The Adventures of the Big HELP, Session 42

General Summary

• Following the defeat of the alps, The Big HELP found another piece of the portrait key. Petrichor told the others that this made the third, of likely four, piece. She, Larka, and Bigwig all were glad to see the alps gone. Zirabelle was pumped after the fight and said she had fought worse. Petrichor could tell that they had freaked her out just as much as the others. Vandwyn took a moment to study the fey magic mushrooms, slicing one open to investigate further. He took a moment to explain that the mushrooms were likely one organism, connected underground. With a little magic investigation, he determined that these were clusters from a very large organism very far away. Petrichor and Larka were worried they would have to fight this organism, but Vandwyn assured them that its core was a very long way away.
• With several branches, the HELP decided to scout them in clock wise order, starting with the most northernly passage. This section was the least fey-swamp looking they had come across. They soon found another relief depicting Frieda Sinclair. It read:
• This grotto serves to honor the memory of my dear friend, Frieda Sinclair, who gave her life to save a world. May her successor learn her story, chronicled throughout this glorious hall. Seek out her story and the four keys to meet with Versin, the one decreed by Sindara to act as your final test. -Iouna.
• The name Iouna rung a bell in Larka's mind, but she couldn't pin down why.
• Vandwyn asked to take a moment to make another charcoal rubbing of the relief. Zirabelle taunted Vandwyn, wanting to move on and keep exploring. Larka said they needed to stick together and Zirabelle started giving her some gentle teasing about wanting to stay with Vandwyn. Larka pretended that the teasing went over her head. Bigwig and Petrichor went on with Zirabelle while Larka and Vandwyn stayed behind. Before splitting up, the party wondered if they would need to travel back through the hot spring to get out or if there were other exits.
• Zirabelle alerted the others she was with that she had found a set of stairs. These stairs were carved from stone and, though ancient, were clearly meant to be traversed. Bigwig and Petrichor walked up the stairs to find a dead end. In perfect sync, they investigated the wall and found cogs and levers. They realized they were on the other side of, what they assumed was, the intended entrance to the grotto. They both looked through small areas where the brick mortar had aged away and deduced the entrance was in Deep Cromith, the town hall of Moonvale Grove.
• Back at the relief, Vandwyn continued to gush over the idea of preserving a history almost no one knew about. Larka said her people of the Fell Tribe also enjoyed stories. Vandwyn asked if she knew any unique Fell Tribe stories. Unable to think of any, she started babbling about how the Fell Tribe told their stories of victory via oral tradition. Vandwyn said he had always meant to travel to the Ribahrn Territory but never had the time. Larka said she needed to return to save her family and restore the tribe's honor. After realizing that he was fishing for an invitation to come visit her, she stammered and told him he would be welcome to visit. The others returned at just that moment and poked fun at the two unrequited lovers.
• The HELP returned to the mushroom room to see what lay in the next cave branching. Petrichor could tell that it was a long cave and that the final piece of the portrait-key was on the far end. She was immediately suspicious of traps and started ritually casting Detect Magic to look for any. Since there was some downtime, Vandwyn offered to ritually cast Identify in case they had any unidentified magic items. Despite her trance, Petrichor reached into her bag and sharply handed him a statuette of a little dog. He informed her that the item was a Figurine of Wondrous Power and, after using the command word "good boy", the figurine would transform into a mastiff for a few hours and obey her commands.
• Petrichor's excitement was short lived. Not only did she see that the pedestal the portrait fragment rested on was enchanted with abjuration magic, but she also saw the room was filled with skeletons. She and Larka assumed the skeletons would waken as soon as the portrait was taken. Larka told the others to grab the skeletons. Zirabelle joked about throwing her a bone. When she went to smash the fist skeleton, she realized it was actually made of dirt. Petrichor thought back to her time at the Six Tenet Monastery during The Festival of Saint Kynthas and decided to try casting Shape Water to wash away the dirt skeletons and then sculpt them into something. For some reason, she sculpted them into a reasonably lifelike depiction of Amroth. She and Bigwig giggled about how confused he would be if he ever showed up here.
• Petrichor retrieved the portrait, still a little nervous about unseen traps. The arcane trap she had discovered still triggered but there was nothing for the spell to awaken. She returned to the others and took out all of the portrait pieces. They all snapped together before magically fusing. The combined pieces depicted Frieda Sinclair wielding the Staff of the Woodlands. Petrichor took a moment to look at the face of her predecessor.
