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20 Tarsakh, 1471 (Day 25)

The Lost Hills

Morning

• The Party begins their travel day, following the horse cart trail they had made coming into the Lost Hills
• The weather is fair with clear skies, ideal travel weather
  • Verna ranges ahead as a Scout with support from Miss Tra

Noon

• The Party takes a brief midday break and Mo heads out to Forage
  • He brings back 7 food and 4 water rations

Afternoon

• The weather becomes Blisteringly Hot, adding to The Party’s Thirst
• While out scouting and foraging, Verna and Mo notice an unusual area of terrain a few hundred yards off of the path
  • They get the attention of the rest of The Party, who meet them at the unusual spot
  • The Party investigates and finds the skeletal remains of a horse caravan
  • Vala investigates, determining that the caravan must have gotten lost decades ago and that all the members must have died
  • Verna immediately notes, with disappointment, that all of the loot is gone

Night

• The Party finds a place to Set Camp
  • Orthanc casts Druidcraft and finds out that the overnight weather would be fair
• The Party successfully works together to make an excellent campsite, Camp Activity DC = 5
  • Vala improvises a bardic tune on her harp, telling the newcomers the tale that The Party had experienced thus far, succeeding on a Performance Check and granting 1 Inspiration Point to Erynn
  • Orthanc fails on a Cooking Check, thoroughly ruining some food rations trying to make a Hot Meal, but salvages the situation by eating the spoiled rations
  • Verna uses a whetstone to sharpen her short sword, succeeds on a Sleight of Hand Check and gives her short sword the Sharpened condition
• The Party sits around the cookfire and has a little Backstory Hash Sesh
  • Vala weaves that tale of the Unnamed Party, aka The Session Notes
  • Vala explains where the immediate goals and interests of The Party lie :
    • The Party has business in Phandalin that needs settling up
      • Speak with Daran Edermath: The Party defeated Hamund Kost in the battle at the Old Owl Well, but he escaped
    • The Party killed the orc raiding party hiding near Wyvern Tor
      • Phandalin’s Townmaster, Harbin Wester, owes them the reward
      • The Party has the field banner of the Kingdom of Many-Arrows that they took from the orcs
    • The whereabouts of Gundren Rockseeker, Cragmaw Castle, and Wave Echo Cave remain unknown
      • Quelline Alderleaf told them that the druid, Reidof, will likely have information about them but he’s been gone for 6 months, investigating Thundertree
    • A drow named Black Spider seems to have been orchestrating the kidnapping of Gundren and has interest in The Forge of Spells
  • Upon hearing that The Party is somehow mixed up with Thay, Verna emphatically argues in favor of finding and killing Thayans because they have really cool “things to steal,” expressing a perhaps concerning disregard for the danger that Thayans pose
    • When learning about Harbin Wester’s shameful leadership of Phandalin, Verna expresses confusion about why The Party has not rid the world of him
    • Verna’s political philosophy seems to be that powerful people become powerful by ruthlessly unseating those higher than them until they reach the top
  • Erynn begins to question the company she has decided to keep and  asks Raemund about his deal, and he shares a bit:
    • Watderdhavian
    • Questioning of and ambivalent about the “strange rituals called democracy” which were mentioned when describing the political machinations of Phandalin
    • Questing to bring the Light of the Dawnlord to “wherever people are in need of hope”
  • Mosley inquires if The Party is working for The Lords’ Alliance
    • Vala and Orthanc explain that they are not formally tied to The Alliance, but they have a close ally and friend, Sildar Hallwinter, who is a Knight in the Alliance and that they have been working together
  • Erynn inquires about Vala’s nobility, having thoroughly SNIFFED out her royal blood
    • She explains that she was a noble in Neverwinter, but questions whether that stands today, considering the state of the city
  • Vala thanks Mo, Raemund, Verna, and Erynn for bringing Tomlin to her, noting that “in his desperate moment, anyone could have done anything to him”
    • Verna heartily agrees that ANYTHING could have been done to him and that she had MANY ideas of awful things that COULD have been done but remain undone
  • Mo asks Erynn about her bona fides, to which Erynn explains
    • Originally from Neverwinter, but hadn’t returned since The Ruining
    • Her family were all killed in the calamity
    • She “performs deeds” for a “not well known” “lady” “from far away lands” - so certainly not shady in the least
      • The Lady told Erynn to “make her own way” and that she would be watching over Erynn from afar
    • Vala fails on an Insight Check against Erynn’s Deception but notices Erynn carries a very odd-looking blade and seems to be consistently fixated on it
      • The blade seems to be made of black mirrored glass, but was obviously forged in some mysterious way
  • Verna very obviously and with flourish casts Detect Magic on the entire Party
    • Vala is carrying The Glasstaff - a cane-length Staff of Defense, made from black translucent glass steel
    • Vala also wears a Netherese Ring of Protection emblazoned with the symbol of Mystryl
    • Erynn’s sword glows with very powerful Enchantment magic from some unknown source
    • Orthanc has a small magic crystal in his butt pouch
  • Erynn allows Verna to handle her sword
    • Verna notes that it is an extremely well-balanced blade but also seems quite disappointed that “it didn’t talk to [her]”
• After their pleasant “Getting to Know You” around the campfire, The Party takes a Long Rest
• While the remainder of The Party rests, Raemund stays awake, guarding the campsite
  • Raemund Failed on a Lookout Check, and a group of 8 gnolls successfully sneaked into camp
  • The gnolls receive a surprise round against the sleeping members of The Party

