Wolfs galbladder (alchemy ingredient - Vala)
← Previous Session: Session 014: Settling up in Phandalin
27 Tarsakh, 1471 (Day 32)
Morning
- Orthanc informs The Party that he feels ashamed that he cannot provide for himself while adventuring, having repeatedly failed to adequately cook a meal
- He has decided to stay in Phandalin to train with Cook’s Utensils with Toblen Stonehill while The Party travels north toward Thundertree
- In The Party departs Phandalin under High Winds weather conditions, heading north on the Phandalin Trail toward the Triboar Trail
- Verna succeeds on a Scout check to have advance notice of any encounters on the road
Noon
- Vala succeeds on both Forage checks, gathering 13 food and 9 water rations
Evening
- Light clouds roll in after midday
- Mo succeeds on a Guide check and The Party travels the maximum 20 miles in the day
- Mo casts Druidcraft to gain knowledge of the weather for 24 hours
Night
- As the sun begins to set, a heavy Fog blankets the area while The Party sets camp
- Despite the Fog, The Party sets a good camp, Camp Activity Check DC = 10
- The Party settles in their camp for the night, talking and performing Camp Activities
- Mo strikes up a conversation with Vala, asking her if she can read music. He shows her his trinket: two pieces of parchment with a fragment of a song written on it
- Vala fails on a Performance check to play the music
- The music seems odd but somehow familiar - clearly additional work will be needed to decipher the secrets of the music
- Verna attempts to cheer up Erynn by telling her a tale of Verna’s travels with a genie, but fails a Performance check.
- Raemund succeeds on a Medicine check to preserve 6 food rations
- Erynn fails a Performance check when telling Verna a story about her mother rooting out a Thieves’ Guild in Neverwinter - perhaps because Verna sees the thieves as the heroes of the story
- Vala succeeds on an Arcana check - tapping into the Weave to learn the history of her Ring of Protection’s creation by Netherese mages and moving closer to attunement with the magical item
- Mo succeeds on a Medicine check using his Herbalism Kit to create an Antitoxin
- Mo strikes up a conversation with Vala, asking her if she can read music. He shows her his trinket: two pieces of parchment with a fragment of a song written on it
- The Party takes a Long Rest with Raemund and Erynn serving as Lookout overnight
28 Tarsakh, 1471 (Day 33)
Morning
- The Party awakens to Light Clouds and decides to continue traveling west on the Triboar Trail
- Verna succeeds on a Scout check to foresee any coming encounters
- The Party strategizes a way to ambush the would-be ambushers
- Vala and Verna drive the cart into the ambush area set by the goblins
- The goblins release the wolves to attack while 3 goblins advance toward melee range, and 3 remain at range
- The wolves dash forward, reaching the edge of the cart, prepare to jump and attack
- Verna fires an Arrow of Alchemist’s Fire from her crossbow at the nearest wolf. The arrow strikes true, explodes in liquid flame, and immolates the wolf.
- The other wolf sees its littermate bleeding and burning on the ground, becomes terrified and flees
- Vala casts Chromatic Orb - hitting 1 goblin with a red orb that jumps to the next nearest. Both goblins are instantly killed in a fiery burst of arcane energy
- A sudden surge of arcane energy causes the Chromatic Orb to burnout, singeing Vala’s hands
- Suddenly Mo, in direwolf form, leaps into the group of goblins
- He bites at one, but misses as the remaining 4 goblins run around, terrified and begin to flee
- Raemund casts Sacred Flame, burning some divine retribution into the ass of one of the fleeing goblins
- Erynn puts the bleeding, burning wolf out of its misery with a coup de grace through the neck using her longsword
- Each Party member gains 15 XP for defeating the ambush
- Vala calmly approaches the burning wolf, extinguishes its flames, and then quickly and expertly vivisects it, collecting 1 Wolf Gallbladder
- The Party resumes traveling west on the Triboar Trail
Noon
- The Party reaches the Wayside Inn at the intersection of the Triboar Trail and the High Road
- Martisha Vinetalker greets The Party, introduces herself to the new Party members, and catches up with Vala.
