The Dangers of Darkbough - Part 6
Session 31 Recap
General Summary
Despite being relatively familiar with Darkbough Forest from the last nearly two months within her borders, progress slows to an almost literal crawl for the Outkasts the next day. Morgan, while a skilled tracker and woodsman, is stymied by the density of the forest, making it difficult to keep his bearings. Furthermore, Morgan is forced to regularly double back in order to find paths safer from the multitude of hazards, both living and environmental, that fill the woods.
Thankfully, a second night of undisturbed sleep finds a much better rested, if not fully recovered, Qas. The party decides to adjust their pace accordingly; moving a bit faster at the cost of some of their caution, and Morgan starts taking the group through, instead of around, the most basic of hazards. Qas proves her ability to keep up, despite still feeling a bit weak, and things start looking up for the group when a sudden noise catches their attention. Looking around, Bara spots an armed lizardfolk staring wide-eyed at the group from the undergrowth nearby. Once the scout realizes they've been discovered, they make a break for it, scampering partway up a tree, then leaping from trunk to trunk with practiced skill. The group gives difficult chase, trying to convince the fleeing local that they mean no harm, but to no avail. They just about lose the scout in the woods when a scream followed by a strange, throaty roar echoes through the trees.
A moment later, the group comes across the remains of the scout, partially torn apart by some manner of enormous jaws. The party moves into a defensive position around the body when Morgan spots a large snake-like monster rising up from the foliage, it's bloody jaws gnashing in the flickering light of his torch. Before anyone can react, the serpentine creature is joined by another, then another. The group spots four, then six, then eight snaking heads, snarling as they rise up and converge into a single, massive reptilian body. "Hydra..." Bara whispers, repeating the warnings of her ancestors being screamed in her mind.
Given no choice, the group scatters, surrounding the rearing hydra as it lunges for the attack. Thankfully, being able to split the creature's attention among all six combatants reduces its ability to focus on striking any of them down, and because of the magical sundries provided by Misel Stonebow, Qas is even able to contribute some arcane assistance to the fight, augmenting Morgan's torch with a handful of minor fire spells. The tumult of combat turns out to be very different for Qas than the quiet corridors of the Bregaran Exit, however, and when the long and intense battle eventually finds the Outkasts exhausted but victorious, her struggle to activate the magical implements in the heat of the moment leaves her frustrated with her abilities, despite her allies riding high on the thrill of victory.
Fortunately, she doesn't have long to dwell on her difficulties, as the group regroups around the slain lizardfolk, performing a quick sending for the scout's spirit, and retrieving his belongings to take back to his tribe. Morgan, having seen the scout's arboreal style of travel, adjusts his tracking technique, keeping an eye out for worn spots on trees, and picks up a path that he believes will lead the group to the Anasss'gura Tribe.
Sure enough, another hard day of travel later, the Outkasts finally break through the thick forest into a large clearing, at the center of which sits a collection of huts surrounded by a sturdy log wall, very similar in design to the one around the Vass'anasss Tribe. The group calls out to the village in the same way their were taught by the Vass'anasss, but when they get no reply, they decide to cautiously approach, identifying themselves as allies the whole way there. Eventually, they enter the gates of the village to find it not only abandoned, but filled with the corpses of lizardfolk tribesmen, many half-eaten or rotting in the sun.
The Outkasts start making their way into the center of the village noting that many of the corpses weren't injured by tooth or claw, but appear to have been melted by something acidic, and the closer they get to the middle of town, the more uneasy they become, as if they are being watched by something malevolent. The group decides to search the largest huts in the village center, assuming them to belong to important members of the community, while Bara casts some magical spells to keep an eye out for either trouble or survivors. The search turns up little in the way of good news, as they find what turns out to be the corpses of the clutchmother and chief of the Anasss'gura people - slain by some unknown entity. The group decides to start collecting what things they can to bring back to the Vass'anasss as proof of the fate of their sister tribe, and find several items of value, some even woven with powerful enchantments.
Before they are finished with their search, however, Bara calls out that she has found some kind of creature or creatures moving around the village, although she cannot pinpoint their location. The group moves outside the hut to investigate when a shape from inside a nearby hut slides into view - a quivering mass of ooze, moving in the direction of the group, and pulsing aggressively.
The ooze, while not the most dangerous creature the group has fought, proves to be more difficult than expected. Its acidic nature is bad enough, crippling the usually melee focused teamwork employed on other foes, but even more troubling is the ooze's apparent ability to disrupt the minds of those near it, which affects different members of the team in different ways. While most of the group ends up feeling like they are fighting through a brain fog, it ends up making Rayne a significantly dangerous liability, forcing her allies to contend with her fury in a much more direct manner than usual. The creature is eventually slain, but Morgan is seriously injured, and many of the group's weapons and armor are deteriorated by the slime's touch.
Bara tries to attend to Morgan inside the chief's hut while Rayne and Qas do a quick assessment of the damage to the group's gear, but they are interrupted by an eerie laughing and clapping coming from a nearby rooftop. Looking up, they spot what appears to be a barefooted human child, but the presence of small horns on her head and pitch black eyes betray her as anything but. The creature identifies herself with the name "Lyukikyoth" and asks the group if they will give up their "darkness," which she desperately wants to touch since they "are so unique." The Outkasts take up a defensive posture at the front of the chief's hut after recognizing her as some kind of dark fey, demanding to know the fate of the villagers and her purpose in being here. With a shrug and a sigh, she disappears, reappearing beside Morgan at the back of the hut. Stating that she was just here "collecting" from the dead villagers, she reaches her clawed hands out as if to grasp Morgan, then yanks back, shocking the group as she tears his shadow away from him.
With a broken wail, Morgan drops lifelessly to the ground. Before the Outkasts can reach his side, weapons drawn and ready for blood, Lyukikyoth disappears again, reappearing outside the hut once more. She holds up Morgan's shadow, working over it like a tailor inspecting a bolt of cloth, before nodding in satisfaction and leaping back onto a nearby rooftop. Gleefully, she declares how happy she is that she followed the "failed mind" from the temple and found such a wonderful collection, then leaps into the air and disappears.
Despite being desperate to stop the creature, the Outkasts instead turn their attention to Morgan, who lies unmoving on the floor. Bara, in a panic, uses the last of her magic to try to stabilize his condition, but while he starts breathing again, he doesn't wake from her efforts. The group, lacking other options, does a quick tally of their supplies, but none of them have any healing items remaining. Qas mentions, however, that she is pretty sure that Morgan had a healing potion on him, so they start going through his belongings, eventually finding that one of his belt pouches has a secret magical pocket sewn into it. Emptying the pouch, they are able to find his final potion, but turn up something else at the same time. A scarf, burnt orange in color, just like the ones worn by Verant and his goons...
Rewards Granted
Anasss'gura scout -
- +1 shortbow and beaded clothing
- +1 Ring of Protection made from braided leather
- Masterwork trident
- Wand of Identify made from animal antler
Missions/Quests Completed
- Locate and determine the fate of the Anasss'gura village
Character(s) interacted with
Rayne
Bara
Qas
Report Date
21 Mar 2020
Primary Location
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