The Saga of Helane of Thross

Originally published November 10th 2024

I recently did a solo hexcrawl of The Wilderlands of High fantasy using Dungeon Crawl Classics. I ran the game one in game day per real life day. I didn't use any special solo rules, I just used standard Basic Expert encounter procedures and a set of playing cards called into the weird. Let me tell you how things went down.

Day 1

Helane wakes in the middle of the woods. Her head pounds, she doesn't know where she is or what she was doing before hand. Unwilling to die in the woods she begins heading north, finding her way into a grasslands with a river heading east. She sets up camp, 4 rations left.

Day 2

As the night went on she noticed light's and smoke from a town directly north of her. Not wishing to ford the river she follows it upstream into the hills. There she finds an adventuring party of 7 or so huddled around a wounded beastman. With uncertainty wracking her she makes contact. Realizing she is a wizard they ask her if she is come from the order of the extinguished flame and if she is here to finish the job. She answers truthfully she is not, she asks why they are tending to a wounded beastman. They answer this was their leader Loden the Marine, they had attempted to steal magic scrolls from a band of wizards but in their escape he had been struck low, he was not a beastman but he has been mutating at a rapid pace, and dying alongside that.

Getting a good luck at him his sabertoothed raven head reveals no emotion, a large ant seems to be in the process of emerging from his torso, it's clear that's what's killing him. In his hand is still clutched a magic scroll. Helane takes pity on a fellow sailor. She offers to help take this man to the sea in hopes of of giving him a proper burial. The group seems the group is divided on weather or not to trust her. In particular Akurion the Slaver, a thief and lover of Loden, doesn't want her to tag along, citing the foul sorceries that got them here in the first place. The group however in the end agrees to let her tag along. They were heading in the same direction she was attempting to head anyways. As the sun set the group make their way to the village of Elf-burn.

Day 3

The night passes uneventfully, with the group finding a small inn named the the Drunken Chimera, her fellow travelers pay a gold piece to house them all. Loden is kept under a heavy cloak as to not reveal his mutated state. Upon waking up in the morning the city comes alive, the small town of only about a gross elves is out in force. The market that typically has traders from all around the local area is hardly attended. The town is holding a feast, recently the village elder died, and his son Ermidon has taken up his place. The feast features no meat but vegtables baked into the bread are delicious enough for Helane. Come noon the feast is over, a more private ceremony is happening with just the family. Outsiders, especially non elven outsiders would not be allowed in so the group discusses their options.

Obviously Loden has maybe a few days left. No one in the group has the heart to kill him because they are not sure they can do it painlessly. Helane using magic to kill him off but decides against it, there is no way Akurion would allow it. Helane does pass arround one idea, sell the scroll off to someone in town and then use the money to buy a small boat and haul it back to the river in order to get to the sea. Akurion snaps at her screaming "Who died and put you in charge? No one! Loden is still alive he makes the choices then it's me next in command." For a few seconds the silence is unbearable, right before it has to beak she storms off.

While exchanging a few looks with the other party members Helane wonders how much giving a fellow sailor a proper burial at sea is worth, and decide's it's not worth dealing with someone like Akurion. She find anyone willing to help her make her way south to the river, she finds a squirrely fellow named Kordofo. Heading south with a small raft the sun sets as she follows the river downstream.

Day 4

Night passes on the River Alderock, Kordofo guiding her through the night, sleep evades him as it does all elves. When the sun rises they are at the Estuary of Roglaroon. Kordofo posses a question "do you plan on going to the wine dark sea sea or further inland or further inland to Modron or the City State of the invincible overlord?"

"Have you ever heard of Thross?"

"Not once."

"Then let us go to the sea."

After some time floating northward in the brackish water Helane speaks up, "How long do you plan on escorting me"

"... I'll take you to Seasteadholm, you can follow the path north to Warwik and find a good boat there"

"Why are you helping me?"

"Needed space, needed time to clear my head."

Without the flow of the river to help them along the pace to the sea slows down considerably. Twilight turns the waters gold, and Helane feels at peace.

Suddenly emerging from the water is a great sea serpant with a glossy dark brown hide. Before she even has time to react it shoots a stream of bright magenta fluid directly at her face, before he brain even understands what is happening she ducks down, the venom just barely missing her. It then quickly lunges at Kordofo dragging them down to the waters below, the mouth of the estuary turning dark with blood.

Unleashing arcane energy her finger start jetting white hot arcane fire, the searing hot plumes slam into the sea serpent. It hisses in pain and dropping Kordofo's corpse. She had hoped to scare it off with the fire, she only angered it. In the final moments of her life she thought of the hills of Thross.