice it,” Atlene commented. “Well hidden, but not hidden from my favorite rogue.” She slapped him on the back. (This is apparently a congratulatory gesture in their world.)

Selth grunted and blushed.

We all lit torches and entered, coming to a halt almost immediately.

“What were you expecting?” Elowen asked with a wink. A little poke at Atlene, whose dream of finding the royal armory could be dying.

“Not this. Not an empty room,” she replied, not seeing the wink or hearing the playful tone. Her disappointment was palpable, but Selth, ever loyal to his team leader, had not given up. He was already looking for another door, even though the map didn’t show one.

“Don’t give up yet. I’ve got another door, and we can hope that Hookjaw and his men never found it. Stand back, it’s trapped.”

I didn’t see what he did, but whatever it was, it triggered the trap. We were all hit by an electrical charge and thrown across the room. Once we recovered, we entered the new room. Empty. This time, though, Elowen was the one who didn’t give up.

“I’ve got something,” she said, handing me a scrap of paper.

I read aloud: “Garren, you can’t leave me in here. I’ll do anything for you if you’ll get me out. I can’t face trial. You know what Drenik will do to me if I talk. Just get me out.”

We stood, silent until Selth said, “Two names, two noble houses. How do we play it?”

“We need to plan it out,” Atlene replied. “But not here.”

“Too much caution can get you killed just as fast as too little,” I countered.

“I know, I know. Give me today to think,” she said.

In the meantime, Selth had still not given up. “Another door! I’m not detecting a trap, but don’t take any chances. Stand back.”

The door opened easily, and he motioned for Atlene to enter first. I think he might have seen a glint of reflected light because we heard her gasp as soon as she entered, and we all rushed through behind her. The torches reflected off armor. So much beautiful armor.

After we took it all in, Atlene said, “We need Santa and his bag. Can we get him down here?”

“He’s in Dolenberg,” Elowen said.

“Damn, I don’t want to leave this unguarded. Elvyn, can you stay here with me, and maybe Elowen and Selth can get a message to him.”

And so it was done. Santa was able to clear out the armory with one load of his infinite toy bag.

While Atlene and I had waited for him, I had poked around in the dark corners and found Mos-Datra’s selkie skin. I put that in my own bag of holding and stopped off at her home on my way back to the guildhall.

She was grateful, and I had difficulty breaking away from her. I’m not good with crying women, even when the tears are from joy. When I got back to the guildhall, I found Atlene, Niamh, and Kai in conference about where to store the armor.

“We have adequate wards on the armory for our current needs,” Kai said, “but not good enough for this. I’ll get Os-Wiu to juice them a bit and put an alarm on them.”

“Kai, don’t hand any of it out until we’re ready to go public. The nobility will try to claim it. We need to have a legal argument ready for them.”

Elowen asked, “What about hiding it at Pirates Cove? Or back at the Spire. We could have Santa take it somewhere safe until we’re ready to use it.”

None of us liked that idea, not even Elowen, even though the local options weren’t good either.

Atlene stood abruptly. “I want to think more on it.” And the meeting was over.

The issue we had all talked around was this: the armor bore the crest of King Rolandre’s private guard. As soon as we appeared in public wearing that armor, it would be a public declaration of war against the nobility. We were not ready for that. I’m not sure how we’ll ever be ready for that, but I am ready to find out.

Respectfully submitted,
Elvyn Thorngrit

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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5 Ashmere 87 Rumor Gathering Report Team 4

Submitted by Merrick Hale with Fidget Tallowick

Niamh gave us a note from Nagiella Rook, proprietress of The Dramatic Seagull, about trouble at her tavern.

When we arrived she explained her concern. “There’s a new guy who hangs out at the bar a lot buying drinks for other people more than he buys for himself. He doesn’t tip well. I figure he’s working undercover looking for someone.”

I asked, “Is he here now?”

“The guy at the booth watching the door. Red hair, beard. He watched you come in, so you can’t stay here and talk to me for long.” She handed us ales and we sat at a table within hearing range of the stranger.)

Fidget started off the small talk. “So Zook keeps saying that the enchanted quill is an easy spell, but we can’t get him to do it.”

“Hmmmm, it is easy and also not easy, friend. It’s also not as safe as you seem to think it is.”

“What?!”

“Oh, it won’t blow up like most of your toys, but…” I leaned over and whispered the rest so that our spy couldn’t hear it.

“I don’t believe it! Zook said it was completely safe!”

“I saw it happen back when I was in training. The mage showed it to us to make a point.”

“Well, there goes that plan. Any ideas of what we could make?”

“You should make some clockwork lock picks. Automate the process. If it blows up the lock, no loss as long as it’s not loud.”

“Say, that’s...”

The red haired man was suddenly standing at our booth. “This is a fascinating discussion friends. I’d love to listen in. If I may? Next round on me...” He signaled Nagiella, who grimaced.

“What we’re talking about could get you in trouble, friend. Are you sure you want to be seen with us?”

“You’re exactly my kind of trouble.”

Fidget slammed his fist on the table. “Well, then, bring on the ale, and let’s talk.”

Once Nagiella had delivered the ale and given us all the stinkeye, the man leaned in and whispered, “I’m specifically interested in the idea of clockwork lock picks. Could come in handy in my profession.”

I asked, “Member of the Guild, are you?”

“Not official like. Need to prove myself first. That’s why I’d like those lock picks.”

I shrugged. “It was just an idea. I’m trying to steer my friend here away from more dangerous research.”

“But it sounds like we have similar interests. Tell me what you need. I’ll get it, and I’ll pay for the lock picks.”

I excused myself to go to the bathroom and let Fidget get negotiations underway.

They chatted briefly, but when I didn’t come right back, the red-haired man asked, “Your friend wouldn’t be ratting me out to the Watch would he?”

“With gold on the line? Unlikely.”

I returned with more ale, having dropped a note for Nagiella. She’d let us get clear, then notify the Watch. Fidget had completed the deal with the man, so we finished our ale and left. We were tailed by other Thieves Guild members to the Spire. Once they realized who we were, they cleared out fast, leaving their compatriot flying solo at the bar.

“Can’t be helped if he’s that stupid,” Fidget heard one of them say.

Nagiella, ever the professional, acted surprised and huffy when the Watch arrested one of her customers.

