The Méloir-des-Ondes Crypt Flesh Golem

After seven refreshing days exploring Malo at some leisure and at Malo town expense (courtesy Townmaster Galerius), we set out for Méloir-des-Ondes.
 
From Malo to Méloir-des-Ondes
 
Méloir-des-Ondes has a Void Water mine which has mysteriously shut down due to... accidents. I have been carefully (and once not so successfully) transporting Void Water for my entire adult life for my ex-Master. So I am plenty familiar with Void Water fragility and the business. But I don't know where it comes from, nor why it's so darned expensive. I know the sausage, but not how the sausage is made. In Méloir-des-Ondes, I should get to see how the sausage is made!
 
But not quite yet.
 
Méloir-des-Ondes has a Townmaster (Minemaster) named Terris. He is very friendly but dejected that the mine is down, and the town is rapidly shrinking. No pay, no stay. So he is desperate to get the mine running again. The job to investigate the mine may not be so easy. First of all, a half a dozen or so of townies have disappeared into the mine. Second, Terris sent a crew into the mine to rescue them, and the crew did not return. Third, that was three weeks ago, so missing persons is likely dead persons. Fourth, there's no sure money in it. Terris refers us back to Galarius for getting paid (but Galerius referred us to Méloir-des-Ondes to get paid). Galerius seems like good people, but you never know for sure. So this job is risky all around.
 
Nevertheless, we are bonding as a group, so I think the job will help tune us as a force to be reckoned with. Plus we all feel like we are advancing or growing fast individually at this point. After glancing at Hammod's tomes, I feel like I have a new understanding of my spells. I feel refreshed and challenged, and I look forward to testing new wrinkles to my existing sorceries. How hard can a rescue from a small mine be anyway?
 
The Temple of Apollo and the Crypt of Hades
 
At the local and only drinking hole, 'Falling Rod Tavern', we met Terris, our contact. Immediately, we were set upon by some cultists. We (well, actually, the rest of the party!) subdued them and we discovered... their eyes. They were bloodshot with black veins. They were not themselves, possessed with some sort of spell as though to defend the mine from even the thought of intrusion. Is there a cult to close the mine?
 
They were led and incited into attacking us by the local cleric, Aleith. Méloir-des-Ondes has a temple of Apollo and Aleith is the head cleric, who rants and raves against the risks, dangers, and recent disasters of the Void Water mine of Méloir-des-Ondes.
 
But after Oisin looked in on him (at his sanctuary), we found a secret stairway to a crypt. And that was like a passageway to Hell. We were assaulted by more of the cultists (I guess we were trespassing). But we were also assaulted by a Crypt Golem, a huge fleshy beast with huge rangy and powerful arms. Two golem hits could take down one of our most powerful fighters and... the Crypt Golem was attacking at double speed!
 
Our front line and the cleric had their hands full from the beginning of this battle. I was coming up from behind, so I could not see all the action but, I gather, the cleric was Command'ing our front line attackers to Flee! A few times it worked. Several times it failed. The cleric was wielding powerful arcane and nasty spells to control our mightiest warriers. So, I tried to stay out of the cleric's sight, and take shots at the most opportune targets, while positioning myself for my strongest attack:
 
Tasha's Caustic Brew (I don't know the origin of that name nor who named it, but I am very grateful to Tasha for the spell)
 
After a few pot shots and realizing the party's survival could hinge on powerful magic from at least one of us, I resolved to find a way to pull a Tasha's like I did the first time I used it. So I weaved magic armor around myself and purposely positioned myself in the open, perhaps at (low?) risk of being singled out by Aleith since I had been ineffective, but in position to take part in the front line (as necessary for a correct line of attack). Again, I was unable to hurt Aleith at range. So I decided to advance forward, and attack with full Tasha's on the Crypt Golem and Aleith. Again, my attack failed on Aleith. But, oh, how it took effect on the Crypt Golem. But not before I retreated and one of the burly cultists and the Crypt Golem took free swings at me.
 
My sorceries protected me! It was worth it. When I cast the spell, I had redoubled my efforts on this spell, and the acid splash responded. The Crypt Golem flesh was smoking from the moment I cast the spell. Great risk with great returns.
 
My sole goal from that point forward was to maintain my Tasha's concentration. (So I ducked behind protection from then on.)
 
While I was uable to hurt Aleith, I believe Barton and Oison were able to take the cleric down. Meanwhile, the golem was devastating our front line, but the clock was running out for the golem as it took serious damage the longer the battle continued and Tasha took her toll! And a good thing too as we were losing our front line offense (and defense). We lost half our front line before the golem went down. So, timing was everything.
 
We won the battle with one major casualty of the front line, brought back by the cleric. And Tasha's redeemed my ability to battle at our party's ever-increasing effectiveness.
 
Notes and Tomes of Evil Concoctions (the Aleith Notebook)
 
The elf is more uppity than I thought. We had such a warm friendship on the sail to Malo, but he has an edge to him which I missed in our travel together. He fully embraces nature, but also totally rejects anything he considers horrific and unnatural. But what is unnatural? He does not trust Void Water. But Void Water is clearly natural if it comes from a mine. He seems to draw a hard line at the scribblings in Aleith's notebook. Granted, the recipes (rituals?) are horrific, but the knowledge could prove invaluable. His religious zealot-like (Oisin calls it philosophy!) rejection of the Aleith's notes runs counter to our usual friendly banter and fast friendship. Fortunately, I have been able to evaluate the lessons and commit them to memory.
 
Notebook Censorship by Oisin
 
I believe Oisin is going to force me to destroy certain parts (Crypt Golem recipe?) of the Aleith Notebook. I do now question precisely what my ex-master was using Void Water for? However, Oisin would ban the contents of the Notebook by destroying it. But destroying the notebook is not just burning pages, it's... destroying knowledge. Arcane knowledge (much less on Void Water) is so rare, I just know such destruction could be dangerously short-sighted... perhaps losing key threads of knowledge we need to understand Void Water, its dangers as well as its strengths. In some ways, Oisin is right. But I/we need to understand how Void Water works, lest we fall prey to it ourselves due to lack of understanding. I need to understand it for my... own well-being and peace of mind.
 
I feel Oisin and I shall weather this storm, but it will take a lot of drink!
 
Huzzah to a successful mission and, with luck, we shall visit the mine before we leave Méloir-des-Ondes.