ANASTASIIA KUUSK ART
13 August 2023
On this day, Anastasiia joined a crew and began her adventure as Witch Monica. The journey was so thrilling and unusual that she couldn’t resist illustrating it from the very first session. Always drawn to medieval themes, she found it easy to immerse herself in the world skillfully crafted by their talented DM.
Anastasiia started sharing tales of her adventures, listening to medieval music, designing her own spellbook, and even rebranding drinks she brought to the campaign. She baked medieval-style pies and bread, began acquiring accessories and clothing that Monica would wear, and even got a handmade chainmail. She also adopted an imaginary familiar—a mouse named Moritz (played by the DM)—whom she cares for as if real.
She became part of a peculiar group, bound together by imagination. This experience is deeply inspiring for her. While she illustrates each chapter of this grand adventure, the styles and emotions vary with each session, reflecting the time and feelings she invests in them. Though unsure of what to do with these illustrations, she believes they are too important to keep to herself and should be shared.
Session 1
In the mystical land, our adventuring party gathered for the first time. Amongst us:
• Belma Boden, the Female Halfling, a gentle cook with a heart of gold who fights with unbridled rage against the bizarre creatures that assault us.
• Elfis, an elf with the uncanny ability to remove his eye and send it forth as a spy. Alas, his eye fell into the hands of vile goblins who nearly consumed it.
• Hans Vogel, an explorer whose most memorable feats include nearly drowning and struggling to reload his guns.
• Pistis, the Male Halfling, whose head was grievously wounded, causing his brain to leak. Thanks to a potion, he now carries his brain in a skull found in a dungeon.
• Viktor the Viking, a brawny yet dim-witted 17-year-old with wild white hair, known for his reckless acts—like looting cursed skeletons and smashing enemies with his hammer and fists.
• Anastasiia is Monica the Witch—red-haired, with deep green eyes and a face that brooks no nonsense. She carries an assortment of curious items: a bag of apples, a bloody knife that resists cleaning, a mushroom stick, a crossbow, a friendly lizard, and more. Her abilities are peculiar, such as summoning loyal chickens to protect her when near death, charming people to do her bidding, and unleashing the deadly Cold Winds of Funeral Dust to explode corpses.
16 August 2023
Session 2
Viktor devoured the voodoo doll of the Pumpkin Goblin King, tearing its head off with his teeth in a most graphic display. He pulverized countless goblins with his warhammer and slew an undead woman with his bare fists, an enemy no one had bested for over a year.
The Halflings flew on Elfis’s magic disk to assault a goblin-occupied castle. Amidst the chaos, Elfis was beset by an undead dog, and Pistis’s attempt to aid him nearly resulted in shooting the elf instead. Meanwhile, Monica was close to death, throwing magic mushrooms from a tower that nearly suffocated everyone with thick black smoke. Hans, ever slow to reload, found himself burdened with two guns, and twice the frustration.
1 September 2023
Session 3
Having claimed a castle from the goblins, we traveled to another city to crown our Halfling, Belma, as queen. It took days to examine her for mutations—Hans missed the session, Pistis was disqualified due to his many deformities, and the rest of us were no more suitable. Monica and Viktor were too new to be considered.
Elfis guarded the cathedral, where he later perished. The rest of us reveled in a tavern. Viktor, indulging in gambling and drink, ended up barefoot, leading an orchestra in a nighttime parade of support for our queen. Monica, ever the cunning witch, kept her loyal chickens close, knowing they would turn on her should her health fail. By the session’s end, her health indeed failed, but she cleverly lied to nearby children—“Hold my chicken, or you shall perish”—ensuring her survival.
11 September 2023
Session 4
Monica set her chickens ablaze and sent them to attack a giant troll. However, fate was not on her side—the chickens merely ran about in flames, filling the air with a savory scent. The troll was eventually subdued through a barrage of crossbows, guns, Viktor’s magic fists, fireworks, and even an odd ability that caused the enemy to vomit teeth.
8 October 2023
Session 6
Viktor the Viking met a brutal end, his head crushed and his brain spilled, granting him entry to Valhalla. Meanwhile, an old, drunken priest NPC who had accompanied us for several sessions garnered an unusual sympathy. His presence uplifted our morale—12 when drunk, 4 when sober—and he proved useful in battle. Upon Viktor's demise, his player claimed the priest as their new character, Noien the Annoyed. Representative of Vorn religion. Earlier, we had found bottles of ‘Dragon Whiskey,’ each worth 20 silver, ensuring the priest's well-stocked supply of luxury drinks for the road ahead.