Respectfully submitted,
Merrick Hale

5 Ashmere 87 Rumor Gathering Report Team 5

Submitted by Vigdis Rune with Grislak the Scarred

At the request of the Watch, we were investigating the reports of an unusual stench coming from an abandoned building in the tannery district. The stench of the district itself is infamous, but this building was exceptional in the smell department.

I found a broken window and peered in. I did not like what I saw. “Grislak, come tell me what I’m looking at.”

It only took Grislak a heartbeat. “Not good. Looks like something ripped up through the floor.”

“I think that’s where the smell is coming from.”

Grislak rolled his eyes. “Really?” We could see the fumes rising from the rift and swirling within the warehouse.

“I don’t think it’s safe to go in. We don’t know what those fumes are.”

“No Watch in the area. Convenient for them.”

“There’s a possibility this has something to do with the sewers and still births. Let’s head back and report this to Stoklos.” We took down the address and headed to City Center.

We had a brief encounter with Stoklos in the hallway. She was in a hurry, on her way to a meeting, but assured us she’d handle it. “When we go in, we’ll invite Gar-Vik. He can run some tests for us.”

Respectfully submitted,
Vigdis Rune

5 Ashmere 87 Rumor Gathering Report Team 6

Submitted by Perry Meadowlight with Tibby Applebloom

We were one of the few teams to escape a specific assignment today, so we decided to go through the gate and walk along the wall to the north of the city bordering the old military installation. That’s normally a quiet walk, but not today.

Tibby looked up when what I thought was a cloud passed overhead, shading us. She screamed. “Perry! Run!”

We took shelter under a large tree in time to see a giant falcon falling out of the sky; in its claws a massive lizard struggled. From what I could tell, the falcon was losing the fight. They were ringed with a purple aura, which meant that magic was involved. Lightning wreathed them.

I asked, “Should we get involved?”

“Let’s fight for the falcon,” Tibby yelled as she rushed in, glaive at the ready.

I don’t think the lizard ever knew what hit him. Tibby had killed it before I had even started to run.

She healed the falcon and expected it to fly away; instead, it tore at the skin of the lizard until it freed the heart and it gobbled it down.

I was in shock, but Tibby said we should get back to the guildhall.

The falcon flew upward, circling us, and followed us back to the guildhall, coming to rest on the observatory. “Os-Wiu won’t like that,” I muttered as the bird took a dump on his new pride and joy.

Tibby meanwhile had gone for Boudiath. The druid dispatched Selene to talk to the falcon, and Boudiath appeared to be eavesdropping on their conversation. I don’t really know how a familiar works with their druid, so I can’t say for sure.

After a few minutes of squawking, she turned to us. “The falcoln has pledged fealty to both of you, but especially to Tibby whom she calls The Fearless One.”

Tibby blushed. “How do I take care of it?”

“You don’t have to. It will hunt for itself, although given its size, we should be prepared for complaints from nearby farms. If you want to call it, you only have to think its name: Talon.”

Respectfully submitted,
Perry Meadowlight

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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5 Ashmere 87 Rumor Gathering Report Team 3

Submitted by Fendral Ironheart with Mad Hamish

Hammy had heard of something called The Altar of the Fogs, which he wanted to go see. I have no idea where he picks up these rumors, but rumor patrol with Hammy is always interesting.

The Altar of the Fogs is out on one of the Barrier Islands, so he had Niamh signal Captain Vexia Rourke. We took a water taxi out to The Kenos and asked her to tell us about it.

She looked grave. “That is on the Isle of Clouds. You’ve probably noticed it,” she said pointing to the farthest island from the harbor. “Sailors tell stories about the isle,” she continued. “There is an altar, yes, but it is inhabited by the wraiths of sailors who have perished in the fog.”

I asked, “Are they friendly?” I was pretty sure they were not, and I was hoping the answer would deter Hammy from this escapade.

“If you leave the right offering for them they are, but no one knows what that is. It may be that it’s different for each person.”

Hammy looked down at his loin cloth, then grinned, “I brought only what I’m wearing, but I’m willing to sacrifice it.”

Vexia stifled a laugh, then became serious again. “You may not be able to find your way off the island without an offering. That is what we sailors believe.”

I said, “I have a jewel.”

“Of course, as a dwarf you would have that along with some gold, I’m sure. But wraiths have no use for jewels or gold. I’m going to have to recommend that we turn back.”

Hammy pulled something out of his bag of holding. “Wait. I have something. A good luck charm from my childhood. My da gave it me.”

She shrugged. “They may take the luck to keep and let you have it back, but I wouldn’t count on it.”

I said, “I have only a song I learned as a child.”

She sighed. “I had hoped to warn you off, but that is an offering they should accept. If you are determined to go, I will take you there.”

Hammy, serious now, said, “You will take us there. Good.”

She moored off the isle and lowered us in the dingy. “When you hear the ship’s bell, you must return so that we are not stranded while the tide changes.”

As we rowed off, she cried out again, “Remember the bell!”

“I never miss dinner!” Hammy replied.

We found the altar by following an eerie melody through the spectral wisps of fog until we stumbled into a glade. In its center stood a stone altar surrounded by skeletons. We picked our way through them to the altar. As we neared it, we could see that it was piled with offerings.

I knelt, my arms crossed upon his breast. “I bring you the song of my home,” I said and began to sing.

I sing of iron, I sing of coal

I sing because my heart is whole.

I heat the forge, I strike the blade

With dwarven strength are weapons made.

The song of heart,

The strength of arm

The soul of fire,

The hammer’s strike

Create a weapon full of might ...

Hammy lost patience with my song. Like all dwarven songs, it went on too long and was too somber for his tastes. He explored the grove and let his mind wander until he heard me stop singing.

A pale figure wreathed in blue light emerged from the fog and reached out its hand to touch me. “Blessed are you, dwarf friend. The soul of your comrade, Isseh Drah, wanders no more. He is welcomed and safe with us.” Then the figure dissolved into the fog. I began to weep.

Hammy approached the altar then. He reached out to put the charm on the altar, but had second thoughts. He put it back in his bag and knelt. “I have but a poor story to share.” The silence grew heavy around us as he waited.

