Session 40 - Loose Ends

General Summary

36 Amberspell - Contd.

The ride back across Verbrona Bay was quiet and uneventful. Most of the party fell asleep to the rocking of the boat and so were surprised when Captain H'ralk warned that they were about to dock. The sun had traveled most of the way across the sky as the party slowly made their way up the switchback stairs and up to the inn. 

Never had the Salty Siren looked so inviting. Stopping only long enough to confer with the innkeeper and make arrangements for hot baths and warm food, the party headed upstairs and split up to go to their individual rooms. Most of the party sought their beds soon after, although at least one of the adventurers almost fell asleep in their bath. 

The night was restful for all, indeed, Ranunkel slept like a rock, but several of the party found themselves visited in the night. Denye dreamt of whispered conversations with her great-aunt Vikra, but waking could remember none of it, but trying to recall it brought up a memory of Bobo, her childhood pet slime. Janora's dreams were likewise restless and filled with the sound of rustling wings. Strangely, when the witch woke, there was a large raven primary on the bed next to them. 

Jilken was also visited in the night, but unlike the others, she fully remembered it on waking. In the vision she was once more underwater at the bottom of a large bowl carved deep in the rock, but instead of the chasm they had found in the bay, here was what remained of an enormous block of a black stone. It was at least three stories tall, melted in places, with occasionally patches of magical energies that washed over the surface of the stone.  

As the Aiel was taking it all in, a hand reached over her shoulder pointing at one of the bottom edges. At first, Jilken thought the hand was pointing at a large growth of spiky red coral that grew nearby, but on closer inspection, she spotted a crack in the rock that looked large enough for a person to slip through. Turning to see who had been pointing the elf got a quick glimpse of a Shin'a'in woman with tanned skin and long black hair, bound in warbraids. But instead of the blue eyes of the plains people, this figure had eyes filled with the stars of the night sky and Jilken quickly found herself pulled into that star field before waking.

37 Amberspell

Considering the early hour the party had gone to bed, it was still almost two hours after sunrise before the last of the group stumbled downstairs.  Once everyone had or was eaten, Denye asked, "So what's our plan? Head up to Wolfworth Basin?"

"Maybe," said Vellikar, "I feel like we might need to regroup. What is it we're trying to accomplish?"

"We're looking for one of the Bells," replied  Denye, "It was 50/50 chance it was here." Pulling out the her map Denye pointed at the Bay, "We're here and we need to go there," tapping a claw on the large lake to the north.

Jilken nodded, "I think you are right about the other dive site. Does anyone know what kind of rock would be down there? Would obsidian be something that was likely to be found down there?"

Ranunkel cocked his head and stared at the map before saying, "It's possible. That cluster of mountains suggests seismic activity and if that lake is as deep as the bay was, there was likely volcanic disturbances after the Cataclysm. Why do you ask?"

"I had the weirdest damn dream," began Jilken, "I was floating underwater again, in front of this giant cube of obsidian and a hand pointed over my shoulder at a big crack on one side. When I turned to see who was pointing, it was a Shin'a'in woman with stars instead of eyes. And then I fell into those eye and drifted among the stars, it was peaceful but still really odd." 

Denye, who had immediately recognized the description, said, "That sounds exactly like Kal'enel, the goddess of the Tayledras and the Shin'a'in. They even call her the Star-Eyed." Thinking for a moment she added, "What did her hair look like?"  

Jilken looked nonplussed at the question, but after a moment's thought supplied, "Long black braids, why?"

Denye nodded, "That would be the Star-Eyed as Warrior, which at least makes sense, but why is she sending you visions?"

"Who knows," said Jilken with a shrug, "but it seemed to confirm that what we want is in the Basin and give us a potential way in."

Ranunkel nodded, "I'm sure there are divers in Bel Dorahl, we could probably head there and get equipment and supplies." 

"Or at the very least give us some advice," agreed Denye.