Begin Combat

Simplified Combat

Round 1 (Surprise)

• 4 gnolls make ranged attacks using shortbows, but miss the sleeping party members
• 4 gnolls sneak into melee range and attack with short swords, doing 4 piercing damage to Vala, Orthanc, Mo, and Erynn
• Raemund uses his Thamaturgy cantrip to boomingly yell “GNOLLS!” to the group as the gnolls take their first attack

Round 2

• Vala casts Dissonant Whispers on the gnoll attacking her, and blood leaks from the gnoll’s nose after the shock to its psyche
• Mo takes Beast Shape and transforms into a massive brown bear
• Raemund, outside of the melee fray, takes his opportunity to cast Faerie Fire on the group of ranged gnolls, marking them with a faint white glow
• Orthanc sees and opening to attack the Bloodied gnoll near Vala and lops it in half with his Great Axe
• The 3 remaining gnolls in melee attack with their short swords. 2 miss and 1 manages to knick Orthanc for 3 piercing damage
• Erynn stabs through a melee gnoll with her longsword, and the gnolls spits up blood
• Verna sneaks out of melee, closes the gap to one of the ranged gnolls, and misses when trying to stab it with her short sword
• The 4 ranged gnolls attack with short bows. 2 miss. 1 hits Orthanc for 4 piercing damage,  and 1 hits Erynn, doing 2 piercing damage

Round 3

• Raemund casts Scorching Ray and rolls a Critical Hit on the attack
  • 2 ranged gnolls are blasted through with fire, killing them instantly
• 1 ranged gnoll is hit with devastating fire damage, Blooding it and lighting it on fire
• Verna follows up on Raemund’s attack by advancing on the burning gnoll and running it through with her short sword, killing it
• Vala hits the remaining ranged gnoll with a red Chromatic Orb, instantly burning it to death
  • She jumps her Chromatic Orb to an undamaged melee gnoll, bursting it into flames and killing it
• Erynn pulls her longsword from the guts of the gnoll she previously perforated and swiftly decapitates it
• Mo, in brown bear form, rushes the remaining gnoll. A swipe of his great bear paw rips the legs out from under the gnoll and then Mo finishes it by tearing out its throat with his mighty jaws.

End Combat

• The air is now thick with the smell of blood and burning gnoll hair
• Raemund and Verna poke through the bodies
  • Raemund finds 3 gold, 10 silver, and 20 copper coins
  • Verna scrounges the gnoll archers and finds some useful arrows for her quiver
• Each Party member receives 20 XP for decimating the gnoll raiding band
• The Party retires to complete their Long Rest

21 Tarsakh, 1471 (Day 26)

Edge of the Lost Hills

Morning

• The Party awakens to another day of Scorching Heat, but believes they have reached their destination: the area where they came into the Lost Hills
• While the rest of The Party packs camp, Vala plays an inspiring song on her Harp to prepare for their journey, giving all of The Party members bardic inspiration
• They set out east in an attempt to Escape the Lost Hills