- Vala asks Martisha if she has seen or heard any news about Rig, but she has not
- Martisha Vinetalker tells Vala that Paxtor Verdigris and Cooragh Struckt became drinking buddies after The Party left
- Paxtor eventually wandered off, heading south, possibly looking for work as a caravan guard
- Martisha is pleased to hear that Meilu is still with The Party and doing well. Martisha plans to brush Meilu and give her a carrot before The Party departs
- Raemund asks Martisha if she knows anything about Thundertree, which she shares
- A small adventuring band had gone to Thundertree in the last autumn but were never heard from again
- 10 years after The Ruining, scores of undead poured from Neverwinter Wood on their way to sack a rebuilding Neverwinter and killed any survivors
- The Party has a midday meal and some ale then sets out north on the High Road
Night
- As the sun begins to set, it begins snowing. The Party stops to make camp for the night
- The Party has some trouble setting camp in the snow, Campsite DC = 15.
- Verna fails a Nature check to make hot cocoa for The Party while they set up.
- Raemund succeeds on a Perception check to find good ground for the campsite.
- Erynn fails on a Survival check to gather wood for a fire.
- Vala succeeds on an Arcana check to start a cook fire using Fire Bolt.
- Mo succeeds on a Survival check to put up The Party’s tents for the night
- Vala casts an Alarm ritual to help secure the campsite for the night.
- The Party settles in camp to eat their even feast and do some camp activities
- Verna fails on a Sleight of Hand check to combine an arrow with alchemist’s fire
- Raemund succeeds on a Religion check, telling Mo a story of the Morning Lord, Lathander, providing Mo with 1 Inspiration Point
- Erynn fails on an Athletics check while doing her swordplay routines.
- Mo fails on a Medicine check when attempting to make antitoxin.
- The Party takes a Long Rest
29 Tarsakh, 1471 (Day 34)
Morning
- The Party awakens to find that the snow has ended, giving way to freezing rain.
- Mo casts Druidcraft to see the weather for the day: rain, snow, then fog.
- Despite the weather, The Party decides to continue traveling north on the High Road.
- Verna succeeds on a Scout Check and notices a small, irregular mound ahead along the road while traveling.
- Verna succeeds on a Stealth Check to advance on the mound, but nothing happens.
- Verna brushes snow from the mount and finds a Small Chest that was recently either unearthed or hastily buried. Two frozen dead bodies lay on either side of the chest, with their arms extended above their heads toward the chest.
- Verna, with Mo's help, succeeds on an Investigation check when examining the bodies, finding that it seemed like the two died while trying to bury the chest but the cause of death cannot be determined.
- Verna casts Detect Magic, but finds no traces.
- Raemund approaches and succeeds on a Medicine Check, but finds no immediate cause of death.
- Mo opens the chest, but finds it is empty.
- Vala inspects the bodies and finds that they are dressed like caravanners, perhaps from Luskan, who normally travel the High Road trading between Waterdeep, Neverwinter, and Luskan.
- Erynn picks up the Small Chest and puts it in the The Cart. As she picks up the chest, she finds 1 GP
- Mo casts Mold Earth to uncover more ground where the chest was but finds nothing.
- The Party contemplates the oddity and then continues their travel.
Noon
- Vala fails a Foraging Check to collect any food or water rations in the snow;
Evening
Night
- The Party ends their travel for the day, approximately 15 miles from Neverwinter, where they must leave the High Road to travel north east toward Thundertree.
- Raemund succeeds on a Lookout Check to prevent surprise during the overnight watch.
- The Party struggles to set up an adequate camp in the snow and fog. Campsite Activities DC = 25
- Verna fails to clear snow from the site to keep it dry.
- Erynn fails to find any dry wood for a cook fire.
- Vala repeatedly casts Fire Bolt to melt the snow covering their campsite, but overtaxes her link to the Weave in the process and burns her hands.
