2025-04-12 - Session 1

Previous session: 2025-03-29 - Session Zero? Next session: Session 2

Where Were We?

And Then What Happened?

Date: Firstday, 1 Thawtide, 3100

Evening. Once a decade, the Mountain Elves come down from their mountain homes to trade, and Freemen's Wood holds a weeklong celebration to welcome their guests. The feast is cetered at Raven’s Roost and the Old Tree Marketplace, spilling up and down the street, and everyone who is anyone is in attendance. It's not raucous, but a halfling band encourages folks to up their energy in song and dance.

Cador arrives with tea and offers to share with Clodagh, who isn't comfortable in big crowds.

Laurence has been trying to find a halfling band to join for the past couple of days. He's been allowed to sit in (albeit in the back). Sounds like he's a longtime friend of Clodagh and Aoife.

Thalador is by Amlachanar's side, keen to experience as much of this strange place as possible as the heads of the various guilds vie to get the attention of the elves -- with the notable exception of the Loggers, who aren't interested in kissing ass.

Even the towering Zephandriel is there, nearly seven feet tall, with his apprentice, Calla, a young human woman. His hands and face are wrapped in bandages. As far as we know, he's always that way. Rumors suggested he might be a leper, but Calla put those to rest, claiming that it comes from years of adventuring. Children encircle him, and with a gesture he conjures some fireworks to distract them.

Cador is suspicious of Zephandriel. Clodagh thinks he's fine... Calla seems fine. Clodagh seems perhaps mildly smitten with her?

Aoife's aunt Brighde drags her directly over to Thalador and Amlachanar to introduce us. Amlachanar seems pleased to see Brighde. Introductions are made. Thalador and Aoife make small talk.

Calla catches Clodagh's eye and gestures her over. She shows her a pendant -- a piece of stone with a blue partial rune on it. Looks like it's meant to hang from a necklace. It's shimmering with magic -- the rune glows faintly. It was found near the sinkhole. Completely harmless, but Calla thought Clodagh might like it, and offers it to her. Clodagh finds it a little scary? Calla reassures her. Calla says she's going to go out to the sinkhole some night soon to look for anything else. She's heard the Loggers say there was some kind of weird thing down there -- a purple worm? A slug of some kind? It was dead. The Loggers want to fill the sinkhole in.

Thalador meets Cador. Tea is exchanged. Thalador and Cador are buddies now, I guess? Clodagh arrives and shows us the stone from Calla. Clodagh and Thalador meet.

The musicians' set ends, and Laurence is released. Local officials begin to make interminable speeches. Laurence joins the group. Aoife congratulates him on his playing and introduces him to Thalador. Clodagh says Laurence hasn't been to study group in "forever". The group seems to be progressing well. Clodagh tries to lure Cador in with promises of story time.

Thalador notices that Amlachanar shows signs of forced patience while the mayor speechifies. Cador uses cleaning tea cups to make an excuse to get away from the crowd. The party of new friends makes a quiet exit. Cador teases Clodagh about Calla and the gift, and Clodagh uses Mage Hand to show the stone.

Thalador notices that the rune on the pendant looks like a partial rune that is similar to the language of the giants. It is incomplete, and more fluid and graceful.

Conversation turns to the sinkhole -- Loggers want to fill it in, there are caves, some kind of weird slug thing had been found... Calla mentioned there might be more magical things there. We debate going to check it out... the path to the Logging Camp is lit by luminaria. Sure! Let's go! We go quickly to gather our adventuring gear.

Laurence plays some inspiring tunes on our journey.

The logging camp is deserted when we arrive -- everyone is in town for the party. Ropes are tied to pegs for safety, and hooded lanterns hang from some of the pegs. The sinkhole descends about 20 feet at a steep angle. Clodagh casts Light on a small stone and tosses it down into the sinkhole, revealing a "grade" that heads down into something. We descend -- Thalador with confidence, but Aoife slips and is steadied by Laurence.

Laurence lights his lantern.

Cador picks up the glowing stone.

Thalador advances stealthily into the cave. He sees a large slug, about the size of a loaf of bread. The initial chamber smells of mushrooms and there's crumbled stone debris on the ground. We hear flowing water from a passage to the northeast. We see three pairs of human-sized boot prints.

