The Return: Session #6
General Summary
After receiving the horrifying vision of the soon to be released leopard demon, the heroes loaded up on supplies and traveled to meet Thalina near Thistletop.
The walk was peaceful, and Thalina shared what she knew:
* Hundreds of goblins have gathered at Thistletop, and non-goblinoids are training them for war. She has seen Tsuto, an armored human, and Bruthazmus... her half orc ranger nemesis.
*They stopped training last night, and spent the evening relaxing and equipping. She fears they were preparing to attack Barrowmista this evening.
*They also brought in six tied up humans the evening before.
*The goblin leader of Thistletop, Ripnugget, must have had a falling out with his druid goblin advisor... the druid, Gogmurt, was not living in the jungle outside of the goblin fort.
Tiny Tim sent his new familiar, Felicia, to scout the area. There were some guards awake at Thistletop, but they were all preoccupied with games of cards or torturing seagulls. Most of the goblins were asleep.
Thalina led the heroes through the jungle, and they came upon the clearing of the cliff edge--- beyond the goblin made rope bridge led to the small island of Thistletop. The weatherbeaten island looks as if it was once the head of a giant statue.
Tiny Tim created an illusion of a sexy goblin at the edge of the clearing, and the seagull torturing goblins fell over themselves to get close--- the heroes quickly dispatched them and their gob dogs.
The heroes tracked down Gogmurt, and they attempted to use the same Sexy Goblin trick. The wily goblin didn't fall for the illusion for long, but they were able to subdue the goblin for interrogation. He agreed to tell the heroes what they wanted to know if they spared Ripnugget. They learned that Ripnugget was under the sway of a "white haired witch", and something about the layout of Thistletop.
With some debate, the heroes took a short rest to prepare to assault Thistletop. Bartuk created an area of magical silence centered on him. The heroes used the complete silence to kill the guards, and, with grim resolve, they killed all the goblins while they slept. With the majority of the goblins dead, they avoided the throne room and descended into the island.
They found some more sleeping goblins and a number of entrances from a large room, but an ominous pair of stone doors at the end of the hallway called their attention. It held a cathedral dedicated to goddess Quitic-- the Queen of Monsters. As Tiny Tim and Kurdan attempted to knock over a font of bubbling dark water, the heroes were attacked by leopards that formed from the shadows. The magical silence protected the heroes from the worst of the leopards' magic, but the silence also made them oblivious to the half-orc Bruthazmus discovering them and alerting his allies. The armored human charged down the hall giving cover for Bruthazmus to pepper them with arrows, but before they came into melee ranged... they ducked into a side door while calling for someone named Lyrie.
The heroes quickly followed, and found the two had joined a scantily clad woman in some type of research library. As Bruzthasmus retreated down a set of stairs, the armored human and the wizard fought the heroes.
The battle was swaying in the heroes' favor, and the wizard disappeared with a magical spell while the armored human surrendered. He introduced himself as Orik, and said he was hired by Nuaria, but had no loyalty to her or her cause that would justify him dying for either. The heroes offered him a precious emerald in exchange for working for them. The greedy Orik took the deal without a moment of hesitation.
Orik led the heroes down the stairs to a Shung ruin where the leopard demon Malfeshnekor was imprisoned. Orik entered alone and gave a story that heroes were wounded but still coming. He was told by a raspy woman's voice to prepare to ambush the heroes.
The heroes entered to find themselves on a balcony overlooking a pool of blood and across from another balcony. Seven forms were tied to posts. In the center was the missing body of Father Tobyn. Three living humans were tied and gagged to the posts on either side of the posts. The heroes were greeted by the rasping voice. As Nualia came into sight and lit her father's corpse, she demanded the heroes surrender or die. The heroes chose to fight.
As Bartuk ran down the stairs, Kurdan launched himself off the top of the balcony to meet Nualia and another shadow leopard in the middle of the bloody pool. Bruzthazmus started shooting arrows using the hostages as cover while Tsuto appeared near Grubbyfugs and Tiny Tim on the balcony. Tsuto concentrated his rage at Grubbyfugs for blowing off his hand. Orik joined the battle for the heroes, charging up towards the half-orc.
The battle went and the fire spread to the hostages. Each fiery consumption was lighting a tip of a seven-pointed star in the blood pool. The heroes were able to defeat their foes, but had the tough decision of trying to save a dying Thalina or the hostages. At the same time, Tsuto ran forward to try to save Nualia.
Saving their ally, the last of the dying hostages completed the ritual to unleash Malfeshnekor. The glowing seven-pointed star fell away revealing a deep hole into the earth. A large demonic leopard leaped out of the hole landing on and crushing Tsuto. Luckily for the heroes, the demon was still quite weak after being imprisoned for a thousand years. Their combined might helped them bring down the evil creature.
Character(s) interacted with
Report Date
11 Dec 2020
Primary Location
Comments