The Adventures of The Big HELP, Session 22

General Summary

• The Big HELP, after taking a rest for the night, challenged the shambling mound that had been stealing the forest pixie's water. Bigwig stayed behind to monitor the myconid chieftain so Larka suggested that, with their only melee fighter left behind, they plan a trap. She extracted some greasy sap from a tree. Hest put it in her Everfull Flask and Petrichor spread the grease on the forest floor. Larka set up a tripwire that would ignite the grease once the shambling mound fell into it.
• Hest distracted the shambling mound and tricked it into shambling in the tripwire's direction. When the mound triggered the tripwire, the grease burst into flames. The mound fell in and splashed flaming grease into the trees. The HELP kept the flaming shambling mound at bay while the forest started to burn. Hest chilled some of the flames and tried to zap the mound. Electrifying it only gave it a chance to heal, though. Petrichor used Create Water to rain down on the flames, unintentionally causing a grease explosion. The explosion finally killed the shambling mound but caused the fire to spread even more aggresively. With some stress, they eventually put out the forest fire.
• The party returned to the third spring and found it thawed. They retrieved a vial of the water and moved onwards.
• The first clearing they came across a statue of Gorthag. Hest and Petrichor investigated it and realized offering a prayer to it may give them a boon from Gorthag. Hest's prayers were answered and she gained a strength boon but neither Petrichor nor Larka were deemed worthy of his attention. They did at least find some treasures provided as offerings (a Giant Slayer Greatsword, Black Chromatic Rose, and a +2 Bloodwell vial, all unidentified). Petrichor took the rose and vial.
• In the next clearing, the party found a rose bush in the clearing center with a ring of mushrooms around the base. Larka realized that they were a rare, hallucinogenic mushroom and she and Petrichor managed to pick the non-contaminated ones and dry them for recreational use (for Bigwig).
• Moving onwards, the party found another of the pure springs. Petrichor detected movement underground and Larka stealthed to the pool with the help of Pass Without Trace and got another vial of water. She looked forwards and realized the path ahead was littered with giant spiderwebs. Larka returned to the others and they decided to turn back and investigate a different path through the forest. They stopped in the chapel and took a chance to identify the Bloodwell Vial. Petrichor realized that it was only useful to sorceror's and decided to sell it. Larka remided her that Hest was a sorceror and Petrichor gave it to her.
• Petrichor used Water Walk to get the HELP back across the corrupted water they crossed before. Travelling east, they found a group of vine blights attacking a cabin. The HELP easily defeated them and Hest entered the cabin to find two myconids cowering. They had come to find the water to purify the chieftain but were cornered by the monsters. Hest promised they had already found the chieftain and were working to save him. The myconids believed that purifying the chieftain, patient zero, would purify everything the corruption had spread to.
• Continuing on, the HELP found a clearing filled with orange spiders. Larka and Petrichor identified the bugs as blast spiders, creatures that explode with a concussive blast if startled. In the center of the clearing was a dead dwarf carying a bag. Larka and Hest thought they were just sticks but Petrichor could tell they were wands. Larka deftly retrieved the wands and recognized a couple, a Wand of Smiles and a Wand of Magic Detection. The others, a Failed Experimental Wand and a Wand of Fireballs would require attunement or identification. There was also 300GP in the bag.
• The HELP eventually found the last spring and retrieved a vial of water from it. They returned to the chapel and the myconid druid started the purification ritual. Alone, she was not strong enough and asked for Petrichor's help. Petrichor prayed to Sindara and used her Staff of the Woodlands to strengthen the ritual. It succeeded and drove the corruption figure from the myconid chieftain. The HELP were sure the corruption shade looked like Windtooth. As the ritual finished, the forest purification began to further reinvigorate the Staff of the Woodlands. It regained its power to transform into a large tree at Petrichor's will.
• The myconid druid thanked the Big HELP and offered their tribe's assistance whenever needed. The HELP decided to stay in the chapel for the night to rest up before leaving Singor Forest. Petrichor identified the Black Chromatic Rose while Larka tried to attune to the unidentified wands, failing as she was not a spellcaster. Hest attuned to the Bloodwell Vial and the Failed Experiment Wand without knowing what the latter was. She realized it had bonded to her and she could not unattune to it. Once the party had finished resting, they set out to leave this part of the forest.
• The Big HELP traveled for several hours before Petrichor detected someone traveling in their direction. She cast Pass Without Trace to help everyone hide but Hest still hid poorly. The oncoming group was led by a tiefling cleric of Gorthag and Zorvin. The others were a mix of volunteers Zorvin had recruited to help prepare the Earth Father's Cathedral for an attack from King Hespiro. He detected Hest's poor attempt to hide and threw his spear, imbued with divine might from Gorthag, piercing and pinning her to a tree. She returned in kind with her Hellish Rebuke which impressed him.
• Zorvin recalled his spear magically and commended Hest on her strength. He explained his mission from Archbishop Darvus from the Church of Gorthag to recruit strong fighters in Gorthag's name. Both Hest and Larka felt disdain for his arrogance and wanted to have little to do with him. Zorvin readied his spear and told them they could come willingly or fight. The HELP considered their options, follow, fight, or flee.
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32 Days After the Crash of the Raziel

Report Date

30 Jun 2024