Session 008 - The Lost Dryad

General Summary

Date 14 to 16 Peonu 720TR (Spring)

Continuation and conclusion of Session 7 - Too Many Orcs.

Objective
One hundred fifty years ago Clan Chusselrin became fabulously wealthy due to its highly profitable vineyards and winery. The party has been employed by a descendant of the Chusselrin's to find out how they did it, and does it have any connection to the mysterious Earthmaster artifact, the Heart of Tondran?
Story so far
The heroes are exploring the long-abandoned Chusselrin Estate for clues and find it infested with a small tribe of Gargu-Araki (Small Orcs).

The party explores the remainder of the cellars of the Chusselrin Estate. Unfortunately, Yureb suffers a bout of food poisoning forcing Athena and Quazzy to continue exploring by themselves.

The Orc herbmaster's workbench showed evidence of experimentation with a strange purplish bark, creating some mixture which they think improves an Orcs looks or smell. The characters do not know what to make of this.

Further on they find a suspiciously clean section of the floor at the end of a small corridor. Dropping a dead orc corpse onto the floor, they find it opens up into a pit trap filled with blades. After disabling the trap, they reach a locked room.

This room was filled with a strange plant growth, a rotting log was positioned in the center of the room, and nearby was a strange apparatus. As they investigate this device, they were attacked by the corrupted Dryad Trillis and her small evil twig constructs. Trillis was a sick, and insane Dryad with her spirit still attached to the remains of her tree brutally cut down by the Orcs and now located in this room. She used magic to causes the plant growth to entangle the characters, fired thorns at the restrained heroes and then attempted charming and control magic. Quazzy sends her rat familiar to behind Trillis to deliver a powerful life draining spell with surprise. The attack is devastating causing a large portion of Dryads wooden skin to rot away, and the pain forced her to lose control over the vines on the floor. This releases Athena who then charges forward and hits with her sword. Unfortunately, the weapon is entangled and ripped from her hands. Quazzy attempts to repeat her life draining spell but finds that Trillis is prepared and able to neutralize her magic with a counterspell and then dispatches Quazzy's familiar. However Athena draws a dagger, invokes Balefire and stabs Trillis through the heart. As Trillis dies, she and the large log nearby decays and rots away to nothing.

The characters investigate the strange apparatus. It is a form of grape-press, not magical, instead is a relatively mundane piece of equipment but advanced in design. The design is such that it would have made any wine production considerably more efficient, at least over 150 years ago. The characters are puzzled.

Before leaving the building Quazzy recalls her rat familiar, then sends it out first, fearing the remaining Orcs may have rallied and planned an ambush. What they find instead is a bloodbath, two Tulwyn tribesman have massacred the orcs and are in a frenzy busily hacking their remains up. Wisely the heroes wait until the barbarian's rage has abated before leaving the building. With the knowledge that the Tulwyn value good manners and hate spellcasters of all types, they manage to avoid conflict. One of the Berserkers, Oriz , is impressed with the number Orcs killed by the party.

The group start their journey back to the Town of Telen, Yereb recovers from his food poisoning, but at night they are hunted by a small pack of hungry wolves. The heroes show restraint both disabling them with magic and melee only killing the pack leader. However, Quazzy suffers a psychotic episode and ritually butchers the dead pack leader.

Later that night a beautiful plant woman enters their camp, a Dryad. She thanks the heroes for releasing her sister from captivity and not killing all the wolves. She gifts them the Elixir of the Rose.

On the road a day later they encounter a strange sight, a Dwarf with guards battling short, ugly gargoyle-like humanoids which were making an insane babbling noise. Players intervene and save Brazzak Ongrid, a Dwarven Sculptor specializing realistic busts in stone and marble, from these insane creatures. The monsters were Umbathri, are a rare form of Ivashu which were impervious to conventional weaponry but vulnerable to magic. The thankful Brazzak gives them his prized Tankard of Sobriety as a reward.

The Characters return to civilization. At Telen they meet Ailis Ronsen the master weapon crafter at the The Black Forge. As they have saved his brother Orman's life, he rewards them with a 20% discount on his work. Yureb purchases a superior Short Sword while Athena considers reforging her father's battlesword but at the moment does not have the funds.

Rewards Granted

Athena and Quazzy both gain the Blessing of the Dryad for putting the Corrupted Dryad Trillis to rest.

Elixir of the Rose - A magical elixir in an old wine bottle which will restore a character's vitality after one hour rest as if they had rested overnight.

Tankard of Sobriety - a magical flagon which allows the users to drink alcoholic beverages poured into it without becoming inebriated.