- Vala manages to collect 8 water rations in the process
- Mo fails to properly set up the tents.
- Raemund fails at finding a good site for the camp.
- The Party exhausts their shared food rations and is down to the 5 food rations each carries for themselves
- The Party takes a Long Rest in the cold and damp, getting poor rest.
30 Tarsakh, 1471 (Day 35)
Morning
- The Party awakens after a fitful, uncomfortable night and every member is suffering 1 Level of Exhaustion
- Vala spent most of the night attempting to attune to the Netherese Ring of Protection she found at Hamund Kost's camp
- The weather has improved, warming up slightly and with light cloud cover
- Mo casts Druidcraft to determine the weather for the day. He sees light clouds in the morning, fog at high sun, then… purple in the evening, with the day ending in snow.
- Mo is confused when his druidic magic informs him that the weather will be “purple” but Vala explains to him the Purple Haze magical weather that sometimes strikes the region
- The Party assesses that they have approximately 1 day of travel until they reach Thundertree, so they decide to continue traveling and set camp when it starts snowing
- The Party is beginning to get low on food rations. Mo chants in dwarvish, gesticulating over a patch of barren earth. A small seedling pushes through the dirt, grows into a small holly sapling, and sprouts 10 round, bright red Goodberries
- Verna ranges ahead of the traveling Party and succeeds on a Scout Check.
Noon
- At mid-day, The Party takes a brief travel rest and Vala heads out to forage.
- While foraging, Vala hears a soft whimpering sound and heavy, labored, raspy breathing coming from somewhere near her
- Vala freezes and immediately send Miss Tra to notify Mo of the situation. Mo and Miss Tra return forthwith
- Mo succeeds on a Perception Check to identify the direction of the sound. As Mo and Vala approach, they notice a large mound of snow rhythmically moving up and down as if it were softly breathing.
- Mo fails to stealthily advance on the mound, his heavy dwarven boots crunching in the snow. The noise briefly ceases and Mo calls out if anyone is there.
- Mo clears some snow away from the breathing mound to find a man dressed like a Luskan caravanner, partially frozen to the ground and suffering from severe exposure
- The man softly mumbles “Please…. End it.”
- Vala asks the man what happened to him, but gets no reply.
- Vala casts Healing Word on the dying man, giving him a brief respite from his agony.
- He pleads with her to not heal him further, saying the he “wants it to end” and that he “can’t live with this… with… what happened”
- Mo pulls out his sickle and slits the man’s throat. Thick, cold blood slowly oozes from the man’s throat and he expires.
- Vala places a hand on the man and says a prayer to Kelemvor to guide the man’s soul to the afterlife.
- She asks to borrow Mo's sickle which she uses to cut her hand. She draws a rune of passage in her own blood on the man and then covers him with snow.
- Mo and Vala call the rest of The Party over to inform them of what has happened.
- Raemund is sanguine with Mo's handling of the situation, thinking that it was a service to the man to end his suffering.
- The Party feels a dark omen in the event, particularly it being along the exact road they were traveling to get to Thundertree.
