2025-10-25 - Session 8

Previous session: Session 7 Next session: Session 9

Where Were We?

Resting in the village of the giants in The Rime after having visions in the Chamber of the Stone. We all just leveled up!

And Then What Happened?

We spend the day resting; Thalador asks Kallr if we can make use of the Thing for the taking of an oath, and he approves. At twilight, as the stars begin to come out, Thalador and the party gather.

Thalador does his oath:

The stars seem to glow slightly brighter for a moment. Then there is silence. Thalador feels a warmth, the presence of his gods. Cador is the first to greet him. They embrace heartily. Clodagh asks if there's anything more to participate in, and Thalador explains the Elvish custom of bestowing the third name and invites them to do so.

The party debates privately while Thalador meditates. They consult with Kallr, who confesses his Elvish is also a bit rusty. They return... And name him Galadir -- "man of light/radiance" -- an older name, with the weight of history to it.

We return to our lodgings, where a small feast of food and drink have been set for us. We eat, drink, celebrate. Laurence crafts a song in honor of the occasion. We plan our next steps, deciding to return to Freemen's Wood. In the morning, Kallr is waiting for us with food and warmer gear. The giants give us a talisman. It's HUGE! A shaman comes out and shrinks it. It will help us find a safer path down from the mountains than the way we came. It's a one-time item -- but the mountains really do shift and change, it's not just our imagination. But the elves do have well-worn paths that they can travel.

We swear oaths of good-bye, receive improved cold weather gear, and head out.

The journey passes without incident. We are arrive after nightfall; there's a blue glow, like a dome, over the sinkhole. There's more torchlight than usual as well. Something's going on out there. Town is quieter. The festival has ended. Where the elven tents were set up, all have been torn down. No sign of the elves -- perhaps they left? The atmosphere is quiet, a little hushed. People don't meet our gaze, are a little skittish.

Laurence talks to a baker he knows to try to find out what's happening. Townsfolk don't know what's going on. "It's hard not to feel unsettled." Something's going on with the sinkhole. The Loggers started filling it on the last day of the festival. And then the light. "It's locked down tight, you can't even get up the path to the camp."

Aoife wants to find Brighde. And how will Cador get home? Bandit sniffs the air and declares that something's not right. He says he needs to return to his master. He leads us through the woods to Brighde's home. She's not present, but other druids are about, checking on stocks, making sure things are good. Aoife talks to an initiate who says that something's going on, something's in the air. Brighde's up at the logging camp. Bandit's worried; us too. Bandit leads us again through the woods, taking us to the southeastern edge of the clearing.

We see a bunch of the town guard, several Loggers, the head of the Loggers, and Amlachanar are there. Glowing blue light in a dome over the sinkhole -- same light as we saw before that the pendant allowed us to pass through. Aoife's father is present, as is the mayor, all gesturing and discussing. We send Bandit to let Brighde know we've returned. Gaston McGillicutty, head of the Junior Loggers, looks puffed-up and self-important as he orders people about.

Bandit reaches Brighde, who looks in our direction. Gaston notices and comes striding over, being an ass. He demands we stop skulking and come out from the woods. He's in charge of the perimeter, and demands we respect his authority.

News flash! Gaston has crushed on Aoife in the past!

Brighde catches us up... It happened about three days ago. They found tracks heading in. Humans wearing boots. No one seems to be missing. Tracks from just one person. Going in only. They also found a single blue feather. The humans recognize it as something Calla would sometimes wear in her hair. And that would match up with the footprints. Laurence and Clodagh discuss this quietly, privately. None of the townsfolk have been able to get through the dome to investigate further. We offer to investigate. The head Logger demands to know why we would have the ability to do so. Brighde says we've been doing work for her. The townsfolk seem disappointed that the head druid is keeping secrets again. We're allowed, but Gaston has to come with us.