Ell held up a hand, "I would suggest we stop in Haven for a day or two at least. We can do some shopping, I can go to the Healers Collegium, maybe even talk to Aubergine about some of the stuff we've discovered. Then maybe up to Foxhall and/or Bel Dorahl."

"What's in Foxhall?" asked Ranunkel.

"It's a town on the edge of the lake," explained Ell, "we visited there last spring, before we met you and Vellikar. Details aren't important right now, but we do know a couple of really old people who might be able to tell us a thing or two. And they do kind of owe us a favor."

"That sounds good to me," said Denye, "I need to talk to Aubergine about a couple of small manufacturing jobs."

"You won't get any complaints from me," added Janora, "I think I need a new hat. But what are we like on time? Ell, on the way over from Duskcairn you mentioned having a time box to get to Haven, some business to attend to?"

"I've still got a few days," replied the young man with a smile, "But if you are asking if we should use your travel spell, if you are willing, then I would appreciate that."

"Good enough," nodded the witch, "then we should probably head toward the nearest large wood." Turning back to the map the party surveyed the options and decided the fastest would be to head west along the Shipward road and the Pelagris Forest on the far side of the river.

Vellikar confirmed that there was a town, Wyldcoast, along the bank of the river, but also told them there were no bridges to cross the river. With a touch of chagrin he said, "Folks in Wyldcoast don't really go into the Forest. Most say it's haunted and those who go in never come out. Which is nonsense since my home is another few days travel into the middle of the Pelagris." 

"Then how are we going to get across the river?" asked Ell.

Janora dismissed that with a wave of their hand, "We'll be fine. Either we can find a ford, or a ferry, or we can just walk over it. The important thing is that we get moving." With that, the party split up to finish packing and after retrieving the horses from the stable set off in the cool, damp morning light. 

The sun burned off the last of the remaining fog as it climbed higher in the sky. The ride was peaceful, up until the point that Janora's dogstaff began to growl softly. A moment later of group 18-25 goblins, half or more children, burst out of the hedge and onto the road under Ironheart's nose. The battlemare immediately froze as Jilken let out a surprised oath. 

Seeing the looks of terror on all the goblin faces, Denye stepped forward with both hands up, saying, "Easy, easy, we're not going to hurt you."

Jilken gave her an arched eyebrow as Ell rode up next to Denye and in Goblin asked, "What's wrong? You all seem really scared."

The goblin leader, an older figure, missing an arm and wearing a ratty orange carpet as a cape brighten at his words. "You," he said, still in Goblin, "You speak the language. Terrible, terrible things. Many brave fighters gave lives so we could escape."

"Oh no," exclaimed Ell, "What was it that attacked you?"

"Shadows," said the leader, "shadows that attacked us in our caves, becoming large dogs that drooled fire and bit with sharp teeth." This last was said with a gesture to the missing arm. He went on, "Then we hear voices, goblin voices telling us to come outside where it safe. No safe, huge creatures with faces like dog, but legs like a deer waited to pounce on running goblins."

Not recognizing either creature, Ell relayed this to the others. Janora immediately recognized the first as hellhounds and quickly grew excited. The witch was also able to identify the others as leucrotta, demon hunters from the Abyss.

Turning back to the goblin leader, Ell asked, "That sounds more serious that just a beast attacking. How far is it to your cave?"

"With horses, few hours northwest," replied the older goblin, "we move much slower on foot." Sighing loudly, he went on, "We had chickens, goats. We friends with gnome village north of us."

Puzzled, Ell asked, "Why didn't you run there?"

"And what if monsters follow?" asked the leader, indignant, "No, we no bring trouble on them. Goblins used to being kicked out of home. We survive, we hang."

Unsure of what to make of that answer, Ell said, "Well, my friends and I might be able to help you get your old home back. These creatures sound quite serious. Do you think someone could show us the way to these caves?"

Turning to look at the rat-tag refugees, the goblin leader called "Tear of Midnight." One of the few, only three, goblins who still carried weapons, came running up. Turning back to Ell, he said, "This is Tear of Midnight Sorrow, he show you way to caves. We stay here and wait, he tell us if clear, we come back."