Evening
- The Party arrives within an hour’s travel of Thundertree in the early evening
- As The Party ends travel, an opaque fog of Purple Haze envelopes the region
- The Party knows that snow will start after the Purple Haze, decides to make camp early, and enter the ruins in the morning. The Party sets an excellent camp, Camp Activities DC = 5
- Verna succeeds on a Medicine Check to brew an energizing tea to help The Party set up camp
- Raemund succeeds on a Survival Check to identify good land with strategic placement for the camp
- Erynn succeeds on a Perception Check to notice a source of good firewood
- Vala fails on a Nature Check to prepare a fire suitable for cooking
- Mo succeeds on an Athletics Check to assemble the water catching device that Vala had previously constructed
Night
- By the time The Party has set camp, the sun has set and it has begun snowing
- The Party performs some Camp Activities
- Verna succeeds on a Sleight of Hand Check to create an Alchemist’s Fire Arrow
- Raemund succeeds on a Religion Check to pray to Lathander to bless Verna, giving her 1 Inspiration Point
- Erynn practices her swordfighting form in preparation for the adventuring day
- Vala gifts Mo a bottle of Cormyrian Reserve Plum Brandy (1 bulk, 50GP)
- 1 use, +2 Constitution for 1 hr
- Mo succeeds on a Medicine Check to use his Herbalism Kit to make 1 Antitoxin
- The Party is weary from their long day and settles in to take a Long Rest
Greengrass, 1471 (Day 36)
Morning
- The Party awakes in light snowfall, finds a place to hide Meilu and the horse cart, and travels to the southern road entering Thundertree
- Thundertree is a completely ruined town that had been abandoned for 20 years. The stone framework of all of the buildings remains intact but many are missing their rooves, which were blasted off during the volcanic eruption of The Ruining or collapsed in disrepair in the intervening years. Nature has began to reclaim the town at a supernatural rate, with several large oak trees sprouting from the center of some of the buildings. A central dirt path connects all of the structures in Thundertree and dense, 10 foot tall briar thickets create significant obstacles between many of the buildings
- Verna takes lead in The Party, stealthily scouting ahead while Erynn follows closely behind to pin down any potential attackers who may threaten Verna. Mo anchors his position 10 feet behind the advance party to slow down any fast striking opponents who sneak past the reach of the vanguard. Next is 8 foot tall Orthanc, towering over Mo's dwarven frame and providing a mobile meat shield to Raemund and Vala who linger in the back, ready to provide healing and support in a pitched battle
- Erynn casts Armor of Agathys and is wrapped in a thin rime of crystalline frost
- The first large cabin on the left of the dirt path looks to be repaired and fortified with thick wood and iron shutters nailed over the windows and a sturdy-looking iron-banded oak door securing the front entrance.
- Verna sneaks up to the entrance to determine if she senses any sign of habitation but she hears nothing and only smells wood and earth. She walks the perimeter and finds that the entire building has been fortified.
- Verna shrugs to the group, signifying that she is at a loss, then suggests to Erynn that she knock
- Erynn gives the door a slight kick and waits for a response, but nothing happens
- Erynn then grabs the door handle and shakes the door vehemently, which finally elicits a response from within
- Erynn hears a muted “Is someone out there?”
- Erynn responds that she had been sent by Qelline Alderleaf to check on Reidoth, who she assumes is inside
- The voice from inside the cabin asks “Who is the most important person in Qelline's life?” to which Vala loudly responds “Young Carp!” from afar
- Erynn hears rustling from inside and the sound of a door bar being moved, then the door opens slightly
- An extremely elderly, bearded man pokes his head into the open door and asks “How many are you?”
- Erynn casts Armor of Agathys and is wrapped in a thin rime of crystalline frost
- The Druid’s Watch was obviously a domicile before the fall of Thundertree but had been abandoned for decades. Considerable time has been spent in fortifying potential points of ingress with reinforced doors, door bars, and reinforced shutters for the windows. The inside of the building seems like an extension of the forest outside - foliage of all kinds grows from the floors and walls. The only non-natural things are a spartan bed, a large workbench covered in various samples of flora and fauna gathered from around Thundertree, a small pot belly stove, and an extensive array of alchemical apparatuses.
- The elderly Druid slowly and meticulously inspects each member of The Party but shows very little interest until he comes to Mo.
- Reidoth is surprised to see a druid dwarf in the mix asks Mo “are you one of them? A follower of Pikel?”
- The name is foreign to Mo, and Reidoth comments that many dwarven druids are inspired by Pikel Bouldershoulder (Pickle to his friends)
- The Party explains that they had been sent to check on Reidoth's well-being by Qelline Alderleaf and that they need help finding Wave Echo Cave, the Forge of Spells, and Cragmaw Castle to rescue Gundren Rockseeker and stop the Black Spider
- Reidoth explains that if The Party had come to @thunder via Neverwinter Wood, they would have passed very close to Cragmaw Castle. He points out on the map Mo has been keeping the approximate location of the stronghold.
