Previously: Chapter 28: The Beast Below
The Prodigal Half-Elf Returns
As the party returns to the tavern to get a good days sleep, with Willowbark going to a fountain to clean herself up, they can see that sitting there, waiting for them, is Demetrius! Finally returned after a week away, on assignment from his mentor. He tells them about what he experienced, but not everything. Importantly, he found three more of the mysterious tarot cards, which he gives to Kal for safekeeping.
Penny is noticeably angry at Fie, as she now knows that he knew that animals were hostile towards her because of the key. He felt that she needed to discover that herself, so he didn’t share that information. He’s glad that she’s alive though.
Demetrius also tells the group about a woman he saw during his journey. A drow, with a similar looking spider-symbol as the one Nezznar Khalazza carried. He also found a shrine that had a symbol that looked like the key if the key was complete. They spend some time talking, sharing stories about what they have experienced over the last week. Demetrius is shocked that Penny lost a foot, but is glad she is alive. Penny is pretty tired, having lost a lot the last few hours, so she gathers up some food, and goes to her room.
The Bond
As she sits down to remove her makeup, she looks up in the mirror at the decayed, gaunt, colorless face looking back at her. She is frustrated with her patron. She’s tired of having to put on makeup, she is saddened by the fact that animals are afraid of her, and she wishes she could go back to her normal self. The patron speaks directly to her, proposing a more… direct relationship, without a “conduit” as he calls it. If she allows him to be a part of her, then he could improve her situation. She accepts.
Suddenly, she notices that while talking, she is gripping The Key, and she can feel that some sort of energy leaving the key, transferring over to her body, through her arm and up to her chest. The pain is immense, and Penny collapses on the floor, the key slipping from her grip. The patron then brings her back from the brink of death, telling her “now I can protect you”.
The others, having noticed that she went down, come rushing into the room, and find her lying on the floor, just barely woken up. They ask her what happened, as she looks… normal? Leg still missing of course, but her skin is back to the normal color, and she looks healthier. She tells them what she thinks happened, that she allowed the patron to make a more direct bond with her. The party is visibly distraught by this, concerned, but there is not much they can do now. They do find that Penny is not as obsessed with not letting the Key out of her grip, even allowing Kal to hold it, but it is clear she wants it back, and at one point snatches it out of Kal’s hands. Penny is tired, hurting, and just wants to sleep, so they take a rest. Willowbark gathers the rest, and says that she is concerned about Penny, so they will have to look out more for her.
Preparing for the Forest
After a good days rest, they meet in the tavern again, with Demetrius already being noticeably drunk, so much that Lily has to cut him off. Seems like something happened in the week that he wants to forget, since he keeps mumbling about someone dying.
Granny takes Kal to the side, and tells her about her project. She has made an armor for Kal, that will help her be more stealthy. Kal is surprised about this, but very grateful indeed. They go to her room to take the final measurements needed for finalizing the armor. Kal and Willowbark join Granny in the forge to watch and help her finish it, with Willowbark giving guidance. Completed, Granny has embedded a holy symbol for Kal in the armor, so she always has it available. Kal gives Granny a big hug, which she reciprocates.
Penny spends the next few days with Trixie, sharing her last week's experiences with her, telling her about how she lost her foot and other things. She just wants to spend the time with her friend.
The party remembers that they ordered some clothes from “From Rags to Riches”, and went there to pick them up. Stagz has been waiting with their orders, and Willowbark and Penny’s dresses are each prettier than the other one. They seem to be durable, but not meant for daily use, or fighting. Stagz is horrified at the notion of wearing them in the woods, as Willowbark ponders how well it will fit in there.
They also decide they need some resources for the trip, in case something bad were to happen. They go to Hamil Fatrabbit to buy some healing potions, and manage to haggle a Greater Healing Potion for free as they found a Potion of Spirit in Raam’s lair. He seems to be shocked that they found his merchandise in such a vile place. Penny also buys some Alchemist’s Fire, in case they need it.
They also head to the magic shops in town to buy as many diamonds as they can, in case not everyone makes it. They manage to buy 900 gold worth of diamonds, which should be enough to use the Hearthstone to get them out swiftly, and revivify someone who goes down. Both Claira Aloro and Arha Perry comment on the purchase, suspecting that they are planning a busy weekend.