I shifted next to him as if to get up to leave, but then he gathered the courage to continue. “I came from another world. I was lost for many tides, living as an animal. I would still be lost but for her. She found me in a cave, eating grubs. She loved me until I remembered that I was a man. She loves everyone, not me specially, but everyone specially. But I love her. Only her. And she is injured now and not getting better. I offer my life for her healing. It is all I have to give.”

He fell silent and waited for the blue wraith to appear, to claim him.

In the distance, the ship’s bell rang, sounding as though it were miles away rather than just offshore. I pulled Hammy to his feet and led him through the fog as he wept. The sight of Hammy weeping undid me. I wept with him. We all love Darelle. I could have used my song for her, instead of Isseh who is already dead.

As we climbed aboard the ship, I signaled Vexia that she should not ask what had happened. She took us back to the port and signaled a water taxi for us, never saying a word. Never seeming to notice our tears.

Back at the guildhall, Hammy went immediately back to his room where he lay on his bed, weeping as a child might for a dead parent. I sat with him until he fell asleep, then I slipped out and down to the infirmary.

There I saw Darelle, up and walking for the first time since her injury. She was telling one of the sisters, “I don’t know what happened, but I felt a chill course through my body. Then suddenly, a voice told me to stand up.”

She felt at where the wounds were still bandaged, then said, “Sister, take these off. I think the wounds are ... “

“They’re gone!” the sister cried out as she unwrapped them, and then turned to fetch Tuzlyn.

When the leech had verified that the wounds were gone and that there were not even scars left behind, I grabbed Darelle’s hand. “You need to tell Hammy. You have no idea what he went through this afternoon. Go! Go now.”

She ran down the hall, yelling his name, burst into his room, and then I heard the sounds of Darelle’s laughter as Hammy burst out of the room with her in his arms.

“We drink now, yes?” Hammy once again the happy Hammy we all love.

Darelle screamed with joy, put her arms around his neck and kissed him long and hard. “We drink now, yes.”

Those wraiths are amazing, and I am truly grateful for their gifts. But it will be too soon if I ever have to go back there again.

Respectfully submitted,
Fendral Ironheart

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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THE PORT’S MAW — A Southside Resistance cell attempted a daring midnight run to bring grain and tools to the citizens of The Warrens. The plan was to pass the cargo from a fishing vessel directly into a hidden outfall channel within the Port’s Maw sewer tunnels.

The vessel was intercepted near the harbor breakwater by a Watch patrol. The fisher is currently missing, and the tunnel entrance has been locked down by an iron gate.

Information needed: who leaked the drop timing and which cell block in the Watch dungeon holds the crew.

5Ashmere 87 Rumor Gathering Report Team 1

Submitted by Corbin Kettlebright with Kerren Vale

We were directed to a contact in the Undercity known only as “The Buck.” Barty seemed to know him, so he came along.

“He won’t talk to you if he don’t know you,” Barty assured us.

The Buck was abnormally large, and yet somehow quite intriguing. It was something in the eyes, blue as the sea on a sunny day, but you’d swear there were clouds moving across them in response to an inner breeze. Today, they turned into storm clouds when he heard what we wanted. I’d swear I even saw lightning once… He paced, clenching his fists, and swearing about someone named Mac-Muoi. “Gods be damned Phantazari pirate acted like he was an ally, then turned us in.”

We asked where we could found Mac-Muoi and he named a ship, The Dark Deep. “It’s probably in Crasmere by now. Ye won’t find’er here. Ye’d be safer if you din’t find’er anywhere,” he said, staring pointedly down at my diminutive stature. I saw lightning again and could have sworn I felt the heat of thunder as well. He grunted, derision clear on his features, and stomped off. We had been dismissed from his presence.

“That went well,” Barty said.

“Compared to what?” I challenged.

“Compared to dead.” He refused to meet my eyes. I sent him back to the guildhall.

We continued down to the port and asked a stevedore to be shown where the bars had been installed. “We need to make sure no adventuring team is going to be trapped in sewers in case of unexpected flooding.”

That seemed to be accepted. One of the dockworkers offered to show us the bars.

Once out of earshot of his boss, he said, “Give us 3 days. Me and the boys are adjustin’ it. We’ll have it workin’ like a door, but lookin’ like a gate. Ye’ll be safe. We ‘ppreciate the work ya do keepin’ the monsters at bay.”

“Did you see anything the night the smugglers tried to deliver?”

The man was stricken. “I cain’t talk about that.”

“Understood. If you hear anything, you can find us at the Spire. Dinner on us.” He nodded and hurried off.

We examined the bars and decided to ask Anya to send a team to check them from the inside. That was as far as we could get today. We just had to hope the dockhand would show up for dinner.

He didn’t, but we received a message that read “The Dark Deep turned them in.”

Confirmation that the pirates are working with the noble houses. We wondered which house The Dark Deep works for.

Respectfully submitted,
Corbin Kettlebright

5 Ashmere 87 Rumor Gathering Report Team 2

Submitted by Sabine Le Duc with Griselda Coalhand

We signed out some horses so that we could explore the bluffs southwest of the Southside city boundaries, beyond the military base. This was unknown territory for me, even though I was born and raised on the Southside. No one ventures this far South, and no one talks about why.

After an uneventful hour picking through rocky scrub, we happened on the ruins of what appeared to be a small fortification. We hobbled the horses and managed to slip through a broken area of the wall.

Most of the ruins were what you’d expect: a bunkhouse, a mess area, some officers’ staging areas, and an armory. We climbed into an observation tower to survey the area and that’s when I saw it: a graveyard. My skin immediately began to crawl. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

We made our way out of the ruins, but found our horses were gone.

Griselda said, “I thought we were alone...”

“Not near a graveyard. Never near a graveyard Come on, we’re leaving.”

“Kai...”

“...will understand when we explain. Come on! Head for the base!”

I began to run, and Griselda reluctantly followed until I saw them in front of me and stopped. Between us and the base were 9 zombies, spread out in military formation to prevent us slipping past.

I turned around. 9 more zombies, again in formation. Our chances were not good, but I didn’t want to say that out loud. Superstition. It’s beneath me, but it still surfaces sometimes. “They’re slow,” I said. “We just need to fight past them and keep running. Ready?”

“No, but...”