Trial: Escape the Lost Hills

• While following the trail left by The Party when entering the Lost Hills, the path seems to split in 3 directions with identical sets of tracks heading in each
  • Erynn carefully observes the 3 sets of tracks, trying to determine the correct one to follow
    • She pokes around in the dirt of each with her longsword, and feels a strange sense of direction emanating from one of them, succeeding in a Perception Check to identify the correct path
• The Party follows the trail for an hour or so when Raemund and Mo notice a small figure in the distance ahead
  • They call the figure to the attention of the rest of The Party, who notice that the figure now seems to be waving at and beckoning them to come further
  • Erynn takes lead and The Party begins moving toward the mysterious figure, with Mo close behind
  • Upon advancing, The Party notices the figure is a male Unknown and he begins calling “Friends, friends! Come, new friends!”
    • Erynn succeeds on a Nature check to identify that the figure is, in fact, a Unknown
  • The Unknown remains in place, beckoning them to come forward, saying that he “has things” for The Party
  • Erynn takes the initiative in the conversation, asking what the Unknown might have for them
    • The Unknown explains that he “works for the forces surrounding them” and mans “this station” to help those who pass
    • Erynn brandishes her blade toward the Unknown and invokes the name of The Lady of the Shadow Glass, successfully Intimidating the Unknown in an attempt to prevent him from fleecing The Party
      • The Unknown explains that he is only there to help and would never cross a servant of The Glass Lady
    • Convinced that the Unknown means to harm, Erynn tries to smooth things over and apologizes for the show of aggression
    • The Unknown introduces himself as “Sappho” and as a humble servant who helps people escape the Lost Hills in return for “remuneration”
      • He explains that he has resided in the Lost Hills for some time and has maps out of the Hills to trade for
      • Mo examines the map using his proficiency in cartography but cannot determine if the map will indeed lead them out of the Hills
    • Sappho offers the Lost Hills Map in exchange for “the third most precious thing” that Erynn has
      • Erynn offers a pair of Manacles to Sappho, but he is uninterested
      • Sappho explains that things that are precious to people may not always “be made out of things”
      • Sappho offers a trade for a memory that is precious to Erynn
      • Erynn declines and Sappho both respects and understands her decision
  • Vala offers a potential deal with Sappho, who is surprised and impressed to find a Lady of noble blood in the Lost Hills - which he expresses after noticeably sniffing the air around Vala
    • Sappho also expresses that he is much less impressed with Vala’s nobility, being as she is a mortal and not of the fey
    • He offers to trade the map for Vala’s tressym, Miss Tra
      • He explains that he has always wanted a fey companion to travel with him
    • Vala vehemently denies the trade, clutching Miss Tra to her chest and wishing Sappho “A GOOD DAY!”
  • Sappho bows to Vala and expresses disappointment in not completing a successful trade that day
    • He wishes The Party good luck and says he will remain to trade with any other travelers.
  • The Party leaves Sappho and continues following their trail
• The Party continues walking for an hour when Vala and Verna notice that the terrain they have been walking through seem to be exactly the same, as if it is repeating while they advance
  • Verna tests the physics of her predicament and finds that The Party continues to travel away from her when she stays in place and Vala decides to accompany her
  • Vala sends Miss Tra to the skies to scope the scene - Vala looks through her eyes and sees a kaleidoscope of identical trails and hills radiating out from the location of The Party
  • Verna scribbles a little note in Thieves’ Cant on the ground while The Party travels on, but they do not encounter it again while they travel the infinite repeat
  • Verna and Vala stop The Party to inform everyone else what is occurring
    • There is a brief interParty discussion on how to proceed
      • Mo and Verna suggest backtracking and Erynn agrees
      • Orthanc proposes walking in the same direct but backward, Erynn acknowledge that as a thought
      • Orthanc then changes his mind and decides backtracking to kill Sappho and steal the map is a good choice
      • Erynn warns about the existential danger inherent in killing a sentient fey creature
      • Vala and Erynn discuss the possibility that The Party is in some sort of maze, because Sappho had used that word
      • Raemund posits they may be experiencing a test of faith in determining whether to travel on
      • Eventually The Party decides to turn around and possibly return to Sappho
      • Deux Ex Meiluio! Meilu seems very insistent on not turning around
  • Mo's druidic senses are piqued when Meilu displays such a strong demonstration of agency. Mo gives Meilu a scritch behind the ear and casts Speak with Animals
    • Mo asks Meilu if she has any input on where they should go