Cador prods at the slug with his greataxe, Thwack. A second time, it squirts something translucent from its underbelly. It seems dead. Clodagh tries to flip it over with Mage Hand. It's not quite three feet long. It smells fresh-ish. It also seems un-marked/un-injured.

Thalador advances stealthily up the right passageway. We come to a new chamber, where it looks like some water has been dammed up. There's a thick slime coating part of the container and it flows down onto the floor. Looks like a spring flows down into a catcher or pool. It's not overflowing, so it must be draining somewhere.

Clodagh sees footprints of little four-toed feet coming up to the water and leading off down the tunnels. Bipedal.

The ooze slides toward Laurence and a pseudopod shoots out to attack!

Aoife hits the ooze with a Starry Wisp!

Cador crits with Thwack, destroying it.

Two more emerge! Thalador hits with his shortsword and scimitar. The ooze retaliates, badly hitting him. Thwack, and both of Thalador's weapons are at -1 thanks to the ooze's acid damage.

Another ooze attacks but misses Aoife.

Laurence offers some Bardic Inspiration and uses Vicious Mockery on the ooze that attacked Thalador.

Clodagh uses Hunter's Mark on the un-injured ooze and attacks with her longbow, and hits!

Aoife uses Shillelagh and swings -- hitting the ooze!

Cador erupts in rage, and tosses Thwack away where it won't be hurt by the ooze. He grabs a rock and slams it into the ooze -- he hits, defeating it!

Thalador kills the other ooze with a Starry Wisp, and uses Healing Word on himself.

Aoife uses Mending to repair Thwack and Thalador's swords.

Clodagh offers Thalador two goodberries, and he takes one. He distributes 2 berries to everyone else. She also uses Mage Hand to help clean Thalador's weapons.

No one has seen anything like these oozes before.

Thalador enjoys some refreshing spring water to wash down the goodberry.

Cador grabs an extra rock.

Thalador starts scouting down the passage. Comes to a fork. Narrow passage to the left smells of sewage and decay. Up ahead in a chamber to the right is a mound -- and the source of the terrible smell.

Thalador follows the passage around to the left instead, coming to a chamber illuminated by purple light from within large, bioluminescent mushrooms. Sounds like another spring somewhere in the chamber. Laurence and Clodagh examine the mushrooms. The mushroom moves a little bit?? Deeper in the chamber, two fungus things rise up above the other mushrooms, with tendrils extending from them, twitching as if tasting the air. They don't seem immediately hostile. But they start moving toward us!

Laurence knocks an arrow and hits one of the fungus creatures!

Aoife holds Starry Wisp for one of the fungus creatures to attack... Cador holds a rock in case any of them looks hostile.

A third one emerges from the mushroom grove.

Laurence hits the first one with another arrow.

Cador throws the rock but does so terribly, falls prone, and damages his armor.

Thalador sinks an arrow into the closest one, and it stops moving.

Another one advances. Clodagh moves Hunter's Mark to it and hits it with an arrow.

Aoife holds Starry Wisp for one of the fungus creatures to attack... again.

Laurence tries Vicious Mockery, but it doesn't land.

Cador hits with Thwack, slicing it in half, like a squishy tree.

Thalador hits the remaining one with an arrow. It continues to advance.

Clodagh moves Hunter's Mark again, and takes a shot with her bow.

Aoife hits with Starry Wisp.

Laurence hits with an arrow, ending it. Maybe. Laurence starts feeling... euphoric. Invincible! We notice his eyes are glowing a little purple. He takes some mushroom samples.

Clodagh goes to see what Laurence is doing... and is similarly affected, as if she can see magic all around her! She collects some samples as well.

Cador goes back to the spring -- the water is cool and clean, draining into cracks in the chamber floor. Thalador tells Laurence and Clodagh about their glowy eyes. Clodagh says we have lovely eyes as well. Clodagh starts wandering off down the passage toward the cave entrance.

Plans for Next Time

Exploring more of the cave. What's with the stinky mound room? What's down the other passage?