8th Nymm, 999 YK
- The group immediately begin to take apart the effigies they can reach.
- Warren is a bit out of it, his injuries are severe. Naze tends to everyone's wounds over the next 20 minutes, whilst they destroy the effigies.
- Towards the end of that period, Bangle finds the group and excitedly tells them that she found them! She also found help, so she's going to go tell them where the group is. Don't move!
- They won't move!
- They spend the time waiting for the "help" to examine the bear and see if they can work out what the black sludge was doing.
- Warren tells them what he experienced when he came into contact with the sludge. He experienced an intense, unnatural rage.
- "I was so angry. It wasn't important what I wanted to do, but I was so angry"
"No I think it is important what you wanted to do, actually"
"Okay fine, I wanted to hunt and kill everything, I wanted to hurt everyone" - They ask how long the effects lasted, and if they actually ended. Does Warren still want to hunt them?
- Warren explains that the effect lasted for as long as the bear was focused on him, once it went for Naze, the effects wore off.
- They get Warren and Naze to clean the sludge off of themselves, whilst Bhaltair and Valaari examine the sludge and the bear (respectively).
- Valaari identifies that the bear has been cursed, and it's an occult curse that affects the emotional state of the target.
- Bhaltair examines the sludge. They determine that the sludge they have is inert, it's tied to the bearer of the curse, and became inert when the bear was incapacitated. The bear is cursed, and they currently lack the means to remove it.
- The other animals are not sludgey, and seemed to become enraged when the bear roared. The bear seems to be the bigger issue.
- Valaari tries to but cannot ascertain the source of the curse. They can only speculate that it's related to The Wild Heart and the effigies.
- Naze examines the bear physically, and notes that it has many more wounds than the party inflicted, and those wounds are oozing the same caustic black sludge. It doesn't have any effigies or totems embedded in its body.
- Minutes later, the "help" arrives. It's a human ranger and their companion, an abnormally large badger.
- The woman introduces herself as Gwen Ostren, and the badger as Humphrey. Humphrey says he's pleased to meet them!
- The group explain the situation (as Bangle hadn't), and Gwen takes it all in. Thankfully, whilst Gwen is not a druid in the spellcasting sense, she is capable of breaking curses. She just needs 8 hours to do it.
- She makes a start on breaking the curse on the bear.
- Bhaltair asks Gwen how she would approach this situation. Gwen doesn't think that there is any way they can reasonably explain to an animal what is being asked of it, they just can't possibly understand. The only viable option, then, is Humphrey.
- Humphrey begrudgingly agrees, it has to be him.
- They discuss how to ensure that the Vrykudlak takes the bait and inhabits Humphrey. Humphrey would need to be free, in a position where it is not obvious that he is associated with the group and that they are prepared to restrain him.
- They could get Bangle to follow Humphrey and send him away, perhaps to make a burrow, and then they follow after defeating the Vrykudlak.
- Warren suggests that maybe he could pretend to be killed by Humphrey, to make him seem like a more attractive host.
- Bhaltair does not think that Warren has the ability to pull off that kind of deception, and if he messes it up he may get mauled for real.
- Warren resents that, and immediately dies.
- Naze rushes over to deal with the obvious heart attack that just happened.
- Bhaltair holds him back and tells him to come on. They know Warren smells like he died a week ago, but he literally just talked about pretending to be dead.
- Naze thinks we need to be sure!
- Naze gets Zaphkiel to come over with his electric fist to try and defib Warren to restart his heart.
- Warren miraculously regains consciousness and says he's fine actually!
- Naze seems disappointed that Warren wasn't experiencing a medical emergency.
- Bhaltair whispers to themselves "that boy worries me sometimes."
- Bhaltair asks about the terrain in the area. Stormclaw and Gwen say that it's hilly, but they can't know how this corruption has changed things.
- Bhaltair suggests that Humphrey make a burrow and hide in it, ready for the Vrykudlak to inhabit when they defeat it, and then they go to the burrow to capture him.
- Valaari asks if they know whether the vrykudlak can see the surroundings of the potential host. Kryrk doesn't know, but thinks probably not.
- Bhaltair casts Pocket Library and summons a stone tablet from Znir, detailing the vrykudlak's curse. They determine that it likely does not have knowledge of the surroundings of the host, so they may be able to set up a trap such that Humphrey is already trapped.
- Gwen would prefer to minimise risk to Humphrey, so doing this in a way that he cannot escape (and be used to make a new vrykudlak) would be preferable.
- Valaari is always prepared, and gets a foldable metal cage out of their spacious pouch. Why did they buy this?
- They're always prepared.
- They go and set up a trap, assembling the cage and preparing to put Humphrey in it when the time is right.
- Runmae also has some manacles, so they could manacle Humphrey's forelimbs to limit his ability to flee or attack them.
- Humphreys warns them that when threatened, he is possessed of a frightening badger rage. He does not know his own strength.
- Gwen can track Humphrey even if he escapes, but preferably he would not escape.
- They discuss whether to go and make the trap now and leave Gwen working on the bear, or whether they wait for Gwen to finish with the bear first and then go and hunt the Vrykudlak.