- Reidoth is a bit disappointed to hear that The Party had arrived in Thundertree from the south west, believing that he had put up enough signs warning people away from the area because it is inundated with animated, evil plants
- He explains that evil necromantic magical energy seems to be escaping from the inactive Dread Ring in Neverwinter Wood and seeping into the trees and plants in the area. The arcana energy corrupts plant life into evil blights, which seek to kill and devour all non-plant life in the area
- Forces from Thay began constructing the Dread Ring approximately 20 years ago, just prior to the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Hotenow, ostensibly to harvest enough souls from the deaths in Neverwinter to power the Ring and give Szass Tam more influence in the region
- Reidoth is studying the corrupted plant life in Thundertree and around it, seeking a means of reversing the process and returning the plants to their normal state to allow for possible resettlement in the future.
- He has ways of avoiding the blights and ash zombies in the area but a Young Green Dragon has established its lair in the Wizard’s Tower on the north end of the town. In addition a band of Dragon Cultists recently arrived to presumably parlay with the dragon and entice it into the Cult of the Dragon
- The dragon and the cultists are disrupting Reidoth's work and asks The Party to remove them from the area in exchange for information on how to find Wave Echo Cave
- Reidoth is unaware of the cultists’ location but knows they are residing somewhere in town
- Reidoth recognizes that Mo, as a druid, would hesitate to destroy innocent natural life but warns The Party that the blights in the area are very dangerous and completely beyond rehabilitation - they should be destroyed upon contact
- Reidoth wishes The Party the best of luck and hopes that the Oak Father will shine his countenance upon them in their quest
- The Party exits the Druid’s Watch
- He has ways of avoiding the blights and ash zombies in the area but a Young Green Dragon has established its lair in the Wizard’s Tower on the north end of the town. In addition a band of Dragon Cultists recently arrived to presumably parlay with the dragon and entice it into the Cult of the Dragon
Midday
- In preparation for their adventuring in Thundertree, Mo distributes the antitoxins he has made to Erynn, Vala, and Raemund
- The Party notices a large tower to the north set on a large hill and assumes it is the mage tower in which lairs the Young Green Dragon.
- They decide to stealthily reconnoiter the outside of the town limits, avoiding the tower before advancing
- The Party decides their marching order: Verna taking point to scout ahead, Erynn following close behind to serve as a second line of defense, followed by Mo to provide a third line and protect the last of the group, Raemund and Vala who will provide support
- The Party first comes upon two buildings that resemble a ruined farmhouse and a cottage
- Verna observes the buildings but fails to notice anything of interest
- Erynn advances to investigate, succeeding on a Perception check to notice movement within the cottage, but she cannot identify the source
- Verna and Erynn attempt to sneak away from the entrance of the building. Verna fails her Stealth check, steps on a twig, and alerts the creatures within.
- Verna and Erynn hear a high pitched hissing…
BEGIN COMBAT
Round 1
- 4 Twig Blights, 1 Razorvine Blight, and 1 Needle Blight emerge from the building and surrounding thickets
- Verna advances on 2 Twig blights. She attacks one with her scimitar, narrowly misses a full attack but Nicks it to set up herself up for another
- Raemund advances to the door of the cottage and casts Burning Hands, immolating 2 twig blights and reducing them to ash instantaneously
- The torrent of Burning Hands catches a pile of dry foliage aflame in the cottage, starting a small brush fire within
- While tapping the Weave to cast Burning Hands, Raemund experiences magic burnout, Stupefying him and giving him Disadvantage on spell casting for 1 round
- Vala quaffs a Potion of Stamina I (Lesser), choking down the vile tasting brew, and relieving her of 1 Level of Exhaustion for 1 hour.