The small goblin warrior quickly swarmed up the side of Ell's pony and pointed the young man northward into the forest. Leaving the goblins to find a good hiding spot, the party headed off the road and across the rolling hills. After an hour or so of riding, seeing only the occasional herds of goats, sheep, or bison, the party came across a dirt track heading more westward and Tear of Midnight directed them to follow it. "Can't go straight up, sulfer marshes stink bad, strange statues too."

With the chance of meeting hellhounds, Janora and their mastiff moved up to the front , just behind Jilken. Looking over her shoulder, Jilken spotted the witch behind her and with a smile asked, "So what do you know about these monsters? From what the goblins said, the hellhounds seemed pretty okay with fire, so that probably won't work to well. Any thing else we shouldn't use, or preferably something that they are weak against?" 

"Which monsters," asked Janora, "the hellhounds or the leucrotta?"

"Both," was Jilken's reply, "I'm guessing we're going to have to fight them at some point." With a wolfish grin, she added, "I always like to know the best way to kill something before I have to fight it."

"Well as for the hellhounds," said Janora with an edge in their voice, "They are big, fiery puppies and totally misunderstood." Touching a hand to their dogstaff they said, "We shouldn't have a problem with them." This provoked a look of disbelief from Denye, but not seeing it the witch went on, "As for the leucrotta, they will be more of a challenge. They are very literally hard headed as well as mentally. Quite stubborn, evil, of course, they are also fairly intelligent trackers and hunters. Once they have a scent, they will follow it. They can even set traps."

As Janora had been explaining, Ranunkel's eyes had gotten larger and larger. Pulling his cap of his head, he let out a sigh with a muttered, "Ooh booy."

"They are fairly vicious," agreed Janora. "Physically, they are supposed to be a mishmash. They have the legs and hooves of an antelope or a deer, the body of is somewhere between stag and heyna, with a large badger's head. Quite thick skull, as I said, their usual tactics are to ram into people, knocking them over and then trampling them with hooves."

"So we make sure we stay on horses," Ell said with vigor. Looking thoughtful he asked, "How likely is it the hounds and the leucrotta are working together." Turing to look at Tear of Midnight, he posed the question in goblin.

Their small guide looked first confused and then affronted before saying, "No, we no work with the monsters. They kill and eat us, chase us from our home."

Holding up a hand in a gesture of peace, in Goblin Ell gently said, "No, no, I asked if the hellhounds were working with the leucrotta."

Tear of Midnight's face cleared, "Oh, yes, it seemed so anyway. The hounds chased us out to where other things waited. Both show up at same time, a sun after or so after cursed flies find our caves. We try to keep them out with smoke, work alright for while."

Ranunkel swore, and said incredulously, "Cursed flies too?"

Jilken's mind immediately went to defense and she asked, "Denye, how much control do you have over those storms. That would be a good way to keep them off us."

Denye ducked her head in a quick nod, "It might be a bit of a rough ride, but I should be able to keep them from getting close."

Turning back to Tear, Ell asked, "How big are these flies and why are they cursed?"

"Not huge," replied the goblin, "Half my thumb length. They bite, leave big puss filled blisters that send out black tendrils under skin. If not healed, you fall unconscious and two suns later your body gets up and begins walking....somewhere."

Ell related all of that to the others and turned back to the goblin warrior and asked, "What do you mean 'somewhere'?"

Tear of Midnight was just about to respond when Jilken caught the sound of something up ahead, a child calling out for help beyond a collection of boulders on the right. Remembering what the goblins had said, the elf immediately called a halt. Suspecting an ambush the party pulled out weapons just as two of the leucrotta came charging from either side of the road.

Focusing on the one much closer to the party, Jilken fired of a quick crossbow bolt from the heavy bow and dropped it on it's strap, her off-hand already bringing up the Rainbow Reaper. The second shot followed the first, and was actually in the air before the first shot had even struck. Both bolts struck home in the shoulder of the demon, mere inches from each other. As it landed, the second bolt exploded in a ball of water, temporarily blinding the creature.

