Author: Blameless

Bromsby and Lefty guide the party around the outskirts of the air cult quarter of the underground Besilmer city. Along the way, Haerelben forges inflammatory graffiti to promote violence between the Howling Hatred air cult and the Black Earth earth cult.

The party enters the temple area of the Black Earth by way of a room with four massive columns attended by a large dwarven statue in the center. Haerelben draws Theren’s attention to footsteps in the dust indicating the statue is less than completely inanimate. On cue, the statue attempts to strike Haerelben with its spiky ball fists. Lefty flanks to the statue’s side and punches it repeatedly in the face, or what would be its face if it were the height of a tabaxi.

Bromsby’s thorn whip and Meega’s giant slayer have no problem damaging the statue, but Theren’s crossbow bolts glance off, forcing him to consider alternatives. In a moment of insight, Theren holds up his hands in the triangular sign improvised by Allana back in the Sacred Stone Monastery to fool Jurth. Lefty notices and repeats Theren’s gesture where the statue can see it. The statue dwarf returns to standby mode.

Theren concocts a plan to infiltrate the temple. He and Meega retrieve acolyte robes and masks taken from the Sacred Stone Monastery for Theren and Bromsby to take the role of earth cultists. There are three leather flying suits taken off the air cultist spellguard imposters at ambush in the Sumber Hills for Lefty, Meega, and Haerelben to play the captured air cultists.

Theren leads the procession along a corridor that snakes through the temple. With so many doors and cross passages, Theren resorts to luck to choose their path. After a few randomized left and right turns, they come to a room with a crudely fashioned humanoid statue, made from various earthen materials. Bromsby, bringing up the rear to prevent the prisoners from escaping, investigates the statue and discovers the new statue stands upon the rubble of a broken up Besilmer dwarf statue.

Continuing along randomly, the party encounters a steep chasm from which the slavish sounds of hammering and chains are distinctly heard. There is a narrow ledge along the top of the the chasm, but fate does not choose that path at this time.

Wending their way through, the party finds a slit in the wall strategically sighted down a corridor to the left. Theren, with two stripes on his stone mask instead of Bromsby’s one, commands subordinate Bromsby to take the lead long enough to ensure the slot isn’t a murder hole or a Pee Pee Orc styled trap. Theren resumes the lead when nothing bad happens to Bromsby.

The sound of hammers on anvils emanates from a door. It would be weird for a cultist to knock on his own door, so Theren throws it open with appropriate bravado.

A strong female hammerer stands between two anvils, hammering out items on each while a pair of duergar arrange items upon the anvils. A forge occupies the center of the room and workbenches line the walls. At the far end, to the east, the chasm cuts through this room.

Theren apologizes profusely for his error. He’s kind of new to the organization, just in from Red Larch, and still finding his way around trying to escort these doomed prisoners. He’s the first to admit he gets carried away with his duties sometimes.

The indifferent hammerer takes a break while the two duergar become very concerned about the presence of the “windbag” prisoners. They administer a classic test: Who’s the priest in Red Larch? Theren confidently supplies the nearly correct answer: Larrakh. Everyone in the room agrees that Larrakh is a disgrace, but the duergar nevertheless remain unconvinced that Theren and Bromsby are gung-ho earth cultists.

One duergar attacks Theren while the other becomes invisible. Theren and Meega attack the visible duergar and Lefty triple punches it to death.

Haerelben chats up the indifferent anvil hammerer to learn whether she plans to join this fight for either side. She’s not paid by Urnrayle to fight, just to hammer out items. Which items? She hammers out typical anti-air-cultist element stuff, that’s what Xharva Deem does. Haerelben meanwhile ambles in the direction where the invisibly surviving duergar was last seen and fortuitously bumps into him, revealing his location to the party.

Meega cuts into the duergar’s leg, knocking him down, then plants her giant slayer into his proneness. Again, it is Lefty who swoops in for the final punchline.

Xharva Deem is slightly perturbed at the loss of her helpers but doesn’t mind very much when Theren pushes their bodies into the chasm. She’s fine as long as no one takes anything from her shop. Bromsby identifies her as a djinn. The party excuses itself, leaving her in peace.

The next room features a rectangular basin of fresh water. Investigation of the basin reveals that the water could be used to quench a thirst. Unfortunately no one in the party has a thirst.

Haerelben casts locate object for Iron Fang. His unfamiliarity with the artifact prevents resolution of a particular direction, but he can sense the item within 1000 feet.

A randomly selected passage ends in double doors. Theren boldly enters Besil’s main kitchen comprising four large ovens. The party’s combined odor immediately offends Broog and Nurg, the two heads of an ettin rummaging for food in the kitchen.

Nurg and Broog don’t agree upon which of them is in charge, but they do agree they are hungry and offer to digestively relieve Theren and Bromsby of their air cult prisoners. Theren apologetically insists that he has explicit directions from Urnrayle to deliver these prisoners to the executioner’s block, but Lefty looks very tasty and Broog and Nurg make a grab for her.

Meega’s giant slayer bites satisfyingly into the giant before he can bite into Lefty. Bromsby erupts the kitchen floor into earth behind Nurg and Broog. Lefty punches while Theren crossbows, heaping damage on the poor ettin who has no chance to survive. Meega’s giant slayer critically slays the giant.

Bromsby discovers a treasure pile hidden under a pelt: 2900 copper, 130 electrum, an ivory elephant statue, and two gold bracelets. The treasure is surrendered to treasurer Theren.

The kitchen seems relatively unvisited by the Black Earth so the party pauses for the night.

The restorative night in the mushroom cavern passes without incident. Bromsby forages more bacon mushrooms for breakfast. Any discussion of how to proceed is preempted when a spotted tabaxi monk silently dashes by their chamber, chased by heavy paw falls.

Lefty! Bromsby calls out to the monk. The pair of pursuing gnolls veer into the chamber where Meega meets them with her giant slayer and Theren offers his signature sword-and-hand-crossbow combo. Lefty slips in behind the gnolls with a palm smash. Haerelben steps into the fray to introduce himself to the embattled gnolls, creating a distraction for Bromsby’s lethal thorn whip to drop the first gnoll. Meega finishes the second gnoll with a double axe chop. The vanquished gnolls are branded with the Black Earth cult symbol.

Bromsby’s reunited traveling companion introduces herself as Left-Handed Undertraveler, or Lefty, if you please. Her handle was earned not by the lethal short sword in her right hand but by the lethal slam that follows from her open left hand. Both her hands now retrieve the paper-wrapped hot roast she heisted from the nearby camp of the recently deceased gnolls.

While Lefty eats, Bromsby spots undercommon writing on her breakfast wrapper. Haerelben supervises over Bromsby’s shoulder to check his undercommon grammar. Theren supervises over Haerelben’s shoulder to check his undercommon grammar. Without error, Bromsby reads:

Regroup in Red Larch, contact <obscured by meat grease> air cult <obscured by meat grease> show them who’s boss.

Haerelben recapitulates their adventures for newcomers Bromsby and Lefty with emphasis on the perceived structure of the four elemental cults: cultists occupying a keep on the surface, a subterranean temple below, a powerful priest or prophet with a relic of elemental power, each backed by an elemental deity. Haerelben spreads his gridded sheet of parchment out; so for example the earth cult Black Earth occupies the Sacred Stone Monastery under the supervision of Hellenrae while prophet priest Marlos Urnrayle searches and finds Iron Fang, holy implement of earth power from fan of the eye, in service of deity Ogremoch, a decidedly evil incarnation of elemental earth.

Theren concludes the summarization by bringing out Iron Oath, the silver hammer from the shrine of the unbreakable oath. He demonstrates Iron Oath by swinging it against the earthen wall, loudly obliterating a large section of the cavern. Ta da!

As abundant paw falls approach in summons to the commotion, Theren redistributes several magic items and Bromsby turns the wand of ray of frost over and over in his hands, trying to count the number of charges. Lefty alleviates her nervous concern by fidgeting with a ball of yarn. The paws get much, much closer.

Meega walks backward, deeper into the cavern, to make it look like the party has just left. Theren casts pass without trace and the party withdraws into the cavern quietly. None of this confuses the gnolls at all and rearguard Meega catches a longbow arrow with her vital organs. A second arrow pierces a nearby mushroom which begins screaming to the unbearable detriment of anyone fighting near it. A third arrow pierces a mushroom next to Haerelben creating a pleasant bacon aroma.

