10th to 11th of Eleasis: Manor and trip back to Blue Haven
Chapter 1: Conversation with the Child’s Spirit
Game starts with the party in the nursery. A spirit has just thrown Nevil into the wall (for 19 points of damage.). As Inman runs to her the curtains in the room and small items are rattling.
Nevil shrugs off Inman’s concern, as he comes to her side. She stands, focusing on the spirit, as she casts Divine Sense trying to determine what is present in the room. She senses no evil within this space. She does sense the poltergeist but it is not a malevolent entity.
Nevil speaks to the spirit she sensed. “I know you are frustrated. Did we get close and totally miss it? The doll moves again, indicating “Yes.”
“I’m sorry to ask you this question, are you on the other side of the portal?” The doll lifts up and falls to the floor again. (“Yes.”)
“Can you see your body?” The mobile spins, indicating “No.”
“Is it (her body) close to the portal?” The doll indicates a “yes” response.
Sorrow leans back against the wall and utters a loud, “Fuck!”
Nevil turns back to the spirit. “Alright child, we understand what we have to do now. We need to talk in another room.” Nevil leads everyone out of the nursery without waiting for a response from the spirit.
We go downstairs to the parlor. Boz asks, “Are we coming back here?
Nevil asks, “Are we leaving this work for another time?”
Atalaya reminds everyone that we have an important meeting with Captain Hawk. I hate to have to leave and return, but we have greater business to attend to.
Boz, “Yes. But what if I stayed a bit?”
Atalaya stares at him while Nevil asks, “For what purpose?”
Boz returns, “I could spend more time here. There are answers here that I could get.”
The group continues to talk about this with Atalaya quietly listening and keeping her gaze on Vasilya. We talk about what might be needed to put the child spirit to peace. Nevil asks again whether or not closing the portal would be an issue for the Gur clansmen. And if they would continue to stay here if the portal was closed.
Madrina states that “if the portal was closed we would have less concern about needing to be here.” She also agrees that we might “just need to consecrate her bones but it's too hard to know for sure.”
The team knows how important this is to Boz but business with Hawk and Candlekeep can't wait long.
Nevil proposes that perhaps Boz could stay briefly while the rest group heads back to Blue Haven to meet with Hawk and then return with help to give peace to the spirit.
The Gur indicate that this would be okay. Wanting to give the couple space, Nevil asks Cirilli to help pack and check on the horses. Inman and Sorrow also excuse themselves as Vaz and Atalaya move into the kitchen to discuss his doing this.
Chapter 2: Dinner and Evening
Atalaya moves into the kitchen but then has a bit of difficulty initiating the conversation with Boz. Flittering around in her head are his frequent statements that he isn’t going to let her out of his sight anymore. They do talk it out though. Atalaya says that there is no way they will leave for Candlekeep without him. He readily agrees to this. He just wants to talk with the Gur for a couple of days. She is sad, but realizes that Vaz needs to do this. She reminds Vaz that he gave her the Sending Stones and that we can use those to communicate with each other if there is need. We decide that the rest of us will head back to Blue Haven, meet with Hawk, recover The Eye, and bring a cleric back to send the child’s spirit to her rest. It should be just a few days before we return. A day to ride back, a day to recover The Eye and a day to return. (While, in the past, Atalaya has teased Vaz about his stated intent of never leaving her side, she finds herself feeling uncomfortable with the idea of leaving Vaz here while the rest of us return to Blue Haven. And is surprised by feeling like this.)
We fix dinner, with Rennic drawn to the smells of roasting meat also put to work chopping vegetables. We ask about whether or not there is a way to return to Blue Haven without having to go into the dragonets’ territory. Nevil half teases the Gur about the lack of warnings about the several beast surprises along the road. “I mean would a little note about mini fire dragons have been too much to ask?”
The Gur seemed a bit embarrassed to not have considered it. He admits that they don’t actually walk/ride through the area but fly above it in their raven form. After hemming and hawing, Rennic explains that there are several trails that will skirt the scorched areas that the dragonets claim for themselves. He says that if we avoid the scorched areas we should be fine, since the dragonets seem to be very territorial. He thinks that we will find campsites along the trails if we look for them.
Nevil asks the Gurs if they need anything from Blue Haven. She says that it would be easy to bring it to them when we return for Boz and to put the child’s spirit to rest.
Madrina thinks for a moment and then asks if we can get her some thread, needles and items to allow them to repair things. She starts making a list to give to Nevil about what is needed. She says that they have money to give her to pay for the items.