5 November 2023
Session 8
In a small, forsaken village, Priest Noien, a man of shrewd persuasion, sought to cleanse the souls of drug-addled peasants. This he attempted after Witch Monica unleashed her most dreaded spell, Cold Winds of Funeral Dust, which reduced more than 20 unfortunate souls to naught but ashes.
Noien, ever resourceful, delivered a fervent sermon in the village’s humble church, urging the lost souls to renounce their vices and join the “One Step” program towards sobriety—or face the same dusty fate as those melted by Monica’s wrath. To aid his cause, the priest crafted a relic from the skull of a pigeon—plucked from the remains of a deceased acolyte who had once followed him. Stuffing the skull with the last remnants of their accursed drug, Noien used it to sway the villagers’ hearts, securing their allegiance to his cause.
26 November 2023
Session 9
Witch hunters arrived at our castle, announcing their intent to burn a nearby wizard’s tower. Our band, ever keen to plunder before others, hastened to the tower to claim whatever magical artifacts it held.
Within the tower, we encountered Moritz, a cunning and sharp-tongued creature who quickly won the hearts of all. The tower’s previous owner, a wizard, had met his demise at the hands of witch hunters, who now sought to destroy his last refuge. Monica, with only one chicken remaining (her other fowl having met untimely ends in battles and perils), offered it to Moritz as a token of her favor.
10 December 2023
Session 10
In the depths of the tower, fierce battles were fought, and many treasures were found. Among them was an orb, veiled in cloth, radiating an evil power of unfathomable magnitude. Monica, being a witch, dared to gaze upon it, uncovering the orb for but a few moments. Though only seconds passed in our world, she experienced an eternity within the visions it bestowed, earning her a 1000HP. Yet, Noien, sensing its unholy nature, swiftly wrapped the orb and took it from her, careful not to glimpse its malevolent secrets.
Three great chests, filled with magical items and spells, were also discovered. As the witch hunters’ torches flickered in the distance, the crew fled the tower. Moritz, however, refused to abandon his home, not even for the allure of a Cheese Festival in a nearby village.
Fearing Moritz might betray them to the witch hunters, Noien and Belma approached the hunters to parley, while the rest hid with the chests in the forest. They first claimed to have not set foot in the tower, then admitted they had, but insisted they had not touched a thing. The situation grew tense as the witch hunters, eager to search them, grew suspicious. But with whispered words and deft tongues, they avoided a confrontation.
As the session ended, only Belma caught a fleeting glimpse of Moritz’s nose in a dark dumbwaiter. Whether the cunning creature escaped the tower before it was set ablaze and exploded in a burst of green light, or perished within its walls, remains a mystery.
14 January 2024
Session 11
The battle raged fiercely as the crew found themselves facing a demon-possessed herd of swine. The clash was brutal, resulting in the slaughter of fifty pigs, with the last one devoured alive to break the demonic curse.
In the midst of the chaos, Moritz returned, soaring in on a crow. With a curse on his lips, he spat out the ear of the witch hunter leader—the very woman who had set ablaze the tower where he once dwelled. Moritz, ever the shrewd and vengeful soul, presented our Queen, Belma Boden, with a list of all the broken and stolen items from his former master’s tower. However, there was a small problem—our dear halfling Queen could not read, much to Moritz’s amusement, which only spurred more of his sharp-tongued jests.
With his former master gone, Moritz needed a new one, lest he wither and perish. He chose to serve Monica as her familiar. Their pact came with its own share of boons and banes, but the most curious aspect was that, over time, they would begin to resemble one another.
Amidst the fray, Monica teleported atop one of the pigs, holding a girl whom the pigs favored as a hostage, threatening to kill her if the pigs dared attack. Hans, with reckless valor, leapt from a window, sliding down a rope pulley and inadvertently bringing down the entire damaged barn upon one of the pigs, crushing it.
Pistis, with a single mighty blow (or "Tiffanied," as he calls it), felled three pigs at once. Noien's blade sliced through a pig's head as if through butter. But the battle took its toll—Monica, after a savage struggle, lost an eye, devoured by one of the cursed swine.
As the battle waned, the DM’s low rolls turned the tide in the crew's favor, with the pigs, rather than fighting, beginning to mate in the chaos. Monica lay in a pool of blood, relieved to have survived, though barely. But her relief was short-lived—Moritz, sharing her wounds as her familiar, had also lost an eye.
11 February 2024
Session 13
For three sessions now, the gang had been lost within the vast and cursed forest of Dolmenwald. Only the desperate, fools, and the brave-hearted, like Pruning and Pals, dared to venture into this mystical and foreboding place. To enter the Dolmenwald, the group had to become heavily intoxicated on pipe weed and fall asleep within a circle of mushrooms. They awoke in a forest teeming with life, savage and wild, where danger lurked in every shadow.