Meega escapes the screaming mushroom by pushing a gnoll that blocks the passage, bashing him out of her way and into the wall. She chops him down into a difficult torso heap.

Theren sends crossbow bolts past Haerelben into another gnoll. Lefty sends darts past Theren and Haerelben crumpling that gnoll into another difficult torso heap.

Bromsby poison sprays a third gnoll into a difficult torso heap. This attracts the attention of all the remaining gnolls and they concentrate their arrows on Bromsby.

A gnoll known to his friends as Mushroom Bill carefully harvests a mushroom which he holds daintily. Theren sends two bolts at Mushroom Bill’s group of three, hitting him and his two cohorts with a hail of thorns. Lefty fearlessly runs into the midst of the hail-damaged gnolls and face palms one dead. Bromsby lends his thorn whip, but Mushroom Bill survives the onslaught and hucks the mushroom. The mushroom impacts near Haerelben and engulfs the retching party in a noxious cloud.

Meega sweeps a gnoll off his feet and Lefty finishes him. Bromsby stands on the dead gnoll and shillelaghs Mushroom Bill. Mushroom Bill bites Bromsby and gnoll Fungus Bob spears Bromsby from behind. Meega knocks Fungus Bob down and slays him. Lefty finishes Mushroom Bill with a lefty, and Bromsby takes out Limping Lichen Lou with a poisonous spray.

The injured adventurers take a short rest while Theren retrieves bolts and loots the gnolls. He comes up with a  bag of fingerbone dice, a small ruby, 14g 27s, and a small vial of dark liquid that he identifies as a potion of spider climb and passes to Meega.

To kill a little time while the party recuperates, Theren identifies the bronze griffon Allana purchased from Pilphit’s to discover the activation word. The summoned bronze griffon’s name is Hesperis, which Haerelben mishears as H’asparagus. Hesperis fills the chamber, pressing everyone into the walls.

Haerelben tempts Theren into breaking all the dead gnolls’ jaws so they can’t report the party via speak with the dead.

Haerelben makes a sending: Ardak, army of Black Earth possibly headed to Red Larch. In Tyar-Besil investigating cults. Can respond to Red Larch if needed. Theren says “hi”.

Ardak responds: Understood. No one available to investigate. Troubles at Quastarte.

The party narrows their options to two: investigate the Black Earth section of Tyar-Besil or save Red Larch.

As the mine cart rolls away from Theridan, he shifts to bear form only to be overrun, torn, and immolated by the swarm of fire cultists. Allana can’t abide. Her eyes glow angry orange and she ethereally slips out the back of the cart, transforming into a phantasmal dragon that sweeps through the cultists, destroying them.

Theren’s gaze drops from the terrible scene to the treasures that Allana shed into the cart: the librum, the silver hammer, the bronze griffon, the amulet of health, the helm of identify, and the Opeth tears. He scoops up Allana’s treasures. Haerelben grabs the mine cart controls.

Two mine tracks run parallel, separated by a deep chasm. Junctions allow a cart operator to switch tracks or follow routes left or right. Meega and Theren see no cultist survivors, much less pursuers, behind them so Haerelben maintains an easy pace in control of the cart rolling down through the mountain mining tunnels.

An outburst of shouting in undercommon seems to come from all around, Kill it! Bring it down! Within moments their cart is overtaken by a giant bat flying down the other track, hotly pursued by another mine cart occupied by four, hooded, grey-skinned, white-haired duergars. Theren greets them and they answer by a ray of frost. The ray of frost is answered by Theren’s crossbow bolts and Meega’s hand axes.

Sensing a new ally in his fight for freedom, the giant bat swoops around to attack his pursuers and makes for the adventurers’ cart. He lands, transforming into Bromsby Tarken, svirfneblin druidic guide of Tyar-Besil.

Theren, slow to trust, takes point blank aim at Bromsby. Bromsby pleads his case. After all, the duergar attacked Theren also. Theren’s aim shifts slightly and he fires past Bromsby’s ear, dramatically slaying the ray of frosting duergar.

Haerelben brakes suddenly for a short siding. The duergars’ cart blasts by within a few feet allowing Bromsby, Meega, and Theren to exchange some swings with them. Haerelben and the duergar driver, hands full of control levers, can only exchange pithy invectives.

Meega slices a good piece of a duergar with a double axe chop. Bromsby erupts earth under their cart killing two of their wounded and flipping the cart onto the last survivor. Theren leaps ungracefully out of the rolling cart, eager to douse the overturned cart with flaming oil to slowly roast the trapped duergar.

Haerelben halts the cart before it can careen into the erupted earth. The party isn’t equipped to dig out the tracks ahead so Meega pushes the cart back up the track to the previous junction where they change to the unimpeded parallel track.

Theren grows impatient trying to roast the trapped duergar. He rigs his block and tackle to lift the hot and heavy cart enough for the duergar to crawl out a little bit, at which point Theren drops the cart severing him in twain.

Theren loots a wand of ray of frost [5th level], given to Bromsby, and a dozen bronze coins stamped with an unknown symbol.

The adventurers continue on their way out of the mines with guidance from Bromsby while discussing their chance meeting.

Bromsby, denizen of Tyar-Besil, has recently observed a growing presence of elemental cults in four distinct areas of the ancient kingdom of Besilmer dwarves. The invasion has become such a problem that he has fled his home. Bromsby describes how he and a separated companion were mystically summoned to rescue an Opeth fragment gemstone, not that they had any idea of the significance of the Opeth in the war against elemental evil.

When Bromsby draws out a sketch of the elemental occupation, the party realizes the locations match the locations of the four keeps in the Dessarin Valley.

Bromsby leads the party to a quiet, isolated cavern to rest. He checks out some fungi around the room and points out which ones scream, which ones spew, which ones explode, and which ones harmlessly taste like bacon.

Haerelben identifies the silver hammer as Iron Oath, made to shatter earth related things as Theren demonstrates by knocking a chunk out of the cavern wall. If each elemental prophet wields a powerfully evil relic, then maybe Iron Oath can undo one or all of them.

Theren investigates the librum. He reckons that it must be activated like the altar bowl at the Shrine of the Unbreakable Oath which released Iron Oath when filled with Opeth tears.

The adventurers can’t decide exactly how to proceed pulling at the unraveling thread of the elemental evil fabric, but that’s a problem for the next day.

The adventurers make a quick visit to Samular’s tomb to find any explanation for the empty sarcophagus Renwick keeps for his brother at Mountain Keep. They find a very fine crypt outside the hall overlooking Dessarin Valley, but no additional information.

Haerelben visits a jewelcrafter to trade looted gemstones for a diamond necklace.

The party spends the night resting up for the journey to the Vale of the Dancing Waters except for Quinzella who works through the night to assist cleanup of the mysterious slaughter from the previous day.

The next morning the party meets up with Quinzella who possesses a map to the vale. The journey is two days by foot and one day by horse. While they discuss how to procure horses in a hurry, a wizardly fellow growing a long white beard and wearing a Quastarte crest rides into the courtyard. Meega recognizes him as a professor.

Allana conversates with the brusque professor who has hastened here to investigate the preternatural murder most foul of Lady Ushien Stormbanner. Allana suggests Professor Akebarin Betior visit Pilphit’s General where he will find the similar head-hole-brain-gone malady. He thanks her brusquely and departs.

Sir Jeffry grants the use of horses but sends along Squire Shad, of the Belliard Shads, to fetch back the horses from the vale. Theren’s oil flasks wait just outside the city gates.

The uneventful journey up the Dessarin river basin with Shad takes a full day. Camped beside the river at the foot of a waterfall, Theridan gets a really complete look at a giant elk.

Shad catches and cooks fish in the morning before departing with the horses. He warns the party, like many have, to tread lightly because the Besilmer dwarves regard this area as sacred. He directs them to the climbable path next to the waterfall.

At the top of the waterfall the party finds itself in a river-cut gorge. Tall grass obscures the game trail but the survivalists of the party pick it up and they follow along to a rocky gap in the gorge wall where two dwarves leisurely smoke their pipes. It’s Ardak and Bruenor. Theridan notices an elven portal embedded in the rocky wall next to them.

Allana catches Ardak up on their adventures and assures him that all four elemental temples have been located. In turn, Ardak describes the dracolich attack on Quastarte, undoubtedly provoked by the Opeth crystal in the central portal tower there, and he reckons the attack is linked with the gathering elemental evil.