Denye who had already begun muttering the words to a spell, threw up a claw and cast Guiding Bolt. A thin beam of white-hot energy lanced out and struck the beast, surrounding it in a white glow that hummed. Calling out to the others, she said, "That should make it easier for to hit." 

Seeing the creature closing on him, Ranunkel whipped the staff around and sent the leucrotta stumbling backwards. At the same time Janora touched a hand to their armor, pulling some of the poison infused in the leather and tossed it toward the second leucrotta, enveloping the fiend in a poisonous Vitriolic Sphere.

Seeing that the closer monster was looking particularly rough, and still glowing, Vellikar gathered moisture from the air and froze it into an Ice Knife. The shard of ice slammed into the shoulder, but the scream of pain cut off as the knife exploded, lacerating the throat with shards of ice.  Seeing their companion fall, the other monster let out a shriek of defiance as five more of the creatures rushed at the party from out of hiding. One of the creatures bit at Ell, but the young man moved the horse at the last moment and it snapped on air. Leaping away, the leucrotta did connect a kick, but the warlock compensated to keep from being knocked off. A second tried the same pair of maneuvers on Ranunkel, but instead of landing a kick on the dwarf, the demon got it's hoof stuck in a gopher hole. 

As the leucrotta that had struck Ell danced away, Tear of Midnight Sorrow leaned out and with his shortbow, fired off a quick arrow that landed in it's haunches. Ell himself, followed it up with two Eldritch Blasts that threw the offending creature back into a tree.

Jilken charged a bolt with arcane force and fired at one of the leucrotta. It struck and exploded in a shower of sharp wood shards that sprayed over two of the creatures.  Sending Ironheart down the rocks in a charge she followed it up with a second bolt, but it missed as the horse slipped briefly on a patch of loose pebbles, breaking the charge.  Denye called a Storm Sphere on the largest grouping of leucrotta. As the creatures reacted to the surging winds that had enveloped them, the wizard sent a bolt of lighting into the demon attacking Ranunkel, just as the dwarf swung at the thing with his Thunderstaff. 

Pointing at the leucrotta charging at them, Janora lifted a hand and pointing a finger at the thing cast Witchbolt, the bolt of electricity striking the creature squarely in the chest. Vellikar pointed at the sky and dark clouds began boiling up directly overhead, before another bolt of lighting crashed down into one of the leucrotta. 

Two of the creatures pounced on Janora but only one got a bite in as the mastiff backed away. Ranunkel also suffered a bite from one of the stubborn fiends. One charged towards Ell as well, but it couldn't connect and in the confusion Tear of Midnight Sorrow shot the thing in the throat, puncturing an artery. It wasn't enough to kill it, but the demon howled in pain.

Ell sent two Eldritch Blasts into the leucrotta's face throwing it back. Expecting it this time, Tear of Midnight had his sword out and ready and when the fiend went flying, he got a deep cut along the belly, sending innards slipping out as it slammed into the rock and lay dead.

Seeing this display, Denye quickly sent through the earrings, "Alright, it's official, we need to adopt Tear of Midnight and make him our mascot."

In the same manner, Ell said, "I agree, but we will need to survive this fight first."

In response Jilken urged Ironheart into a rearing trample, knocking one of the creatures to the ground. Stabbing down quickly three times, the Aiel fighter killed the fiend. Denye sent a Guidng Bolt to light up the leucrotta attacking Janora before sending a lightning bolt from her Storm Sphere to finish it off.

Ranunkel slammed his staff once more into the leucrotta that had chosen him as it's target. The blow connected and once more the creature was thrown back. With one down, Janora turned to the other immediate dance partner, and cast Moonbeam on top of the leucrotta. The edges of the silvery moonlight pulsed with a dull grey/black energy as the skin of the demon began to blacken. The mastiff also let out an echoing bark that threw the demon back into the Storm Sphere.   

