Session 17, The Escape of Acgozluk

After we returned to Montsilt, Julia, Will, and Vardai set off for Etonia while Eowyn and I remained in Montsilt for a little bit longer. I did so at the request of Lavani. Before long, Lavani asked Eowyn and me to pair up with three other adventurers for an expedition, which I gladly consented to.
 
After a bit, we made our introductions. Ara is a Wood Elf and a druid. I know elves are rare, and wood elves are rarer still in these parts. But between Eowyn and Ara, plus Sylvie, whom I’ve yet to introduce, I keep running into elves. Ara is young… only 16 years old. And, as an elf, that makes her even younger than an equivalent 16-year old human.
 
You see, a typical human matures around 18 years old. Females might mature a bit younger, and males mature a little older. Even though some human males can grow as old as 22 or so, 18 is a good age to consider a human mature. Tieflings tend to age at about the same age as humans do. Elves, on the other hand, can live for centuries. Some to well over 700 years (5e Players Handbook, over 1,200 years according to the 2e AD&D PHB). As such, some elves tend not to reach maturity until little later (According to the 3.5 Players Handbook, elves aren’t considered adults until 110 years old). So, at 16 years old, she looks really young.
 
It is also great that she is a druid. Although she isn’t a Circle of Wildfire Druid like me, it is good to compare our notes on nature and animals.
 
Syvie is a Eladrin… a type of elf from what I can gather. She is a wizard. I really hope she isn’t a necromancer.
 
Sylkis is a Half-elf, the same as Will. I briefly met her at the Fish and Biscuit festival. She specializes in being stealthy and sneaky.
 
Before we set off, Lavani gives me a Chrysanthemum Flower which has a stored spell in it, Plant Growth. Plant Growth is an interesting spell. Druids that work with farmers find it indispensable. Casting Plant Growth on an orchard or garden can turn the plants into mature, strong plants ready for harvest nearly instantly. The spell can enrich land that has been over farmed and return its fertility. It can fortify key areas by causing plants to grow and block paths. Overall, a very useful spell. Although I can cast it, it is not typically a spell I prepare each day.
 
Lavani calls us in. She gives us some special plants that she curated herself. Angelica, a plant which can break curses; Winter Jasmine, which can protect; Anise, which can bestow a curse; and Calendula, which can see past illusions and glamours.
 
We are introduced to a woman named Sanem. Sanem reports that her grandmother had visions of a great evil manifested in a physical form. Demons were attacking some heroes of Montsilt in a forest. The forest had become corrupted, and a path to a Dwarven fortress had been overtaken by evil. Our task is to travel to the Dwarven fortress and stop the evil. Cool! I am all about stopping evil.
 
We enter a portal and step out into a forest. I take the lead in the direction of the Dwarven fortress. Apparently, I walk past some shadows that others see, and we are under attack. Shadow demons!
 
Sylvie casts a spell that she later tells me is called Aganazzar’s Scorcher. A long line of fire comes out and blasts a shadow demon. I am so jealous that Druids can’t cast that spell. Eowyn casts a spell to augment me and other members of the party. I need it, because I try to hurl flame at one and it barely hits. The fire doesn’t hurt the shadow demon very much. Ara beginsa casting, and the sky darkens into a storm. Call Lightning… awesome, I also have that spell prepared. Ara brings down a lightning bolt on a demon and scorches it.
 
The shadow demons keeps disappearing, and we are having trouble finding them. When they do appear, they attack viciously and disappear before we can touch them. Sylkis yells that there are more shadow demons gathering in the sky. We are about to be overwhelmed. Eowyn pulls out a lantern and uses the Calendula plant in it to reveal the shadow demons. The shadow demons must know what the plant effect is, because they scatter and go away. Eowyn breaks out her necklace of prayer beads and starts healing up the party.
 
We find a dwarf standing there, apparently paralyzed. Ara uses the Angelica plant to break the dwarf free from his spell binding. After the dwarf is freed, he tells of a 4-story tower with circular walls where a major demon is. We continue on for a while, until a starts coming in, making it hard to see. We have arrived just outside the fortress, obscured by the mist. We debate if we should camp outside in the forest—where the shadow demons are—or try to enter the forest in our exhausted state. The are some sheep in the courtyard, and Ara casts Speak with Animals to talk to one. Ara learns of a break in the wall around the fortress that will grant us some shelter to sleep. Debate settled.
 
We are restless in our sleep and have weird dreams that night. I dream of my final victory over the evil necromancer, the burning of all necromancy books, and ridding the world of necromantic magic. In my dream, a well-dressed elf then hands me a book. The book is disguised as a book of plants from Luvani, but I feel the evilness hidden within the book and I reject it.
 
After we awaken, we enter the fortress. A giant plant has grown through the fortress and smashed out part of the wall. It leads up to the second floor. We check out the first floor, but don’t see much beyond the destruction caused by the plant.
 
We head up to the second floor. Upstairs, we find a parchment of complex mechanical drawings. Sylkis overhears some speaking. We peer in, and an elf in a top hat is negotiating a deal. It is the same elf from my dream. I barge in and shout, “The deal must be renegotiated!” Eowyn uses the flower that uncovers illusions, and the elf is revealed to be a demon.
 
The demon releases a mist into the room and tries to charm us. Fortunately, my Necklace of Adaptation helps me avoid the charm. Eowyn casts something, and … Crap! I can’t hear anything. Silence!
 
Many, well… really most, spells rely on Somatic components. That is… the spoken work. For almost every one of my spells, I have to voice the words of power. It isn’t enough for me to move my mouth and vibrate my throat, the words must be hearable. Typically, I speak these words of power in Druidic, although some have a Sylvan dialect to the words of power. Even though I can’t speak it, I think Sylvie uses the Draconic language for her words of power. I think some spellcasters use Elvish also. Yeah, you are right, what does the language of the words of power have to do with the fact that I can’t hear anything! I am in a silence spell, and I can’t cast spells! I need to figure out how to dispel it.
 
I see Sylvie using her hands in the motion of a spell, but I can’t tell if her spell works. I feel a hand on my shoulder. It is Eowyn, she pulls me back, and I can hear again. As this is going on, a priest aligned with the demon tries to cast a spell that fails.
 
A fighter who looks noble starts attacking. Ara is taking significant shots, and the priest lights her up with a spell that I recognize as Guiding Bolt. Sylkis attacks the demon with her daggers, and I am able to drop the noble with a Burning Hands spell. Before long, we defeat the minions and begin to focus on the demon. Eowyn hammers the demon with radiant damage caused by her “go to” spell, Illuminating Knowledge (author’s note, reflavored Sacred Flame). After a quick scuffle, the demon, now revealed as Acgozluk, runs for the doors and appears to escape, teleported to wherever… hopefully the Abyss. Although we have driven the demon away, I am not sure that we prevailed in the long term. Will the demon return? He may, but Acgozluk should now definitely be afraid of us.
 
• Thank you to George Sanders, his Anhult Campaign, and World Anvil.