Ardak further explains that the Opeth is a terrifically ancient and powerful force, transcending good and evil, that fractured into the orange crystals familiar to the party.

Ardak reveals the nature of the temple hunting activities that has occupied the adventurers’ full attentions. Four objects are wielded by four prophets to facilitate the entry of elemental evil into this world through the four temples. These forces are more united in purpose than the actions of the individual cultists might indicate. He expects an object of opposing power may be found within the vale at the Shrine of the Unbreakable Oath that could help reverse the incursion, possibly by destroying the four evil objects. Or something like that.

Ardak indicates he’s keen on visiting the shrine to help find the object, but instead he and Bruenor will deal with … THAT! He indicates to the sky over Allana’s shoulders. Behind them, a giant fiery orb of devastation approaches from afar. Ardak’s staff touches Bruenor, creating a suit of armor on him, and a warhammer magically appears in Ardak’s other hand. It looks like a cosmically epic croquet game that the adventurers can’t wait around for.

The party hastens deep into the gorge where merging creeks dance over each other to form the Dessarin river headwaters. Theridan spots two runes which Allana reads as  “unbreakable” and “oath” in Besilmer. They ascend a narrow switchback path up the gorge wall, stepping over one low-set tripwire midway up.

Behind them, Ardak rips open a portal from which pours an automaton army, and one single shadow, as the devastation orb breaks into many smaller parts that deposit fire elementals and cultists into the gorge. Ardak’s summoned forces block access to the gorge as the battle begins, buying the adventurers time to locate the object and, hopefully, escape.

The party emerges from the path into a yard where two dwarf statues flank an archway. The statues offer no trouble, but the two real dwarves guarding the archway, and their attending ogre, are clearly hostile and testy that nobody sprung their tripwire. The guards warn off the intruders: all who enter the shrine will die. Allana retorts that these guards have entered the shrine so obviously they will die.

If Allana’s logic doesn’t penetrate Blue Dorf’s mind, Meega’s axe certainly does. Blue Dorf falls from two quick chops. Theren’s crossbow bolts find their way to the ogre. Haerelben tries to persuade Grey Dorf to surrender, but his answer is to smack Theridan with his warhammer. Theridan’s shillelagh enters the world magically and enters the dwarf’s head crunchilly. Allana double eldritch blasts the ogre dead before Meega can get to it with Giant Slayer. Irritated, Meega chops down Grey Dorf before he can answer any questions. She finds no identifying contents in their pockets.

Through the archway an open-top courtyard surrounds a gesticulating statue which Haerelben thinks might be Berronar Truesilver, beloved of Moradin. Her stone worked arms offer a perpetually unbroken oath. Engraved scenes of dwarven heroism ring the room’s crown. Hammering can be heard through an archway to the north, an orange blob can be seen breaking through into the gorge far below the archway to the south, Opeth informs Allana the archway to the east is most interesting, and the archway to the west has nothing going for it.

Everyone crowds into a tiny altar room through the east archway to poke and prod for the powerful object except Meega who loiters outside hoping for some new giant she could beat on.  A carved relief of Berronar reprises the wall behind a stone altar. A stone bowl is integrally carved with the stone altar. Speculation arises about whose blood or which organ must be harvested for the bowl, as inevitably ensues when a bowl is found on an altar.

Allana reads some runes, “We weep for the dead but honor their unbroken oath.” It’s not a tiny bowl and would take a lot of tears to fill. Theren uses the decanter of endless water to fill the bowl but nothing happens. Allana adds some of her own tears, but no success.

Allana digs out a pot full of Opeth tears carried away from Renwick Caradoon’s basement. Haerelben empties the water out of the bowl using Blameless’s helm of defense and Allana pours in the tears. A secret drawer clicks open and Allana retrieves a small silver hammer from it. Allana also retrieves the tears if for no other reason than to deny them of the fire cultists now racing up the switchback, evidenced by the audible release of boulders held by the trip wire.

Returning south is not a safe option. The north archway is chosen for escape as it’s the least south option. A stone pillar, a bit shy of the ceiling, stands in the middle of the room beyond. Carved scenes of dwarven ceremonies crown this room. Meega notices some symbols reminiscent of the four cult symbols are depicted as subdued and conquered by the dwarves in the carving. Winding stairs descend from the opposite side.

The party follows winding stairs to the right instead of the left and arrive at a curtain at the foot. Meega peeks in and sees only dwarves and ogres just like the inept guards at the entrance. Also one human, but that shouldn’t be a problem. She steps through the curtain and abruptly warns everyone to flee because an army of fire cultists are moments behind them. Disappointingly, no one runs for a secret exit they could all use to escape. But at least the tiresome hammering stops.

Theren gets a couple of crossbow bolts off and Haerelben calls down a blessing on the imminent violence before they are enveloped in magical darkness. Allana, with devil’s sight, watches Theridan cast dispel magic and the darkness dissipates.

Where the human had stood now stands an ogre.

Allana targets the important looking dwarf next to the human / ogre with hex and eldritch blast. Meega summons her water weird and they begin beating on the nearest of several ogres emerging from a line of passages through the wall. Theren’s crossbow bolts finish what Meega started. Ogres and dwarves begin their counterattack with mining hammers and warhammers, respectively. Theridan conjures some dryads who take control of one of the dwarves.

The human-turned-ogre now transforms to a mist and drifts into one of the passages.

Haerelben uses his shield to distract the next ogre in line and Meega, water weird, and Theren drop that one too. They move on to an ogre pounding Theren on the noggin. Haerelben distracts him, Allana blasts him repeatedly, Theridan’s dryad-controlled dwarf, Meega, and the water weird beat him down. Stunned Theren wobbles a little.

Several hammers are thrown at Haerelben by some aloof dwarves across the room. Theridan summons a tidal wave and knocks over a couple of the troublemakers while one of his thoughtful dryads barkskins Theren as he rejoins the fray.

Haerelben follows the human-ogre-mist into the passage but doesn’t see him. That’s partly because he’s invisible but also because he reemerged into the other end of the room and becomes visible as an oni as he glaives the snot out of Allana. Allana shocking grasps away from the oni and steps out of the room to recombobulate herself. Everyone focuses on the oni and Meega’s Giant Slayer knocks him prone, but he recasts darkness and escapes back into the passages. Theridan dispels the darkness again and regular programming resumes.

Allana, verifying her nemesis has departed for the moment, returns to blast the hexed dwarf. Theren takes out another dwarf.

Then the oni returns and shoots a cone of cold knocking Haerelben out and injuring Theren, Theridan, and Allana. The dryads are slain instantly. Theridan returns Haerelben to lucidity with a healing word and produces flame on the now-released helpful dwarf. Meega tries again to knock the oni off his feet but only manages injury. Wobbly Haerelben reads the new mass healing word scroll. Theren walks at the oni firing crossbow bolts, drops the heavy crossbow and draws his shortsword. A good cut with the sword and two hand crossbow bolts finally subdues the oni. Allana drops the last remaining dwarf.

Theren searches around and digs 13 gp out of the pockets of the vanquished dwarves. From the pocket of the dwarf [Grumink] who seemed like a foreman is a note indicating the shrine, or the part of it being excavated at least, is or was the summer stronghold of Torhild Flametongue. On the oni is another note: “Obratu — too much sunlight up here. Trying underdark. Meet in stronghold. Reulek.”

A ruckus upstairs indicates a lot of orange ugly will be headed down to find the badly injured and spent adventurers. They run through the passages being excavated to the very back where a crack reveals a chamber beyond. At Opeth’s prompting, Allana uses the silver hammer to break down the wall but not before the cultists spot their escape.

Theridan bravely remains to hold off the entire fire cult army while the rest of the party jumps in a mine car and rides to safety.

Bronard, a capable and newly reformed protector of the innocent, smashes his stone mask in every sense and departs the company to safely shepherd the Sacred Stone Monastery prisoners to their individual destinations.

Bruldenthar remains with the party for the journey to Summit Hall. When his delegation was ambushed, cultists separated his co-diplomats Rhundorth the shield dwarf, Teresiel the moon elf, and Deseyna Majarra from Waterdeep. They were transporting twelve books of great value to Summit Hall but also the remains of Sir Benefast, a Knight of Samular who perished fighting orcs at the Spine of the World.

