Session 2: The First Night Report

General Summary

The Party began the day, the 17th of the 6th month of the year 223, with quite a start: on Nim Antigone Arlo watch, alongside Alexia, a strange foul-smelling ooze creature attacked Cava in her sleep by latching itself onto her face. Cava managed to see, after ripping it off her face, that it seemingly had strange faces within itself, that would fade into and out of view.   She threw the creature onto the ground and beat it with her hammer, wounding it. Nim tried to launch a firebolt at it, but it reared back suddenly, seemingly terrified of the fire. Cava managed to knock it deeper into the woods as if she were hitting a golf or croquet ball with her hammer, and the strange slime didn't come back, though it did leave behind some drips that collected together into a small puddle, which Cava sampled. Cava sanitized her hands to be sure there was nothing remaining to try to attack her again, taking some mild fire damage in the process.   The party gathered their supplies as Cava told them what happened. As they began heading out, Greg Billins gave a morning report to Guy Redrock via sigil stone, detailing the ooze attack. Guy unfortunately had no information to give on its nature.   To get an idea of where they were, Nim sent Gwen up to investigate above the treeline to see what she and NIm could see through her eyes. Gwen flew up above the trees, and saw that the Blackthorn Grove seemingly extended forever, or at least as far as she could see. There was a strange light that frightened Gwen so much that she immediately forgot about what she had just done, seemingly affecting her mind somehow. According to Cava's knowledge working within the Academy of Destruction and the Blackwing Corps, it sounded as though there was some sort of extraplanar portal or wormhole, as that space can terrify normal material plane-dwelling minds.   As they traveled down the path, Nim navigated the party towards the light, as it was the only unique thing, and in fact the only lead they had. The path seemed to shift along to what Nim said it would be, and as Tony Pontmercy also tried to navigate herself, paths seemed to be in flux and meld and twist together. As she was riding Alexia, Nim communed with one of her patrons, The Lord of the Hunt. He said that she must be careful, as she is quite far from home, and that where she is "is a part of [him], but one [he] no longer likes," and that what lies within is only a "pursuit of madness." She passed this info along to her allies, saying that "they need to be careful because it's scary out here."   Along this path, numerous Grove Sprites came out from the forest and began watching the party. They copied the physical actions of the party, forming physical copies of them by coming together and forming something akin to woven effigies. Eventually, when Nim cast Tongues, she was able to communicate to the creatures. They began copying her at first, but the more they talked, the more they seemed to understand. It eventually revealed itself to be an extension of the Blackthorn Grove, eventually taking the form of @Charlemaj, the warlock suspected of bringing it to Agrestal Forest, saying he was part of them now.   This Charlemaj figure told the party it suspected the reason they came to the Grove was the same as "everyone else's: to end suffering." It told them that if that's what they seek, first they must make it to Acedia, the realm beyond what they know as the Blackthorn Grove. It suggested they may find "Charlemaj" there. The figure dissolved into its many constituent Grove Sprites, leaving behind one large "Groveborn:" a larger version of these beings with a mask that resembles Charlemaj's face. It managed to "charades" the party into understanding that will and drive direct one in the Grove, and that one can navigate somewhere within the Grove if they know what they want; the paths will make it work. Nim is nervous going somewhere The Lord of the Hunt said would be dangerous, but Greg manages to soothe her by reading from his story book.   The party travels a path, wanting to find Acedia, going towards the light. Eventually the party finds their way to a large patch of shimmering mist. Going through it, the party enters Acedia: a beautiful picturesque forest with rivers, massive fruit trees and a massive sun band all across the sky, though no obvious signs of animal life.   Shortly after entering, the party investigates the fruit, only for Nim to discover that it, along with the water and any potable substance, is all filled with a terrible disease; if you eat the fruit or drink the water, any wound on your body won't heal, and you'll continually bleed until you die. Nabs saved Greg by shooting an apple out of his hand just as he was about to take a bite. Greg managed to rescue a strange looking male white Elf named Brume from this dreadful magical disease by casting dispel magic, after Cava used Alexia to pull them from a nearby Jinmenju without being entranced by its magical pull.   Brume was very grateful for the rescue, as were the several other victims of the Jinmenju's thrall. Though the others left, Brume is still with the party, currently.   Greg tried contacting Guy again, but the message he received in reply was unusual, asking "What does ending suffering mean to you?"   How shall the party continue on, with a new member in tow? What did that Charlemaj figure mean when it talked about an End to Suffering? Find out next time in Warlock of the Blackthorn Grove!

Rewards Granted

The PCs leveled up! They are now level 6.

Character(s) interacted with

The Lord of the Hunt   Brume, the White Elf   Charlemaj   Guy Redrock

Created Content

Brume, the White Elf   The Lord of the Hunt