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• Aros – Lightfoot Halfling, Rogue – Missed Second Half of Session
• Galiena Erenaeth – Half Elf, Celestial Warlock / Druid
  • Dearbhán – NPC, Fairy Dragon (Galiena’s pet)
  • Kavium – NPC, Tiefling Paladin (Oath of Conquest)
  • Darko Wintersage – NPC, Undead Wizard (Flame Skull)
• Baldur – Human, Pack Chain Warlock (Spear) / Paladin – Not Present For This Session
  • Hellina Kaitlyn Deramu – Human NPC, Wererat

• As Aros, Galiena and Baldur watch Nikalos take off on his magical sled; Baldur looks at the others, gives them a thumbs up about a job well done, and heads for the Inn, explaining he’s going to go see Kaitlyn. (DM Note – Since Baldur was not here for this session, this was an easy way to explain he was “catching up” with his lady friend to excuse him out of tonight’s adventure)
• Aros quietly moves around the guards and makes it to the Drunken Dragon and makes it up the stairs where he approaches Baldur’s door; he listens and hears Baldur and Kaitlyn being “busy in each other’s adult company” – he manages to pick the lock – then use oil on the door to ensure it opens quietly – he then stealths into the bedroom – and in that moment – sees Baldur in all of his birthday suit glory – from the back of his head down to the bottom of his feet

• Aros manages to throw his recently acquired Magical Snowball Terrain Changer that he’d gotten from Nikalos (See Session 33) – and commands it to only allow him to move through the terrain – forcing it to create difficult terrain for Baldur and Kaitlyn – who are now covered in snow. Baldur knows there’s only one person who has the ability to do that now, and he shouts Aros’ name loudly, even as Aros giggles and slams the door behind him, quickly making his way down the stairs
• Aros just hears, “I will get you back Aros!”
• Aros manages to grab two apples from the orchid before meeting Galiena just outside of Greenhaven. He tosses her an apple and takes a bit of his, saying, “There’s a lot of guards in town still looking for you and ‘your mom.’ And Baldur… he’s going to be mad at me for a little bit.”
• Having seen Baldur go back to the inn and then seeing Aros running out of it; Kavium stops talking to Ramgor and makes his way to the edge of town
• Kavium explains that while Annie Longstocking, the halfling in charge of the orphanage was here, about the nightmares the children were having (related to the Oni, see Session 33) Ramgor had come out here looking for Galiena and the others because a friend he’d formed a bond with – a ranger, out in the woods – has come to Ramgor and mentioned something he’s seen – and asked Ramgor if he knows anyone who could help look into it
• Kavium explains that Ramgor’s friend, Caith Mathan, who lives north of Greenhaven, saw what appeared to be an elf – that seemed to wildly shift her colors – almost like the seasons – because when she turned blue, it grew cold; when it she was green, things felt lively; when she was red, it felt like summer; and when she was grey, it felt like fall. However, the unusual elf seems to be trapped in some form of magical force field – and there’s some form of ‘animated-like’ armor that patrols around the trapped elf – probably placed there by a powerful wizard of some kind
• Kavium goes on to explain that Ramgor had told him that Caith mentioned that because of how the “strange shifting elf” is behaving; it seems to be impacting the woods around here, and they seem to be responding to her shifts in color; so the woods will suddenly bloom around her, then suddenly rot; then bloom; and it’s causing odd things around the imprisoned elf; so it’s probably good to free her if not for herself, for the very woods around her as well
• Kavium – in his ever confident voice says – that they should be able to handle whatever’s happening and take care of this ‘mysterious magical armor’ that seems to be guarding this ‘strange elf.’ Galiena doesn’t seem so sure, since they tend to get into trouble that leads way over their heads; and Kavium then smiles deeply and whispers, “Well, you always have my healing touch.” Galiena’s cheeks flush red as she quickly turns to Aros and asks, “What do you think?” Aros sighs, “I wish we had more apples.” However, there is a low supply currently due to the season. The trio decide to make their way towards the “strange elf woman” – which Ramgor’s friend provided directions to – then they would go to Caith Mathan’s cave

• Traveling through the forests for roughly six hours (Galiena earns a Level of Exhaustion, due to a Critical Fail on the Constituion Check), before the party notices something unusual – there’s no sounds of birds – or any typical nature sounds around them at the moment
• As they look around – they see webbing all over the treetops – and recognize they’d encountered a similar situation before during the Hallowing (see Session 12)
• Galiena examines the webbing – and knows this is for sure the work of Ettercaps, and not spiders of any kind
• Kavium mentions, “This could be the ‘despoiled’ portion of the woods that Ramgor’s friend mentioned.”
• Galiena opens the bag and lets Darko out