Bruldenthar recognizes the apparent pouch of sand Haerelben retrieved from one of the encased wasp complex victims as seeds that Deseyna intended to take to the Abbey of Goldenfields.

As the adventurers break down their camp for the continued journey to Summit Hall, the sounds of explosions and fighting interrupt their get-to-know-ya chit chat. Allana dashes toward the ruckus. Through the trees and brush she sees several fire cultists and hellhounds led by a fire-casting priest assailing a dragonborn rider. The dragonborn seems a capable defender but will be no match for the gang of cultists who pull her horse horse down beneath her and slaughter it.

Haerelben blesses the imminently violent actions of the party, provisionally including the dragonborn defender. Allana and Theren quickly engage and defeat the priest at range. Theridan shifts to rhinoceros form and charges around in circles knocking cultists off their feet. Meega dashes to the dragonborn’s defense and they fight back-to-back.

Rhino Theridan finishes off his charging victim and Meega demonstrates her martial superiority by knocking down a cultist just before killing him instead of just after. Haerelben sustains the badly injured dragonborn as the cultists are thinned out.

Recognizing the trouble they have invited, the cultists ignite their swords and engage the adventurers. The two hellhounds arrange themselves and simultaneously firebreath Meega, Haerelben, and the dragonborn. Although the dragonborn is especially resistant to the heat, not so Meega and Haerelben.

Allana explodes a cultist with a perfect eldritch blast and turns her attention to a cultist backing out of the scrum. Theren chases him with a couple of crossbow bolts and Allana drops him as he tries to flee.

The dragonborn, Rhino Theridan, Haerelben, and Meega, not wishing to endure any more firebreath, team up on the hellhounds.

The only surviving cultist gets conked in the noggin by the flat of Theren’s shortsword and Rhino Theridan tramples him down with just enough force to avoid killing him. Subsequent questioning by mad duo Theren and Quinzella Drachedandion, the rescued dragonborn, reveal nothing profound; the cultists, praise Imix, have been attacking passers-by to avenge Vanifer’s humiliation at the Scarlet Moon Hall. Theren suggests Quinzella give the cultist a little scratch but it gets away from her and he is slain.

Quinzella reluctantly reveals she has been dispatched to Summit Hall with two envelopes, the first addressed to “Lord of the Mattress & Friends” and the other to Meega. It takes some convincing but eventually the party authenticates itself to Quinzella as the serendipitous object of her mission.

The first missive from Ardak indicates his unavailability for the rendezvous at Summit Hall. The rescheduled meeting shall be in the Vale of Dancing Waters three days hence.

Meega’s letter from her parents, Cherry-Zo and Wayvoran-Chero, bestow birthday greetings as Meega turns 15 this day. They enclosed a heart pendant which makes Meega appear far more robust.

Quinzella joins the party for the journey and several hours later Summit Hall becomes visible, rising upon a hill above the landscape.

The party enters the walled city and makes its way to Pilphit’s General where Pilphit Phog answers a hundred questions while the adventurers rummage through his wares. Theren acquires several items from his worrisome list of mayhem. Rations and ammunition are easy to find and Haerelben acquires a couple of healing potions and a scroll of mass healing for which he trades some gemstones. Among some preowned clothing is a grey long coat that a couple of party members recognize as an R&S issued greycoat [bag of holding, sans +1 AC]. Although Pilphit clearly has no idea the value of the item, Haerelben offers him the valuable box of turquoise animal figurines found within King Solomon Petrikov’s royal tomb in exchange. Allana trades the remaining deck of illusions for a bronze griffon [becomes a griffon for 6 hours]. Still under consideration before departure is an elven chain shirt for 1kgp, three marvelous pigments, and a dream scroll.

The last curio to examine in Pilphit’s General is, of all things, an abandoned corpse. A quick medical examination by Theridan reveals a hole through the skull through which, presumably, the poor fellow’s brains were removed.

A quick visit to the stables replaces Quinzella’s horse, a paint like its misfortunate predecessor. A sign on the stable door indicates no elephants for sale so Theren doesn’t even bother going in. Having accomplished her quest, Quinzella departs for bed.

The party arrives at the keep where Theren requests access to the quartermaster’s armory. Denied by the guards on the basis of commerce not being the militia’s business, so to say, the party requests an audience with Lady Ushien Stormbanner, commander of the Knights of Samular, and that gets them right into a guest suite.

While awaiting Lady Stormbanner’s availability, Theren departs to meet his old acquaintance, the quartermaster Jeffry. “SIR Jeffry to you, Theren.” Sir Jeffry denies Theren’s persistent request for caltrops and strenuously denies his request for oil flasks on the merits of a previous, unelaborated incident. As Theren negotiates with Sir Jeffry they hear the keep’s portcullis slam down. Theren is disarmed and taken to a holding room.

Guards arrive back in the suite to detain the rest of the party. Haerelben sarcastically asks the guard to extend their regrets to Lady Ushien Stormbanner, that they would be unable to meet her now. The name drop falls flat when the guard reveals that Lady Stormbanner’s murder is precisely the crisis in progress, and their arrival is precisely the reason they are adventurers of interest. The guards usher the compliant party to Theren’s holding room.

Captain Noble Hashard, second in command, arrives to sort the situation right out. He examines all the crossbows and determines none are the murder weapon. Haerelben eyes all the crossbows carried by the Samular guards and searches for any betrayal of expressions in the room but finds none; everyone present is above reproach. Absolutely above reproach.

The captain declares they shall perform a room search while the keep remains locked down. The adventurers are instructed to remain in the room and all the Samulars depart.

A short time later, the twang of crossbow fighting can be heard. Theridan peeks out into the hallway and, losing his cool, casts entangle at a cricket. A shuffling sound approaches from the opposite direction and the party braces for conflict and weirdness.

A grievously wounded Captain Hashard drags himself into the room, declaring the rest of his retinue remains trapped upstairs by a foul beast. He suggests dividing the party, half to address the beast upstairs and half to raise the portcullis for the admittance of reinforcements.

Haerelben calls up a heal for the captain who does not regain his feet the way healed fighters ordinarily would. Haerelben holds the moonbow up a little longer than would be considered polite and the moonbow reveals a glamour over the captain. He is, in fact, a doppelganger.

Haerelben ponders the revelation to himself but Theren and Theridan detect his puzzlement. Theren exchanges some hand signals and Haerelben assures him everything is fine. Maybe. Theridan studies the captain’s expressions and suspects a hint of shady deception. Theren moves to “help” the captain up but applies a subtle joint lock in doing so.

Captain Doppelganger exhales deeply and his melty arm escapes Theren’s hold. His difficult to hit emergent gnome form slams past Theren and he sticks himself to the ceiling. Meega knocks him from ceiling to floor like a piñata and beats on him mercilessly. The tricksy naked gnome dashes into Bruldenthar and suddenly Allana and Theren are staring at two identical Bruldenthars, uncertain which to attack.

Before the conversation inevitably degrades into swapping facts only Bruldenthar would know, Haerelben hoists the moonbow and points his finger at the imposter. Eldritch blasts and crossbow bolts fly and Meega knocks Captain Doppelganger down again.

All out of good ideas, the doppelganger foolishly tries to escape out the door next to Theridan who sentries his feet to the floor. A proper scolding from Theren accompanied by unflaming longsword slashes him. A squish on the dome from Haerelben’s quarterstaff lays the creature out.

This otherwise typical doppelganger is mono-eyed. Disturbingly, the single eye is far from unconscious unlike the rest of its host and continues looking around, really soaking in the identity of its assailants. No one needs the Opeth to tell them this unnatural thing is a representative of the elemental evil eye. The Opeth tells them this unnatural thing is a representative of the elemental evil eye.

Theren plunges a dagger into the paranormal peeper but it’s the dagger that loses cohesion instead of the eye. Haerelben sheds a little radiant damage on the eye and it shrivels up disgustingly.

Many knights were slain including the real Captain Noble Hashard. Lady Ushien’s brain went missing through a hole in her head just like the specimen at Pilphit’s. Lieutenant Poet Silverthorn, commanding, summons help from the Purple Dragon Knights and the Harpers to help secure the keep back into order.