I let out a howling war cry that Buddi had taught me from someone named Xena the Warrior Princess on his world as I ran directly at the 9 zombies between us and the relative safety of the military base.

I used a prayer point to summon a steed, while Griselda followed, complaining non-stop. Nehalennia save me from moody dwarves!

I managed to crush the skulls of 3 zombies before my summoned steed arrived. I leapt onto it and pulled Griselda up. We galloped off, escaping uninjured.

I released the steed once we were safely past the base and nearly to the pedestrian bridge across the Sanae.

Griselda stopped Sgt. Morn to tell her about what happened.

Morn, a normally even-tempered officer, shivered. “You found Death’s Sepulchre, a notorious haunt of the undead, including vampires. Most of the undead you fight in the sewers are spawned there. The City would probably pay the Guild to destroy it and empty the graveyard.”

She said that like it was a job that could be completed easily rather than an all-out war that would take weeks or months. As if we had no other sources of undead to worry about. I shook my head. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

I smoothed things over with Kai, although I suspect we may still be docked for replacements. Then, despite my misgivings, I talked to Niamh about sending some clerics over to clear out Death’s Sepulchre.

“We need more clerics,” was all she said as she added it to a list.

Respectfully submitted,
Sabine LeDuc

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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5 Ashmere 87 Personal Memo

To: Archives only
From: Boudiath Moonshadow
RE: Os-Wiu

I have been asked this evening to monitor the movements of Os-Wiu. I have conflicting emotions about this and am using this memo to see if I can work through them.

My first issue is that I do not know why this is being asked of me. I have no idea what he has done to deserve this treatment. I trust the owners and officers that there is a good reason for it, and so I will comply. But it feels unfair to have me do this monitoring without knowledge of the purpose. If they trust me to do the monitoring, they should trust me with the information about why it is necessary.

My second issue is that I have an immense amount of respect for the man. He saw potential in me, and he has helped me develop that potential. Doing this feels disloyal to him. Not doing it would feel disloyal to the guild. It is perplexing. Again, information would help.

My third issue is that Merrick will be monitoring Os-Wiu’s research. While I’m glad that this responsibility was not given to me, I wonder why it’s not being done by the Wizards Guild in a more official capacity. And... oh.

I realize now the reason why this is being handled this way. I don’t want to believe him capable of that. And, despite what I said earlier in the memo, I now wish that I did not know what he did. It is a terrible load to bear.

I should burn this, but in case it will be helpful to someone in the future, I submit my thoughts to the archive.

May Nehalennia guide my path. This will be no easy matter.

5 Duskwell 87 Staff Report: Outreach Archivist

Submitted by Sanja Amarat

As promised, I brought a friend from the City in to meet with Niamh and Willem about a job in Monster Parts Sales. His name is Trey Pax, and he is an inventory specialist. That is no small thing in a bureaucracy as large as the City’s. Niamh and Willem allowed me to sit in on the interview.

Willem asked him some questions about his qualifications. Trey answered that he has been an inventory specialist for the City in the Purchasing department, but he is bored with the job. He ran afoul of one of the nobles, and as punishment, he was stuck in a room by himself most of the day handing out supplies like ink and quills occasionally. He would like to find a place where he can get back to working with people in a more active environment. (I was unaware of this until today and am dying to find out the details.)

Niamh asked what he thought about working with goblins. “I heard you have one here, and that he helped defeat the goblin king. That’s fine by me. I take people as they are, not how they look.” The truth stone indicated that this was true.

She asked him about working with the nobility, and he coughed. “Ma’am. If you don’t hire me, and they find out I said anything against them, I won’t have a job at all.”

“This is a secure building.”

“Well,” he looks around and then whispers, “I don’t like the ones that come in to the offices. They’re just servants, but they order everyone around. The one from House Leandow who comes… well he’s the one that landed me in the dead end as it were.”

The truth stones were apparently happy enough with that answer, so Willem took him on a tour of the facility while Niamh thought it over.

“The truth stone didn’t pick up any lies, but there is something off about him,” she said to me.

I chuckled. “Yeah, he’s an odd duck, but he’s a good person. I wouldn’t bring him here if I didn’t trust him. Ask him what he thinks about the elections. See what you think.”

Niamh did that when Willem brought him back. Now, Trey became quite animated. “That’s what this City needs. It would give the people a fighting chance. And Fenric Hollow is the very man I’d vote for. Whoever set that whole thing up has my vote, too.” The truth stone proved he was telling the truth, and I saw Niamh vainly attempt to keep a grin off her face.

“When can you start?” Willem asked.

“I’d start now if you’d let me.”

“Go back and talk to your boss. You don’t need to say where you’re going, but ask when you can leave.”

Trey practically ran out the door. He was back before lunch and happily working alongside Krik and Tess.

Willem told Niamh later, “He’s even teaching them to read. They wouldn’t even try for me, but he has a way about him.”

Odd ducks know how to get along with other odd ducks, I thought. Trey is going to work out fine.

Respectfully submitted,
Sanja Amarat

5 Ashmere 87 Quartermaster report

Submitted by Kaelen Kai

These people have qualified for upgrades to their current equipment:

• Anazeli Brightwell

• Vala Swiftbow

• Ken Sato

Congratulations on your hard work! Please come to the armory to get your weapons and other equipment upgraded.

Respectfully submitted,
Kaelen Kai

5 Ashmere 87 Bounty Division Daily Income Report

Submitted by Anya Stoutbrew and Willem Finch

Bounties

Total Bounty Paid: 2471 gold
Guild Share: 247 gold

Sales

Daily Sales 1317 gold

Note: Please stop by and welcome our new inventory specialist, Trey Pax. He’ll be bunking with the security crew and taking overnight shifts at the Guardian Division.

Respectfully submitted,
Anya Stoutbrew and Willem Finch

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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5 Ashmere 87 Status Update: The Trial of Os-Wiu Pt. 2 NEED TO KNOW

Compiled and submitted by Guienne Caruncio

Atlene: We sit in judgement tonight of Os-Wiu, who committed crimes against Fenris Spirewick and the Guild, putting us all in danger of imprisonment, loss of license, and loss of citizenship. The crime is the blinding of Lord Drenik Matmaiwl and the attempted blinding of Brother Aimery Ravissiel. He did this for his own purposes without approval by this body and against our bylaws.