Vellikar looked around and called out to the nearby plants, casting Entangle on the area around a pair of the monsters. Once managed to dance out of the way of the vines and roots, but the other quickly began trapped in the magical growth. It struggled to escape, but couldn't pull free as the other leucrotta rushed at Ell, Janora, and Jilken again. Ell managed to fend off his attacker, but Janora got bitten and Jilken got knocked off her horse.

Tear of Midnight fired an arrow at one of the beasts, but it went wide. Ell's Eldritch Blasts, however, did not and another leucrotta fell to the ground. Leaping into the saddle, Jilken quickly finished another of the beasts with a charge at the fiend and two quick stabs of her spear.

Denye sent a Ray of Frost at the tangled leucrotta but it ducked under the bolt of arcane energy. It did not duck the lighting bolt that coursed through the demon and killed it. Seeing only the one creature left, Ranunkel rode up between Janora and Denye and slammed his staff into the head of the leucrotta, sending it the way of it's brethren.  

With no signs of further attack the party dismounted their horses and decided to take a short rest. While the others were eating and patching up wounds, Jilken began skinning the leucrotta. She managed to get off two hides with minimal cutting or breaking, but the strange physiology let her with a lot more pieces of hide.

"Anybody want some of this meat?" asked the elf as she worked.

Denye, who had been sketching one of the creatures, looked up appalled, "You aren't actually going to eat that are you? It's a demon."

"It does look odd," agreed Jilken, "Maybe you are right, that's not really a healthy looking color."

Changing the subject completely, Vellikar asked, "Anybody else need healing, I've got some spells if we need them."

A general chorus of no's reassured the druid and Janora summed it up by saying, "I'm good now, just needed a chance to sit and catch my breath after being bitten a few times."

Tear of Midnight Sorrow, who had been watching the party quietly, spoke up, "You all so strong, great magics. Those were things outside cave and now all dead."

Jilken chuckled, "You did pretty well yourself. You're pretty good with that bow."

"Agreed," added Denye, "Thank you for your help, it was very appreciated."

Tear of Midnight puffed out his chest, "I hunter for tribe. I bring meat." Dropping his head he looked at the ground and admitted, "Usually rabbit or duck, not big like deer."

"Well," Ell said in Goblin, "I think you did very well. Thank you for protecting me."

As the team began packing up again, Ell asked Tear of Midnight, "How much farther do you think it is to your caves?"

"Not far now," was the goblin's reply, "should be no more than a hour."

In fact, it was only another forty minutes or so later that they came to a split in the path. Tear of Midnight pointed at one of the paths and said, "Home caves not far that way." Swinging around to point at the other path he added, "That path to lake, that where flies come from and the crack in the air, space, I dunno know."

After Ell translated this, Jilken asked, "Wait, when did this happen?"

"It start with flies. Seven suns ago we find corpses in the lake. Bloated, gross, and covered in the cursed flies. We pull them out of the water and burn the bodies. Dream of the Bullfrog say prayer to Matron Tears to clean wate, but it no work, flies come back. Three suns later there was thing in the air, like a crack in rock. It start to open and get wider, but all you see inside is blackness. When it got to size of goblin, Dream of Bullfrog say no go there anymore."

"That does sound like something we should check out," said Denye, "Whatever curse this may be, I don't really like the sound of cracks in the air."

"Agreed," said Jilken vehemently, "I don't want nothing slipping through cracks, that was what led to the Djinn War." 

Turning the horses down the side path, the party soon came around the side of hill and caught sight of the lake. Even before they got close they could hear the sounds of growling and the buzzing of clouds of flies that hung over the lake. The water itself was murky and had an oily sheen to it. At the edge of the lake there was indeed a large crack or rip in the air, surrounded by the corpses of goblins. Large enough for a man to slip through easily, three hellhounds worried at the edges, pulling the hole larger. Four more hellhounds sat at the feet of a tall elven woman with dark purplish skin and white hair.

As the party approached they heard her call to the hounds, "Pull harder, we must open the gate and prepare the way for Balor."

Report Date

14 Jan 2022