Allana reports a warning from the Opeth that the Knights of Samular are friends, and always the eye will hunt down their friends. Theren sets about remedying the former issue by resuming his harassment of Sir Jeffry over oils flasks. Sir Jeffry ultimately agrees to leave some oil outside the gates for Theren’s departure.

The hour spent resting in the wasp chamber seems longer, but passes uninterrupted. Theren peeks his head out and sees a couple more giant wasps lingering in the hall. These latecomers are easily dispatched.

Theren blankets the party with pass without a trace as they explore through the underground nest beneath the Sacred Stone Monastery, looking for a way into the building. Darker cells on both sides of the passage attract Meega’s attention, and she discerns humanoid shapes waxed into the walls. Allana reaches out with her mind, alas without response. The shadowy shapes are cut out of their waxy strand tombs. A human wears a stone mask and an opal necklace. A minotaur bears a steel axe and Theren relieves him of a light crossbow and bolts. Both bodies have been emptied of their nutritious wasp-digested innards. Allana frees a third encased form down the hall, this one very much alive and wriggling inside the wax.

The liberated dwarf wearing a cult mask and robe isn’t Welby at all, he’s Bronard the monk. Bronard relates details of his serendipitous presence when the orange “Jerry” shard was freed from the stone column in the monastery’s basement weeks ago by the adventurers. The shard adopted Bronard and revealed the cult’s true nature to him. His subsequent escape and present rescue provides an indispensable wealth of knowledge on the cult and the building, including the location of Black Geode, the sought elemental temple.

Bronard begins to make a map to Black Geode. Meega and Haerelben encounter an apparent dead end of the hive, thwarting their hope of finding a connection into the monastery. Haerelben cuts out a fourth victim, this one not wriggling, and finds a small pouch of sand. The back of the cell appears thin. Meega pushes through into a much larger chamber lined with cells and attracts the sudden attention of many giant wasps.

Allana fires eldritch blasts through the connecting cell past Meega. Nimble Bronard threads his way into the chamber and unleashes monk hate on the wasps surrounding him. Theren, restringing his crossbow, calls out that the monstrous wasps will have to go through Meega. Meega pulls Bronard behind her, but he has none of that and runs back in while Theridan produces flames at the nearest wasp.

Haerelben failed entomology 202 back at Quastarte, but he knows a queen when he sees her emerge into the chamber. A confusion spell thrown over five of the wasps confuses them a little, but unfortunately not the queen.

The wasps fall into a defensive line to protect the queen. The adventures do the same with giant snake Theridan forming a skirmish line all on his own. Haerelben arranges for Sehanine’s blessings all around. Allana moves up behind Meega and casts Hunger of Hadar over her shoulder to encompass all but a couple of wasps whom Bronard enthusiastically engages.

The wasps prove superior to the fire cultists in finding their way out of the hunger. Theren, Meega, and Bronard pick off the escapees as Theridan grapples them. Allana’s devil sight allows her to target into the hunger and she doesn’t have to wait for the wasps to find their way out to blast at them.

The wasp queen begins to fill the room with an intolerably loud droning. She pokes her head out of the hunger and spits a couple of acid streams at Meega and Allana who manage to avoid the worst of it. Theridan interferes with her spitting best he can but she bites through his snakey bits and fills him with poison.

Theren and Bronard can no longer withstand the droning and fall unconscious. Snake Theridan reverts to elf form from the damage he sustains and succumbs to the droning also. Haerelben backs out of the chamber to a tolerable distance from the sonic attack and contemplates how to revive, retrieve, or recover the unconscious trio. Meega and Allana keep pressure on the queen until Meega manages a final superior blow on her, not a moment too soon.

The unconscious are revived with a bit of controlled violence and Meega takes care to exterminate any remaining larva. A restful hour is spent searching the abundant cells around the chamber and a few useful items are found.

A very interesting dagger causes Allana to pass out when she attempts to identify it. She determines the dagger is inherently evil and could act like a key if the matching evil lock may be found.

Theren finds a wand of the war mage and Meega learns the opal necklace she found earlier is valuable if not magical.

Bronard recognizes the chamber and guides the party out through a passage that gradually trades organic waxy tunneling for the competent stone workmanship of dwarves as they find themselves in the tunneled basement of Sacred Stone Monastery.

Traps are a concern, but more so wandering patrols and fungi so some care is taken as the party dons available cultist garb and makes its way to stairs leading further down. Bronard claims that twenty-five fortified flights of stairs descend to the Black Geode elemental temple. The structure itself is Tyar-Besil, an ancient dwarven ruin. Anyone fool enough to enter the temple might encounter Marlos Urnrayle, the Ironfang-wielding medusa cult leader, or Ogremoch, his golem-like friend. That sounds like an untenable prospect so this discovery is declared sufficient and the group’s talents turn to the task of freeing several prisoners whom Bronard indicates are held nearby.

Haerelben manages to compose a sending to Ardak to relate all that is known about this elemental temple and the one found at Scarlet Moon Hall. If things, for whatever reason, go well at this prison break then the party intends to link up with Bruenor at Summit Hall next. Ardak indicates he will join them.

Again escorted by Bronard, the party continues onward to a hallway that joins the guard room with the prison cells. Three barred jails contain some two or three dozen commoners whom Bronard attempts to calm, relating the need to be trusting and quiet. Theridan is pleased to hear snoring at the closed guard room door while Theren, aided and guided by Haerelben and Allana, picks open all three locked cell doors.

Among the commoners is an uncommon dwarf who cautiously demands to know who arranged the rescue. When the party learns the dwarf, Bruldenthar the Sage, hails from Mirabar, they realize he would have to be one of the delegates reported missing by Bruenor. Mutual credentials established, Bruldenthar helps convince the prisoners to trust and shush and to scrunch together so Theren can cover the escape with pass without a trace.

Shuffling the very large group past their jailers is not without its perils and, predictably, a roused orog appears from the guard room. His professional pride is wounded, having not been consulted in the least when Hellenrae directed every last prisoner be brought to the wasping fields for sport as patiently explained by alabaster mask-wearing, triangle sign-throwing Theren. The explanation makes as much sense to the orog as anything ever has and he offers to assist. Theren directs him to guard the guard room and ensure no prisoners escape, and this the orog does with supreme efficiency as the prison train departs.

The throng navigates back to the wasp complex without significant further incident and manages to find an exit a discrete distance from the building. Meega spends a full night hauling commoners up the ravine to safety before their absence is discovered.

Over the next few relatively pleasant days, the commoners find their way back home to Dellmon Ranch or Hamlet of Hillthorn or wherever they like. In that time, Bruldenthar unravels many of the puzzling little mysteries the adventurers have touched upon since the beginning.

The Mirabar delegation, transporting tomes from Mirabar to Summit Hall, was first ambushed south of Belliard by Black Earth cultists, perhaps explaining how Larrakh was found with Mirabar trade bars on him. Black Earth then had the Rivergard cultists transport the delegation prisoners in exchange for some of the precious books, but were in turn ambushed by the Feathergale cultists which explains the four strange shallow graves found by Larmon: the dwarven Mirabar artisan, the Mirabar soldier, the Black Earth cultist, and the suspected air cultist. Bruldenthar expresses concern for Rhundorth and Teresiel, two of his companions.

With all four temples located, the adventurers make for Summit Hall to finally conclude their roles in the war against elemental evil.

The adventurers defer the temptation of a spa day in Summit Hall to make a return visit to Sacred Stone Monastery, either to locate its secret elemental temple or clear its good name.

After previously cutting down several of Hellenrae’s henchmen and all her monastic brandy, a warm welcome is not expected. Meega leads the party to a hidden crevasse where they survey many more guards filling the ravine surrounding the keep. Stone masks, minotaurs, and priests patrol in well-formed units thoroughly covering the southern front of the building and around to the lich’s garden in the back on the northeast corner. Allana’s investigative reduction suggests the only safe course is to approach the lightly-guarded scullery entrance on the west side.

Rather than risk detection sneaking around the perimeter of the keep, the party withdraws into the ravine where Allana and Theridan locate a game path up to the plateau. The ascent is steep and treacherous, even for athletic Meega who ties herself to Theren with 100’ of rope. Allana casts fly on Haerelben and herself and they inspect the path up to the top of the plateau where there are no gnoll encampments in sight.

Despite some slips and slides doing considerable face damage, Meega and Bear Theridan manage to drag or carry battered Theren to the top. From that high vantage, it is plain to see the patrols are avoiding the western grounds. That’s probably just a logistical oversight and nothing treacherous at all.