Speaking for the Guild will be Lysandra Paeff, Inter-Guild Liaison.

Speaking for Os-Wiu will be Scribe Damaris, independent merchant.

Lysandra Paeff will begin.

Lysandra: The facts in this case are not in question. Os-Wiu has admitted to all of the charges. The only decision we have before us is that of how the Guild will react to his actions.

The decision before you is a weighty one. If we remove him from his position, the Institute will be left without a director and will need to be shut down, at least temporarily. This would leave the guild without a pipeline for licensed wizards.

It would also cause a stir within the community. City officials and the Watch would begin an investigation as to why we took this action.

House Alizac and the Wizards Guild would almost surely take steps to make sure we could not reopen the Institute under new leadership.

Nevertheless, not to remove him would be to send a message to all members and apprentices that the Guild will tolerate vigilantism in the pursuit of personal agendas. That is a dangerous precedent to set.

You must consider all these issues in rendering a decision. I have nothing further, Madam President.

Damaris: As Miss Paeff has said, the facts are not in question, but she avoided giving you all the facts. I intend to rectify that oversight.

Please review your message crystals. Boenra has just uploaded the facts in Os-Wiu’s own words. I will give you a moment to review them.

(Darelle quietly read the memo from Os-Wiu to Hamish. Otherwise the room was silent.)

Once everyone had finished reading, Damaris began again: I will not add to the man’s own words, but I will tell you my own story. Before entering Sanctuary House, I was a scribe for Archmage Velthira Alizac. You believe the nobles are corrupt, and you wish to overthrow them. That is admirable, in so far as it goes.

I am here to tell you, however, that you are hopelessly naive if you believe it ends there. The nobles are irredeemably evil, and they must be removed at any cost. Even if it means you lose your freedom or your guild.

If you cannot grasp that truth, then you deserve what happens to you, for you will ultimately lose both your freedom and your guild no matter what you do.

The nobles will not be stopped through grassroots action and playing fair. Direct action is the only thing they respect.

If you do not believe me, let me reveal something that I believe you have not yet discovered. Os-Wiu’s sister was not the only woman one of the noble houses has conditioned to serve their cause. You have another such woman working alongside you. You trust her, even as she reveals your secrets to House Alizac every day. They are coming for you, regardless of what you decide tonight. Archmage Alizac will strip everything away from you, and she will not worry about building a consensus of the people or playing fair.

I came tonight not to speak on Os-Wiu’s behalf, but to speak on yours. If you hear nothing else I’ve said, hear this: If you do not follow his example soon, you will have nothing left but your lives, and even those could be taken. I know the Archmage, and I know the depth of her hatred for you. Heed my warning.

(Scribe Damaris made eye contact with everyone in the room. It seemed to take hours before she spoke again.)

I have nothing further.

Lysandra and Damaris left the room, so that the owners and officers could discuss how to handle Os-Wiu and the threat to the Guild. I accompanied them. (My notes on what was said between them will follow this memo.)

There is no record of the discussion other than a split vote determined that Os-Wiu would stay on at the guild with restrictions on his movement and research. These will be administered by Boudiath and Merrick, using a truth stone. They will not be informed why this is required, however they will be assured that it is of the utmost importance that they take this responsibility seriously.

No one was talking when they left the room.

Niamh and Kai went to talk with Boudiath and Merrick.

Atlene and Elowen went to talk to Os-Wiu, and I accompanied them. Atlene did the talking. She explained the decision, and added, “If at any time we discover that you are trying to subvert the monitoring, you will be asked to leave immediately. There are other conditions. You will no longer be welcome in the main guildhall. Meals will be brought to you. Sanja is off limits. Please give me your key to the tunnels.”

Wiu handed the key over. “I am a prisoner in this building then?”

“If you choose to think of it that way, yes. We prefer to consider it probation and an opportunity for you to earn your way back into our trust.”

“May I go see my sister?”

“No. We will contact the Jarl. When she is healthy, Santa and Rudy will take her somewhere far from Windgrest where she can live in peace. You will not be told where she is, and you will not be allowed to contact her.”

Wiu dropped his head. “Thank you. It is enough to know that she will be somewhere safe.”

Respectfully submitted,
Guienne Caruncio, Institute Steward

5 Ashmere 87 Status Update: Additional material: Post-trial discussion between Damaris and Lysandra.

Lysandra made several arguments in favor of Damaris revealing the spy.

Damaris told her that the woman was performing the task under extreme duress and feared being sent back to House Alizac where she was sure she would be killed.

“I was told this in confidence, and I will not break that confidence. I will say, however, that if Niamh thinks about which woman she has found alone in her office on multiple occasions, you have probably found a good suspect. I just beg you not to question her here, regardless how much you trust your wards. They have a way to circumvent them to listen to whatever she hears and says. You will need to find a way to get her to safety outside Windgrest before you question her.”

Lysandra thanked Damaris and promised that they would do that.

I met on the Institute roof with Atlene, Lysandra, and Niamh after this discussion. Niamh knew immediately.

“It’s Joelina. I never thought… how do we talk to her?”

Atlene said, “Perhaps a few of the sisters would enjoy a field trip with Santa. We could ask Acolyte Daylian to let Sister Joelina go in her place. We don’t have to say why. The Acolyte will go along with the suggestion. Let’s give this a couple days to settle before we arrange it. In the meantime, let’s have Molkyr settled in your office so that it’s never empty, Niamh. Give him some kind of job to do for you as a cover.”

Respectfully submitted,
Guienne Caruncio, Institute Steward

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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5 Ashmere 87 Status Update: The Trial of Os-Wiu Pt. 1 NEED TO KNOW

Compiled and submitted by Atlene Swiftsword

Part 1: Fight in the Magic Lab — as relayed by Os-Wiu

Fenris’ face was red, his fists clenched. He paced the lab rapidly as he screamed at me. I had stopped listening; we were going over the same arguments on loop. I blocked the sound; if I hadn’t, he would have been heard all the way to City Center.

“You told me that was a school project! You lied to me! I could be arrested and never find my way out of the Wizards Guild dungeon.”

“I’m sorry. Let me explain.”

“There is no explanation that will change how you risked my life.”

I thought about that. It was true that my explanation was meaningful for me, but I could see his point. He didn’t sign up to trade his life for my sister’s. Still...

