Session Report 45

General Summary

After a much-needed nights worth of rest the muskrats set on their journey to obtain some information from the Ashkeepers. The party chatted and enjoyed Ember's volcanically cured beef jerky along the way. As the party came closer and closer to the Ashkeepers fortress they began to slow their pace as they approach the main gate. All members watched as a hole appeared in the side of the wall, and then a cannon protruding from said hole firing at Shade. He was lucky enough to dodge this projectile of honey and the party spoke up at this point claiming to have ties with Embri and Ember. Tharcom was a bit taken aback and decided to hear the Muskrats out. The Ashkeepers informed the muskrats of their dealings and how there family came to procure this land and what kinds of trades and businesses they dealt. They gave some detail on the wild hunt about how they tried to defeat the brothers but were unsuccessful, and that they are basically at war with another faction called the People of the Blackblood. A group of lycanthropes led by Malar. After some trust was gained through diplomacy Tharcom told the muskrats that Embri is the 7th brother and that he had a falling out after some poor decisions Embri made and was unapologetic for. with some good information on a few different topics now the Muskrats asked if they could hunker down within the fortress walls for the night which granted a reluctant yes from Tharcom, but he was beginning to see our group as friends which is rare for the Ashkeepers. During the night Sauvek was awoken by Hercom because he wanted to purchase Sauvek's axe which he eventually offered 30K gold for, but was rejected by Sauvek. As morning came the party was ready to set out east at a good pace making sure to keep eyes out. This leisurely pace was cut short upon the sighting of an army of creatures in pursuit of the party more than 1,000 yards away. The muskrats were now running double time, but this would be the beginning to a gruesome end. They had reached a bridge and continued to run... right into a trap. Dueggars popped out everywhere blocking the bridge and beginning to quickly trap the Muskrats. The fighting began and looked hopeful as the Dueggars fell easily, but things got more complicated once some of the team members were on the bridge. A Dueggar that was mostly mechanical looking came seemingly out of nowhere and scorched a whole lane of the bridge leaving some nasty burns on many of the team members. More dueggars dropped and then so did the part of the bridge when the Mech-Dueggar stomped his foot in the middle of the bridge knocking out a 30-foot gap. Half of the Muskrats were now stranded on the beginning side of the bridge with the Salamanders that had now caught up with the group. Frightened for his life, Shade made a hasty decision to attach his vine to an arrow and embed it into a Dueggar on the bridge an attempt to swing to the other side. This failed as the Dueggar was pulled of the bridge taking the Mech-Dueggar along with him, and almost Itzal but he was able to leap over the dead body. Shade had inadvertently swung himself into the lava. Itzal being the protector he is, was able to conjure a layer of energy over the lava which launched shade on top of the energy floor. This act saved Shade from the lava, but not from the Mech. The Mech-Dueggar jumped out of the lava onto the floor and attempted to beat Shade down and grab him, but he failed. Zonraven jumped down to Shades rescue and struck the Mech with his Sunblade killing it. The Mech let out one last attack as he blew up on Shade and Zonraven knocking Shade to the ground. Tev not wanting to be left alone at the top of the bridge decided to also jump down, injuring himself pretty bad in the process, to rejoin his fellow Muskrats. Then an amazing Dimension Door spell from Itzal brought the Muskrats to the other side of the bridge. On the other side of the bridge Zonraven was able to heal Shade and stand him back up. But as Shade stands a Lava Worm emerged from the lava spewing, well lava, coating nearly everyone turning them into stone. Shade was able to dash out of the lave before it hardened and made his way to safety. The other party members followed suit after they had broken free from the volcanic stone. All but Itzal had made it safety. Itzal made an attempt to turn into a T-Rex and break free from the stone but even that was not enough to do so which unfortunately left Itzal in a vulnerable and helpless spot against this Lava Worm. The Worm bit Itzal once for a crushing amount of damage, and a second bite leading to Itzal being Swallowed by this great monster. The party would be left to save themselves from sticky situations without Itzal now. RIP.

Report Date

08 Jul 2026