Session 54-55: Ents and Bad Guys
General Summary
We leave the palace after being told to come back in the morning. Liv check's Penny's rash which is healing by itself. Liv asks if Penny knew it was magical - Penny said he assumed it was but wasn't sure until she said so.
Meanwhile Rel, ruminating aloud, asks Penny if could pick things up with his tail. He tries, but manages to knock a dagger into Saman's leg instead - his tail is strong but not prehensile.
Robyn, still feeling drained from the necro-hand-trap, heads back, and we rest til the morning. When going to the palace, we're informed Ewa left yesterday evening at Lord Ry'thera's request, with an escort. No messages or other information was left.
We head towards Eo'danis (word to go down - neo'thera) and follow a path that winds roughly northwards. A big ass Ent corrupted by the same necormancy as the dryads attacks us, throwing Saman and Rel around (and at people) and "swallowing"/trapping people in its tree trunk and branches.
Exploding arrows were used for the first time to some decent effect, Robyn's tactic being shoot and hide, along with manuevres from Rel (switching spots with Liv) and Saman's grapple arm to pull him back at the creature. Play of the day goes to Penny's Abyssal Arm: tree + fire + boss rolls.
No more runes in the trees that we could see. Scare the trees into telling us where the people went and they point west - find tracks that way and keep going through forest until hit a clearing. Looks to be Prilan's camp, but she left her bow and pack. There's a trail of blood - we collect her things, then keep following the drag marks - looks like she was taken by force.
Keep going through the forest, manage to not collectively fall down a hill (Robyn steadies Saman, Liv catches Rel) until we reach a large cave entrance. Cave smells like wet grass and rotten meat - there's 2 sets of footprints and 2 sets of drag marks.
We roughly sneak in. Tree root roof changes to stone - cavern seems natural to this point, with 4 tunnels, all have magical darkness and 3 turn out to be illusions that take you in a circle. The 2nd continues to a tunnel that curves left. Come across petrified creatures of varying sizes, then tunnel opens up to a cavern with a dark brown stone dryad facing the tunnel. Magical eyes that detect movement, even through magical darkness, and petrify who they hit - hits Penny but he shakes it off. Saman smashes the statue and breaks the gems.
Down another tunnel we reach another triple fork - head to the water sounds in the left, Saman goes into the water and retrieves two magical objects, a necromancy ring (which was being held by the skeleton) and an evocation bracer.
Head back and go down the middle one - slide down the slippy slope to the water, a 100ft long cavern with shin deep water. Rel starts wading, stabs a hole in the water and a tentacle whips out. We retreat and collectively push our way up the slope again.
Final tunnel, where the air is so dry throat becomes scratchy and a blinding light source for darkvisioners. Rel hears flickering flames and the distant echoing scream of a woman. Robyn takes bow and quiver off Penny with intent of reaching Prilan, releasing her and giving her weapons.
Reach a man-made room with a chained fireball in the middle - Penny runs in first and fireball goes to match him, then comes for any other movement. All run through and get a bit singed.
Next room is lond and thin and full of pressure plate traps - Robyn disarms enough to get across.
Get to the last(?) room where Rythera has Ewa and Prilan chained, with multiple wounds - Ewa has daggers in her in a patterned way. There's also Makira, a guardsman from the Palace. Rythera is wearing dark purple robes, Makira dark purple plate.
Makira says "we have guests" and Rythera tells him to deal with them - Makira's armour glows. He's a fighter, with mutliple attacks, and sentinel skills that stop people moving. Saman gets to Rythera and knocks him tf out (woop!) but Makira keeps doing significant damage to people. He gets enough space to revive Rythera who summons a 10 foot wall - Robyn runs around to get a shot behind the wall and shoots Rythera through his hand (dagger raised to Prilan) and face. Robyn taunts Makira, as does Rel - he goes for Robyn first and takes her out with the third attack. Penny eldritch blasts - second hits him in the chest and his armour bends and kills him. He says "Our work here is already done."
Prilan gets stablized, but Ewa is dead. We find more runes and bones in Rythera's pockes but not much else. Rel picks up Makira's glaive.
On the altar, Penny reads the Abyssal message carved in it - "Zua’garr provides, his contagion will spread, his influence grow, and you shall be rewarded". Saman remembers this being spoken by the Trogolidites in the Underdark while they were leaving.
Discussion over what to do next - talking about heading to take Ewa back as she deserves it. Robyn took a light rock from Saman and went to check the other corridor to see if thats a way out - cut to next session.
Report Date
05 Jul 2020
Comments