“I left memos saying that you didn’t know, admitting that I lied. They are in the archive right now.” This was starting to sound feeble, even to me.

“I. Don’t. Care! You should have told me and let me make my own decision.”

“I couldn’t risk it. This was too important for me.”

“What about what is important to me? My life? Selfish bastard.”

He stormed out of the room. I prayed he wasn’t going to tell Atlene, but if he was, I wouldn’t stop him. I had made my peace with my decision. Sul-Ja was safe, and that was all that mattered to me. I sat and waited to see what he would do.

It didn’t take long. Fenris returned with Atlene, Elowen, Kai, Niamh, and Lysandra. We sat in the classroom, staring at each other.

“I’ll put a bubble of silence around the room, just in case there is more shouting,” I said to break the silence. The women were still, however. I’d heard that Atlene used silence as a weapon, so I sat and took it. Fenris, however, was practically vibrating in his seat, still so angry he could barely control himself.

Finally Lysandra said, “Please understand, Os-Wiu, that if we had felt that magic was the way to achieve our goal, we would have come to you.”

“I was not thinking about your goal, but mine.”

Atlene finally spoke. “Which was...?”

I laid out my sister’s story for them, her degradation at the hands of Drenik Matmaiwl and Aimery Ravissiel. “I fully intended to blind both of them, but City Watch found me before I could get the second spell off.”

Everyone had now ceded the floor to Atlene, and she was commanding. I would not want to face her in a dungeon. Even seated in everyday clothes, I feared she might slice my head off my shoulders with the steel of her words. “How did you get away?” She paused, then raised her hand. “No, don’t tell me. I just need to know that you didn’t hurt any of the Watch.”

“I did not. I respect your stance on that.”

Atlene took a deep breath and centered herself. “The owners and officer will have to vote on whether you can stay. You understand that if we vote to expel you from the guild, it puts our entire program in jeopardy. It’s practically an admission that we were at fault. They are watching us. This was a selfish thing you did. On my world, we’d say narcissistic. First you put Fenris in danger, and then you put the Institute in danger, if not the guild itself. All because what you wanted was more important.”

“I... yes. I see that. I didn’t think it through.”

She did not acknowledge my admission, but turned to the steward. “Niamh, send out the notice to all the owners about the meeting. Lysandra, you’ll prosecute the case as you are familiar with all the codes that he broke. Os-Wiu, do you have anyone that will stand in for you?”

I carefully considered this. I did not want Sanja to be involved. As far as they knew, Sanja knew nothing about what had happened, and I wanted to keep it that way.

“There was a sister who left here recently to open her own business as a scribe. I don’t know her, but if she is willing, I would have her.”

Lysandra nodded. “I will get Damaris over here to meet with you. If after hearing your story she agrees to represent you, she will be in the room in your place.”

“I will not be able to attend my own trial?”

“That is the Windgrest way,” Lysandra said. “Atlene would have it done differently, but we are in Windgrest. We will follow the conventions.”

They left, and Molkyr saw me to my suite. He placed himself outside my door. I was a prisoner. I could, of course, overpower him with magic, but I would not. I had committed to this guild’s strange procedures when I had taken their oath. I laid on my bed and stared at the ceiling.

I must have slept because I heard the door open and a young woman was shown in.

“Scribe Damaris?”

She nodded, her visage grave. “Tell me the story.”

She listened, then stood.

“I will represent you, but I can promise nothing.”

“That is fair.”

She left, and I never saw her again.

—end of Os-Wiu’s pre-trial testimony—

Respectfully submitted,
Atlene Swiftsword, Guild President

ATTACHMENT: Memo

From: Niamh Celeste
To: All owners and officers

Your attendance is required in the conference room today at moonrise for a meeting of the utmost secrecy and importance.

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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5 Ashmere 87 Status Update: Dolenberg

Submitted by Faelina Sablefoot

“WHERE IS HE?” The giant scarecrow danced around us, avoiding Zook’s lightning bolts that would have set him on fire while nimbly sidestepping Fendral’s sword and Rubria’s war hammer. “SANTA! SANTA! WHERE ARE YOU SANTA?” he sang out.

I tried a stab with my dagger and missed. “He’s not here,” I screamed, jabbing again, missing, and taking a blow to the shoulder as a reward for my failure.

“I CAN SMELL HIM AND THAT FILTHY REINDEER. I TRAVELED ACROSS THE STARS TO FIND HIM. WHERE IS HE?”

“I’m all out of spells,” Zook squeaked, as the monster tossed him against a wall that dripped with… BAM. He tossed me, too, so I got a close look at the dripping… ichor. Red cave spider ichor. So much red cave spider ichor.

“On me,” I yelled as soon as I slid to the ground. I climbed to my feet, turned tail, and ran for the exit, my team on my heels. I hate running from monsters, but this one was something else. And he had a hard on for ...

“TELL THAT WORTHLESS SANTA THAT HANS TRAPP IS WAITING FOR HIM! ” he bellowed as our backsides disappeared down the corridors and back into the castle.

Team:

• Lead: Rogue Faelina Sablefoot

• Dwarf Warrior Durgan Flintbreaker

• Cleric Rubria Heartshine

• Probationary Wizard Zook Fizzlebang

Monsters encountered

• Vermin

  • Red Cave Spiders

• Bosses

  • Doppleganger

  • Hans Trapp

Injuries suffered

• Everyone was injured against Hans Trapp before we fled. Damage to heads, backs, shoulders, and pride.

Treasures recovered

• 30 gp

• 1 rage potion

Bounties and contracted payment collected

243 gp in bounties earned, representing the removal of 2 red cave spiders and 1 doppelganger. Payment has been secured and deposited with the steward.

Respectfully submitted,
Faelina Sablefoot

5 Ashmere 87 Status Update: Dolenberg

Submitted by Santa Claus

We had an uneventful trip to Dolenberg. I went into the castle with the team to talk to the Lord. The retainer stated that he was too unwell for an audience, however the Lord has granted permission for our travel team to have free access to his library and archives at any time.

I bowed to show gratitude. “Our archivists will come next week with the team on our usual day. Do you have an archivist they can work with?”

“I am Tanat Sabo, the Lord’s archivist. Ask for me when you arrive.”