    • Meilu seems very pleasantly surprised that she can speak with Mo because she has not communicated non-telepathically for some time
    • Meilu sounds like a very old woman, or a tiny elephant named “Tree Trunks”
    • Mo and Meilu take an immediate liking to one another, as if they had always been fond friends
    • Meilu shares that she does not like “going in a direction she’s already been” and doesn’t want to turn around
    • Meilu also says that Sappho, while smelly, “didn’t seem such a bad sort”
    • Mo inquires about Meilu’s treatment by The Party and she confirms that she is friends with them and that they protect each other
      • Meilu also mentions missing Gomlee Moonstagg but that it was his time to go because the terms of his “gentlemen’s wager” were over and it was time to settle up
    • Meilu believes that she and Mo were destined to meet and she tells him that she will always be there to talk in the future
    • Meilu asks Mo if he has a carrot, which he gives to her
  • Mo explains to the group to the group that Meilu wants to continue on the path they have been following
  • Orthanc succeeds on an Investigation Check and finds that the sun’s movement in the sky does not match the normal pattern for the time of year
    • Verna casts Detect Magic but finds the entire area is inundated with Illusion magic
      • Verna notices that the Illusion magic field seems weaker in the direction they are traveling
    • Vala succeeds on an Arcana Check and also determines that The Party is experiencing some sort of massive illusion
    • The Party decides to continue along their path, toward the weakening area of magic
• After doggedly traveling through a repeating landscape for what seemed like several hours, The Party notices something promising: a change in landscape in the distance.
  • A massive bird lies on the ground, directly in their path, blocking a 15 foot wide gap between 2 large hills
  • Mo and Orthanc succeed on Nature checks to identify it as an abnormally large bird of prey
    • Upon further contemplation, The Party determines it is a falcon
    • Raemund succeeds on a Religion Check to identify the bird as a golden falcon, a messenger of Lathander which are rarely seen unless there has been direct intervention by the Morning Lord
      • Raemund insists that The Party needs to attempt communication
  • Verna trains her crossbow on the golden falcon, while Raemund approaches for parlay
  • Raemund recites a prayer to the sun as he approaches the golden falcon
    • The golden falcon is extremely distraught, paralyzed in its mourning the loss of Lathander, who is believed to have been destroyed in The Spellplague
    • Raemund tries to comfort the golden falcon by invoking the tenets of the followers of The Dawn Bringer. He explains that there are always periods of cold, darkness, and loss but after that the sun inevitably breaks the cycle to bring renewal and a new dawn
      • Despite his powerful plea, Raemund fails on a Persuasion Check
      • The golden falcon remains unconvinced and no longer responsive to Raemund’s pleas - it lies its head down and closes its eyes
  • Erynn cautiously and quietly approaches the golden falcon. She kneels next to it and gently places her hands on its head
    • Erynn shares a moment of vulnerability with the falcon, giving a passionate and empathetic accounting of her experiences of crushing loss and feelings of hopelessness
    • The falcon remains unresponsive for some time, trapped in its miasma of loss. Erynn reaches deeper into her soul to find inspiration in communing with the falcon, and succeeds on a Persuasion Check,
    • The falcon lifts its head and explains that Erynn is the first to truly share in its overwhelming sense of pain and loss
      • The falcon explains that it does not believe it will ever escape its condition, but it should not stand in the way of others trying to do the same
      • It rises and stoically stands aside, allowing The Party to continue on its way
• The Party continues along its path when it encounters the same landscape and scenario, but this time with a stone giant sitting on its haunches, blocking the path
  • Orthanc sheaths his Greataxe and approaches the stone giant, hailing it as a brother
  • The stone giant stands and returns the hail but expresses disapproval that Orthanc would disarm so easily and approach with such weak disposition
  • Orthanc explains the trials and tribulations that The Party has experienced for some time and that he wanted to approach as a friend rather than an enemy
  • The stone giant responds that life is competition and conflict and must always be regarded as a challenge
    • Orthanc warns the stone giant that aggression will be met in kind, from The Party
    • The stone giant finds the threat laughable, considering that his club had smashed a countless number of small meatlings in a single blow
    • Orthanc stands his ground, challenging the stone giant to strike
  • The stone giant is pleased that Orthanc has found his “soul” and swings his massive stone great club down toward Orthanc
  • Orthanc swings his Greataxe up toward the falling Greatclub, rolling a Critical Success on a Strength Save
