Session 49 - When Last We Met - 9/3/23

General Summary

When last we met, the party had just dealt with an ambush on the road leading to Ailec. From there Tensi, Ukko, and Celeste's pseudodragon scouted ahead into the town of Ailec itself. There they found various shambling undead amongst the town and its graveyard. With this knowledge in tow, they decide to avoid the town and the zombies within. Making a beeline for the cemetery. At the gates of the cemetery, The party discover a grisly scene. In a twisted foreboding effigy, Random townspeople were dressed up to look like the party after being brutally killed and displayed as a warning. The party wait till daybreak to attack the wights wandering among the gravestones. With the advantage of the sun on their side, the party dispatch these creatures quickly and make their way into the crypt that is the lich's lair.
They emerge into a grand darkened throne room and find their foe, Vaarn,seated on a marble throne with a guardian of some kind at his side. He mocks the party for walking right into his kingdom of shadows and the fighting commences almost immediately. Tensi secretly clawed her way up to the ceiling and on her way down, was Polymorphed by Ukko into a Tyrannosaurus Rex! Which proceeded to land on Vaarn and deal the first blow of the battle. The party exchange spell and projectile. Vaarn crawls his way out from the Rex's clutches, not after sustaining several bites to his withered body.
Vaarn launches a vicious fireball that smites half the party's health. Their companion Maleeka responds in kind, casting a fireball of her own Which, along with wounding some of her allies, dispatches Vaarn.... For the Time being. The only foes left were his protector as well as a demon summoned by Mistral that went renegade. The two creatures exchange blows and eventually this Death knight dispatches it back to the Abyss and deals a mighty blow to Tensi, in both Dinosaur form and Elven.
Tensi, wielding her greatsword once more, stabs the death knight through his helm and renders him dead. With the din of combat subsided, The two foes begin fading away. Vaarn returning to ashes, and the mysterious Death Knight's form fades away revealing the person underneath was Ja'ak. Isolde's brother. As she weeps over his corpse, Adluak makes himself known and begins scolding Isolde for trusting the party who are nothing more than a group of hired killers.
And that's where we'll pick up next time!

Character(s) interacted with

Ukko - Dwarf Druid flyboy. Scouted Ailec as a deer and turned Tensi into Tensi Rex
Maleeka - The hesitant Halfling Scholar ended up being the one who dealt the killing blow to Vaarn
Vaarn - Evil S.O.B. Though his physical form was once again destroyed, The party knows that he will not truly be vanquished until his Phylactery is found and destroyed.
Death Knight - A corrupted guardian figure protecting the Lich and his lair. Turned out to be Isolde's brother Ja'ak.

Notes

31st of Arawn

• Party continued to fight their way into Ailec
• Took a rest in order to face the threat during daylight hours

1st of Brigid

• Party continued into the Cemetery
• Saw a facsimile of their party mutilated
• Fought off Wights
• Faced down Vaarn the Lich and his bodyguard
• Adluak revealed himself

It is around noon when we begin next time.

Report Date

04 Sep 2023