Back to the Wilds
The party depart Tempervale early friday morning, and spend the day traveling south-west towards where they’ve been told that the corruption resides. They make camp just outside of the Jaded Wilds, with Willowbark and Penny taking first watch. Willowbark tries to analyze how Penny is doing, and she genuinely looks happier and healthier. It especially shows when a tiny squirrel comes close to the camp, which Penny gives a piece of food, with the squirrel thanking her, before moving back to the forest.
Granny doesn’t notice much on her watch, other than Pip being very busy trying to bother Demetrius, and trying to enter Kal’s tent. Granny tells him off, so he goes to sleep in one of the nearby trees instead.
On Demetrius’ watch, everything seems to be going as normal, but the bells he sets up to warn of intruders suddenly start making sound, so he jumps to his feet, noticing a gopher having approached the camp looking for food. Demetrius lets it live, and eventually wakes the last pair to take their watch.
In the morning, Theren and Kal look over the coming sunlight, and Kal notices a Dragon flying to the distance in the east. A relatively normal sight, and it doesn’t seem like the dragon is heading towards them, so she doesn’t pay it much thought.
As Willowbark wakes, she pulls out three beasts from the bag of tricks, getting two panthers and one boar, that she hopes can help in case they were to come over some dangers. They spend an hour in the morning preparing the Hearthstone to return them to the edge of the forest if they need to get back quickly. They also tell the horses to stay around, but to run towards Tempervale if anything bad were to try to take them. Pip also stays behind, but Corn goes with the party further into the woods.
Point of No Return
The party spend a few hours traveling towards where they think the corruption resides, and eventually reach an abandoned campsite. Seems the owners left in a rush or were taken. Demetrius deduces that it has been abandoned for 3-4 days, and they find some rations they take with them. All of them sense the same feeling they had near Thundertree. The air is heavy, and they have a disturbing sense of being watched. They must be getting close.
Eventually, as they keep pushing onwards, they start to become affected by the forest’s magic. Granny is the first one to be affected, becoming paranoid about her companions, seemingly thinking they might attack her at any point. But they still trek on, Granny being extra cautious.
At one point they see a humanoid shape in front of them, through a clearing that will lead them towards their goal. Some members in the party notices that there is also a horde of them to their right, hiding among the trees. They decide to just attack them head on, surprising the horde. They seem to be dealing with them fine, but after the zombies get their bearings on what is happening they rush the attackers. Two of the beasts from the bag of tricks gets quickly taken down by one of the bigger zombies puking acid all over them. At one point, Granny attacks Demetrius in her paranoia, throwing a battleaxe straight in his thigh. Kal gets close to the center of the zombies, and uses her godly powers to immediately destroy most of the undead. The rest of them are easily dispatched by the party. Not wanting to spend too long in this place, they decide to press on.
A bit further in, the atmosphere get even more bleak, depressing, and it becomes harder and harder to breathe. They reach a field of weird, orange, glowing fruit. Demetrius, Granny and Penny all become hypnotized by the fruit, trying to go straight for it. Theren manages to hold back Demetrius, but Granny and Penny avoid the grips of Willowbark and Kal, and reach the fruit, eating it quickly. They both however manage to withstand the charm of the forest, and regurgitates the fruit before it can take hold.
Granny becomes more affected by the forest, and starts to hallucinate as well, seeing things that aren’t there, making it more difficult to traverse the corruption. She does however manage to notice a dangerous field of flowers that keep zipping back and fourth, so they decide to take the long way around to avoid the encounter altogether. They pass more fruits, but all manage to resist the lure this time. However, they all notice that the longer they spend in the forest, the more they become affected by its corruption. They realize that they have to leave quickly or succumb to it. Eventually, only Kal has managed to resist the corruption, with the other members being paranoid, scared, having visions and hearing whispers.
As they pass through a thick growth of trees, they seem to be approaching the center of the corruption. The air here is thick, almost like a liquid, making it extremely hard to breathe and focus, with a darkness hanging over the forest from the dark clouds looming just over the trees. It’s raining, and it seems like the colors have drained from the environment. In the clearing in front of them, on a tiny hillock, lies a big flat rock, with red arcane writing on it. On top of that lies a being. Almost like a dragon, but with wings made of vines and growths of the forest. It seems like a drake of some kind has been corrupted, and is now a part of the forest itself. It looks right at the party, and prepares its wings to fly...