As we get closer to the boundary, the Clodagh's pendant begins to glow, and Thalador's bag of holding seems to thrum against him. We ask Gaston if anyone has gone through; they tried sending dogs, but it didn't work. It's not harmful, but nothing can pass through it. Cador distracts Gaston, and the rest of us pass through the barrier. Before Cador can pass through, Gaston sees us and asks for us to take him. He wants to prove himself. We allow it.

Laurence feels ill as he approaches the sinkhole -- the geas! Brighde sees this (amused), as does the head Logger, chief of the guard, and the mayor. Gaston says he's taking us in to investigate. Brighde releases Laurence from the geas (and Aoife recognizes it).

We head down the hole. It doesn't look like anyone has been down here since our visit. There's an earthy, slightly sweet smell, like myrrh. Cador sees footprints from Calla heading up the west path from the entry chamber. We pop some light. About every 30-50 feet there's a chalk mark pointing back toward the entrance.

We collect the dead slug for a "sample" for Brighde and redistribute the Vanha equipment. Gaston looks on, agog. We head up the west tunnel... We see a glint of blue in the dirt. Moving toward us?? Pinpricks of light, followed by something shadowy, almost insect-like. Like a centipede with glowing blue eyes. Cador steps aside to let it pass, and it stops, raising up like it's trying to sense something. It weaves between our feet, skittering past us. Gaston stomps on it. There's a glowing blue smear on his boot.

We enter the mushroom cave. The deceased mushrooms now have new mushrooms growing on them. Laurence takes "many samples" of the mushrooms. We warn Gaston about their psychadelic properties; he stuffs one in his bag.

Gaston asks if we see something. Something is moving in the south part of the chamber. It rises up and rushes over to us, enveloping Gaston's head. He falls to the ground as it feasts on his skull.

More creatures emerge!

Aoife hits the one on Gaston with a Starry Wisp.

Clodagh uses True Strike to shoot with her Vanha longbow. She hits!

Another creature throws itself at Laurence but misses. It hits the cave wall behind him and hovers in the air. Another hurls itself at Aoife.

Thalador drops back to try to get a shot on the one on Gaston and is critted by a pseudopod... except Laurence uses Silvery Barbs to make the DM reroll... It still hits but doesn't crit. Thalador hits the one on Gaston with a Starry Wisp. He uses a Healing Word on himself. Gaston's hair is gone, and his skin is burning. He thrashses.

Laurence takes some damage just from being near one of the beasties. He casts Phantasmal Force on the cube on Gaston's head, but it's ineffective.

Cador takes some damage from the proximity of a cube. He moves to help Gaston and gets hit by an opportunity attack. He rages, rooting himself into the ground. He gets some temp hp and gives several more to Gaston. He tries to scrape the cube off of Gaston's head, getting the front of it off of his face -- we can now hear his screams. Great...

Aoife takes some damage from one of the cubes adjacent to her. She uses Land's Aid on the cubes... The cube on Gaston takes some damage, the other two take half. Gaston also gets some hp back in the bargain. The cube on Gaston stops glowing, and seems defeated?

Clodagh hits the cube nearest her.

One of the cubes next to Aoife rushes her, but misses her and Cador. Aoife misses but Cador manages to get a good whack with his axe. The other one goes for her head; she uses Shield to prevent it from hitting her.

Thalador avoids damage from the cube nearest him. Thalador uses Divine Favor, then hits with his Vanha shortsword and Vanha scimitar, destroying the cube nearest him.

Laurence hits the remaining cube.

Cador gives some temp hit points to Clodagh, then crits the cube! He smacks it hard, but it's still up.

Gaston gets the remaining goo off of his head.

Aoife hits the cube with a Starry Wisp, defeating it.

Gaston takes a breath, vomits, and curls into a fetal position.

All the temp hp go away. Gaston is missing patches of hair, has scars on his face, and one of his ears is messed up. Thalador uses Lay on Hands to heal Gaston; it helps, but some of his injuries look permanent. We try to comfort Gaston as he leaves the caves.

Plans for Next Time

Investigate the caves more? What's going on with the magical dome? What's up with the new, more horrible monsters?