During this time Nevil has taken Cirilli out to the horses to learn about grooming and caring for them. Inman and Sorrow are off somewhere until Sorrow wanders back to the kitchen, saying that he is willing to help prepare the dinner. Maybe we would like him to be in charge of seasonings. Nevil comes back in and tries to redirect his attention to playing music rather than actually assisting with the cooking. She asks him to play some songs as we cook. After some teasing he agrees to play for us. The Gurs enjoy his music. He is playing “old time music.”
When dinner finishes cooking we take it into the parlor to eat. We have an excellent meal of pulled pork and veggies. Relaxing around the table, one of the Gur, (Taspar?) brings out some wine. Atalaya thanks him, but says she has something she wants to share first. She leaves and digs through her bag and pulls out the Drinking Horn of Wine she got from the Carnival in the Feywild. Smiling, she hands it to Vaz encouraging him to take a drink and pass it around the table. His eyebrows go up as he takes the horn. As he drinks, it starts playing an ethereal tune. He passes it on. It plays a different tune for each person. When it comes to Cirilli, she looks at Atalaya. Atalaya nods and she takes a drink. The music it plays for her is very youthful. Nevil’s music is wistful. When the Gurs drink the music is reminiscent of their tribal music. Atalaya’s music is songs similar to those of her childhood.
We enjoy a pleasant evening, enjoying wine, talk and music.
Realizing that we have a long trip to make tomorrow, we head to bed with Atalaya giving everyone a Goodberry before we leave the common area. The Gur are responsible for keeping watch tonight.
When we get upstairs, Atalaya makes her new batch of Goodberries. Only 10, because she has only 1 level one spell slot left. We sleep. Atalaya trances and then crawls into bed with Vaz for the rest of the night.
Chapter 3: The Next Morning/Morning Ride: 11th of Eleasis
In the morning we wake, get ready to leave, make and eat breakfast. Boz says goodbye to each of the party members, giving each of them hugs. He gives Atalaya both a hug and kiss. Atalaya reminds him again about the Sending Stones and that we should make use of them. If they are not needed earlier in the day, he should use them before he heads to bed. Atalaya reminds him that the spell will renew at dawn each day.
When we make our way out to the horses, Nevil directs Cirill to get onto the horse that Boz had ridden to the manor on. Cirilli is surprised and a little concerned with the change, but quickly decides that she likes being in charge of the horse. Nevil then adds that she is to take point and to lead us back to Blue Haven. Cirilli is very nervous about this responsibility. Atalaya reinforces Nevil’s command and reminds her to avoid the dragonets as per Rennic’s instructions. Cirilli does agree that this is something that a ranger should be able to do.
We ride. Cirilli goes off road well before the dragonets’ area. Around lunch time she finds a nice little glade with a stream and an old firescar.
Cirilli looks around the grove and says that it is a “really pretty grove.” We agree and decide to stop there for lunch. Sorrow makes a fire in the firecircle. He then sits down and starts and asks if we want some music while we take the horses across the creek to drink and graze. Shep is put in charge with watching over them. Nevil says that it is up to him. He starts playing.
Inman says that the grove is a surprisingly nice place to rest as he plops down on a log.
We start eating. Atalaya is constantly scanning the area. Nevil is also watchful.
After a bit Atalaya hears something: soft muffled sound with some skittering.
Atalaya says that she hears something and stands to look.
Chapter 4: Fight with the Mushroom Men
Atalaya sees at ground level a mushroom pushing itself up from under the ground and sees little eyes looking out at her. She sees a malevolent face. His mouth pulls into a mirthless smile. We see and hear more of them appearing around us chuckling. They do not look like friendly fey.
Atalaya looks them over and greets them saying, “Hello” in Common. Cirilli asks, “Are they fairies?” Nevil responds that they are some kind of fey creatures, and then asks if anyone knows what they are.
Cirilli looks more closely at them and responds saying that they are “Redcaps. I heard about them in a book.”
One of the Redcaps lunges at Nevil as Cirilli continues, “They are evil, they attack people. Their caps are dyed in blood.”
The fey creatures are carrying sickles and have large metal boots on their feet.
Skimblemarrow: runs up to Cirilli and tries to kick her with his oversized metal boots. He misses as Cirilli jumps out of his way. He then takes a swing at her with his sickle and hits causing 12 points of damage.
Sorrow: Dives over to Cirill, pushing her out of the way so that he can get into melee with Skimblemarrow. He casts Phantasmal Force, but the spell has no effect on Skimblemarrow.