One of their many stops led them to The Lonely Willow, an ancient and sentient tree, both ornery and ravenous. Its only word was “Hungryyyy!” Monica, ever resourceful, sent her last chicken into the gaping maw of the tree, only for it to spit out nothing but feathers. The tree’s hunger demanded something more substantial.
It was finally sated with the expired corpse of an old man who, along with seven or eight others, had been lazing by the banks of a nearby pond. These old men, smoking pipes and eating apples that had rolled down from The Lonely Willow, seemed to age rapidly as they indulged. The more apples they consumed, the grayer their beards grew, and their minds drifted further into senility.
Later, the crew encountered a charming fungus, whimsically named "Fun Guy," who took Monica’s hand and led the way to The Bloom—an awe-inspiring expanse of fungi of all colors and species. The Bloom was bathed in soft bioluminescence and shrouded in a thick mist of floating spores. This alien intelligence communicated with mortals through spore clouds or via a symbiote-maiden encased at its heart. Its desires and thoughts were almost impossible to comprehend, alien as they were to the primitive consciousness of our crew, cut off from the harmonious chorus of the fungal network.
25 February 2024
Session 15
In a daring and desperate battle, Witch Monica and Priest Noien combined their powers in symbiosis to cast the Drunk’s Reversal spell against a formidable foe—The Big Brain monster. This creature sought to control the crew’s minds, its malevolent intent clear. At the same moment, both halflings, Belma and Pistis, were thrown from a balcony by the fearsome Captain Soumbatha. But fate was kind, for Belma’s quick reflexes saved them both as she clung to the tentacles, averting certain death.
The Big Brain, for the first time in its life, experienced the dizzying confusion of drunkenness, courtesy of Monica and Noien’s spell. The sensation left the monster so bewildered and disoriented that it retreated in a rather undignified manner.
Meanwhile, Hans, ever the hero, was firing his pistols with precision, while Moritz finally found a use for his tiny knife, joining the fray with deadly intent.
17 March 2024
Session 16
Moritz, ever the cheeky and resourceful familiar, began bragging to a new NPC who had joined the crew. He boasted of how his cheese tasted better with his special seasonings, which he carried in tiny bags.
“This here was Felix the Magnificent… Wasn’t so great, after all, but does taste magnificent sprinkled on cheese,” he would say, holding up a pouch. “And this one? Oleg of Wulfsumpf. I use him to powder my inner thighs so they don’t chafe. It’s feckin' moist in here, right? A swamp man for swamp arse, always useful.” Then, with a sly grin, he’d add, “And here we have Constantine, or some call him BucketHead. Me, I call him ‘Seasoning’. I wonder... by this time tomorrow, what will you be?”
As fate would have it, the NPC met his end by the next day, though he was spared the grim fate of becoming Moritz’s next seasoning. Those unfortunate enough to meet that fate had passed through Monica’s most devastating spell—Cold Winds of Funeral Dust. With a mere touch, she could turn a dead body into a volatile dust storm, annihilating everything in its path. Moritz, ever resourceful, would later collect the remains into his separate pouches.
Later, another new NPC guided the crew through a long tunnel shaft with a chain they had to climb, one person at a time. Belma and Moritz, ever the curious duo, decided to venture ahead together. As they approached the end of the tunnel, Moritz caught the scent of something foul—big mosquitos. When Belma asked for more information, Moritz was more than happy to explain it manually and graphically. He smeared some green goo from the tunnel wall onto her forehead, drawing lines for each mosquito, and then tasted each sample from her forehead.
The duo returned to the crew with the grim news—there were three huge mosquitos ahead, one of them pregnant.
Monica, ever brave, climbed up with Moritz to unleash a Gust of Wind spell. Moritz, always eager for action, insisted on being part of the spell, flying into the fray with the gust to kill the mosquitos. The spell proved more powerful than he anticipated, but he managed to slay one of the monstrous insects with his tiny knife in mid-flight. The other two were mercilessly smashed into the ceiling above.
Once the crew had all climbed up, Monica called out for Moritz, but there was no answer. They found him a bit later, lying exhausted and catching his breath. He grumbled about losing his knife, but Monica, always attentive, found it and placed it beside him, giving him a few gentle belly pets. They rarely showed affection openly—it would be too easy if they did.
14 April 2024
Session 18
Father Noien, in a miraculous event, was reborn. He invoked the ancient powers of Vorn, calling upon his one-time ability to return to life. When he rejoined the crew, he was as naked as a newborn, devoid of any belongings. With little choice, he found some rags to cover his shame and a rusty shovel to defend himself against enemies.
12 May 2024
Session 19
A guest player, a mushroom from The Bloom, joined the crew in a fierce battle against the Deep Mushrooms. This fungal ally commanded its own army and wielded the fearsome ability to vomit acid upon its foes.
