Participants: Mirarim, Ash, Seiko no Megumi, Plume
Location(s): Between Silent Forest and Dragon's Tail
Short summary: Party went to eliminate an artificial naga, found serpentfolk performing a ritual to empower and control it, which they interrupted before finishing off the naga.
Full report:
The bulk of the report is penned by Plume; opinions found in this document only reflect hers.
The goal of this mission was two-fold: first, eliminate a naga-like creature encountered on a previous outing; second, continue investigating serpentfolk activity in the region.
During travel, we encountered a group of kobold soldiers, who explained that their camp had been attacked and overtaken by serpentfolk. This happened near the edge of the serpentfolk's currently known activity zone, which I find concerning.
Later on, we arrived at our primary goal. We had previously encountered what we presumed to be an elf turned into a naga by a serpentfolk ritual, which was confirmed during the events that followed. However, we found the serpentfolk performing a ritual on the creature - by our knowledge, one to control or empower it.
We disrupted this ritual, which was led by a venom caller (a Zyss specializing in poison and acid magic). We eliminated both the caster and the naga. A brief inspection of the cabin the naga was housed in revealed that the furniture was entirely illusory, including a painting depicting an elven family.
I believe the serpentfolk had enacted a ritual upon an elf and made it believe it was still whole, while later attempting to gain full control of it.
This, combined with the findings of our previous mission, indicates a worrying rise in serpentfolk activity and the complexity of it.