• As Darko emerges from the bag, he lets out a feigned gasp of air (as he actually doesn’t need to breathe) and complains about how long he has to stay in the bag – then asks where’s the body he’s going to possess because surly this time that’s why they’ve called him out of the bag
• Galiena explains that they’re actually looking for someone and maybe that could be someone he could possess but they need to find them and evaluate the situation first; but then asks Darko to burn the Ettercap webbing that’s everywhere
• Darko sighs, “You take me to all the best places…”
• “Well, we’re here to help an elf…” Aros explains
• “Is that who I am possessing?” Darko seems interested. “They’re typically inherently good at magic. That would be fine.” Darko then whispers to Aros, “Am I possessing her?” His head bobs in Galiena’s direction. “She has magic in her. And she’s an elf. Mind you, I would prefer a man’s body, being I was a man before… but I could … have fun being in her body.”
• Kavium growls in response, overhearing Darko.
• Aros also shakes his head, “No! Not her. Bad Darko,” Aros wiggles a finger at the floating skull as if it were a dog who had peed on the floor. “Get that idea out of your head. It won’t be me or any of my friends.”
• Galiena asks Darko to burn the webs with his fire eyes; and as he tries, he’s able to burn some of them; but notes that these appear to be newer webbing, because the webbing is quite moist – so if they go deeper inside, it appears there might be older webbing; as if whatever did this has ruined the inside and working its way outward
• As the party makes their way deeper into the woods; it becomes almost complete pitch black because of the webbing over the tree tops blocking all the light
• Aros hands Galiena one of his torches so she casts Light on it, so that she can use it without burning it
• As they make their way through the webbed woods; there’s shapes that they party can make out – where some appear to be animals – while some are completely still – some seem to be moving
• Aros tries to cut one free and it’s a giant wasp that once cut free, observes Aros to see if he is aggressive, and Aros just watches the giant wasp as it then begins to fly away deeper into the woods
• As the party progresses; an odor begins to drift into their nostrils – as the forest clears to open up to a massive mushroom infested field

• “Well,” Kavium sighs, “mushrooms are signs of decay. That would explain the odor. And it would seem we’re getting closer. Because that fetid smell is coming from somewhere in here.”
  • DM Note – This party has never encountered Shriekers, despite my love of using them.
• Galiena, as a druid – has heard of mushrooms growing to this size naturally – though, it’s usually in the Shadow Realm, beneath the mountains. She also knows that there’s a form of sentient fungi known as Shriekers that hide among these similar mushrooms; and if they are touched, brushed against, or sometimes, even when they detect a deep tremor (heavy footsteps), they will suddenly begin emitting a very loud sound. Many humanoids in the Shadow Realm will use Shriekers as a form of alarm. Galiena reasons that with the constant darkness due to the mystical cloud that lingers over the island that it made it easy for the mushrooms to grow here as well
• Galiena warns Kavium and Aros about Shriekers, and how they should look for small, very tiny “branches” that look like “hairs” on a mushroom; these are the physical sensors of the Shriekers; and to ensure that they walk slowly and lightly through the field (DM Note – Having successfully done a great Nature check and Galiena sharing this information, the party gets advantage trying to stealth their way through the massive mushroom field without triggering a Shrieker)
• Up ahead, there’s a smaller clearing with what appears to be a man or woman – wearing a robe – their back turned to the party – and they seem to be eating the mushrooms – based on the small clearing around them

