Session 2: Aboard the Brazen Pegasus
Campaign date: early campaign, exact table date unknown
Source: DM notes forwarded 2026-07-08
Previously on…
The party escaped the burning Mistwillow Brownstone after Throbbin Mistwillow was murdered by an algiz-rune arrow. Wanted for the killing, they fled through the sewers, accepted gifts from Balm Bitdoom, and reached Baldur’s Gate’s shore before dawn.
What happened
The party reached the Brazen Pegasus with their green salamander companion Clarky. They were wanted for Throbbin’s murder and suspected Throbbin’s butler, Mr. Stephens, had acted with the shadowy Symposium.
On the ship they met the core crew and passengers: Syndra Sylvane, Captain Ortimay Swift, Flea, Dr. Jack Aubrey, and LeGrand.
The shipboard start was rough. Faf picked fights with nearly everyone, drank a whole keg of malt liquor, and passed out for 36 hours. Bonzo and Isilrod found him unconscious with his 500 gp untouched, then chose a practical joke with cream and a feather over theft.
Bonzo wrestled LeGrand and lost decisively, but earned his respect. Bodius visited Syndra, who invited the party to dinner.
At dinner, Syndra proved that the Death Curse prevents resurrection magic from returning the dead. She said she and Throbbin had already sent a legendary adventuring party into Chult and believed them dead: Anthe Grackles, Jacque LeFleur, Mikshail Valakovich, and Cheezy Sloth. Syndra suspected the Red Wizards of Thay and their lich leader, Szass Tam, might be connected.
Dr. Aubrey later explained more Chultan history. The jungle teemed with undead, and one possible culprit was Ras Nsi, a fallen Chultan warrior and former paladin who had been cast out and now commanded, or had lost control of, an undead army deep in the jungle.
At night, the ship reached MarshSwamp Pass. A tiny voodoo-lit cabin appeared: Calypso the Oracle’s cabin. Calypso whispered to Bonzo, “Will you join me for tea?” He accepted and vanished into the miniature cabin.
Inside, Calypso told Bonzo:
- “Trust the numbers.”
- One of his feathers was a wereraven feather if he chose to eat it.
- The bag was a Bag of Holding.
- The Symposium is real and it is not real. “Sometimes the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing you it does not exist.”
Bonzo returned to find Faf holding an axe to Captain Swift’s neck in an attempted mutiny. Faf forced an apology from Swift, who fled to Syndra’s cabin.
Dr. Aubrey then entered Calypso’s cabin too, with Clarky in his pocket thanks to Isilrod. Moments later, a red star crossed the sky, red eyes appeared in the marsh, a pale-faced Red Wizard appeared overhead, and eight goblins swung onto the deck.
The Red Wizard killed Captain Swift, then Faf and Isilrod knocked her out. Seven goblins died. Bodius was knocked unconscious and left in danger while the moon hung orange-blooded above the swamp. One goblin remained clinging to Isilrod’s back.
What changed
- Syndra confirmed the Death Curse blocks resurrection.
- The party learned of an earlier legendary Chult expedition: Anthe Grackles, Jacque LeFleur, Mikshail Valakovich, and Cheezy Sloth.
- Calypso privately gave Bonzo key facts about his items and the Symposium.
- Captain Swift was killed by a Red Wizard attack.
- Clarky entered Calypso’s cabin with Dr. Aubrey.
Open threads
- What happened to Bonzo inside Calypso’s cabin beyond the known clues?
- What did Calypso show Dr. Aubrey?
- Why did the Red Wizard attack at MarshSwamp Pass?
- What does “Trust the numbers” mean?
- How real is the Symposium, and how does it operate if people can plausibly deny it exists?
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