The party takes the afternoon to bandage up and watch the target door, guarded by a stone mask who is relieved by a minotaur at sunset. Around that time, guards can be seen fighting large wasp-like beasties. The wasps retreat, maybe to the ravine walls but it isn’t clearly observed.

When darkness falls, Meega lowers down Theren, then Haerelben, and finally Theridan who drops his shield onto Haerelben’s head. Allana remains with Meega and flies them down together.

Haerelben notices that their noisy descent has attracted the attention of two pairs of minotaur guards exploring from the door. Allana casts an escalating minor illusion of a wasp swarm, complete with soundtrack. The minotaur guards don’t rush to engage the swarm, but they appear satisfied this explains the earlier ruckus and they withdraw.

Theren casts pass without a trace and the party glides across the void toward the edge of the building. The abnormally competent stealth means no one notices when Meega falls into a hole.

Inside an underground tunnel, a pair of aberrant wasps surround Meega. In typical fashion, Meega silently knocks One prone and then dices him up before he can make a single move.

Theren realizes Meega is missing and halts the assault at the edge of the building. Haerelben sees the hole and points it out. Allana, still flying, drops into the hole as Fourteen flies out and she helps Meega with the wasps converging on them below. Back to back, they drop Ten and Six while above Theren and Theridan work on Fourteen. Haerelben blesses the party. Four minotaurs come around the corner.

Theren, Haerelben, and Theridan push past Fourteen and drop into the hole to escape the approaching minotaurs. Together the party fights through wasp after wasp. Haerelben and Theren hang back to feign poisoned for the benefit of the minotaurs watching from above so they will hopefully find a convenient reason to pursue no further. It seems to work as the minotaurs send down only laughter and a poorly timed boulder.

Theren sends his dwindling supply of crossbow bolts into the perpetually emerging wasps. Allana blasts them into walls. Theridan takes on snake form and constricts wasps at both ends. Meega swings her axe but fatigue slows her down. Haerelben restores those who get poisoned from the stings and catches a critically stray crossbow bolt from Theren.

When no more wasps present themselves for extermination, the party clears out some larvae in an easily-defended side room and takes a little rest to dress wounds. They reckon from the direction and distance traveled in the tunnel system that they are likely beneath the keep building. Possibly Meega’s misfortune falling into the tunnel will benefit them if a way up may be found.

The fire elemental dissipates from Snake Theridan’s bite and a hush falls over the courtyard but for the crackling of the burning wicker giant. Welby, not trusting the calm, scooches along the wall, bow ready but eyes averting Hadar’s hunger. Haerelben and Allana freeze in place, sacred flame and eldritch blast tingling in their respective fingers.

Theren searches the deceased priest who arose the fire elemental and finds an orange agate.

Snake Theridan, unwilling to wait for trouble to come to him, makes his way to a pit beyond a crumbling wall where he finds a makeshift hell-kennel where hell-handler Guard Two keeps a couple of hellhounds for his hell-protection. Theridan heals himself and bites Hellhound Two. Meega follows him into the pit lending her axe to the project and she is all but knocked out when Hellhound One flamebreathes her lifeforce away. Haerelben calls in a large heal for Meega. Snake Theridan constricts Hellhound One, holding it for Meega as she catches her second wind and chops at it.

Theren puts a bolt into Hellhound Two but his rig critically malfunctions and deafens him. Hellhound Two turns his flamebreath on Theridan and Theren, but he gets feathered by a tenaciously wounding arrow from Welby. Hellhound One succumbs to two crossbow bolts from Theren. Meega turns her attention to Guard Two who decides he wants to leave, but Theridan’s tail pins his feet down and the last thing through his mind is Welby’s arrow.

Allana sees a guard just outside the hunger on a corner of the scaffolding and she knocks him off with an eldritch blast. Before he can regain his composure, she blasts him again down the hill behind the SMH. He suddenly remembers a previous appointment and continues running in the direction Allana launched him.

The hunger of Hadar slurps its last and the tower becomes visible again. The adventurers scale the scaffolding except for deafened Theren who, distracted by the agate he turns over and over in his hands, can’t manage a good grip on the scaffolding.

Upon the upper scaffolding Haerelben listens at an open door and senses an ambush. He rolls a thunderwaving thunderstone into the doorway and Theridan pokes his snake head in. Guard Six and Guard Seven wait just inside the door with a bronze-looking flaming dwarf, an azer. Theridan bites Guard Six and Allana squeezes around Snake Theridan to eldritch blast the azer. Meega follows in calling forth the water weird and siccing it on Guard Seven who is pulled and grappled.

Theridan lunges for and misses the azer, but it burns Theridan for his effort. Allana decides it would be a good idea to blast at the azer from outside the doorway and Meega interposes herself to keep the azer away from the puny elves. Meega and the water weird extinguish the azer.

Guard Seven hits Snake Theridan back into elf form, bad news for Welby who was snake surfing and finds himself in midair, but he sticks the landing in proper rogue form. Meega puts down Guard Six.

Guard Four and Priest Three arrive down the stairs and join Guard Seven attacking Theridan. As Allana disengages into the room, Theridan disengages out. Allana, clinging to life, knocks new arrival Guard Four over the stair railing into an open pit where he falls upon rubble from bits of collapsed tower and furniture. Meega and the weird finish off Guard Seven.

Now Guard Eight bullrushes down the stairs at Welby who sidesteps the impact as Theridan sentinels Guard Eight’s momentum. Welby draws his shortsword.

The priest, wary of being knocked into the pit, fireballs Allana down. Theridan gets Allana back on her feet and she blasts the priest over the railing where he dangles precariously. Meega chops at his hands until he falls into the rubble.

Deaf Theren, finally able to follow the party up the scaffolding, looms above Welby in the doorway. In no kind of mood, Theren sends a couple of bolts into Guard Eight’s face exploding his mellon. Welby, unaware of Deaf Theren’s lethal shots, admires his shortsword’s destructive force before climbing up the stairs to the next level. From the staircase he gets a good view of the rubble pit where little flame creatures move around the north wall.

Up on the next level a dozen stinky bedrolls litter the floor. Theridan and Allana investigate around but the floor collapses beneath Allana and she crashes to the floor below. Fortunately for nearby Theren, the fall knocks Allana unconscious. He stabilizes her and she awakens to find Theren holding the agate in her face.

“Allana! Can you identify this rock?”
“I nearly died!”
“What?”

Allana uses the helm of identify to learn the agate is a flamestone which casts flaming sphere when thrown. She relates this to Theren telepathically along with a request that he not talk so loudly.

Welby, unimpressed by dilapidated bedding and floors, proceeds to the next level up where he discovers an older fellow studying a book and smoking a pipe, seemingly unaware of Welby’s presence and unconcerned with the kerfuffle below. Welby spiderwalks along the wall to where a ladder leads to a hatch in the ceiling.

Deaf Theren enters the chamber after Welby but far more conspicuously. The old man greets him as though expecting the visit which seems promising at first but he then throws a blight of necromantic energy against Theren, now barely conscious. Hearing the commotion, Meega rushes in. The water weird pulls the old man close and starts to drown him. The distraction allows Haerelben to heal Theren. Welby peeks into the roof hatch where giant bats, too large to leave their cramped attic, subsist entirely on nosy adventurers.

Allana attempts to parlay with the the old man but he’s very busy drowning just now. Theren and Meega quickly dispatch the grappled old man before he can demonstrate his power or name.

The old man, named Elizar if the camp druids Mahoon, Iniri, Virigo, and Fariya were correct, was fastidiously tidy. In his desk Haerelben finds 250gp, two fire opals [50gp ea.], and a scroll of flame arrow.

Allana locates Elizar’s pipe, given to Welby [summons four mephits], and the journal he carries containing the personal dealings of one Elizar Dryflagon. Elizar’s supervisor is Vanifer, all hail Imix. Vanifer’s performance review of Elizar rates him “needs improvement” for the number of sacrifices and “unsatisfactory” for the progress widening the temple entrance, all hail Imix. Vanifer threatens Elizar with tinder strike if he doesn’t improve his productivity, all hail Imix.

Allana notices a long scar down Elizar’s chest. When Theren opens his shirt to investigate, an elemental eye emerges from the scar and immolates Theren. Theren’s quick reflexes save him from much of the damage but the attack nearly knocks him out. Meega gives the hideous manifestation a couple of her best axe strikes but it appears to repair itself after each strike before receding back into the scar.