• Galiena whispers, “Go see if he’s all right.”
• Aros looks at the mysterious man ahead of them then back to Galiena, “He’s eating. He seems to be all right.”
• “But,” Galiena said, “he’s eating these mushrooms. That can’t be good for him. Just go see if he’s OK.”
• Aros sighs, “Fine. If I extended my arms straight up – he’s looks to be good. If I make a ‘T’ shape, then he looks evil.”
• “Why not just make an ‘X’ over your head for the bad?” Galiena asks.
• “Fine,” Aros sighs, “an ‘X.'”
• Moving through the mushrooms, due to the pitch black of the night, seeing the shrieker’s tiny appendages is difficult but Aros is able to make it to stand roughly twenty feet in front of the cloaked figure; unable to tell much about the humanoid figure, Aros sits down and stealths behind one of the larger mushrooms after ensuring it’s not a Shrieker
• Galiena watches as Aros suddenly just sits down. She turns to Kavium. “What’s he doing? Sitting down was none of the signals he said he would give.”
• Kavium whispers, “Do you think he’s under a spell? A charm perhaps? He looks very relaxed over there…”
• Aros doesn’t have to wait long before the humanoid devouring the mushrooms, looks up and scans the area, before resuming devouring the mushroom. In that moment, Aros is able to see its face – the skin is pull taut, the eyes are deep sockets, with small glowing orbs for eyes; and Aros immediately understands that – whatever the figure is in front of him – it is without a doubt, undead
• At the same time, standing next to Galiena, Kavium has his arm extended, palm open, and pointed towards the figure, as he whispers, “I ask for you love, I ask for your passion; I ask for your grace; Ever faithful to the Measure, forever sharing my pleasure; I ask you, Prena, to guide my hand, give me sight, where I can not see.”
• Suddenly Kavirum’s eyes open wide, “Yeah,” he turns slowly to Galiena, “that thing out there – whatever it is – is undead.” (DM Note – Kavium used Divine Sense; however, since he’s an NPC, I wanted the players to determine the creature’s true nature without NPC interference first)
• Aros tries to signal his companions about what he’s spotted, however Kavium has just informed Galiena that the creature is undead and they do not see Aros’ frantic signaling (DM Note – His Halfling Luck allowed him to re-roll that Natural 1)

• Aros continues to signal – waving more emphatically now to try and get their attention – but Galiena and Kavium seem very focused on the creature – and Aros watches as they begin to step back slightly and form a semi-circle as if formulating a plan
• Aros sighs and quietly moves back to the party, careful not to brush up against the number of Shriekers he saw along the way
• Aros approaches the two, “What are you two doing?”
• “It’s undead,” Kavium points out. “We saw you suddenly sit down without making any gestures – so I wanted to make sure you were not enchanted. So I extended my prayer and my goddess answered.”
• Galiena says, “I need to put on my armor before we do anything.” Kavium offers to strap on her armor and help her and Aros quaffs a healing potion.
• As Kavium buckles on that last clasp, it clanks against the armor, making enough noise to draw the attention of the undead figure, who suddenly rises, mushroom being chomped on between the teeth, as its horrible visage gazes upon the party

• The ghast rushes up and swipes at Galiena trying to bite her, but Kavium is able to pull her away from its reach (DM Flavor – Just flavoring the ghast missing)
• The party soon realizes the odor isn’t from the mushrooms; but rather the ghast, whose noxious odor penetrates Aros’ nostrils giving Aros the Poisoned Condition (A poisoned creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.)
• Galiena tries to hit the ghast with booming blade but misses; and despite Aros being stealthed the ghast sees him and strikes at him
• That battle is brief before the ghast is finally defeated
• Darko who did not attack the entire round pauses after the ghast is slain – as if he can see something now. “Ah,” Darko’s hollow voice whispers, “I thought as much. I knew I recognized those robes. That’s Marius Silverstone. One of Lord Brenmoon’s Mages. He was with us at Kaltore. I was wondering what became of him. He focused on creating things – animating ornate objects to do duties around Lord Brenmoon’s keep.
  • DM Note – Marius has no intended reference to Diablo II. Aros noted that there’s a Marius in Diablo II – and sure enough, I checked and there is. I wish I could say this was an intentional nod to the character or to Diablo II, as I love doing nods – but this was not the intention. Was just a random name I scribbled for an NPC I knew who was going to die… again, after being undead.
• Darko goes on to explain that Marius was also one of the most trusted among those mages that served Lord Brenmoon – and often used to spy on others that Lord Brenmoon believed might be conspiring against him (and Marius often found evidence of such – sometimes fabricating evidence to please Lord Brenmoon)
• Galiena kneels down and closely examines the ghast, opening his robes
• “Is now that time for that?” Aros asks, confused
• “And also, I am here, if you need something,” Kavium says, suggestively
• “I am trying to determine how long he’s been a ghast,” Galiena sighs at her two comrades. After a moment, she determines that he’s been in this state roughly ’30 days’ – though the day and night cycle is impossible to tell on this island unless one stands on the beach and gazes far into the distance, beyond the clouds
• Aros points out that there’s a bulge in the inner pocket; and asks Kavium to get it. Kavium grumbles about how he hates the undead and gets the parchment – he pulls it out and sees it’s rolled, and has Lord Brenmoon’s symbol on the wax. He looks at the others who encourage him to open it. Kavium breaks the seal and unrolls the parchment – reading it silently – before handing it to Galiena saying, “This is for you.” She takes it and reads it – studying the arcane. “This is a Dispel Magic scroll,” she explains.
• Feeling beaten up and exhausted, the party options to head to Caith Mathan’s cave, in hopes of getting a rest and perhaps learning more information