- Vala casts Chromatic Orb on the remaining Twig Blight locked in combat with Verna - the red orb explodes on impact, lighting the twig blight aflame and it burns to cinders
- A Razorvine Blight scurries up and across a wall then descends within 10 ft of both Raemund and Erynn
- The Razorvine Blight pulls in its limbs in and crouches down, forming a tight ball of razor sharp vines. When it thrusts its extremities outward, Life-Draining Vines explode out from its body, violently whipping in all directions in an attempt to slash any foes within reach.
- Raemund and Erynn succeed on a Dexterity Saving Throw, narrowly missing the brunt of the attack but still receiving nasty slashes from the razor sharp vines. The Life-Draining Vines quickly absorb Raemund and Erynn’s blood, providing healing to the Razorvine Blight
- A Needle Blight emerges from a thicket and launches a barrage of Needles at Mo, but misses.
- In response, Mo gestures toward the Needle Blight, incanting in Dwarvish, and casts Starry Whisp. A mote of shimmering moonlight ejects from Mo hand, striking the Blight with radiant energy.
- A patch of needles on the blight begins to smoke and smolder and the blight takes on a faint glow of moonlight.
- Mo advances within melee range of the Needle Blight
- Erynn points her longsword toward the Razorvine Blight and utters an eldritch incantation, bestowing upon it a Hex Blade Curse
- Erynn closes in and hacks several vines off of the Hexed Razorvine Blight
Round 2
- 4 additional Twig Blights dash from the northeast of the melee and enter combat
- 1 Vine Blight emerges from a thicket and enters combat
- The fire in the cottage begins to spread, filling the small space with flames and smoke - Vala perhaps regrets the choice of wearing lace fringe into battle and the bottom of her clothes catch fire, giving her the Burning Encounter Condition
- Verna positions herself to Flank the Razorvine Blight between herself and Erynn then hacks the unfortunate plant to pieces
- Verna then turns her attention to the Needle Blight in combat with Mo, and repositions for a future attack
- Raemund grips his Holy Symbol of Lathander and casts Sacred Flame on the Vine Blight. A patch of vines begin to bubble and smolder from radiant damage.
- Vala dashes through the door of the cottage to escape the flames, but takes some fire damage in the process as more of her clothes burn.
- The Needle Blight slashes Mo with its claws but the claws are knocked aside harmlessly by the studs in his leather armor
- Mo holds up his quarterstaff, chanting in Druidic and imbuing it with Shillelagh
- Mo smashes the magical Shillelagh down upon the Needle Blight, crushing it with tremendous force and almost killing it
- Erynn rushes the Needle Blight and attempts to finish it off with a slash from her longsword but narrowly misses
- 2 of the Twig Blights split from the group and advance on Erynn. Both attack, one missing entirely. As the second swings its claws toward Erynn, Raemund uses his Reaction to cast Warding Flare. The second twig blight is momentarily blinded by a flash of intensely bright sunlight, causing it to miss.
- The Vine Blight moves into Flanking position on Erynn. It attempts to grasp her with its vines, but Erynn bats away the attack with her shield.
Round 3
- Verna sneakily moves into Flanking position on the Needle Blight locked in combat by Mo and Sneak Attacks with her scimitar, hacking it apart
- Raemund repositions himself, casts Burning Hands, and expertly torches 3 Twig Blights
- The Weave is quite fickle this day, Raemund’s casting Ricochets and causes serious burns on his hands upon casting
- Vala casts Chromatic Orb - the red orb strikes a Twig Blight, burning it to ash. Residual energy in the orb causes it to jump to the next closest Twig Blight and incinerates that one as well
- Mo again gesticulates and chants, casting Starry Whisp on the remaining Vine Blight - the beam of moonlight strikes the blight, causing some of its vines to bubble and sizzle
- Erynn follows up the attack, lopping away half of the vines with her longsword. She notices the dire condition of the Vine Blight, rears back, and stomps the vestigial mass of wriggling vines into the ground, killing the Vine Blight
END COMBAT
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