Theren finds and takes three books in Elizar’s library with information on the destruction of Thel’Usaren.

Welby returns to the attic to stealth past the three giant bats and up to the roof where he finds nothing except a climbing kit which he retrieves for Theren. Since the sought hidden temple is not on the roof, a short rest is taken before the rubble pit must be explored.

Before descending into the rubble pit, a closer inspection with the new context of the journal makes the party realize the flame creatures are digging out a tunnel out the north end of the pit. Rather than descend into the pit to explore the tunnel, the adventurers agree it’s probably the temple entrance and call it good.

Mahoon, Iniri, Virigo, and Fariya abandoned their druid camp, now under new management of one foraging halfling. Welby figures even a weird druid festival beats the nastiness roaming the woods.

Up the hill the wicker giant is still aflame despite having burned all night. The anticipated ritual requires a full moon which everyone knows only happens at night so the general plan is to explore the last three campsites on the hillside from which the smells of breakfast and music waft enticingly.

Cautiously but openly approaching the nearest breakfast club, the party sees four druids, three resting and one preparing a breakfast stew. Welby compliments their fantastic-smelling breakfast but they aren’t generous by nature and reluctant to share their meal. Theridan quickly forages a delicious magenta mountain pineapple and relations thaw a little. One druid, Sauruki, shows an interest in anything about the ritual and seems eager to keep the party in camp. Sauruki’s reluctant companions are Ragnad, Comnall, and Murcadh. Theren introduces himself as Roll En, his nom du jour.

Welby partakes of the thin soup, garnished with pineapple, with Sauruki’s three companions. Theren-come-Roll-En notices that Sauruki is clandestinely flashing a triangular sign with his hands. Theren emulates the sign back and they drift away from the others to have a little huddle. Welby thanks the other three druids for their hospitality, but they reveal their contempt for Sauruki’s generosity with their breakfast. They refer to him in druidic derogatory slang, Givy McGivypants.

Sauruki’s undertone conversation with Theren suggests he’s from the Crushing Wave rival cult here to disrupt the Eternal Flame’s ritual and Theren’s smooth deception holds Sauruki’s confidence that Gar Shatterkeel dispatched “Roll En” to assist. Sauruki has already arranged for the demise of his companions, not to mention Welby, by poisoning the soup. He’s willing to help dispose the rest of Theren’s companions, but Theren thinks maybe they’ll be useful as fodder later.

Sauruki and Theren excuse themselves from the others to go look around, in fact planning their shenanigans for later. Theren manages to convey his ploy and Welby’s condition to the party before departing. They scout around the Scarlet Moon Hall and wicker giant within dilapidated walls encircling the keep tower augmented with scaffolding.

When Sauruki and Theren have gone, Haerelben restores Welby to good health. Sauruki’s companions have already passed out from the poison so Haerelben rights them as well. He explains how Sauruki attempted to liquidate them with soup, and Allana persuades them to feign death to keep Sauruki deceived. Ignoring the warnings of the druids, the party sans Theren sets off to meet the bugbears in the next camp.

Upon approaching the bacon-making bugbears, Allana observes one of the four slipping off into the heavy surrounding woods. The remaining three huddle around, weapons in hand. Welby hears movement in the woods and walks up a tree. When Haerelben requests an audience, a pair of wargs crash out of the woods in flank to assault Meega and Polar Bear Theridan, surrounding the party with the javelin-throwing bugbears. Meega takes out Warg One and Allana triple crits Bugbear Two, an excellent start. Welby sneaks an attack to finish Bugbear One, and Polar Bear Theridan bites Warg Two to death. The last bugbear attempts to flee but Meega catches him and knocks him out. Meega scoops him up and they hastily return to the druid camp.

Theren and Sauruki return from their scouting junket to the druid camp where the “poisoned” druids unfortunately overhear Theren remark that he sees Sauruki’s poison has worked. When Sauruki leans in to loot Ragnad he gets stabbed by the angry druid and the other two leap up to attack their murderers. Comnall transforms to a bear and Murcadh to a killer bunny rabbit. Sauruki deploys a Water Weird from a tank strapped beneath his robes and sics it on Ragnad who transforms to a wolf. It’s an even fight and Theren takes quite a beating until the rest of the party can return.

The conundrum becomes whether the party will defend Sauruki from the druids thus maintaining Theren’s ruse, or the druids from Sauruki. Sauruki solves the puzzle by throwing a sleet storm over everyone, causing the druids to flee. Theren pleads with Sauruki to spare the party for his later schemes, but with Meega in his face Sauruki really can’t capitulate. His Water Weird begins to drown Meega. Theridan, having found his way out of the sleet, heats the metal in Sauruki’s Water Weird apparatus, but he refuses to drop it leaving Theren no choice. He levels his crossbow at Meega, which pleases Sauruki, but then swings it around and unloads three bolts into Sauruki as Meega swings her axe into his dome.

Meega claims the Water Weird that tried to drown her. Sauruki also carries orders from Gar dispatching him to disrupt the wicker giant ritual.

Haerelben insists on resting before the ritual begins. Allana on watch sees folks filing into the courtyard already. Despite that, completionism requires a quick visit to the last unvisited camp from whence music has been heard. Passing through Lytin’s camp on their way, the party finds that Lytin and party have departed.

In the last camp, a druid fiddles while wicker giant burns. Pixies dance in the smoke of her small fire. She introduces herself as Gariena and her appointment to participate in the ritual, arranged by Aylbrith and Ingulf, is very soon. There’s just enough time for Haerelben to perform some phat moves, winning a Scroll of Skywrite from Gariena.

Gariena departs for the ritual. The party hangs back and then follows using Theridan’s pass without a trace. At the courtyard entrance they observe Gariena check in with the guards who escort her out of view to the wicker giant. Her screams of terror suggest the ritual no longer appeals to her.

Theridan springs to action sending a tidal wave into the courtyard. The wave doesn’t extinguish the wicker giant but does knock down one guard while Allana eldritch blasts the other guard into the wall. Welby spider walks up the wall where he can pick his shortbow targets safely out of reach of the guards. Meega hoists Haerelben to the top of the wall and he casts hold on the priest and guard attempting to feed Gariena into the giant wicker fire. She breaks free and flees the courtyard as a panther.

A priest runs to the wicker giant and cultishly implores it to, “Arise and cleanse this place of the unworthy!” Whatever he talks to does not obey.

Theren begins placing crossbow bolts into the guards and claims his first victim. That makes the priest paralyzed by Haerelben dream of fireballing Theren and escaping Gariena, but the priest can’t move.

Guards positioned upon the tower scaffolding in position to cover the combatants suddenly find themselves in cold blackness caressed by milky tentacles. The Hunger of Hadar summoned by Allana whispers and slurps at them and they forget all about trying to fight.

Meega crashes through the dilapidated wall like some freakishly large pitcher of colored sugar water, “Oh yeah!” She and Haerelben close with a clump of guards and priests in the courtyard and distract them enough to allow Welby his choice of sneak attack targets. They focus on one of the priests and Meega kills him.

The priest at the wicker giant repeats his incantation, again without effect. Probably nothing bad will come of this.

Rhino Theridan gores a druid knocking him down, backs up, and regores him dead. Allana helps Theren take out the unparalyzed guard while her hunger spell claims its first snack. A new guard brings out two hellhounds who make directly for Theren.

The priest repeats his incantation to arise the wicker giant for the third time, and three is the correct number of times to raise the fire elemental to cleanse unworthy Meega. Meega activates the Water Weird and goes to work on the elemental along with geyser-wielding Theren.

Allana eldritch blasts each hellhound into the hunger and Theren tosses a thunderstone just where they went through, probably knocking them farther inside. Only hungry Hadar knows for sure.

Meega, swapping out her secular axe for Giant Slayer, plows damage into the elemental. Theridan, shifting from rhino to snake, puts a lethal bite into it.

Welby, Allana, and Harry mop up the last of the guards who weren’t fed to the hunger.