- So in summary: they trap Humphrey (manacled) in the cage somewhere with few escape routes, and then they go and hunt the Vrykudlak. Hopefully their information is accurate, and the vrykudlak inhabits Humphrey after they destroy it, and then they can rush back to Humphrey and restrain him whilst Gwen breaks the curse.
- They are going to get started and leave Gwen working on the bear, to limit the time that the Vrykudlak is active. Gwen is concerned that this will mean that Humphrey is possessed for longer.
- Bhaltair convinces her that this will be fine, and if need be she can stop working on the bear to purge the demon and then come back to it. It'll be okay.
- Okay! They have a plan! Time to execute it!
- They go and build the cage, manacle Humphrey, and then put him in the cage. He grumbles whilst they do it, but he signed up for this.
- Bangle keeps an eye on Humphrey. In case another predator comes by and tries to get at Humphrey.
- Runmae gives Kryrk's silver dagger to Warren as they make their preperations.
- They gather their forces, and Kryrk leads them to the lair of the vrykudlak.
- Kryrk leads them through the forest, and they arrive at an enormous, blighted tree. Description below.
- Stormclaw whispers that whatever else happens, they can't kill the dryad. Bhaltair agrees.
- Valaari readies their Bane scroll before they head in.
- They know that the gnolls have a heightened sense of smell, but they can still get closer via getting Bhaltair to cast Invisibility Sphere.
- Bhaltair casts the sphere, and they try to sneak up to the tree.
- Most of the gnolls don't notice them, but the Vrykudlak itself does.
- It just watches as they get closer. Warren sneaks away from the group, and Stormclaw rages before charging in.
- Valaari runs forward and throws their spear, triggering the magic that makes it explode in a ball of fire, which injures the Bonekeeper.
- Runmae charges in and topples one of the gnolls, bringing it to the ground, at which point Kryrk impales it with the spearhead on his myrnaxe.
- A hyaenadon charges at Runmae but she knocks it to the ground and then knocks it out.
- Naze casts a Divine Wrath and does heavy damage to the hyaenodon and several gnolls, sickening them too.
- She then manages to heavily injure another gnoll.
- The Vrykudlak charges Valaari and clamps on with its jaws, but they manage to get it off of them before it can drain them.
- The Bonekeeper curses Runmae, to make her wounds bleed more.
- Valaari sets up their weapon to bypass the resistances of the Vrykudlak and identifies its other resistances and immunities.
- Kryrk moves to flank the Vrykudlak.
- Naze channels his Divine power and fires a divine laser beam at the Vrykudlak, which does significant damage to it, and Zaphkiel finishes off one of the gnolls with their tazer hand (non-lethal)
- The Vrykudlak starts laying into Valaari, and rends one of their wounds.
- One of the gnolls flees.
- The Bonekeeper casts a spell creating an area of blood-sucking mist, which kills one of the gnolls.
- Warren tries to sneak up on the vrykudlak while it is fighting Valaari and Kryrk, but it knows where he is (cos he's stinky).
- The gnoll that Stormclaw has grappled bites him, escapes, and flees.
- Stormclaw then goes for the Bonekeeper (which Steph calls a Mager)
- Runmae moves up to the Vrykudlak and critically hits it, knocking it prone.
- The Dryad moves forward and screams, projecting it's anguish on the group.
- Bhaltair moves out of the bloody mist and casts Haste on Valaari
- Valaari casts Slow from a scroll, slowing the Vrykudlak.
- Most of the gnolls have fled at this point, leaving just the Vrykudlak (who is prone, slowed, and clumsy)
- Kryrk impales the vrykudlad with the silvered spearhead of his myrnaxe, killing it.
- Zaphkiel finishes off the Bonekeeper (non-lethally)
- It is only the dryad left that isn't dead, unconscious, or fleeing. We end the session at the top of the round, nobody wants to kill the dryad.
Corrupted Dryad
Approaching the epicentre of the corruption in the Wood, you reach an enormous, blighted tree. The tree seems to be bleeding, oozing dark red sap down it's trunk, and there are what appear to be teeth-like thorns in strips over its bark and along its branches.
Skulls have been strung up all over the tree. Most likely shifters. Baleful runes have been carved into their foreheads, and looking at them causing the same alarming thumping in your chest that all of the other effigies did.
The vrykudlak is here, along with more of its pack of feral gnolls. They're accompanied by a very large hyena, and at least one of the gnolls is a spellcaster based on the staff of twisted bone in its claws.
There is something else about the tree that stands out. What seems to be a feminine humanoid upper body resting in a small hollow, made out of wood and with leafless branches in place of hair. The wood that makes up their body is similarly corrupted and oozing sap, which seems to stream down from their eyes and various other wounds on their body. Their chest has also fissured, revealing a plant-like heart, which pulses with a red light every time it beats in their chest.
Bhaltair would be familiar, at least, with what this entity should be. The gnolls have corrupted a dryad, and her tree. More so than anything else they've done, this is likely what is corrupting the surrounding forest.