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• Aros – Lightfoot Halfling, Rogue
  • Rubber Ducky of Inspiration
• 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 – Missed this session – Was partaking in a World of Darkness – Vampire the Masquerade game
  • Khor’taur – Dragon Spirit inside the Dracospear
  • Hellina Kaitlyn Deramu – Human NPC, Wererat

• In a quest to find the Rooted Heart of a Shambling Mound in order to save Ossis, the Satyr; the party finds themselves in the Swamp of Despair face to face with a Shambling Mound (See Session 43)
• As combat starts, Aros throws his Snowball Terrain Changer, expending a charge – making it so that snow and ice cover the ground making it difficult terrain for the Shambling Mound, but not for his own companions
• Galiena successfully drops a Faerie Fire on the Shambling Mound, originally making it glow blue – until her comrades complained that now it looks like the snow and ice – so she changed the color to Pink

• With the Shambling Mound’s low initiative, and the party dropping the terrain changer and Faerie Fire; Kavium is able to run up on it and begin hitting it while others launched a volley of attacks from the distance. The Shambling Mound does grapple Kavium and pull him inside, where he begins suffocating; and to Aros’ surprise, Galiena rushes up on the Shambling Mound and uses Guidance on herself to help break the Shambling Mound’s hold on Kavium; before the creature gets dropped – landing on Kavium, as he’s still slightly entangled. They roll over the creature and pull Kavium free.
• Still needing the rooted heart, Galiena gives him guidance (rolling a 4!) – however, when Kavium reaches inside…

• Kavium’s firm hands break the Rooted Heart; but he reaches inside and pulls out the other half. Galiena uses Plant Growth to regenerate the Heart, which it does. The party contains the heart of the Shambling Mound and find a dry patch of land in the swamp near the Whistle Leaf which was damaged by the Frost
• Galiena tells the party she wants to restore the Whistling Leaf patch, because the kobolds need it to trade with Greenhaven; and if they trade with Greenhaven, that means they will be able to get it at Greenhaven easily, as they spend a lot of time there
• The party agrees; and they prop up the Shambling Mound while Galiena sits behind it; Kavium lays in front of it, feigning death; while Aros, slumps against a tree also feigning death as they take a quick rest
• Aros spots several hunters with dogs not far off – on the edge of the swamp – and quickly recognizes it as Lord Brenmoon’s hunters that he’d seen before – and is surprised, a few minutes later, still sees Baldur trailing them – he doesn’t call out, as it would draw attention to the hunters who were still, undoubtedly, looking for Galiena (See Session 40 and Session 31 which leads back to Session 21 where it all started)
• Galiena gets the time needed and casts Plant Growth on the field – and the Whistling Leaf begins bursting through the frosty, snowy, swamp floor
• The party returns back to Chief Kril, and inform him the Shambling Mound has been defeated; Chief Kril demands a party be thrown in favor of the party – and demands the Chef to cook a meal – the Chef uses what’s available – and creates a brew that smells of cooked swamp water and unknown meat; Galiena pretends to drink it and “enjoy it” and the kobolds celebrate by pounding on skulls of various animals and their drums, which are skinned with the leathers from Greenhaven. The party goes on all night; but the party is finally able to get a long rest.
• They thank Chief Kril and make their way back to Caith Mathan’s cave and give the living Rooted Heart of the Shambling Mound to Celan who begins thumbing through her book to find the components. Caith gives her the things she requires and she begins brewing up the potion. The party notices that Caith and Celan seem much closer; and it appears a shared romantic interest has grown between them. After several hours she hands a potion in a vial to Galiena and explains that it may cure Ossis, it may do nothing, it may even kill him depending on the infection and curse.
• The party understands and makes their way to the base of the mountain where they know Ossis lives
• Near the base of the mountain, Aros spots a rock – that from his memory – because of it’s size – was not there before. He remembered staring down from the various caves along the way, waiting for Galiena who was struggling; his memory of all the rocks – mostly because it seemed as if Galiena hit them all and marked them with her blood – this rock he didn’t remember, and it didn’t have any of Galiena’s blood on it. Curious, Aros shot an arrow at the rock – which suddenly reacts – and reveals it’s not a rock at all!

• The beast manages to surprise Aros and grab it in its razor sharp mandibles
• Galiena tries to Thorn Whip Aros out of its clutches, however…

• She ends up Thorn Whipping Kavium around the throat, who looks back at her with a wink in his eye, but chokes that now is not the time
• Due to Galiena’s Natural 20 on Initiative – she launches another Thorn Whip and this time hits Aros and is able to pry him free from the creature’s hold
• The creature is able to eventually get Galiena and begin ripping her apart with it’s claws and mental probes that do psychic damage as it rips through her memories
• Kavium, furious, begins violently attacking the creature with everything he has
• Galiena triggers her Primal Savagery to try and claw her way free; but it’s Aros who delivers the killing blow to the beast that crashes to the ground
• The creature had done quite a number on the party before it was finally put down; and now they looked – they still had to scale the mountain side to get to Ossis’ cave above….

TO BE CONTINUED.