Harmony Session 22: Man, Mutant, Monster
General Summary
After learning the truth of Pilgrim's Varduran construction, The Suckhole Six considered their situation. The Ashlands still loomed to the north, a burning promise of the horrors to come. The Ashen, cultists from the First Expedition turned smoldering zombies whose souls were trapped in an endless cycle of death and rebirth, were a problem for another day. Zoran appreciated the rage the mountain had shared with him and spent most of his downtime counting push-ups. Gorr longed for the more inviting environs of Swango Swamp, where he was "literally making love to holes in the ground." Thankfully, their path led south into Ferrous Forest and away from that burning hellscape... for now.
Ahead of the Competition
After getting further away from the blasted lands around the mountain, the Six spent a restful evening back in the relatively peaceful woods. The next day would test this ideal when they would some strange vocalizations off the path. They turned to investigate and came upon a strange sight: the back end of a large centipede digging in the dirt. Sensing something more than just another monster here, they called out to the creature. When it lifted its head in response, it was decidedly not just another monster: the mutated head of Yarg the Unbowed of The Windblown clacked its barely-human mouth at the adventurers and froze. There were no easy answers here for the Suckhole Six. This thing was an obvious abomination of nature and aesthetic decency. A monster, by any other name. Yet they could not rule out that their former guildmate wasn't somewhere in there. Unfortunately, the tension became too much for the volcano-juiced Panoptic Legionnaire though, and Zoran rushed forward to slay the monster. Yarg was not to be underestimated, even as a centipede. Some scrap of intelligence yet remained this creature as one very useful cast of shield was able to keep him from being decapitated again. The mutant escaped the Six before they could slay him, burrowing into the earth in retreat. Understanding that this was unlikely the last time they would encounter Yarg the Unbodied, our heroes resolutely continued on their quest. It would be two nights before Yarg would attempt his revenge. Accompanied by a monstrous centipede and plenty of cannon fodder bugs, the mutant attempted to ambush the Six by burrowing up beneath their camp in the night. Our heroes were not caught by surprise however, knowing that this attack had been inevitable. They beat back the assault easily, only losing Pilgrim's really nice tent to one of Yarg's fireballs. Once again though, Yarg escaped a monstrous butchering, taking his much larger and "darkly intelligent" centipede friend with him. With that juice mopped, the Six finally got some sleep.Temple, Unburied
The Suckhole Six spent the next two days exploring the area around the previous party's bolt. They soon found a rather lived-in, and hastily exited, camp that had once been occupied by their compatriots. It appeared that they had made camp here while heading out each day to search for the Buried Temple. The Six soon found similar success and prepared to enter the Buried Temple where so many other adventurers allegedly met their end. The Six neglected to search for an entrance in the water that flooded the previous Expedition's excavation and instead attempted the front entrance. The doorway had been blocked from the outside with boulders and stone bricks, as if to keep something in. This did not deter the Six though, who dilligently went to work clearing enough room for them to descend. Something happened then that they did not quite realize nor understand. When Zoran, whose feats of strength clearing the stones were matched equally by all party members, placed the final boulder on the ground, they all stopped humming in harmony. Apparently, unbeknownst to them, they had all been vocalizing a tune together while they worked. Now that their task was complete, they could not remember the tune that still buzzed in the back of their throats, even though it felt so familiar. Zoran attempted to pull out his bone flute and find the melody, but without success. Whatever had overcome them had passed, taking with it the strange comfort and safety it had carried. The entrance to the Buried Temple loomed before them, the spare light fading quickly to black down a curved staircase. There on the landing lay a grim reminder of what they had come to investigate: a headless skeleton, flesh picked clean by centipedes and baring the rotting robes of a servant of Brelvonis. Trapped by the boulders, this is where Yarg the Unbowed made his doomed last stand. The Six collected what personal effects of his they could find and turned into the darkness that waited them.Rewards Granted
Yarg the Unbowed's personal effects including:
- 10 rations
- The tattered robes of a cleric of Brelvonis
- A holy symbol of Brelvonis
Character(s) interacted with
- Yarg the Unbodied
Notes
- The party discovered the burnt-out remains of one of the mysterious tree-like rockwood creatures on the border of The Ashlands. Though Zoran's expert tracking could have led them easily back to the scene of the crime, they had business elsewhere.
Report Date
20 Mar 2025
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Secondary Location
Related Plots
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