Ulmira’s Step is a significant location within the mountains, distinguished by massive stone structures and broken palisades, with remnants of titanic faces emerging from the earth, indicating a long-lost civilization that revered these monumental figures. The town is built around the skeletal remains of a titan buried beneath a mountain, and a persistent pyre burns brightly in the settlement. The surrounding environment features thinning forests and a high-altitude cloud cover that provides diffused light, creating a rough terrain typical of mountainous regions. The climate is influenced by its surroundings, resulting in cool, breezy conditions that can become harsh with snow and wind. This area holds historical importance due to its association with the need for a Blessed Branch to rekindle the sacred fire of the extinguished pyre in Drosven’s Gate, indicating its role in local rituals and magical practices.
The vicinity of Ulmira’s Step is marked by various hazards, including aggressive trees and predatory wildlife, such as a massive raptor. Recently, the inhabitants have grown increasingly uneasy due to a newly discovered crevice in the cliffs, which has brought back delvers who emerged half-broken, having encountered traps, slick stones, and missing comrades. The presence of ancient remains, specifically the remains of a long-dead titan embedded in a cliff, underscores the area's storied past and significance.
The Enduring Lesser Lights reconvened in Ulmira’s Step, considering a quest for a Blessed Branch from a witch at the high shrine to rekindle the dead pyre of Drosven’s Gate. After some disagreement, they formed a party to explore the caverns, joined by new companions. Protective wards were raised by Sylvie, who invested her Hope into shimmering armor for the group. As they descended the switchback steps into the dark crevice, the air thickened with the smell of kerosene, and the footprints of delvers faded into dust. Along the way, they observed reliefs depicting dark gods and encountered a slippery substance on the walls, identified as the flammable secretion of an ooze.
The descent ended with an ambush by goblins, resulting in a chaotic battle where ignited slicks sparked fire. Following a series of skirmishes, the group faced a hulking brute and navigated the aftermath of Mellon’s reckless sprint at the goblin rockfall that sealed their path — rather than being buried, he passed insubstantially through the stone. The group later spotted Goblin Engineers fortifying a kill-corridor, indicating the dangers that lay ahead. The Enduring Lesser Lights resolved to press onward through the treacherous corridor, preparing to confront the goblins.
As the party delved deeper into Ulmira’s Step, they discovered a bridge over an underground chasm, constructed by goblins and rigged with three-part Explosive Barrels for defense. A Guardian beast resided in the area, displaying intelligence and the ability to grapple targets from unexpected distances. The climate suggested a dangerous environment, heightened by the volatility of the explosives and the beast's presence. Nearby, a Sacred Tree, once preserved and vital to the region, now showed signs of decline, indicating a history of reverence that has deteriorated.
Ulmira’s Step became central to the party's strategic efforts against the Guardian beast. Negotiations between Heyou and the goblins allowed the party to utilize the explosives. The Guardian beast's movements complicated their plans, leading to a chaotic battle where Draz detonated the barrels, causing significant destruction and severing the beast's connection to the tree. This explosion resulted in the obliteration of the Sacred Tree, leaving the area devastated and the party facing the consequences of their actions.
Following the explosion, the goblins returned with more explosives, escalating tensions concerning the fate of the site. The party encountered Kelun, a stone figure that obstructed their escape, demanding accountability for their choices. This moment represented a turning point as the group split to fulfill their mission while dealing with the supernatural consequences of their actions at Ulmira’s Step.
Recently, the atmosphere around Ulmira’s Step has been marked by increased activity from locals and adventurers traversing the nearby paths, as well as discussions about the site's history and potential conflicts with local factions. The reputation of Ulmira’s Step has grown, prompting caution among visitors, who are now more aware of the dangers that lie within its ancient structures and the surrounding wilderness.
Additionally, a new discovery has emerged regarding a large multi-unit residence known as Ulmira’s Step, associated with Borek, a fixer for the Dimmers known as the "Dimmers." This building serves as a base for clandestine meetings and dealings, featuring multiple apartments and a ground-floor window providing access to its interior. Inside, a six-bunk bedroom holds three occupied bunks, each accompanied by a small locked chest. The residence was infiltrated through an unbolted ground-floor window, revealing a smoky crow that emerged from the Umbral mists. Exploration of the hall uncovered a guarded door and a dark unguarded door, the latter identified by Sylvie as having a magical ward. After bypassing the lock and ward, they entered a cache room filled with crates, statues, armor, and weapons, where Sylvie sensed a remnant of Splendor magic, suggesting that valuable items had been recently removed. Their exploration culminated in a confrontation with a simiah attempting to block their exit, resulting in a chaotic conflict involving spells and physical altercations.
Moreover, Ulmira’s Step is connected to the Sacred Pyre, tended by guardians such as Sarru, a dwarf. The area is affected by the malign atmosphere of the Umbra, which distorts the will of those who enter, leading to the emergence of shamblers and other corrupted beings. Recent encounters have involved ambushes by Umbra-distorted figures near Ulmira’s Step, including Sarru and Savel, a giant sorcerer. This location poses significant risks, making travel and exploration perilous.
Borek’s Residence
Within Ulmira’s Step stands the residence of Borek, a fixer for the Syndicate (also called the Dimmers) — a large, multi-unit house serving as a base for clandestine meetings and dealings. It holds several apartments, including a six-bunk bedroom where three bunks are occupied, each with a small locked chest, and is cluttered nearly floor-to-ceiling with crates, statues, armor, weapons, and tools in the manner of a hoarder's stockpile.
The party infiltrated the house through an unbolted ground-floor window and worked past a dark hallway with a magically warded door, which Sylvie identified and bypassed. Inside the cache room she sensed a remnant of Splendor magic, suggesting valuable items had recently been removed. Borek confronted Draz over his connection to a group using explosives, revealing a binding rune on Draz's arm that linked him to Borek and the Syndicate. The chaotic confrontation — including a simiah attempting to block their exit — ended with the party escaping, having retrieved valuables such as a prosthetic leg and a fear-inducing dagger.