• Finally coming out of the clearing of the woods after an extensive walk; thankfully as they get closer to the mountain the density of the forest begins to thin out making the voyage considerably easier
• Near the base of the mountain, they see what is clearly the entrance to Caith Mathan’s cave

• Aros stealths ahead to peek inside the cave – he’s quite surprised, he sees a small campfire inside the cave that’s embedded into the side of the cave; above it a small hole, so that the smoke drifts somewhere into the hollow of the rest of the cave; there are logs cut and laid down with leathers on top of it, making for comfortable beds; and there are several chairs, roughly cut and put together from wood, tied together by thick vines and old ropes
• Suddenly a man from inside the cave peers outside looking at Aros, “What’s your business in these woods, boy?”
• Aros stammers, “Um, uh, we were told… uh, that…”
• The man barks, “Speak faster boy.”
• Aros cries out, “I’m afraid! Galiena help me!”
• This alerts the man that there are others and he grips his great axe in his hand. “Come out if you know what’s good for you.”
• Galiena and Kavium step out from the bushes further back, their hands up in the air. “We mean no harm,” Galiena called out. “We were told by Ramgor to seek out Caith Mathan, and that there was a ‘strange elf woman’ we were asked to look into.”
• At this, Caith Mathan lowers his axe. “Have you found the woman?” He looks about not seeing her.
• “No,” Galiena explains. “We ran into some trouble along the way – and were hoping we could find shelter in your cave and try to learn more from you about this strange, trapped elf woman you mentioned to Ramgor.”
• The man extends his hand, “Come inside then.”

• Inside his cave, Caith offers them some of the food and drink he has; and Galiena uses her Plant Growth spell to enhance some of the things in Caith’s caves, making them more comfortable
• They spend some time talking to Caith who explains he’d been out hunting when he saw flashes of light – when he approached he saw what appeared to be a female elf trapped inside a mystical cage – when he approached he was attacked by a magical set of armor. Caith checked several times but the sleepless, magical armor was always there; he noticed the flashing coming from the woman was influencing the forest directly around her to respond as if the seasons were rapidly changing as well
• The party explains they encountered a ghast who they have learned was once a wizard in servitude of Lord Brenmoon and may have been the original wizard who imprisoned the strange elf
• After some more talking, the party settles for the night, gaining the full benefits of a long rest, in the safety of Caith Mathan’s cave
• Caith Mathan joins the trio to ensure they can find the elf stranger; and as they get close, they can see the barrier – and feel the seasons passing by – summer, spring, fall, winter, fall, spring, summer, all in random order, all quickly; and each time, the cell flashes a color that corresponds with the season – summer is orange, spring is green, fall is grey, winter is blue

• However, as they get closer – the animated armor makes it’s presence known

• As the battle rages on – Galiena discovers that the animated armor is immune to several spells and has great resistances to a number of other types of spells. She is able to see that the creature’s shield has runes on it that may be for protection. She tells the others to try and pry the shield from it. Caith Mathan explains that he will focus on getting the shield pulled away – because he has a secret.
• The players watch in awe, as Caith’s body grows in size and fur as he stands as a towering seven foot werebear

• Despite their best efforts, the Helmed Horror continues to put up a fight – being both difficult to damage the armor physically – as well as being resistant towards many spells – but eventually the party is able to tear the Helmed Horror down
• They stare, wondering how to break the magical barrier around the strange elf inside, who is a woman, weeping nonstop. Something has kept the spell up beyond Marius’ death, because he had died, become a ghast, and died again – and yet the barrier remained
• In that moment Galiena remembers the parchment she’d gotten from the corpse of the ghast, the former wizard of Lord Brenmoon, Marius Silverstone.
• Galiena unravels the scroll and whispers the spidery words of arcane magic and gestures to the barrier and the barrier falls, and so too, does the trapped woman inside

• Caith Mathan returned to human form and scooped Celan Gradon in his arms, and the party made their way back to his cave where he tended to her wounds and provided her with herbs and tea to recover, while the rest of the party took their rest on the floor, taking turns watching over Celan for the night.

TO BE CONTINUED.