The adventure continues! Last time, the dark queen Lerazia killed Ward, but he got better and killed her back, and after a few shocking personal revelations, Asmund destroyed the Wyld Altar so no more Apex shapeshifters could be created…
Play time: 4 hours
Heroes:
- Asmund the Divine Soul Sorcerer (6)
- Drew the Eldritch Knight (6)
- Hugo the Time Wizard (5), Cleric (1)
- Rainen the Beast Master Ranger (5), Druid (1)
- Ward the Gloom Stalker Ranger (5), Rogue (1)
Tyger, Tyger…
The party headed west, looking for the main road and the mining town of Narat. Along the way, Rainen and Sasha detected a strange predator in the woods. Using her abilities to speak with and charm animals, Rainen discovered and befriended a dying tiger. It had lost an ear and ear, and half its teeth. It limped through the shadows covered in old wounds.
Rainen spent some time soothing the creature, healing and feeding it, until it fell asleep in her lap, and died at peace. Its spirit then found a new home in the Violet Eye in Rainen’s mystwood hammer. The Eldritch Eye awakened, granting her fabulous new magics.
On the Road Again
The party emerged from the woods and surveyed the desolate town of Narat and saw the entrance to the mines under Castle Torescu. They debated attacking now, but decided to tie up a few loose ends first. So they turned north, immediately leaving the road and heading through the forest to find the fabled Crossroads.
Old Friends
No sooner did they arrive at the Crossroads and saw the ancient gallows and giant stone in the ground, but an old friend emerged from the misty woods. Carlos Vanator! The cheery little vampire killer looked a bit worse for wear as he led a handful of survivors from Rukesti out of the wilderness. He immediately embraced his friend Drew, and Drew immediately noticed that Carlos was a vampire. They made a little tense banter, but then Ward lost control of his animal spirit and transformed into a were-wyvern. Roll initiative!
Fang Time
Five heroes against six vampires looked like a pretty dangerous set-up, but Hugo deftly Slowed all but one of the vamps, which tipped the odds back in their favor. Still, most of the party and the vampires ended up into a tight scrum. Drew slashed away with Lerazia’s silver rapier while Ward unleashed his wyld side. Still, the vampires were able to regenerate, as well as drink a lot of blood, so they stayed in the fight!
One by one, the vamps were reduced to ashes, starting with poor Carlos himself. At one point, Sasha the dire wolf and Ward grabbed a vampire between them and simply ripped him apart. But not before Ward recognized the fanged face of his young protégé, Gavril the bowman!
About this time, three corpses of criminals who were hung at the Crossroads burst out of the earth and tried to drag the party down to hell. Drew was able to kick two of them away. But the third one grabbed Asmund and yanked him down into the earth. Even so, Asmund blasted two more vampires into oblivion. The last vampire tried to escape, but Ward chased him down in the mist and tore him to pieces. Then Rainen sent Sasha to yank Asmund out of his early grave, and the battle was won.
Saint Sarnai
Asmund then inspected the statue of Saint Sarnai the Peacemaker at the edge of the Crossroads. She held a bowl of rusty sand, and the base read, “Abandon war to find peace.” Asmund placed a knife in the bowl, which he had been working on for many days. The knife burst into flames and curled up into a scroll of Revivify! He was a bit annoyed at the loss of his knife, but pleased all the same.
Buried Treasure
Drew, chasing a vision he had of the Crossroads, began digging down under the giant stone. His master shovel made short work of the loose earth, and he tunneled down to find an old iron shield and an ornate silver gauntlet. Hugo identified this as the Holy Hand of Virune, a blessed artifact that allowed the wearer to not only fight the undead, but Turn Undead, as well as compel a held creature to tell the truth. The group gave this to Asmund, their most ardent Virune worshipper.
With the sun setting, the team decided to camp in Drew’s tunnel under the giant rock and continue to Rukesti in the morning to loot the ruins.
And that’s where we ended.
DM Notes
This felt like a pretty classic session of D&D. We had some exploration, some shenanigans and funny NPCs, a big battle that everyone seemed to enjoy, and cool loot. Next time I suspect we will have more character-heavy moments at they return to Rukesti and see what remains there. So, I’d better go prep for those encounters!