Nevil: Calls out, “Cirilli, to my side!” She holds her action until after Cirilli’s turn.
Inman: Activates Bladesong. He moves so that he and Nevil are flanking Jaggedmaw. His first attack both hands hit, doing 4 points and 8 points of damage. (Total 12 points of damage) On his second attack his dominant hand misses but he hits with his other sword for an additional 9 points of damage. (Overall total of 21 points of damage.)
Cirilli: Moves next to Nevil (so that Nevil can take her damage). Cirilli shoots at Jaggedmaw and misses.
Nevil takes her action: She makes two attacks, both hitting Jaggedmaw. She pounds him into the earth with pieces of mushroom flying everywhere. (17 damage?)
Atalaya: Moves in between two of the outlying Redcaps. She shoots at Splinterbone with her longbow. First shot misses. Second hits for 12 points of damage.
Gutslinger: Moves to and kicks at Sorrow and misses. He then makes two attacks at Sorrow with his sickle. First hits for 8 points of damage. The second hits for 11 points of damage. (total 19 points). Sorrow uses his reaction to use Hellous Rebuke. Gutslinger saves and takes half damage. 6 points of damage to Gutslinger.
Splinterbone: Runs towards Sorrow but doesn’t reach him.
Skimblemarrow: Kicks at Sorrow again but Sorrow is able to jump out of the way. He then attempts two attacks on Sorrow with his sickle. The first hits for 8 points of damage. Second attack misses.
Sorrow: Disengages and moves to where Atalaya is.
Nevil holds her action until the end of Inman’s turn.
Inman casts shatter at 4th level. The spell is centered on Skimblemarrow but also hits the other two Redcaps on either side of him. (Gutstringer and Splinterbone). Skimblemarrow makes his save and takes only 13 points of damage. Gutstringer and Splinterbone both fail their saves and take 27 points of damage each. Cursing from the creatures is heard.
Nevil: Moves to Skimblemarrow. Her first attack hits for 12 points of damage. Her second attack is a critical fumble. She twists her wrist, her weapon arm is incapacitated, and she drops her weapon. Nevil is disarmed with three beasts surrounding her.
Cirilli casts Ensnaring Strike and shoots at Splattergash. She hits him doing 5 points of damage. He makes his save and is able to avoid being entangled in the thorny vines that burst from the ground. Cirilli shifts her position slightly and drinks a healing potion as a bonus action obtaining 10 points of healing.
Splattergash moves and Kicks at Inman with his iron boots. Inman fails his save and takes 26 points of damage and falls prone. He “falls” on Inman with his sickles and hits. Inman takes 15 points of damage, and begins to spit blood (He is currently at 1 hit point.) Splattergash is cackling with glee seeing Inman so close to death.
Atalaya, seeing Inman go down, runs to Inman and Splattergash, casting Hunter’s Mark (6) on him as she runs. When she gets there she pulls out her long sword, Amaurëa, and makes two attacks at Splattergash. The first strike hits for 12 points of damage and the second hits for 17 points of damage.
Gutslinger: Attacks Nevil with a kick. Nevil fails her save and falls prone. (Damage?)
He then attacks her with his sickle doing an additional 10 points of damage. Cirilli yells as she sees Nevil go down.
Splinterbone: Starts laughing and runs towards Cirilli, not quite closing with her.
Sorrow: Moves up to Splatterdash and casts Vampiric Touch as he reaches out and touches the fey creature. Splatterdash dies and turns to dust. Sorrow pulls 9 points of healing from Splatterdash before he dies. As a bonus action he gives Nevil bardic inspiration.
Nevil: calls Shep to her. He races across the creek towards her. Charging and trampling Skimblemarrow, doing 12 points of damage. Pieces of mushroom fly everywhere as it dies under Shep's hooves. He then stands over Nevil to protect her. Nevil remains prone and reaches for her mace and then uses Healing Hands on herself.
Inman: with a single hit point raises himself to a knee and reaches out to Cirilli's defense above his own. Forcing a guttural yell, he casts Scorching Ray at Splinterbone at level 3 (5 rays). They all hit with the third ray a critical hit. Only a flaming mound remains.
Cirilli tries casting Ensnaring Strike again. She then shoots at Gutstringer. Her arrow hits for 7 points of damage but again, the Redcap is able to avoid the attempts of the thorny vines to grapple him.
Atalaya: Ready to end the fight, transfers her Hunter’s mark to Gutstringer, shoots and kills him with a single arrow. Mushroom pieces explode again and she runs to Inman, calling for Nevil to join her.
