Session 19

General Summary

19th - 21st of Flocktime, year 595 Confronted by the now revealed night hag, and blamed by her of destroying her sister, "Auntie Olga's" house and "garden" and now trespassing, the hag demanded payment in recompense. A life, or something of equal value and interest, and they could go free. Without any debate on the topic, the party decides to fight the hag and her scarecrow minion (much to the unaired gratitude of the relatively newer party member, Valenthe).
The raven that had been following them turned into some kind of small, blue, big-headed creature who changed the consistency of the oil slick on the cavern bridge to the scarecrow could cross and attack, then turned back into a raven and began attacking Wally's fire beetle. The living scarecrows did some significant damage to the already weakened party, made weaker by the hag's casting enfeeblement on Malex, the party's heaviest hitter. Although, his fiery dragon breath made quick work of at least one of the scarecrow before attacks from the hag, floating beside the bridge, fell him to unconsciousness.
Meanwhile, Wally was dealing with some kind of spectral creature in the form of his former priestess, summoned by the hag, that only Wally could see. Its chilling touch nearly killing Wally before the party could do enough damage to the hag to cause her to flee with her boggle to try to recover. Malex was healed, and the party commenced to explore the hag's lair as it quickly began to wilt its illusion of flowery prettiness away. A chest with an unusual lock made of dials was no match for Toby, who very quickly bypassed the lock, and narrowly avoided a volatile acid spray that burst into flame as 2 flaming skulls burst forth.
The battle was risky, the party being so wounded, but the reward was great, as they discovered inside the chest that was bigger on the inside than the outside, a cache of reagents, spell components, poisons, as well as potions of healing, love, and hate. And some gems including a pink diamond.
Also of interest, an eyeball in a small glass jar that moved on its own volition, and an empty wine-skin that exuded unknown magical properties.
They dropped the unnaturally heavy chest at their room in Kathra's tavern, and took the man the presumed to be the missing Gilder to Bercival Evans' manse. Welcomed by the houselady Mary, they were assured he'd be well taken care of, as their tale of fighting a night had disguised as a fey unnerved the town's ersatz leader who kindly but emphatically urged the party to continue with their travels. They stopped by Fredric the alchemist to give him the fey's flowers he asked for... to find out that his intent in asking the party for them was to see if they were in fact an illusion. He had suspected the fey of being not what she seemed, but believing a mistaken accusation of a fey would mean terrible misfortune, elected instead to see what the party would find. As payment for the alchemist's subterfuge at putting them in harm's way, the party accepted an Elixir of Health free of charge.
After a night's rest, using wards and magic circles to protect them from possible night hag retaliation, the party discovered a local young halfling woman who a few years ago explored the area of the Vortex, and came back. Although, she came back mentally traumatized and without memory of her experience. Visiting "poor Maggie" they discovered her nephew Andwise removing all the shutters on her house. Evidently, after a recent spell of secluding herself in the dark, now her mania manifested in wanting no shadows near her at all. With gentle questioning, after being assured the party were real and not hallucinations, she relates to the party her entering the twisted forest by turning directly south of the Vortex, following something calling her name. She came to some "impossible house," and the next thing she remembers is standing as the riverside again, fleeing the shadows that now tormented her.
Malex actually succeeds in using the shining and golden image of his patron to help calm Maggie's agitation and delusions, to some degree, before they depart.
With food packed by a surprisingly happier Kathra (and indeed, the entire village seemed a bit lighter, with the effects of the night hag's presence dissipating), the party makes the remaining day and night journey through the Tilldale valley to the Colonial River. Travelling along the river's edge, they quickly see the weather turning, the clouds darken and thickening, and the outer swell of the Vortex come into view. They also pass by flotsam in various stages of rot, and a few body parts even, bobbing in the river.
Just as they come to the point of seeing the Vortex just upriver, the party discovers a masted boat broken upon the rocks. In the weird and unnatural dim light, they find a body on the shore, and around his neck, an intricate gold medallion representing the moon goddess Celene, with a pearl inlayed. Oddly, on close inspection, the pearl appears to be black from the inside, with clouds moving on its surface. They also find a soldier of some sort, also dead, beside his shield and sword.
Hopping from slimy rock to rock, the party goes to explore the ship itself, when Malex sees something move in the water -- just as he falls in! Weighted down by his armor, he goes under long enough to see something move through the mud and murk before he can find footing -- and that's when a tentacle wraps around his leg and pulls!

Rewards Granted

• Medium chest -- The inside of the chest appears to be twice as large as the outside. (Req 18 STR to carry). It is filled with a variety of bottles and jars and philters marked with all manner of herbs and parts of creatures.
• Poison: a bottle each of: Crawler Mucus, Malice, Midnight Tears, Truth Serum, Oil of Taggit
• 3 bottles of healing: (red liquid glimmers when agitated)
• Small jar with an eyeball
• An enchanted wineskin
• Philter of Love, and a Philter of Hate
• 100gp, a pouch of various cut and uncut gems (200gp), small pink diamond (300gp)

Character(s) interacted with

• Fredric the alchemist
• "Bréagach" the night hag
• Gilder the missing farmhand
• Kathra -- Wally's old friend and current owner of Tilldale's only tavern
• Bercival Evans -- de facto town leader
• Maggie -- young halfling woman who returned from the Vortex
• Andwise Marigold -- Maggie's nephew

Report Date

26 Aug 2019