    • When the two collide, the stone Greatclub splits in twain and crumbles into rubble raining down around Orthanc
  • The stone giant salutes Orthanc’s display of strength as worthy of Giant Kin
    • The stone giant implores Orthanc to bring the voice of Giant Kin to the world of the small meatlings, encouraging strength and perseverance of will
    • He stands aside and allows The Party to pass
• The Party travels the path for some time and is met with the same scenario again; however, the path between the hills is not blocked
  • Verna confidently assumes that the danger has passed and begin frolicking toward the pass
  • The rest of The Party approaches cautiously and  the surrounding hills begin to unsettlingly quaver as if they are made of a semi-solid fluid rather than rock
  • The frolicking ends.
  • Vala succeeds on an Arcana Check but learns little as the entire area is bathed in Illusion magic.
    • Vala tests the properties of the hills by throwing a copper coin onto them. The coin briefly sits on the hill as normal, and then is subsided into the hill as if it were swallowed by liquid rock
    • Verna fails a Perception Check to learn any additional information about the strange hills
  • Mo succeeds on a Nature check to identify the phenomenon as something commonly seen when dealing with slimes, oozes, and jellies
    • These creatures are mortal enemies of druids, as they are driven by an unwavering drive to consume all things natural
    • The Lost Hills are a very unusual place for such a creature, as they usually reside in damp, dark places such as bogs, swamps, or underground
  • Mo decides to investigate more closely
    • Raemund casts Resistance on Mo, providing him with resistance to acid damage
• As Mo approaches, the two adjacent hills seem to stretch and elongate toward the center of the pass. The two sides meet and congeal into a large, amorphous mass. The mass sheds its rock camouflage and turns a sickly reddish color. Tentacles erupt from the irregular surface and dozens of tooth-lined maws open on its surface.
  • The Gibbering Mouther speaks in common, exclaiming that the prediction of “The Dark One” was correct: it has found a place to feed and increase its mass into eternity.
  • Mo resolutely counters that it would not find anything to feed on today.
  • The Gibbering Mouther is incensed that someone would defy a servant of the Darkbringer, who has returned to feed upon all of creation.
    • Raemund rolls a Critical Success on a Religion Check. He recalls a very ancient, esoteric tome about Dead Powers that mentioned Moander, the god of rot and decay. Moander was believed to have been destroyed and banished from Toril for over a thousand years. However, rot and decay are something often thought to be eradicated but they come slithering back.
    • Raemund believes the Gibbering Mouther may be a harbinger of Moander’s return to the Prime Material Plane and curses it as a “foul servant of Moander”
    • Verna seems somewhat perplexed by the situation, wondering aloud if she should attack
      • The Party yells for her to shoot and she lets loose a crossbow bolt
      • The bolt strikes the Mouther doing some damage, but then the bolt is subsumed into its mass
    • One of the tentacles erupts from the Gibbering Mouther, grappling Mo and the Mouther exclaims that The Darkbringer will savor his consumption most of all
      • The tentacle oozes acid onto Mo, but the resistance granted by Raemund minimizes the damage
      • Mo instantly reacts to the insult, casting Absorb Elements, to bypass some of the acid damage and store its energy for an attack
    • Erynn thrusts her hand into her component bag, retrieving some flecks of mica, which crushes and sprinkles across her sword. She invokes the power of The Lady of Shadow Glass and when she points her sword toward the Mouther, a wave of Shatter energy erupts from it
      • The thunderous energy blasts gelatinous flecks of organic tissue from the Mouther
    • Vala follows, striking the Mouther with a Red Chromatic Orb, burning several of its undulating tentacles into ask
    • Raemund casts a blazing white Guiding Bolt through the center of the amorphous mass. The smoking hole closes, but the Mouther is now considerably smaller than when it first coagulated into view
    • Orthanc senses the Mouther’s failing vitality, pulls a torch from his pack and sprints forward. He lights the torch from one of the burning tentacles and smashes the blazing torch down. The Mouther explodes in a splatter of flaming goo
• As dozens of small masses of mucosa burn like flickering oil lamps, The Party resolutely continues their trek through the pass in the hills.
  • As they sally forth, The Party members feel a slight resistance, as if they are moving through some sort of invisible barrier.
  • The sensation slowly passes and they find themselves standing at the edge of the Lost Hills, staring at the Triboar Trail in the near distance.
  • Each Party Member gains 100XP for completing the Escape from the Lost Hills trial.

23 Tarsakh, 1471 (Day 28)

The Triboar Trail

Morning

• Unbeknownst to them, 2 days have passed since The Party first found their trail out of the hills

Next Session → Session 014: Settling up in Phandalin