Nevil, battered, runs to Inman's aid. Slipping her hands across his wounded sides, drawing him into an embrace, she whispers holy words of healing into his ear returning him to nearly full health.
As Nevil heals Inman, Atalaya places her hand on Sorrow and casts Cure Wounds twice and then feeds him 2 Goodberries.
Nevil notices for the first time that Sorrow’s blood turns black as it dries. Concerned that this may be a poisoned or diseased effect from the battle, she asks him if this is normal. Sorrow picks off a piece of the dried blood, looks at it and throws it. It clinks as it breaks into pieces. “Yes, this is normal,” he explains. “It happens all the time.” Nevil hasn’t seen Sorrow this badly hurt before, which is why she probably hasn’t noticed the effect before. “Really, I’m okay now.”
Shep does not trust that the Red Caps are indeed dead and he continues to pace and sniff and stomp the bodies like a horse with a snake.
The picnic is spoiled beyond repair. Atalaya pours water on the fire as Cirilli kicks and disrupts remaining red mushrooms around the site.
The group remount their horses and agree to eat in the saddle. While circling around for a last survey of the ambush site, Nevil praises Cirilli’s quick identification of the Redcaps. She seems quite pleased with herself.
Chapter 5: Return to Blue Haven
Sorrow mends and Inman cleans battle worn clothing during the ride back. The sun sits low when the group returns the rented horses. The stablemaster appears really surprised to see us returning. He actually states that he didn’t think we were coming back. He checks over the horses very carefully and realizes that there has been no harm to any of them. We explain that while the trip was a little different from what we were expecting, we are back. We readily agree to pay for the extra days we had the horses, as long as he returns our security payment. We let him know that we will be needing to rent the horses again in a few days.
Before returning to the ship the group visits the temple of Chauntea to see Mother Bettewhyte. She is busy tending roses as they approach. She asks if the group has run into any more trouble. Nevil replies, “Actually yes.” but she is hesitant to answer more because of the sensitive nature of the Gur. She looks to Atalaya to best navigate the discussion.
Atalaya looks around the garden and then asks Mother Bettewhyte, “Is there somewhere we can sit to talk?” Mother Bettewhyte nods and leads us to an area where there are several garden benches grouped to promote conversation. Sitting down, Atalaya wonders where to start. Deciding, at least for now, to skip most of the last 3 days’ adventures.
Atalaya asks, “how does the temple feel about spirits who are unable to find rest?”
“It is a terrible thing. Have you encountered one?”
“Yes, a child. The Countess suggested we search the late baron's abandoned estate for rare books and we encountered the spirit of one of his daughters.”
“Oh that is sad. Something must be disturbing her rest. Have you any idea what it may be?”
“Yes, her body was stolen from rest by a hag and used to create a portal to the shadow realm. When we searched her grave, we found, and dispatched, abhorrent beings, one like a little straw man and two as crawling hands. We did not find her remains but have reason to think they are just on the other side of the portal.”
“Oh, that is a terrible thing. Is everyone alright? I remember another man in your group.”
“Yes, Boz stayed behind with a tribe of Gur to guard the portal, and to learn more of his kind, until we can return in a few days. They have been camping there to protect the portal and to prevent evil from detecting or using its passage.
We were hoping your temple could assist with consecration rites. Perhaps this may even close the portal.”
Nevil adds,”I tried what I could alone but the child does not rest.”
Betty nods, “it will most likely require her remains. We can send some priestesses in the morning.”
“It's probably best to wait until we pass through again in a few days. The road was quite dangerous with several nasty surprises.”
Mother Bettewhyte thinks and adds, “We can travel with guards if you think that is best.”
“That is reasonable but the Gur may find approaching by surprise with guards to be very disturbing. We would prefer to go with you in a few days.”
“That is fine. We can wait if you think that is best. We can prepare accordingly until you return. ”
We explain about the Gurs being there when she asks about where Boz is. We tell her that he stayed at the manor with the Gurs that have been guarding the portal.
We discuss options that might help the child’s spirit find rest. Mother Bettewhyte is ready to send some priestesses out there immediately. We explain that we would prefer to wait a couple of days, let us finish the task we came back to do and then escort the priestess to the manor ourselves. We explain that the way there is dangerous. And also, the Gur are likely to be hesitant to interact with the priestesses. Mother Bettewhyte does finally agree to wait for us, but still seems to want to send bodyguards for her priestesses.
We take our leave from Mother Bettewhyte, telling her that we expect to be ready to head out again in just a couple of days.
We head back around town heading to the ship.
No comments:
Post a Comment