Disaster has destroyed Spelljammer Academy!
A sudden explosion of iridescent vines bursts from the surface of Toril, causing earthquakes and destroying anything in their way. These vines were 50 feet in diameter at the base, seemed to be growing out of Toril’s core, and grew a thousand feet or more out above the surface.
Along with these vines appeared a number of humanoid astral blights that seemed only interested in capturing and killing any sentients in their paths.
Headmaster Mirt and the officers summoned everyone at the Academy to take to the skies.
Our heroes were waylaid by astral blights, though their valiant efforts got them through with minimal damage. By the time our heroes reached Sky Dock, only their captured Damselfly-class ship remained.
The last survivors at the Academy-–Captain Sartell and Flapjack the Flumph, whose crew abandoned them in the chaos–-joined our heroes on their ship. Together, they set a path for the Rock of Bral to get to the bottom of this disaster affecting all of Toril.
Opening scrawl, used in place of playing Light of Xaryxis’ chapter 1 since it doesn’t make a lot of sense for people coming from Spelljammer Academy
As the party left Toril’s orbit, they were waylaid by a group of astral elves in a star moth. The Dark Star fired upon the party’s damselfly as it closed in. Ready for another fight after their home had been destroyed, the party turned their damselfly to take the enemy head on.
Unlike the mercenary githyanki and giff working for Vocath the mercane, this attack was from a part of an astral elf armada. The Dark Star’s captain and two lieutenants boarded the damselfly and immediately took to combat.
Despite the individual strength each of the astral elves possessed, the party came together as a well-oiled machine and overcame the boarding party. The Dark Star’s spelljammer saw that her allies fell and turned in retreat.
Acting quickly, Charlie was able to temporarily break the enemy spelljammer’s attunement with the Dark Star’s helm, causing it to stop in place. Kiboko drove the damselfly toward the Dark Star. With their ship in position, the party boarded the enemy vessel to return the favor.
On the Dark Star, the party made short work of hadozee crew members who warned the party that attempting to take the ship would go poorly for them. The ship’s spelljammer, an astral elf star priest named Altura, made her way topside to face the party directly.
The party’s strength was set to overwhelm her when Charlie made a suggestion that could not be ignored: Surrender the ship to the party. Unable to refuse, Altura stood down, as did the other hadozee crew members who were making their way to the battle.
The party questioned Altura, who also warned them that their killing of the other astral elves would not be appreciated, and that attempting to take the Dark Star would have them actively hunted by Commander Vael of the Xaryxian armada. The party reasoned that they would be hunted anyway, so that wasn’t a particularly convincing argument against claiming the Dark Star for themselves. This act was equally protested from the damselfly’s guest, Captain Sartell, but the party would not be swayed.
With the Dark Star being surrendered, the party eventually convinced Altura and the hadozee to join their crew. The surviving hadozee, already hired crew in the first place, were easy enough to convince. Altura had no interest in betraying her people, and recognized that doing so would be signing her own death warrant. The party managed to use that same logic to convince her that she had a better chance living, maybe even doing alright for herself, by joining them than resisting. Altura ultimately agreed, but on the condition that she answer only to Charlie.
While interacting with Altura, she divulged information about their mission. They had brough a ship full of seeds to plant on Toril. These seeds are what sprouted the crystalline vines and astral blights that destroyed the Academy and were popping up all around the planet. These vines suck the energy from their host planet to be harvested and utliized to sustain the star supporting the astral elf home world of Xaryxis, which would be long dead if not for energy previously stolen from other planets in this same way.
Hearing the nature of the threat to Toril, and the threat posed by the Xaryxian empire, Sartell again urged the party to make haste for the Rock of Bral so that news could be shared and a plan could be formed. With that, Kiboko landed the damselfly on the back of the star moth and settled in on the Dark Star. Engaging high speed, the party made good time toward the Rock of Bral for several days. Then, they were pulled into cruising speed as they approached an asteroid field.
There, in the debris, Captain Sartell spotted a nautiloid, gasped, and uttered two terrifying words: “Mind flayers.”
Next chapter: Spelljammer 2022 – Session 08, 2023-02-08