Priest Noien, with his holy touch, was healing everyone—everyone, that is, except for Witch Monica, for his powers did not extend to unholy witches like her. Monica, undeterred, unleashed the Cold Winds of Funeral Dust upon her enemies, turning them to ash.
Hans found himself stuck in a web along with two unfriendly characters after Monica cast her Web spell. Trapped, he resorted to biting them, killing them both.
Belma, weary from battle, rested among the good mushrooms, while Pistis took his sword and sliced through the god of the Deep Mushrooms, ending the threat.
The group also encountered a masochistic religious fanatic named Flaggeland Dominique. This character was prone to frequent deaths, represented by different players over time. Dominique, an elf known previously as Elvis and a few other characters in between, gained attack bonuses every time she was damaged. She also owned a cat named Gobbo, which was inherited by each new character upon her inevitable demise.
19 May 2024
Session 20
Priest Noien drank in a castle within the Dolmenwald forest, where
he met the repulsive Lord Nodlok. The lord offered Noien a whiskey labeled "Wake the Devil" if he would renounce his faith, but Noien refused.
Witch Monica cast a "Charm Person" spell on Nodlok, making him more courteous. As they left, Monica sent him an air kiss, prompting
a clumsy attempt at charm.
Hans Vogel proposed a "Drink and Piss" contest. Despite a strong competitor, Hans's inspired aim hit the target after a ricochet off a food tray.
Monica, staying in comfort, filled Moritz's pockets with cheese and sent him to have fun with the local rats, instructing him to look for magical items. The next morning, she found Moritz bloated from devouring a whole cheese wheel. Despite this, Moritz discovered three magical spheres for Pistis, intended to be smashed into his head hole for their magic to work.
Monica, now able to shapeshift into a fox, chased down a man who threatened their mission, tearing his throat out, with Moritz finishing the job.
Halfling Belma was injured by a ballista on a bridge shaped like
a dragon’s skeleton. The battle was brutal, with Monica’s dark mushroom unable to protect Belma.
Dominique and Father Noien pretended to be pilgrims to approach
the ballista, but Dominique suffered significant damage in an explosion, which only made her stronger.
After the battle, Pruning and Pals rested among mushrooms. Halfling Pistis, heavily injured and perched high on a mushroom, had lost the ability to sleep on the ground.
9 June 2024
Session 21
Witch Monica was on a roll, actively engaging in battle and even self-harming for the cause. The crew faced a dramatic and intense fight, where many enemies were slain. However, Monica suffered greatly at the hands of a powerful monk she sought to kill. She teleported behind him and struck with a flail, but the monk retaliated with powerful magic. Monica rolled on the death table and as a result, she broke her jaw and shattered all her belongings—potions, bottles with samples of strange creatures, various gems, eggs of a mysterious bird she had hoped to incubate, even her crossbow—all were lost.
Despite the damage, Monica sacrificed her blood and ultimately defeated the monk, turning him into dust. She also managed to steal an important map, a chest full of money, and another chest filled with what she hoped were useful magical items and spells. Afterward, she cast the spell "Mantis Pant," transforming into a swarm of mantises, and made a swift escape from the battlefield.
25 August 2024
Session 23
At length, our band found themselves in need of provisions, for the journey through the Domenwald Forest had been long and wearisome. The scent of a warm bath was but a distant memory, and their supplies had dwindled to naught. Hans, Pistis, and Monica set off on a dreary hunt, their quarry being toads that devoured one another—a task both swift and dull.
Meanwhile, Belma and Noien wandered near a waterfall, where they beheld a great catfish, many times larger than Noien himself. The beast leaped from the waters, locked in battle with an amphibian creature. Sensing an opportunity for a fine meal, Belma and Noien moved to slay the fish, but the amphibian called upon its kin, who misread the adventurers' intentions. With spears drawn, the creatures demanded explanation through gestures, yet misunderstanding only led to more of their kind appearing, and the situation grew tense.
In the end, a bargain was struck: the catfish would be slain for the amphibians, or else Belma and Noien would face their wrath. The plan was set in motion: Belma harpooned the fish while Noien, priest of Vorn, walked upon the water—a feat that left the amphibians both awed and perplexed, as they attempted in vain to mimic his steps. On the third attempt, Noien managed to clasp the fish, bringing it to the surface by the same vornish trick (sharing with it walking upon the water) to perish upon the water's skin, as Belma wrestled it from below.
The amphibians, pleased with their catch, granted Belma and Noien safe passage. In a gesture of friendship, they offered pickled human hands as a gift. Belma, not wishing to offend, reluctantly licked one of the grisly tokens to honor their new alliance.