2025-11-22 - Session 9
Previous session: Session 8 Next session:
Where Were We?
- In the caves beneath the Sinkhole outside Freemen's Wood
- A badly wounded and traumatized Gaston has just left the caves.
And Then What Happened?
We discuss our next move.
Clodagh feels strange as she realizes that a little more than a week ago we were simple youth, and now we're the defenders of the town.
Thalador takes the lead, attempting to move with stealth. Approaching the cistern chamber, there are two wet spots on the ground that used to be gray oozes. No creatures lie in wait for us. We take a moment to refresh ourselves.
We move on, stealthily. At the intersection, Cador halts us and we listen. On the ground ahead of us are a bunch of small blue centipede-like creatures, all dead. Fifteen to twenty of them. They all have a faint blue shimmer. Their eyes no longer glow. Looks like they have been corroded by some kind of acid.
They trail down the passage toward the garbage heap. Clodagh picks at one with a Mage Hand. Cador and Clodagh move toward the garbage heap to investigate. They find a couple more dead centipedes at the intersection, but that's it. The midden heap used to smell dusty-moldy, and now smells sour.
Cador picks up a loose rock and throws it into the heap. Something moves. A yellow pseudopod smacks it out of the air, pulls it in, and throws it back in Cador's direction. The rock looks a bit damp, with wisps of smoke coming off of it.
We decide to give that room a miss and head for the room with the tents. Thalador notices one of the little corpses start to move. It's glowing blue from the chest. All of them suddenly sit up, and swarm us!
In Thalador's head he hears distorted whispering of his brother telling him he's worthless and that he'll never make it.
Thalador hits one with his shortsword and scimitar. It flickers strangely. He uses Shield of Faith to boost his AC for a little bit.
Cador hits the same one with his axe. Instead of blood there's a strange blue crystalline ichor.
Aoife casts Starry Wisp on the one Thalador and Cador had injured, but misses. She readies her Shillelagh.
One of the creatures leaps at Thalador but misses with its claws. And again. Another rushes Thalador and misses twice. The next attacks Cador and hits with a fist of blue crystals. Cador feels something strange, a numbness, which then fades. The next attacks Cador and misses twice. The last creature screams, and blue pulse emanates from him. All of us save -- except Cador. He's stunned for a turn! He sees an image of himself walking away back down the passage, like watching his soul walk away.
Clodagh casts Hunter's Mark on the creature nearest her, then attacks with her rapier. She hits! It turns into blue crystal around her weapon; it is stuck! She's able to pull it free, and the creature dissolves into blue crystal. One down, four to go...
Thalador hits with his shortsword and scimitar on another creature.
Aoife uses Land's Aid, and the creatures must save... Three of them save, one doesn't. And Cador gets some healing!
The creature that Thalador hit hits him back. He feels a shiver run through his body. Another hits Cador. Another attacks Cador and misses him twice. The last one screams, and Clodagh is stunned.
Thalador uses Nature's Wrath to restrain the two creatures nearest Cador. With his bonus action he takes down one of the others, and barely manages to break his sword free of the blue crystal.
Cador, no longer stunned, crits one of the restrained creatures!
Aoife Starry Wisps the one Cador just hit. It's still up, but looks grievously hurt.
One of the creatures screams, but it's ineffective. (Thalador burns Heroic Inspiration here.) Same with another. The remaining creature attacks Cador but misses. Cador points at the creature north of him.
Clodagh moves her Hunter's Mark to that one and hits it with a shot from her longbow.
Thalador hits one of the restrained ones with his short sword. Then crits with his scimitar, destroying the creature! But his vanha scimitar is stuck in blue crystal.
Cador finishes the other restrained creature, and his Cleave spills over onto the remaining one.
The remaining creature attacks Thalador, hitting him once.
Clodagh moves her Hunter's Mark and hits with her longbow, defeating the last one.
Thalador reclaims his scimitar.
Clodagh examines the crystal closely... It's unsettling. Non-euclidean. It slides off the surface of her mind. The crystal seems to dissolve away.
We short rest.
Cador and Thalador sneak up the western passage toward the slug pen.
There's a puddle of gray ooze. It shimmers like it's starting to think about moving. The slugs are present but not moving.
Thalador hits the ooze with a Starry Wisp.
Aoife hits with another Starry Wisp!
Clodagh hits with a True Strike shot from her bow.
The ooze approaches us.
Thalador and Aoife hit with more Starry Wisps.
Clodagh finishes it with another True Strike shot.
The slugs are all dead and look partially dissolved.
We move on... Up ahead, a gelatinous cube fills the passage. It's filled with the blue centipedes -- some of them are still glowing. It blocks access to the Vanha Outpost.
Aoife casts Longstrider on Cador.
Cador hits with his crossbow, Twang!
It advances, glomming onto Cador! He saves -- he dodges and is NOT engulfed by the cube.
Clodagh uses Hunter's Mark, and Chromatic Orb of fire! She hits! And she retreats down the passage to the south.
Aoife disengages and retreats down the passage.
Thalador hits with a Starry Wisp and backs off by the slug pen.
Cador disengages and retreats by Thalador.
The cube advances toward Clodagh.
Clodagh hits with a Chromatic Orb of fire! It looks like it's in bad shape. She retreats further down the passage.
Aoife hits with a Starry Wisp, killing it! It collapses into a wet, slimy puddle. The bugs that were in it are all dead. Within the cube were the remains of an adventurer in ornate full plate armor. On the armor is an insignia of three crescent moons, in red.
Clodagh recognizes the insignia as that of the Paremandyr, an ancient caste of warriors that served sorcerers who wanted to bring true neutrality to the world by destroying extreme alignments.
When we approach the outpost there's no forcefield wall.
At the top of the central tower is a large blue flame, shot through with red and green. It seems to engulf the top of the tower. Looks like it might be emanating from the Soulfont?
Plans for Next Time
Guess we have to go take a closer look (and try not to die)...