The party leaves Binrus the giant in peace to continue his crystal crafting. The final inventory from the kobold eradication:
Scarlet librum, a repository of knowledge that will reveal the location of the enemy when activated with the correct key in the correct location, held by Allana
Potion of resistance to fire, held by Allana
Potion of poison disguised as a potion of healing, held by Theren
Potion of invisibility, held by Haerelben
Moonbow, a healing boon, touch extender, and revealer of glamours, held tightly by Haerelben
Decanter of endless water, held by Theren

Following a winding path through the hills toward Scarlet Moon Hall, Allana sees shepherds grazing their cattle ahead. She and Phil the Elder exchange hails and well-mets along with the obligatory assurances that neither party intends to bloodshed the other, not immediately anyway.

Before long the shepherds are whinging about the loss of their cattle to, yikes, a feeding giant. Party members simultaneously, universally, and emphatically deny knowing anything at all about cow-eating giants. All the same, Allana offers gold sufficient to compensate for the two consumed cows and the likely future loss of, she counts, six more in exchange for some information regarding Scarlet Moon Hall.

Scarlet Moon Hall? These wholesome shepherds don’t truck with the kind of rabble traveling to Scarlet Moon Hall. They revel all night burning things when they ought to worry more and get jobs, the lot of them. Phil suggests the party would do well to avoid Scarlet Moon Hall.

A seemingly offhand comment about a house fire in the Hamlet of Hillthorn, the human village these shepherds call home, piques alabaster-mask-wearing Theren’s interest for its similarities to the ancestral vision of his clockwork goldfish. Young Dilbert, suspected of starting said house fire, was observed leaving the house by reliable observer Lance. The anecdote is probably unrelated to everything else, but Theren makes a mental note of it.

The adventurers depart with a warm standing invitation to the hamlet of their new fast friends.

The afternoon wanes after a day of walking, made increasingly difficult by the amount of looted stone masks and flying body suits that the party drags with them everywhere. Ahead, campsites dot the hillside rising to a square building at the peak, Scarlet Moon Hall. Scrub brush and heavy haze cover the landscape making the encampments difficult to discern. A large, central bonfire of a wicker giant burns. The party follows a trail up to the nearest encampment where Theren and Allana can just make out four robed figures, armored lightly if at all, chanting around their fire, “Ohio oheyo lolo hoho lolo hilo acha acha oooooooo *sniff* *ear flap*.” Three large elk loiter in camp.

Theridan approaches and initiates pleasantries. The conversation lapses into druidic jive talk, the way it goes when druids converge. Theridan ushers in the others, smoothing over any initial awkwardness caused by Theren lurking in the bushes with his alabaster mask. Haerelben and Allana persuade Theren to unmask and join the conversation with their hosts, Mahoon, Iniri, Virigo, and Fariya. The druids share their roasted rabbits, cratatoes (looks like a crabapple, tastes like a tomato, much better than tombapples), mossy mushrooms, rabbit beans (looks like a coffee bean, tastes like something else) and brandy. Jumpy Theren forages for himself and eats the abundant dark fruits which contain certain medicinal properties that will later become apparent.

Allana subtly extracts what little information the camping druids know about the Rite of the Wicker Giant, fortuitously scheduled for the full moon tomorrow and evidently designed to restore the balance of nature. The square tower is home to Elizar, possibly the leader of the Scarlet Moon druids, and his acolytes. SMH druids have circulated through the camp to appoint lucky participants for the rite, but all may attend.

It becomes apparent to the party that although the wicker giant has been aflame for quite some time, it is not actually being consumed by the fire.

The party pardon themselves to explore other campsites of the seven total that they observed walking up. They select a campsite directly uphill from them and forage some wild onions and cratatoes on their way for sharing. Meega shows up the elfy nature types when she kicks open and collects an especially attractive but inedible geode.

Theren stops abundantly eating plums when he recalls their laxative effect.

At the next camp, four hairy men lounge around their fire. They sound impatient for the rite to begin and are generally cantankerous, glowering and whittling. Wiglaf, Storol, Farrrrz, and Quen like their rabbits raw, their veggies in the ground, and their merry visitors please to be moving along now. Lurking Theren distracts them as a rabbit barker to cover the party’s withdrawal. Meega distracts Theren from this endeavor by grappling him and dragging him away. Allana charmingly diffuses the situation while also readying eldritch blast, and her doubts are justified when a pair of werewolves crash out of the haze.

Theridan transforms into a huge snake just in time to block Storol while Allana blasts Wiglaf back. Farrrrz and Quen flank around, hidden by the haze, and attack Haerelben and Meega. Fighting through his plum-induced discomfort, Theren uses the Decanter of Endless Water to geyser at Farrrrz while excoriating him for being a bad boy. Meega, Theridan, and Allana all receive bites from the werewolves which could infect them with lycanthropy. Snake Theridan kills Wiglaf mid-lunge as he goes for Allana. Allana throws a hex on Farrrrz and slays him with an eldritch blast. Snake Theridan kills grappled Storol while Theren water cannons Quen, weakened by Allana’s hex, prone so that Meega can hack him down.

The fighting attracts the attention of a robed druid and three guardsmen who run up commanding a halt to hostilities. Lytin, the robed druid, demands to know the meaning of this violent outrage to which the party pleads self-defense. Lytin’s examination of Meega’s perforated arms validates their claim of werewolf attack. Her suspicions replaced by gratitude, Lytin invites the party back to her camp after the aggressors’ bodies are burned in their fire.

In Lytin’s camp, the adventurers notice that two of her companions are now absent leaving only Biart. Lytin shows particular interest in the party’s ability and willingness to fight, very strange considering the pointedly peaceful nature of the gathering, werewolves notwithstanding.

Two official Scarlet Moon druids emerge from the haze and exchange introductions as Aylbrith and Ingulf. Theren unexpectedly adopts a nom de guerre of Jeffry McBob. Aylbrith remarks on the commotion earlier for which Jeffry McBob makes an amusing apology referencing the plum incident.

Aylbrith examines Meega’s arms and offers a salve to prevent the lycanthropy which she and Theridan and Allana accept. Theridan, possessed of a druidic interest in curatives, inquires of Aylbrith the mixture: cratatoes, wolfsbane, soap berries. Theridan finds that formula dubious.

Allana’s necklace, Jerry, attracts Aylbrith’s unwanted attention. Allana persuades him it’s a family heirloom and she would be uncomfortable removing it for his examination. Aylbrith and Ingulf make their excuses and depart.

The party now finds Lytin’s camp less welcoming for some reason. Taking the hint, the party returns to the first camp where the werewolf incident is related to Mahoon, Iniri, Virigo, and Fariya. When Theridan reveals his suspicion that the “cure” might actually make the lycanthropy worse, they suggest consulting the folks one camp over. What could it hurt to ask?

In the next camp the party unhappily finds Aylbrith and Ingulf again with a bear tethered to a stake. Allana confronts them about the nonsense cure and besides, what kind of druid puts a bear on a leash anyway? Aylbrith replies, because fireball. Allana’s hexacious eldritch blast, Polar Bear Theridan’s bites, and Theren’s rapid crossbowing turn Aylbrith inside out in no time. Haerelben capitalizes on the brutality to suggest Ingulf surrender and answer questions truthfully, lest he meet the same fate.

Ingulf claims to be a Scarlet Moon druid and reminds his captors that fire cleanses all, which is a pretty culty thing to say as he throws himself into the fire. Theren douses the fire with the decanter which ought to have caused Ingulf to reconsider the power of fire, but instead he doubles down, rolling into the bear’s gruesome embrace. In his anguish, Ingulf laments that Imix has abandoned him. The bear finishes what the fire started and Ingulf is cleansed by bear.

Polar Bear Theridan chats briefly with the bear before liberating him. A cultic symbol and a two column list are retrieved from Aylbrith and Ingulf.

Flames Wiglaf Storol Farrrrz Quen

Tinders Virigo Mahoon Fariya Iniri Gariena The Gnats Allana Meega Jeffry McBob Theridan Haerelben

 

Mahoon, Iniri, Virigo, and Fariya run over to investigate the fireball and act outraged by the scene. Iniri dusts around some powder of truthiness and Haerelben recounts the events following their initial meeting: arrive at festival, make some friends, take onions to hairy guys, get attacked by werewolves, receive reverse cure from SMH hosts, get fireballed by same, get accused of antisocial behavior, get dusted in the face.

Maybe they are convinced, maybe not. Maybe they are evil and Haerelben gave away the plot. One thing is certain: when the adventurers return the next morning from an all nighter curse removal session, all four are gone.