I bowed again and took my leave as the team went into the dungeon.

Rudy and I had our own mission: to bring back a dwarf to work with Gar-Vik and Tuzlyn. We made for The Watchful Unicorn to talk to the Puddlemallows.

“We’re hoping to find someone who will come back with us to Windgrest for a day or so, Biddy. Our alchemist and leech want to examine the skin lesions to see if they can determine a cause. They may be able to formulate a cure. Do you know anyone who would go? I can have them there in a flash, no tiring travel. Free food and board while they are there.”

Biddy consulted with her brother, Glim, then he left and came back with Kruum Iron-Eye. Kruum was a stern fellow with an intricately braided beard. Very impressive. (I notice these things.) After I explained what we wanted, Kruum snorted and said, “No. But Lort has always wanted to see the city.” Then he stomped off.

“So sorry, Santa,” Biddy sighed. “Kruum is a bit of a grump. It’s the pain, dontcha know.”

I stayed back to enjoy some of Glim’s Giant Snails in Garlic Sauce, but Biddy and Rudy found Lort at his forge. Rudy explained what we wanted, and he agreed to come with us—mostly because the idea of a talking and flying deer fascinated him.

“How could I say no to that!” he exclaimed as he sat with me enjoying another dish of Glim’s swamp cuisine, Blackened Rock Fish drizzled with a spicy remoulade.

I told Biddy I’d need that recipe for Marta and she blushed with joy. Glim happily scratched it out for me. They have been trading recipes with Marta since I first met them. Recipe in hand, we took our leave.

As we loaded the sleigh, Lort met the team. He was surprised that no one treated him like he’s contagious or sick. “They treat me like a person! A regular person! This is the best day of my life.”

I had him help me buckle Rudy’s harness and then helped him up into the driver’s seat. “You’ll be taking us home,” I told him.

His eyes grew wide and dark. “B…b…but I don’t know how to drive this…” and Rudy took off. “Aieeeeeee!” And before Lort could finish his scream, Rudy had parked us in front of the stable and Tor was greeting him.

I thought Lort was a perfect fit for Gar-Vik’s needs. He was open, pleasant, and very excited to be with us. He ate dinner in the guildhall, where Darelle charmed him, and Hammy told him dirty stories. Buddi taught him a card trick, Holtha hugged him (apparently they might be cousins? or is that just a dwarf thing?) and the student wizards took him up to the observatory.

He told me was amazed by the family atmosphere in such a large group. “I never see more than one or two people a day back in Dolenberg. I think I’ve been lonely. This is the best day of my life! Wait. Did I say that already? Well, IT IS!” he said dancing a little jig.

He begged Marta for a recipe for the cookies that she had served him after his guildhall tour. He wanted to give it to the Puddlemallows so that “everyone back home can enjoy it, too.” Marta gave him all her cookie recipes. (The Puddlemallows already have them, but no one wanted to ruin Lort’s fun.)

He was given a choice of a private room or a bed in the infirmary by the fireplace. He chose the bed in the infirmary so he’d have company. Quite a talker, our Lort is.

“You’ll be with an adventurer who had a bad injury today, but he’s a good sort. And one of the sisters will sit with you all night in case you need anything,” Tuzlyn explained. “Then in the morning, we’ll get to work. I’m teaching the student wizards about the body, and they have been learning about skin. I’m interested to see if they can detect anything magical about your condition.”

Lort talked briefly to the recovering adventurer, a half-orc with a badly broken foot, but the day had been long, and the sister reported Lort fell asleep early and slept through the night without waking.

Respectfully submitted,
Santa Claus

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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5 Ashmere 87 Inter-Guild Relations: Scribes and Clerks Guild

Submitted by Lysandra Paeff

My list of things to do today was disheartening. I checked in with Sister Joelina to see if she had any sisters who would be interested in clerking for me. She said she would talk to one or two who might work out. That done, I sprinted out the door.

First, I had to pick up the manifests at the Mariners Guild and deliver a message from Vess about having a possible explanation for the missing barrier island.

Just down the lane I checked in with the Fishermen and Whalers Guild to ask if they had any information to pass along about smugglers. They didn’t, and I could tell that they had completely forgotten about our agreement. I made a mental note to check in there every week when I’m at the Mariners Guild. Eventually, they would remember.

Next I was back on the North side of the River Sanae at the Astronomers & Navigators Guild to pick up the paperwork Santa would need to fill out to be considered for a navigators license. Then I set up a trip for Santa to take their cartography interns into the backwoods as we had discussed. Vess had given me a copy of a map from Islebury’s library, which I gave to Dev-On, the guildmaster.

“Just pick an area and have them at our guildhall by morning tide on Tideborn. We’ll feed them breakfast while they’re being briefed.”

“Do they need to bring anything special?”

“Notebooks, pens, ink, and lunch. This will be mostly a getting-to-know-you excursion. They can let Santa take them on a tour of our usual destinations or they can choose one of their own. In the debriefing afterwards, they can make plans for a more organized trip the following week.”

“That sounds delightful. I wish I could go along,” he sighed.

“You can. The sleigh will transport as many people as you want to send.”

Next up, the Alchemists Guild. It was surprisingly quiet today. I stuck my head into Kaelix Jax’s office and he greeted me warmly. I ventured in and sat down. My feet were done for the day and I still had another stop to make after this.

“So… it seems like perhaps you’ve gotten things under control?” I asked.

He leaned forward. “It was the receptionist all along. She was working for House Alizac, putting pressure on my predecessor. She’s gone now, and we’re sorting through all the damage she did.”

“That’s good to hear. I know Gar-Vik is still interested in doing some joint research. He has an interesting case right now. Some kind of unknown skin disorder that’s killing dwarves over in Dolenberg. Do you have anyone who would like to collaborate with him and our leech on that case? Bit of a mystery, so the more people thinking on it, the better.”

“I wish I could do it. Sounds fascinating. But I’m still swamped. Let me talk to Pellam. It’s exactly the kind of thing he loves. When can I send him over?”

“Not today. Gar-Vik is at a ceremony today. How does tomorrow sound?”

“Perfect. I’ll send him for breakfast.”