• Vandwyn became excited at the prospect of seeing contemporary artwork of a long-forgotten historical figure. He said it was the second most exciting thing to happen to him today. The others asked what the most exciting thing was and he turned red before saying it was some delicious chocolate pastries. Larka tried to hide a blush after hearing how much he liked the pastries. Bigwig and Petrichor knew what he really meant. Petrichor made a comment to Vandwyn about how cute Larka looked then walked away to avoid the consequences.
• Preparing to walk down the next cave branching, Zirabelle made some puns about branches and roots/routes and made a mockery of the word "deduced". The path was short before opening up into a small room with a circle of flowers. In the center of the flower circle sat a small shrine to Sindara. Larka was on high alert for fey magic. Petrichor was too, despite feeling that the circle was filled with nature magic, not fey. She wondered if this was where she was supposed to bring the portrait to meet Versin and suggested investigating the last cave branching before doing so.
• In the final cave branch, the Big HELP found the plant life here had rotted more than any other place. It stank with vengeful fey magic. The tunnel ended in a purple door. The center of the door contained a recessed square that party deduced was the keyhole the portrait would fit in. They spun around and went to investigate the flower circle.
• Petrichor cast Detect Magic to assure herself there was no fey magic in the circle. The spell confirmed that the shrine to Sindara exuded holy nature magic. Further investigation suggested it was imbued with healing magic from the prayers of clerics long ago. Petrichor took a chance and stepped into the circle. When no fey trap triggered, she prayed at the shrine and felt it bless her with additional health. The shrine dulled as it began to regenerate the power it had given Petrichor.
• The HELP returned the door and Petrichor set the portrait-key into the keyhole (though Bigwig thought about grabbing the key and stealing her moment). The door flashed bright and disappeared. The room beyond was filled with rot and fey magic, but Petrichor could hear the sound of a fountain. She ran until she could see the fountain and the missing part of the Staff of the Woodlands.
• Waiting for them in the center of the room stood what looked to be an enormous vargar. He identified himself as Versin before rattling off, in a bored tone, a speech he had prepared about being Petrichor's final test to become Sindara's next Chosen. He stopped himself at the end and told Petrichor that she would not be meeting that fate. After thousands of years guarding this emerald, tricked into doing so by someone named Iouna, he planned on taking the Chosen's power for himself. He tried to grab for the Staff, but Petrichor dodged and fired a Starry Wisp cantrip at him. Versin laughed at the petty attack and revealed he was truly an archfey from Nirania, trapped in the form of an animal lord by Iouna. Even if the party defeated him, he would just be freed from this body to return home.
• As the battle began, Versin summoned several Redcaps to his aid. He teleported around the room, savagely attacking the HELP. Petrichor tried to hold him at bay with her Insect Plague while the others dealt with the redcaps. When Versin needed to recharge his power, he teleported to the fountain and drew power from it. To show off his strength, he cast Sunburst to devastate Petrichor, Bigwig, and Zirabelle.
• Larka landed a lucky blow on Versin. He retaliated by charming her and forcing her to attack the blinded Zirabelle. She managed to shake off the possession after hitting Zirabelle only once. Bigwig picked off most of the redcaps, but had a hard time putting much of a dent in Versin even when she hit him.
• After a long time of fighting, Petrichor saw how Versin empowered himself by using the waters of the emerald and ran to do the same, hoping to restore her exhausted ability to Wild Shape. She arrived just before him at one point and dove in to the water, emerging as a massive water elemental. Petrichor and Larka worked together to smother and hack away at Versin. In his panic, he began to fire off bolts of radiant magic in various directions. Vandwyn almost went down just as Zirabelle was knocked unconscious by a blast. Bigwig hurried to heal her from the brink of death before charging towards the fountain.
• Versin broke free of Petrichor's watery grip to unleash one final Sunburst. Petrichor took the brunt of the blast so she land a killing blow. As Versin's body dissolved into motes of green light, he swore vengeance on the HELP and laughed that he was finally going home.
• Petrichor climbed the fountain to get to the emerald. She could feel her staff pulling her towards it like a magnet. Petrichor took the emerald and set it into the top of the staff. Green light flashed from the top of the fountain, disintegrating the ceiling above. Larka and Bigwig noticed that the fountain was rising up to pass through the disintegrated ceiling to the surface and called to the others to hop on it quick. Once the fountain returned, the HELP looked around to see people gathering. Petrichor stood by her marble copy, holding the repaired Staff of the Woodlands aloft. With Petrichor lost in a vision, it was the other members of the Big HELP that realized the enchanted water was no longer flowing from the statue. They had 24 hours to save Moonvale Grove from the sea of corruption before the last of the protective aura faded.

<Previous Session

53 Days after the Crash of the Raziel

Report Date

18 May 2025