I made my apologies for leaving so quickly, then I was off to my last stop, the Scribes & Clerks Guild. I asked for their archivist, Ral-Nae. She wanted to talk about ship wrecks and what our rogues were pulling up. I let her chatter on about antiquities for some time while I rested my feet. Finally, however, I stopped her.

“How is your ancient Phantazari?”

She practically leapt out of her chair. “It’s true? Oh, tell me it’s true! I’ve heard rumors that your guild has a chronogram that may be in ancient Phantazari. I would die to see it.”

I laughed. “There’s no need for such dire sacrifice. We do have a chronogram, and we think it may be in ancient Phantazari. But we can’t tell. We need an expert… someone like you, for instance, to look at it. We can even give you a detailed picture of it to keep and study.”

The young woman was so thrilled she couldn’t form a coherent sentence, so I went on. “We’d also like you to work with our new linguist and teach him your language. Is that a possibility?”

“Absolutely. Send him over.”

“His name is Suhail, and he’ll come in the morning.” Things were going so well that I decided to push my luck. “We have a scribe we use--Aldis Vellum. I’m sure you’re familiar with him?”

“Oh yes, he’s a fine scribe.”

“He is, but he has an unfortunate attitude toward our business. We need a scribe who is knowledgeable about the risks of what we do who can advise us on it without the sneer.”

“Oh, yes, that is unfortunate. Let’s talk to Nilda. She’ll have a good referral for you.”

Nilda was busy, but without blinking she said, “Shira Savoi would be perfect for you. She’s just two doors down.”

“Thank you. I’ll check in with her. Is there anything we can do for you in return?” I asked.

Nilda regarded me with a tired air of appraisal. It was clear she did not think there was anything I could do for her. Finally, though, she shrugged and said, “I need guards for the vault on overnights. Do you have anyone who could do that?”

“We do. JeOc. He’s a sentient mithral golem. Doesn’t sleep. 5 gp per week. 5 pm to 8 am. Will that work?”

She took a deep breath, and I saw her entire body relax. “Oh. I hadn’t dared hope. Can he start tonight?”

“Absolutely. Payment upfront.” She didn’t hesitate. The gold pieces were in my hand as I walked out the door.

Respectfully submitted,
Lysandra Paeff

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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5 Ashmere 87 Magic Lab NEED TO KNOW

Submitted by Os-Wiu

I did not allow the students to take lunch right away. Instead, I took them back to the classroom and talked to them about emotional regulation.

“I will tell you that three of you would have been removed from training if you’d been at the Wizards Guild. A wizard who cannot regulate their emotions is a danger to everyone around them. Mirella had a moment where she was upset. That was easy to see, but it was the least dangerous of the three infractions. Olin and Jaxen, yours were more dangerous because you didn’t perceive that your emotions were dysregulated. You leaned into competitiveness; that kind of dysfunction will get you and your team killed. I will be watching both of you for this trait in the future. I don’t want to expel you, but I will not accept any more of this type of behavior. Is that understood?”

The young men hung their heads and nodded.

“Mirella, you allowed yourself to become impatient. Were you comparing yourself to Melisende or one of the other students?”

She nodded.

“That needs to stop. A working wizard must stand on their own strengths, not try to be someone else. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

He nodded, and with a wave, they were dismissed for lunch.

I had felt someone watching me during this talk, so I turned to see two men standing in the doorway of my office. I greeted Licancabur and said to the other, “You must be Tai-Ung. I am sorry this was your introduction to my class.”

“We observed some of what happened in the infirmary as well, but we didn’t want to disrupt anything,” Tai-Ung replied.

“I don’t know what Licancabur has told you, but many of the students you will observe here were rejected by the Arcane Collegium. I’ve already expelled one student, so they are aware that I will not tolerate subpar performance.”

Tai-Ung nodded. “I respect that and look forward to working with you on this project. Tell me why they are working in the infirmary.”

I snorted. “They thought after their success with the sleep spell that it would be easy from here on out rather than realizing that it’s an uphill battle to achieve mastery. We were going to work on the blessing spell next, but most of them are completely ignorant about how the body works. They don’t even understand their own bodies.”

“I see. This is a... unique approach.”

“We tried body scan meditation and class work, but it wasn’t sinking in. We aren’t calendar-driven like your school, so we can spend time remediating issues like this. Will it work? I don’t know, but it’s worth a try.”

“How long will they be working in the infirmary?”

“Tuzlyn, our leech, said a week, so maybe three more days. We’ll see how they go. I think today was beneficial, even if all they got out of it was the little speech I gave them afterwards.”

Tai-Ung nodded again, thoughtful. “I like the small class size and the idea of licensing one spell at a time. The flexible timing is another strength of your approach.”

“I’m enjoying the freedom that running my own Institute offers me.”

Tai-Ung raised an eyebrow. “Your own institute?”

“Ah. Yes, it’s confusing. I’m affiliated with the guild, but this is my Institute. I rent the building from them and pay them for services such as meals and staff. The Academy of Balance, which trains Druids, is part of the guild. We share space.”

“You are very entangled with the guild, but the independence is important. Thank you for clarifying that. Tell me, do you have any opinion about what happened to Lord Matmaiwl?”

I felt myself stiffen and tried to visualize my body relaxing. “I... know very little about it. Just some gossip at the morning meeting. Was it magical?”

“A deep red aura circled his head as the damage was being done.”

“Ah. Well, interesting spell work that. Will the eyes heal?”

“There is nothing wrong with his eyes, yet he is blind. The guild is investigating.”

“That sounds like a high level bespoke spell. I’d love to hear what your investigation uncovers.”

“Yes,” was all Tai-Ung said before walking out the door.

Licancabur shrugged. “He’ll take getting used to. He doesn’t always speak directly. As for the investigation, I’m heading it up. I’ll keep you in the loop, but I want you to do the same. I know the guild has contacts in the Undercity. If there are high-level mages there, do let me know.”

Licancabur strolled out, and I sat at my desk making notes. I resisted checking his drawer to see if there were any stray ruby chips left, whether it had been searched. I considered whether I should go to Sul-Ja immediately and flee, but remembered that the Jarl had warned me not to come until summoned. I sighed and continued my notes. Tonight I’ll check the drawer.

Respectfully submitted,
Os-Wiu

[disclaimer: The Silver Spire Guild is a homebrew solo TTRPG that exists only in my head… and now in yours.]

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